The Guide to Classic Recorded Jazz (61 page)

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Authors: Tom Piazza

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BOOK: The Guide to Classic Recorded Jazz
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Another first-rate set is
Ben Webster/Joe Zawinul: Soulmates
(Riverside/OJC-109, LP only). Webster and the young Viennese pianist Joe Zawinul (who was playing with Cannonball Adderley at the time and who would go on to form the band Weather Report with saxophonist Wayne Shorter) are accompanied by good rhythm players, including drummer Philly Joe Jones. Webster's ballad playing, again, takes the honors on the beautiful and rarely done tunes "Trav'lin' Light" and "Too Late Now."
Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson
(Verve 829 167-2), a quartet date recorded in 1959 with Peterson, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Ed Thigpen, is a nice set, consisting of standards like "The Touch of Your Lips," "Bye Bye Blackbird," and "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning." Webster takes "Blackbird,'' "Sunday," and "This Can't Be Love" at swinging mid-tempos.
Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster
(Verve 823 120-2) is a little disappointing, although there is nothing wrong with it; it just doesn't seem to take off. A more charged meeting between the two took place on
The Big Reunion
, recently available on the imported Fresh Sound label, a late-1950s re-creation of the Fletcher Henderson big band, conducted by Rex Stewart, on which they trade choruses on "Sugar Foot Stomp" for some truly gladiatorial thrills. And
Ben Webster and Associates
(Verve 835 254-2) is a real surprise, an all-star session with Hawkins, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, and the mighty Budd Johnson, who steals the show from the two better-known players.
Ben Webster at the Renaissance
(Contemporary/OJC-390), a live recording at a Los Angeles nightclub, is somewhat marred by a recording balance unfavorable in many places to the leader, who, with characteristic generosity, gives too much solo space to his accompanists. This isn't in any way to demean the extraordinary talents of pianist Jimmy Rowles, bassist Red Mitchell (these two work togther so well), guitarist Jim Hall, or drummer Frank Butler, only to wish that there were more Webster here. This is a problem, by the way, on some of the live recordings he made after moving to Europe in 1964. In any case, this isn't one of the best Webster sets available.
Big Ben Time
(Philips 814 410-2), recorded in London in 1967, is a good set, very well recorded, the only problem being the presence on three tracks of what is apparently a fugitive church organist; the effect of hearing him with Webster is like discovering that someone has put whipped cream in your beef soup. The other tracks have pianist Dick Katz in place of the organist. Again, there are great ballads, like "How Deep Is the Ocean" and "Solitude," as well as a languorous version of "Honeysuckle Rose."
Anyone with what Duke Ellington called "a yen for Ben" will want to pick up
Ben Webster Plays Ballads
(Storyville STCD 4118), on which Webster does what you might expect, mostly with European musicians, in both small-group
 
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and big-band settings, recorded between 1967 and 1971 (Webster died in Amsterdam in 1973). His 1971 version of "For Heaven's Sake" is breathtaking. On a 1968 meeting with tenor player Don Byas (a fellow expatriate), available as
Ben Webster Meets Don Byas
(MPS 827 920-2), Webster sounds as if he had had one too many reunion drinks. But a version of the original ballad "When Ash Meets Henry," on which he is accompanied only by bassist Peter Trunk, is exceptional.
As a sideman Webster never failed to raise the temperature at least a few degrees.
Jam Session
(Verve 833 564-2) is a 1952 date that brought Webster into the studio for a memorable encounter with altoists Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, and Charlie Parker; Webster quiets everyone down with his solo on "Funky Blues." The tenorist provides some great moments on one of Billie Holiday's best albums of the 1950s,
Songs for Distingué Lovers
(Verve 815 055-2), including a fine, abstract solo on "Just One of Those Things." Webster also contributes generously to four 1957 tracks with vibist Red Norvo included on Norvo's
Just a Mood
(RCA/Bluebird 6278-2-RB), as well as to a good small-group date under the leadership of trombonist Bill Harris,
Bill Harris and Friends
(Fantasy/OJC-083). The forr date is extremely mellow and has great blues and ballad playing from Webster; the Harris session is looser and includes a stomping tenor solo on "Crazy Rhythm." Jimmy Rowles is the fine and original pianist on both dates.
Chu Berry
Like Ben Webster, Leon "Chu" Berry was a heavy-toned disciple of Hawkins's and one of the dominant tenor players of the 1930s. Berry made a large name for himself playing with the big bands of Benny Carter, Teddy Hill, and, especially, Fletcher Henderson and Cab Calloway; Berry played with Calloway from 1937 until his death, at age thirty-one, in 1941. He was one of the most swinging of swing tenor players, with a fluent technique the match of any clarinetist's and a rolling, propulsive rhythmic feel that made him a perfect match for trumpeter Roy Eldridge, his bandmate from the Henderson orchestra, with whom he made some of the best small-group jazz records of the time. His authoritative swing at even the fastest tempos, his superior harmonic knowledge, and his alert, fresh sense of where to begin and end phrases made him a favorite musician of Charlie Parker's.
You can hear Berry at greatest length on the small-group sides he recorded with leaders like Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa, and Red Norvo; many of these are available on compilations that include excellent music by others as well. A perfect place to begin is
Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz
 
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(Columbia CK 45275), which includes two classics by a Teddy Wilson small band ("Warmin' Up" and "Blues in C Sharp Minor"), as well as four tracks by the Henderson band with good Berry solos. The interplay between Berry and Eldridge really makes the opening ensemble jump on "Warmin Up"; when Berry begins his solo, with a repeated riff, listen for the way the entire rhythm section, powered by drummer Big Sid Catlett, seems to lift to meet the increased swing level. Berry and Eldridge also collaborated on four sides for the small Commodore label in 1938, which show off Berry's ballad abilities. Available on
Chu Berry/Lucky Thompson: Giants of the Tenor Sax
(Commodore CCD 7004), the session includes a famous version of "Body and Soul" on which the tempo doubles for Eldridge's solo, as well as two swingers that feature Berry at length, one of which, the ferocious ''Tiger Rag"-based "Sittin' In," begins with some spoken patter between Eldridge and Berry. The set also includes four tracks on which Berry is joined by trumpeter Hot Lips Page.
For sheer excitement, it is hard to beat two 1936 tracks by a studio group assembled by drummer Gene Krupa including Eldridge, Berry, and Benny Goodman, available on
Swing Is Here: Small Band Swing 1935-1939
(RCA/Bluebird 2180-2-RB). Again, listen for the way Eldridge and Berry use riffs in the improvised opening ensembles to create an urgent counterpoint; this was the height of swing as a musical style. Berry could generate huge momentum by, at one moment, hammering home the underlying four-four pulse and at the next moment playing a long, fluid line that contained all kinds of cross-accenting. This was Eldridge's way, too, and the reason they made such perfect partners. The set also includes three 1939 tracks by New Orleans trumpeter Wingy Manone that feature Berry. For further adventures of Berry and El-dridge in their Henderson days, pick up
Hocus Pocus: Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra 1927-1936
(RCA/Bluebird 9904-2-RB). Berry takes solos on several of the 1936 tracks here; listen especially to his twenty-four bars on "Sing, Sing, Sing" - Berry usually entered with a very clear, original phrase designed to capture attention from the outset, like a good first sentence of a story - and to "Knock, Knock, Who's There?," which contains the only Chu Berry baritone sax solo on record.
Lionel Hampton, Volume 2: The Jumpin' Jive
(RCA/Bluebird 2433-2-RB) contains one of the most famous recordings Berry ever made, the 1939 "Sweethearts on Parade," on which Berry blows for the entire length of the performance, under the melody statement by Hampton's vibes as well as under the leader's vocal. "Shufflin' at the Hollywood," recorded at the same session, also has lots of Berry throughout. Several other tracks on this collection of all-star performances led by Hampton include Berry as well. An alternate take of "Shufflin' at the Hollywood" may be found on the Hampton collection
Hot
 
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Mallets, Volume 1
(RCA/Bluebird 6458-2-RB), along with four 1939 tracks from one of the most all-star sessions in jazz history, which united Berry with Hawkins and Webster as well as alto master Benny Carter, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and guitarist Charlie Christian.
The 1930s: Small Combos
(Columbia CK 40833) has the fine "Chuberry Jam," by Chu Berry and His Stompy Stevedores, a group of musicians from the Cab Calloway band, where Berry was the star soloist.
Red Norvo - Featuring Mildred Bailey
(Portrait Masters RK 44118), a collection of mid-1930s sides from sessions led by one of jazz's few xylophonists, includes several cuts with Berry, including "Bughouse" and "Blues in E-Flat." Berry also has some good moments with a Teddy Wilson-led small group, including Roy Eldridge, assembled to back up Billie Holiday, on
The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Volume 1
(Columbia CK 40646); check out his solo on "Twenty-Four Hours a Day."
Budd Johnson
Tenor saxophonist, multireed man, and arranger Albert "Budd" Johnson had one of the longest, most varied, most interesting, and least publicly recognized (in proportion to accomplishment) careers of any major jazz musician. Born in 1910, Johnson taught Ben Webster the rudiments of the horn in the late 1920s, was a primary architect of the great Earl Hines band's sound in the 1930s and again in the early 1940s, played with Dizzy Gillespie on 52nd Street in the mid-1940s (Johnson was as open-minded and adaptable as Coleman Hawkins in embracing bebop when it came along), was constantly in demand as a sideman and arranger for many big bands through the late 1940s and 1950s, returned to small-group activity with Earl Hines in the 1960s while also taking time to play with bands organized by Gil Evans and Randy Weston, and continued an extremely active schedule until his death. Although almost never mentioned in the same breath as Hawkins, Webster, Young, or the other innovators of the tenor, Johnson was one of the instrument's great players, very melodically inventive from his early solos with Louis Armstrong through recordings he made in his late sixties.
Probably the best demonstration of Johnson's instrumental power currently available is the 1965 quartet set
Earl Hines Live at the Village Vanguard
(Columbia CK 44197). On "Sometimes I'm Happy," taken at a medium-up tempo, Johnson starts out low and soft for his first chorus, then builds in volume, pitch, and intensity while maintaining a lilting, dancing, rhythmic feel, playing over the bar lines and behind the beat, at times sounding much like
 
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Lester Young, gradually and judiciously throwing in trills, honks, and shouting blues phrases, turning up the excitement and the heat while never losing his composure. This six-minute performance, Johnson all the way, is a perfect introduction to his style. "Moten Swing," on the same set, is every bit as inspired, with Johnson driving home chorus after chorus of inventive, preaching, insinuating, relentlessly swinging tenor. "Red River Remembered" is a slow blues that Johnson wails on soprano saxophone. Listen to the way he will hold a long, curving note, letting it finally wobble a little with vibrato before cutting it off; Johnson was a master of the expressive effects of vibrato, and his tone was one of the most penetrating and human sounds in jazz.
Another great showcase for Johnson is his own 1960 quintet set
Let's Swing
(Prestige/OJC-1720), on which he is joined by his brother, trombonist Keg Johnson, pianist Tomboy Flanagan, bassist George Duvivier, and drummer Charlie Persip. Johnson's theme statements on tunes like "Serenade in Blue" and "Falling in Love with Love" are models of relaxation and songlike phrasing. Again, the similarity to Lester Young's conception may be noted, although the sound and choice of notes are immediately identifiable as Johnson's.
Budd Johnson and the Four Brass Giants
(Riverside/OJC-209) is good, too, with Johnson set off by the trumpets of Clark Terry, Harry Edison, Ray Nance, and Nat Adderley, playing his arrangements in a program half made up of Johnson's own compositions. The only problem with this one is that there isn't enough Johnson because of the shared solo responsibilities.
One occasion on which Johnson made the most of his shared solo responsibilities was his appearance alongside Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster on the 1959
Ben Webster and Associates
(Verve 835 254-2). Listen to the way he uses dynamics during his first chorus on "In a Mellotone," starting softly, varying his lower-volume phrases with louder ones, becoming more forceful in his second chorus, coming up with some really extraordinary melodic turns. He takes the saxophone solo honors by a mile on this one, as he does on the other three tunes he plays on (two medium-up-tempo blues and a slow blues); his phrases are more coherent and definite, more swinging and imaginative than anything anybody else (with the possible exception of Roy Eldridge) was playing that day.
Johnson was a sideman on countless recording dates during his more than five decades of activity, and he always contributed solos that stood out, no matter whether the context was Louis Armstrong's 1933 big band, Dizzy Gillespie's 1951 small group, or Gil Evans's 1961 big band.
Laughin' Louie
(RCA/Bluebird 9759-2-RB), a set of early-1930s Armstrong items, features Johnson soloing on several tunes, especially the buoyant "Mahogany Hall Stomp"

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