Henry Coker; Bill Hughes, Benny. Powell (tb) ... have to say this is quite a long
way ... when you think of the innumerable .... Bill Evans (p), Tony Bennett (v). (1).
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Reviews COUNT BASIE APRIL IN PARIS (1) April In Paris; Corner Pocket; Didn’t You?; Sweetie Cakes; Magic; Shiny Stockings; What Am I Here For?; (4) Midgets; (2) Mambo Inn; Dinner With Friends; (3) Teach Me Tonight; Please Send Me Someone To Love; My Baby Upsets Me; Ev’ry Day I Fall In Love; Roll ‘Em Pete; Smack Dab In The Middle; Amazing Love; Only Forever; Stop Pretty Baby, Stop; Big Red (73.56) (1) Thad Jones, Reunald Jones; Joe Newman; Wendell Corey (t); Henry Coker; Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb); Marshall Royal (as, cl); Bill Graham (as); Frank Wess (as, ts, f, cl); Frank Foster (ts, cl); Charlie Fowlkes (bar, bcl); Count Basie (p); Freddie Green (g); Eddie Jones (b); Sonny Payne (d). NYC, 4-5 January 1956. (2) as (1) but add Jose Mengual and Ubaldo Nieto (pc). (3) as (1) but add Joe Williams (v). (4) Newman (t); Wess (f); Basie (p); Green (g); E. Jones (b); Payne (d). NYC, 26 July 1956.
(Essential Jazz Albums EJA 050)
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A generous, beautifully remastered but not, finally, essential issue. I’m not one of
REVIEWS
All reviews published in Jazz Journal appear only under the following conditions: By supplying any product for review purposes, manufacturers, distributors, artists, publishers and/or their agents, automatically indemnify JJ Publishing Ltd, its staff, reviewers or contributors, against any consequences whatsoever arising from publication of such reviews. No responsibility can be accepted for loss or damage in transit to products sent for review – all of which are non-returnable – nor for failure to appear at any time, or at all. Although every care is taken to ensure accuracy and propriety, neither the editor, nor the publishers necessarily agree with opinions expressed in JJ by contributors, nor indeed by readers in their published letters.
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those who snootily denigrate Basie’s post-war output vis-à-vis his (admittedly wondrous) 30s-launch, but I’d have to say this is quite a long way down the list of 50s/60s Basie albums you’d be going without food to buy. For a start, naturally, there’s “The Atomic Mr Basie”, but I’m also distinctly partial to several other Roulettes (especially “Easin’ It”), the Newport date, “On My Way And Shoutin’ Again”, and the resplendent 1963 “Li’l Ol’ Groovemaker”. April In Paris memorialises all the post-war band’s redoubtable strengths – the purring perfection of the reeds’ section work; the still-wonderful rhythm section (particularly the perpetually underrated, even sometimes villified Sonny Payne), the quality of arrangements and the separate excellence of the two Franks and Joe Newman. Pity Lockjaw and Al Grey aren’t on hand this time, but nevertheless it’s a masterly set of performances. However, they’re not really very exciting. This is almost a business date – not a pot-boiler in any derogatory sense, but just another day at the office. There are several better versions of Stockings and above all Corner Pocket (if you don’t know it, immediately check out the live 1969 in Las Vegas rendition of the latter, which contains arguably Lockjaw’s most perfect solo), and when it comes to the title track ... well, see my last paragraph. I’ve always been a bit puzzled, even guilty, why I don’t like Joe Williams more than I do. He has a gorgeous voice, at once honey-toned and virile, and he’s a natural swinger. I just find a little of his urbanity goes a long way: three tracks is about the maximum before tedium sets in, and for all his gifts, honest dignity and palbable enjoyment of the band, he ain’t no Jimmy Rushing. Paradoxically, by some distance the best of the 20 tracks on offer here is the sextet’s Midgets: both horns are outstanding, and the whole thing has a buoyancy and lissomeness that is only fleetingly present elsewhere. And so to my telegraphed, heretical
JOURNAL RECORD REVIEWS
conclusion. I have to confess that I have come to hate, very much, April In Paris itself. I cannot possibly agree with the blurb’s description of Wild Bill Davis’s arrangement as “fantastic”: it is not just dumb-down-obvious but positively vulgar, and that “One More Time” stuff makes my toes curl – pure showboating, and robotic to boot. Maybe the years have bred familiarity-contempt and ennui, but when you think of the innumerable numbers Basie laid down which really did take off and still infallibly produce that “tingle factor”, it seems grotesque that this tawdry warhorse is so famous.
Richard Palmer
COUNT BASIE BASEL 1956 PART ONE (1) You For Me; Shiny Stockings; Cherry Point; Sixteen Men Swingin’; Eventide; Mambo Inn; Backstage Blues; Flute Juice; Unknown Title; Blee Blop Blues; Yesterdays; Eddie Jones’ Blues (48.38) (TCB 02192) BASEL 1956 PART TWO (1) Dinner With Friends; How High The Moon; Plymouth Rock; (2) Every Day; Alright, Okay, You Win; Teach Me Tonight; Roll’em, Pete; Smack Dab In The Middle; The Comeback; (1) One O’Clock Jump; Jumpin’ At The Woodside (47.57) (1) Wendell Culley, Reunald Jones, Thad Jones, Joe Newman (t); Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell (tb); Marshall Royal, Bill Graham, Frank Foster, Charlie Fowlkes (reeds); Frank Wess (ts, f); Basie (p); Freddie Green (g); Eddie Jones (b); Sonny Payne (d). Mustermesse, Basel, 28 September 1956. (2) add Joe Williams (v).
(TCB 02202) As with other TCB releases in this series this concert is issued here for the first time. And as with other Basie “live” performances from this period more excitement is generated here than in the
studio recordings of the same material. The first CD has what amounts to near verbosity for Basie as he introduces each number and there are ballad features for Fowlkes and Coker as well as excellent solos from Newman and Thad Jones on the brisker numbers with Payne’s fills entirely appropriate. The flute feature for Wess is expected but the blues featuring Eddie Jones is an entertaining surprise and so is his parallel vocalising in the style of Slam Stewart. The 32-bar tune for which TCB could find no title is performed at a delightfully relaxed tempo and here as elsewhere there’s plenty of Basie’s piano, so this CD is a valuable addition to his discography. The six songs from Joe Williams dominate the second CD and as I find his very competent singing almost entirely devoid of emotion I can’t rate this nearly as high as the first one. Dinner With Friends has a monotonous drum solo which is far too long though Newman and Foster on the closing Woodside bring a return to quality. Some Basie enthusiasts will want both these CDs but others may be glad that they’re available separately.
Graham Colombé
COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA BASIE PLAYS HEFTI (1) Has Anyone Here Seen Basie?; Cute; Pensive Miss; Sloo Foot; It’s Awfully Nice To See You; Scoot; A Little Tempo Please; Late Date; Count Down; Bag-A Bones; Pony Tail; (2) Lollypop; (3) Dinner With Friends; (4) Ska-di-dle-dee-beedoo; Two Franks; (5) You For Me; Two For The Blues; (6) Bubbles; Softly With Feeling; Cherry Point; (7) Plymouth Rock; (8) Sure Thing; Why Not?; Fancy Meetin’ You (76:40) (1) Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young, Wendell Curry (t); Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell (tb); Marshall Royal (cl, as); Frank Wess (as, ts, f); Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell (ts); Charlie Fowkes (bar);
Record Reviews Count Basie (p); Freddie Green (g); Eddie Jones (b); Sonny Payne (d). NYC, 3, 4 & 14 April 1958. (2) Reunald Jones (t) replaces Young; Bill Hughes (tb) replaces Grey; Bill Graham (as) replaces Mitchell. 27 June 1956. (3) as (2) but José Mangual, Ubaldo Nieto (pc) added. 5 January 1956. (4) as (2) but Ernie Wilkins (as, ts) replaces Graham; Gus Johnson (d) replaces Payne. 17 April 1954. (5) as (4). 16 April 1954. (6) as (5) but Joe Wilder (t) replaces Reunald Jones; Henderson Chambers (tb) replaces Hughes, Basie (p, org). 12 December 1953. (7) as (6) but Reunald Jones, Paul Campbell (t) replace Wilder; Johnny Mandel (bt) replaces Chambers. 13 August 1953. (8) as (7) but Charlie Shavers replaces Reunald Jones; Jimmy Wilkins (tb) replaces Mandel; Floyd Johnson, Paul Quinichette (ts) replace Wess & Foster; Jimmy Lewis (b) replaces Jones. 19 January 1952.
(Essential Jazz EJA 047)
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Count Basie held together a band from 1935 until the 1980s and beyond, for it survived, at least for a while, after his death in 1984. Like Duke Ellington, whose band survived even longer, Basie’s suffered a decline in popularity in the later 1940s and early 1950s, and, again like Duke’s, it enjoyed a spectacular renaissance in the mid 1950s. As most jazz lovers know, Duke’s leapt to the fore again through its performance at the Newport Jazz Festival of 1956 and Count’s rebirth followed the issue in 1957 of his LP, “The Atomic Mr Basie”. Central to that LP’s success were Neal Hefti’s arrangements. An LP entitled “Basie Plays Hefti” was a logical follow-up, and it provides the (1) tracks on this CD. The Basie band at this time specialised in precision, power and that tight, cushioning 4/4 beat provided by the rhythm section sparked by Freddie Green’s guitar. It was a marvellous swing machine; vibratos and shakes by both reeds and brass matched perfectly. One sensed the band’s power whether playing at a whisper, punctuating Wess’s delicate flute or shouting fortissimo. Hefti had an intuitive sense of how the soloists and sections should phrase over that rhythm, and how best to point up Basie’s spare piano interpolations. This is top quality big band swing, up to the standard of “Atomic”. Subsequent tracks here are Hefti’s arrangements for earlier LPs. Though
less well recorded, they are superior stuff, though You For Me and Two For The Blues are high speed pot-boilers, and the two percussionists in Dinner With Friends make little impact except to add to the terminal clatter. In contrast, Softly With Feeling is a delight and it is a pleasure to hear Paul Quinichette’s reminders of Lester Young on Sure Thing and Why Not? A valuable reissue for big band fans.
John Postgate
TONY BENNETT/ BILL EVANS THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS CD1: (1) Young And Foolish; The Touch Of Your Lips; Some Other Time; When In Rome; We’ll Be Together Again; My Foolish Heart; Waltz For Debbie; But Beautiful; The Days Of Wine And Roses. The Bad And The Beautiful; (2) Lucky To Be Me; Make Some One Happy; You’re Nearer; A Child Is Born; The Two Lonely People; You Don’t Know What Love Is; Maybe September; Lonely Girl; You Must Believe In Spring; Who Can I Turn To?; Dream Dancing (72.01) CD2: (1) Young And Foolish; The Touch Of Your Lips; Some Other Time; When In Rome; Waltz For Debby; The Bad And The Beautiful; The Bad And The Beautiful (alt); (2) Make Someone Happy; You’re Nearer; A Child Is Born; A Child Is Born (alt); The Two Lonely People; You Don’t Know What Love Is; You Don’t Know What Love Is (alt); Maybe September; Maybe September (alt); Lonely Girl; You Must Believe In Spring; You Must Believe In Spring (alt); Who Can I Turn To? (72.45) Bill Evans (p), Tony Bennett (v). (1) Berkeley, California, 10-13 June 1975. (2) San Francisco, 27/30 September 1976.
(Concord 0888072312814) Tony Bennett’s biographer Will Friedwald recalls in his sleevenote the cool reception the singer got when he appeared three decades ago alongside the near-sanctified Bill Evans at Carnegie Hall. An angry heckler shouted: “This is supposed to be a jazz festival.” More diplomatically, the New York Times headlined the event: “Jazz Festival Is Opened By A Superb Pop Singer”. Which is a bit nearer the mark, and Bennett, of course, had already sung to great effect with the Basie and Ellington bands. Well, we’re a bit more used to crossovers of various sorts today, and there are few of us, I’d imagine, who, despite the odd high note,
wouldn’t give the nod here to Bennett’s performance. They’re mostly familiar items from the Great American Songbook, together with a few others which deserve more attention than they’ve had over the years. We also get to hear a lot of alternative takes – the duo made no fewer than 18 versions of one song, and if they didn’t Know What Love Is by that time they’d never have known! For my taste, the opener – Young And Foolish – is a touch lugubrious. I seem to remember when this song was on the menu at every dance hall in this country at a much livelier tempo – but it’s all a matter of taste. There are some fine performances throughout by Bennett, who, as well as hitting the high notes, sings particularly movingly on A Child Is Born. Another highlight for me was Henry Mancini’s Wine And Roses. He sings with tenderness on Bernstein’s Some Other Time and Jimmy Van Heusen’s But Beautiful – and gives a fine interpretation of You Must Believe In Spring. Needless to say, he’s immaculately and imaginatively backed by Evans, really the senior partner in this duo, who also gives two solo readings of David Raksin’s The Bad And The Beautiful. Overall, a fine double album which, as well as providing nostalgic pleasure for older jazz lovers, may attract many new listeners.
John Chadwick
JERRY BERGONZI SIMPLY PUT Mr. MB; Dancing In The Dark; Casadiche; Come Fly With Me; Wipper Snapper; Out Of Nowhere; Crossing The Naeff; Transphybian; What If? Malaga (59:50) Jerry Bergonzi (ts, ss); Bruce Barth (p); Dave Santoro (b); Andrea Michelutti (d). Westwood, Mass., December 2008.
(Savant SCD 2099)
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Jerry Bergonzi (b. 1950) teaches the saxophone at New England Conservatory, in his hometown of Boston. He came to the notice of the wider jazz audience when he worked with Dave Brubeck from 1979 until 1981. In case you haven’t yet heard him, Bergonzi sounds nothing whatsoever like Paul Desmond, whose name is always associated with Brubeck. Then, who does? Apart from his work with Brubeck, Bergonzi is already well represented on CD; “Simply Put” is his fourth Savant recording since 2006. Here, seven of the tracks are Bergonzi’s originals, three are standards.
For some time now I’ve noticed that Bergonzi is a favourite of the current generation of student saxophonists. A soloist continuing the line from Coltrane and Brecker (Bergonzi used to practise with Brecker), he is frequently compared favourably with today’s young lions, such as Joshua Redman and Chris Potter. Pianist Bruce Barth has worked with Nat Adderley and Stanley Turrentine, and has toured for years with Terence Blanchard. Bassist Dave Santoro and drummer Andrea Michelutti have played with Bergonzi for many years. Watching Bergonzi recently, as he gave a workshop for student reed players – one sure way to build a fan base – he showed patience, ready wit and intelligence, making pauses after each answer to give those present an opportunity to gain courage to interrogate him. Releasing albums of the standard of “Simply Put” is another way of pleasing his followers.
John Robert Brown
DAVID BINNEY/ALAN FERBER IN THE PAINT Growin’ Up; In The Paint; Everybody’s Wonderland; Interlude I; Paris; Edinburgh; Icecave; Interlude II; La Taqueria; Magnolia; Lautir; Interlude III; Our Inventions (59.29) David Binney (as); Alan Ferber (t); John Escreet (p); Peter Schlamb (vib); Thomas Morgan (b); Gerald Cleaver (d). February 2008.
(Posi-Tone PR8047) In my long experience as a jazz critter there is a law that often relates to CD liner notes and the quality of the music contained therein: listening pleasure is inversely proportional to liner verbiage. Usually, but not always, the less said the better, to put it bluntly. Well, how often have you eagerly unwrapped your hard-earned purchase to find it contains a 15pp booklet with 4,000 words of copy printed in 2pt Garamond italics? Then, having found a magnifying glass with which to divine the ramblings of the musician (or his producer) on his muse or pet hate or pet planet or pet dog, you slowly realise that what has been emitting from your speakers is, like the liner “notes” a stream of self-indulgent twaddle? If that is your experience, go out and buy David Binney and Alan Ferber’s moody and subtly magnificent new album “In The Paint”. The cover has a nice graphic on it and it gives the song titles and the names of the musicians. That’s all. The rest, dear listener, is up to you.
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