Saxophonists showcased on jazz cassettes
By Paul Blair
JAKARTA (JP): The saxophone (doubtless the instrument most closely associated with jazz , especially in the minds of non- jazz listeners) is probably also the horn best able to imitate the timbres of the human voice (which is what many insist jazz playing is all about, anyway). These cassettes, available for Rp 8,000 each in local shops, capture the work of some outstanding saxophone stylists.
My Kind of Trouble, recorded in 1988, catches alto saxophonist Benny Carter in fine spirits leading a quintet that includes guitarist Joe Pass plus an organist (Art Hillery) instead of a piano.
On Woodlore, alto saxophonist Phil Woods leads a quartet through an up-tempo version of I'd Like to Get You on a Slow Boat to China and five other tunes recorded in 1955. I especially admire his work on a lovely ballad called Falling in Love All Over Again.
When Something Else, the debut album by Ornette Coleman, was released in 1958, the jazz community was sharply divided. Was this Texan who improvised without apparent reference to standard harmonies on a white plastic alto a charlatan or a true revolutionary bent on changing the music forever? To 1994 ears, Ornette's playing sounds very much within the tradition. His compositions, buoyant little arrangements which begin and end each track, are delightful. And much of what Ornette plays here is just the 12-bar blues in jaunty new clothes.
Far Cry, cut in 1960 under the leadership of Eric Dolphy (alto, bass clarinet and flute) is definitely worth hearing for the spirited support Dolphy gets from Booker Little (trumpet), Jaki Byard (piano) and Roy Haynes (at his crackling best on drums).
Hi-Fi Jazz Party is a collection of 1955 performances by James Moody, who solos on both alto and tenor saxophones. His seven- piece group sounds at times like a big band, thanks to Moody's arranging skills. Eddie Jefferson (the man credited with originating "vocalese") sings on one track.
Critics credit Coleman Hawkins with "inventing" the saxophone, at least as far as jazz is concerned. Two new (to Jakarta) cassettes capture Hawkins' late-50s intensity on both ballads and up-tempo numbers: The Hawk Flies High (including J.J. Johnson on trombone) and Coleman Hawkins and Friends (with Benny Carter, guitarist Herb Ellis and trumpeter Roy Eldridge). I prefer the latter, recorded live at a 1960 Zurich concert. The momentum Hawkins builds on the faster numbers is awesome.
Though Paul Gonsalves won fame playing tenor with Ellington, he rarely recorded in non-ducal contexts. Gettin' Together (1960) pairs him with cornet player Nat Adderly on a perfectly balanced program further brightened by a superb rhythm section: Wynton Kelly (piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums).
Like Gonsalves (and just about every saxophonist cited here), tone made Charlie Rouse instantly identifiable. Rouse was Thelonious Monk's often-unheralded partner on tenor for about two decades. The 1988 album Epistophy proved to be Rouse's last appearance on record; he died of cancer six weeks later. Intended as a celebration of Monk (all six tunes are his compositions) it ultimately celebrates Charlie himself.
Masterful inprovisor Zoot Sims reinvigorates 11 Gershwin standards on Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers (1975) with his seemingly effortless tenor playing. Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass provide stellar support.
On Quietly There, (1966) under the leadership of California reedman Bill Perkins, the instrumentation is pleasingly diverse (some classical guitar; Victor Feldman on vibes and piano; Perkins on tenor and baritone saxophones as well as flute and bass clarinet). Best of all, every tune is a Johnny Mandel composition: The Shadow of Your Smile, Emily, A Time for Love, Sure as You're Born, The Shining Sea and five more.
No rundown of jazz saxophone players would be complete without John Coltrane. The 1956-58 tracks collected on John Coltrane and the Jazz Giants catch him in fast company (Monk and Miles Davis, among others) a couple of years before he embarked on the experimentation which turned off so many former admirers. Though the recorded sound is sometimes less than great, the music doesn't drag for a single second.
The other major tenor saxophone stylist who emerged in the 1950s was Sonny Rollins. Since then, he's dominated every band he's played in by sheer force of energy. On The Way I Feel (1976), Rollins fronts a group that's a little too electric for my taste. Yet his triumphant tone and the freshness of his ideas make this one worth hearing. Lee Ritenour gets the occasional guitar solo.
Good soloing
Nice People, which collects tracks from six albums recorded by tenor player Jimmy Health between 1959 and 1961, can be recommended for good soloing from the likes of Clark Terry, Donald Byrd and Freddie Hubbard (trumpets), Curtis Fuller (trombone) and (on one track) alto star Cannonball Adderley.
Jazz Loves Paris is West Coast Cool circa 1958, built around the talents of flutist Buddy Collette (also heard on various saxophones) and the fluid trombonist Frank Rosolino. The tracks are all short and somewhat breathy, the songs all from (or about) France: La Vie en Rose, C'est Si Bon, Moulin Rouge and so on.
Baritone saxophone saxophonist Pepper Adams co-leads Mean What You Say (1966) with flugelhorn player Thad Jones, best known as co-leader of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band in which Adams was a longtime member. Lewis himself plays drums on this quintet date and really sparkles throughout, especially when he lays down his sticks and pick up his brushes.
The only record in this saxophone not led by a saxophonist is Quintessence, issued under pianist Bill Evans' name in 1976 and an ideal introduction to tenor player Harold Land, another man whose tone is as personal as a thumbprint. Kenny Burrell (guitar), Ray Brown (bass) and Philly Joe Jones (drums) round out the group. Among all these tapes, I'd most enthusiastically recommend this one (along with the Ornette Coleman and the Zoot Sims) as best illustrating the fact that there's indeed life beyond Kenny G.