Cal Tjader: Demasiado Caliente
Drummer Cal Tjader along with Paul Desmond and Dick Collins was a founder member of Dave Brubeck’s innovative octet in the late 40s. Finding regular work for such a large ensemble was difficult so Brubeck disbanded and formed a very successful trio with Tjader and Ron Crotty. On some numbers Tjader added bongos and congas and on titles like Sweet Georgia Brown and Undecided he introduced the vibraphone. In 1953 George Shearing invited him to join his quintet as a replacement for Joe Roland. He encouraged the leader to occasionally add Latin percussionists like Amando Peraza (congas) and Candido Camero (bongos) to the group. The following year he organised his own Modern Mambo Quintet after hearing Afro-Cuban big bands led by Machito and Chico O’Farrill in New York. During the 50s he recorded a number of well-received albums such as Ritmo Caliente, Tjader Plays Mambo, Latin Kick and Latin For Lovers which helped establish his reputation as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician.
This reissue was recorded after Tjader’s successful appearance at the 1959 Monterey Jazz Festival. Mongo Santamaria’s Manila is a feature for the evocative sound of Jose’ Lozano’s wooden flute accompanied by a repeated montuno. This rhythm is an essential element of the Latin genre. The romantic Key Largo finds Tjader at his most sensitive and lyrical. The leader has recorded his own Tumbao on several occasions and here it is a percussive showcase for Santamaria on congas and Willie Bobo on timbales. Pianist Lonnie Hewitt shines on Kurt Weill’s lovely September Song which works really well in an Afro-Cuban context. To add variety, Eddie Cano has provided some big-band charts and Chispita is a fine example of Tjader interacting with the larger ensemble.
Discography
Manila; Key Largo; Tumbao; Bludan; Chispita; September Song; Cal’s Pals; Para Ti; Mamblues (39.00)
Tjader (vib) with collective personnel: Tony Toran (t); Modesto Briseno (as, f); José Lozano (f); Lonnie Hewitt, Eddie Cano (p); Victor Venegas (b) Wille Bobo (d, pc); Mongo Santamaria (cga). San Francisco, 1960.
Descarga 637014LP
Lafayette Harris Jr.: All In Good Time
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree at the famed Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Lafayette Harris Jr began studying with Kenny Barron at Rutgers University. In 1993, at Barron’s suggestion, he began a 10-year collaboration with the celebrated Max Roach who became something of a mentor. He called him “a phenomenal new voice on the music scene today”. Over the years he has acquired a reputation as a “go-to” musician on the New York jazz scene, having worked with Donald Byrd, Al Grey, Slide Hampton, Archie Shepp, Ernestine Anderson and many others. He has frequently performed at the Blue Note, Sweet Basil and Fat Tuesday’s and this is his 11th CD as a leader. His You Can’t Lose Without The Blues (Savant SCD2178) was No 1 in Jazzweek’s chart in February 2020.
The buoyant I Want To Be Happy motors along at 80 bpm with Oscar Peterson-like verve and brio. For Maxwell soon becomes a medium-tempo blues featuring Jeremy Pelt’s almost vibrato-free trumpet. Here and elsewhere on this reissue he recalls Art Farmer. Harris provides a suitably emotional reading to Good Morning Heartache and For Denise And Vincent. The latter, with its hint of Parker’s Mood, is one of the leader’s many attractive originals. Houston Person, who produced the session, lends his heavyweight presence to join Pelt on the raunchy, down-home Long Hot Summer Blues. Harris and the rhythm section create a real Mardi Gras carnival mood on Iko Iko and Time, with Pelt’s soulful trumpet a gem. Richie Powell (Bud’s brother) wrote Time for a 1956 Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins and Max Roach date which has been in my collection for years. The title, as Powell explained on the sleeve-note, refers to “the time a man spends just sitting in jail, wondering when he is going to get out”.
Discography
I Want To Be Happy; It’s Time; For Maxwell; Good Morning Heartache; For Denise And Vincent; Long Hot Summer Blues; Iko Iko; Time; We Are One In The Spirit; I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together (43.20)
Jeremy Pelt (t); Houston Person (ts); Harris Jr. (p); Kenny Davis (b); Jerome Jennings (d). New Jersey, 30 July 2024.
Savant SCD 2221
Clark Terry: Portraits
Throughout a long and prestigious career, Clark Terry graced the bands of Charlie Barnet, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones and Gerry Mulligan. As with many of his generation, a couple of notes was all that was necessary to immediately identify him. His playing had an irresistible joie de vivre which carried over to his quite unique vocalising. In 2010 he was honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his 70-year-plus career as a pioneering trumpeter and educator. In his preface to Terry’s autobiography Quincy Jones had this to say about him: “One of the greatest days of my life was when he left Duke Ellington’s Orchestra to join my band. Man, when he did that I was the happiest cat on the planet!”
Most of the titles here are connected with some of the giants of the trumpet. When It’s Sleepy Time Down South was introduced by Louis Armstrong in 1931 and he went on to record it on several occasions over the years. Bing Crosby recorded Pennies From Heaven in 1937. Two weeks later Armstrong became the first jazz instrumentalist to record it and it remained in his repertoire throughout his career. Roy Eldridge first recorded Little Jazz the same year. Jive At Five was recorded by Harry Edison with Count Basie in 1939 and Harry James had an unlikely hit with Ciribiribin in 1944. Dizzy Gillespie’s Ow! was premiered in 1947 and I Can’t Get Started will always be associated with Bunny Berigan’s 1937 recording. It’s a bit of a stretch but most jazz fans will remember I Don’t Wanna Be Kissed from Miles Davis’s 1957 Miles Ahead album.
Elsewhere Finger Filibuster is an uptempo version of his famous Mumbles routine, which he recorded with Oscar Peterson in 1964. He creates a vintage New Orleans vibe on the 1922 Sugar Blues.
Discography
Pennies From Heaven; Sugar Blues; Autumn Leaves; Finger Filibuster; Little Jazz; When It’s Sleepy Time Down South; Jive At Five; Ciribiribin; Ow!; I Can’t Get Started; I Don’t Wanna Be Kissed (56.35)
Terry (t, flh); Don Friedman (p); Victor Gaskin (b); Lewis Nash (d). NYC, 16 December 1988.
Chesky Records EVA307S
