Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XX)

The John Young Trio

Young John Young

Approaching his middle thirties, pianist, John Young, still maintains in his musical approach the same youthful exuberance and sparkle that has, since his early playing days, been the dominant factor in his everlasting popularity, with audience and fellow musician alike.

Listing such top musicians as his leader over a period of 15 years of professional music-making, as Andy Kirk, Gene Ammons, Eddie Chamblee, Ben Webster, Sonny Stitt, and King Kolax, Young John Young, has run the gamut of popular musical expression, from society-tinged dance music and rhythm & blues, to the purest forms of swinging Jazz. 

After too many years on the road with the various leaders listed, John decided to make his own mark in the musical world, and formed the versatile trio he now directs. After a period at the famous Bee-Hive, as a complete rhythm section for the various stars that appeared there, John moved his group to the intimate 63rd St. spot known as the Kitty Kat club, where he has been for the past two years. 

When cutting this album it was decided to give his new-found audience the opportunity to hear the many faceted forms of John's artistry, and therefore it was agreed to present each side as near as possible as a complete set would be presented on the stand most any night at the Kitty Kat. 

Since the inception of his present group, John has been able to maintain the same sidemen... Herbert Brown, bass and Larry Jackson, drums... which as anyone in the music business will attest to, is quite a managerial accomplishment. The interplay, and counter-balancing that add so much to the trio’s musical value are the results of this long and profitable association of these three top modern musicians.

I think you, the listener, will agree whole-heartedly with me, in the premise that though John Young has reached the age of maturity when musical habit usually supplants adventuresomeness, he still maintains, with uncompromising consistency, the youthful awareness and daring which makes his playing, and his Trio, a musical treat to behold. This, then is >Young, John Young<, and this album couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. *Joe Segal (liner notes)*

Pianist John Young (1922-2008), crisscrossed the country in the '40s with a vastly popular big band Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy before he became a revered figure on the Chicago jazz scene. His approach was reminiscent of Erroll Garner, but he also looked for inspiration in the work of younger pianists like Ahmad Jamal and Ramsey Lewis, who also launched their careers in this city.

In a career that spanned over six decades, Young regularly played popular clubs either with his own trio, orchestra, or as a sideman, accompanying artists such as Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, Lurlean Hunter, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Lorez Alexandria and many others. The noted jazz authority Dan Morgenstern in Living with Jazz, called Young one of Chicago's several unsung piano originals.*Jordi Pujol*

Side 1

1 - Three Penny Opera

(Kurt Weill)

2- Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White

(Louigay, M.David)

3 - Invitation

(Bronislau Kaper)

4 - Star Eyes

(Don Raye)

5 - Warsaw Concerto

(Richard Addinsell)

Side 2

6 - Medley:

(a) It Never Entered My Mind

(b) Spring Is Here

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

7 - The Boy Next Door

(Martin, Blane)

8 - Bags Groove

(Milt Jackson)

9 - Close To Me

(Peter De Rose)

10 - The Continental

(Con Conrad)

John Young (piano), Herbert Brown (bass), Larry Jackson (drums).

Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, 1956

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To be continued...