Were it not for the foresight of Peter Ind we would have no reference points for Warne Marsh’s playing in the early 1960s because at that time the tenor saxophonist’s style was not currently fashionable. It has taken a decade and a half for listeners to rediscover the unique qualities to be found in Marsh’s improvisations. He seems to function best in an informal atmosphere, and this date stems from a session held at Peter Ind’s studio on a hot and humid August afternoon in 1960 at a time when most jazz players were self-consciously wearing their ‘souls’ on their sleeves.
With the sparest accompaniment Marsh was moved to muster these astonishing, agile extemporisations. Here is a man who speaks through his saxophone, not in a thoughtless stream of notes, but in lucid conversation in which rests play an important part.
With a tone and time conception like no other contemporary, Marsh shows his concentrated powers of unflagging invention as he focuses on the chord sequences of popular tunes such as I Got Rhythm, If I Had You, All The Things You Are and so forth. His taste and control are masterly, his choice of tempo perfect.
The procedure is the same as on the earlier LP: Mr. Ind has edited the tapes to leave us only with Marsh’s solos. While it would have been nice to have heard an occasional contribution from Ronnie Ball, the whole point was to offer undiluted Marsh – an elixir that has not been exactly in plentiful supply. Write to Wave Records Ltd, 11 Swakeleys Drive, Ickenham, Middlesex.
Discography
(a) Summer Session; (a) Easy Beat; (a) Sunshine; (a) East Side Swing (17¼ min) – (a) 223 East 2nd St.; (a) August In New York; (b) Change Around; (a) East Side Swing (13¼ min)
(a) Warne Marsh (ten); Ronnie Bail (pno); Eddie de Haas (bs); Bob Minnicucci (brushes). NYC. 9/8/60.
(b) same as (a) except Peter Ind (bs) replaces de Haas. NYC, 9/8/60.
(Wave LP 10 £2.80)
