Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XXX)

 Axel Ivar Rune Öfwerman was born on Christmas Eve in 1933 in a small village outside Stockholm called Vingaker. He started taking piano lessons at the age of six but lost interest after a couple of years. A few years later, he heard some boogie-woogie records and again became interested in the piano. During his college years in Stockholm he organized a band which soon became very popular. After his school years, Rune decided to become a professional musician.

Played with nearly all the modern jazz musicians in Scandinavia amongst them Rolf Ericson (1952), Carl-Henrik Norin (1954), Hacke Bjørksten (1956), Ove Lind (1957) and Lars Gullin. Became co-owner of the Gazell Record Company and supervised most of the sessions held for this label. 

As a pianist, he lists the late Nat "King" Cole and Clarence "Pinetop" Smith among his strongest influences.

Rune Öfwerman

Cool • Piano With Voices

Altough jazz has been appreciated and played in Europe almost as long as it has in America, it continually amazes one to discover another kindred talent from there. In the northern European or Scandinavian section, musicians of superior worth have been on the modern jazz scene almost from the very beginning. Till now, Bengt Hallberg and Rheinhold Svensson have been the outstanding Nordic pianists. With the emergence of Rune Öfwerman, the field now enlarges. 

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All in all, just from listening to these few offerings by Rune Öfwerman, it seems as though American pianists now have a new talent with which to contend. So also do the pop composers, for Rune's bossa novas are very beautiful, and his "Bobsled" and "M-83" are unusual and interesting. Yes, talented and versatile Rune Öfwerman should be highly successful in the music business, for, as the title of this album indicates, he is very "COOL"! *Joe Segal (liner notes)*

A strange one for Argo, and certainly not in keeping with their usual soul jazz roster of recordings — but also a cool moody session recorded in Scandinavia, and which features the icy piano of Rune Öfwerman, backed by a chorus of voices, for a floating dreamy sound that slightly hints at the Singers Unlimited, and other European vocal groups from the 60s. Titles include "Mellow Cool", "Bossa Nova Sueca", "Ortego Bossa Nova", and "M-83".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

Side 1

1 - Whatcha Gonna Do

(Nat "King" Cole)

2 - Amen

(Donald Byrd)

3 - Bobsled

(Rune Öfwerman)

4 - Gospel Walk

(Rune Öfwerman)

5 - Mellow Cool

(Åke Hallgren)

6 - Helen's Theme

(George Riedel)

Side 2

7 - Bossa Nova Sueca

(Rune Öfwerman)

8 - M-83

(Rune Öfwerman)

9 - The Man From Potter's Crossing

(Jimmy Woode)

10 - Ortego Bossa Nova

(Rune Öfwerman)

11 - King's Men

(Rune Öfwerman)

#1 to #6:

Rune Öfwerman (piano), Erik Moseholm (bass), Nils-Bertil Dahlander (drums),

Allan Botschinsky (trumpet #2),  Rolf Billberg (alto sax #2),

unidentified vocal choir directed by Gunnar Lunden-Welden.

Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 17, 1961

#7, #8, #10:

Rune Öfwerman (piano), Sture Nordin (bass), Egil Johansen (drums),

Rune Gustafsson (guitar #7),  Bjarne Nerem (latin rhythm #7).

Recored in Stockholm, Sweden, November 21, 1961

#9, #11:

Rune Öfwerman (piano), Jimmy Woode (bass), Art Taylor (drums).

Recorded at Europa Film AB, Stockholm, Sweden, February 15, 1961

Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XXVIII & XXIX)

 Eldee Young & Co. - Just For Kicks

An early solo album cut by Eldee Young, back in the days when he was Ramsey Lewis' bassist, and before he formed the Young-Holt trio. The record's a good example of the strong humor that Eldee would later display in the Young-Holt group, and it's got a great batch of groovy tracks that have a tight soulful sound, with lots of nice tricks and surprises. The group includes Leo Wright, Mal Waldron, Redd Holt, and Richard Evans, who plays bass on some tracks while Eldee picks up the cello. The album's got a great version of Oscar Brown's "Mr. Kicks", plus the tracks "Just For Kicks", "Truly", "Big Brother", and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", done in a very groovy way! *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

Red Holt - Look Out!! Look Out!!

Red Holt led this album for Arco in December 1961. It's essentially the Ramsey Lewis Trio (Lewis on piano, Eldee Young on bass and Holt on drums) with a guitarist named Roland Faulkner backing Floyd Marvin on trombone and Wallace Burton on alto sax.

The music is straight ahead jazz with 1960s pop interwoven — a format that Ramsey Lewis perfected — with an easy swing that is more like the West Coast variant of jazz that was popular during that era than the Chicago flavored music that this really is.

Most of the tracks are typical standards, but the inclusion of "Ghost Riders" is interesting. That was a popular song with country and western connotations that had been covered by a number of groups and vocalists. It seems to have been inserted into the mix for popular appeal. Another interesting track is "Sanctified Indian" that sounds suspiciously like Wilbur de Paris' 1958 recording titled "In A Persian Market" (it's a 1920 composition by Albert William Ketelbey).

Overall this is a foot tapping album that is easy to listen to without having to concentrate on the music to enjoy. In that respect it is atypical of most jazz, but it still swings and does not cross over into gratuitous pop. Kudos to the producer for that. *Mike Tarrani*

Eldee Young & Co. - Just For Kicks

And

Red Holt - Look Out!! Look Out!!

Bassist Eldee Young and drummer Issac Red Holt were founding members of the hugely successful Ramsey Lewis Trio in 1956, and made their first sessions as leaders with the two fine albums included here.

Recorded in Chicago in December 1961, they feature two warmly delivered sets of originals and standards. As he shows in Just for Kicks, Young was a competent bassist, direct and forceful, with a pleasing flair for lighthearted drama. This dates prime musical asset is, perhaps, altoist and flutist Leo Wright, who plays well throughout, and stunningly (on alto) on "Cry Me a River". Young also plays soul cello on several numbers, providing moments of real beauty as flute and cello blend. Under the blunderbuss performances of Young and Wright, pianist Mal Waldron keeps much of his work simple and basic, always to the point.

On Holts Look Out!! Look Out!! the Ramsey Lewis trio is intact, augmented by the almost barrel-house trombonist Floyd Marvin on "Ghost Riders", and by altoist Wallace Burton and guitarist Roland Faulkner on the rest of the album, excluding both drum-and-bass Look Out tunes. Burton shows flawless intonation and instinctively good phrasing, while Faulkner is strongly blues-rooted on a session swung hard by the rhythm section, with Ramsey Lewis adding his solo strength consistently to the mix. *Jordi Pujol*

1 - When Johnny Comes Marching Home

(Patrick Gilmore)

2 - Goodbye

(Gordon Jenkins)

3 - Crazy She Calls Me

(Russell, Sigman)

4 - Big Brother

(Eldee Young)

5 - Cry Me A River

(Arthur Hamilton)

6 - Truly

(Eldee Young)

7 - Mr. Kicks

(Oscar Brown, Jr.)

8 - Motherless Child

(Trad. Arr. Eldee Young)

9 - Just For Kicks

(Eldee Young)

10 - John Henry

(Trad. Arr. Eldee Young)

11 - Look Out No. 3

(Red Holt)

12 - Little Liza Jane

(Trad. arr.: Redd Holt)

13 - My Favorite Things

(Rodgers, Hammerstein II)

14 - Red Sails In the Sunset

(Kennedy, Williams)

15 - Drum Drunk

(Red Holt)

16 - Soul Mist

(Holt, Lewis, Young)

17 - Ghost Riders

(Edward J. Kay)

18 - Stella by Starlight

(Young, Washington)

19 - Sanctified Indian

(Red Holt)

20 - I Cover the Waterfront

(Green, Heyman)

21 - Tonight

(Leonard Bernstein)

22 - Look Out No. 1

(Red Holt)

#1 to #10: from the album Just For Kicks (Argo LPS 699)

Leo Wright (alto sax, flute), Mal Waldron (piano), 

Eldee Young (bass [#1 to #5], cello [#6 to #10], vocals [#7]),

Richard Evans (bass [#6 to #10]), Issac "Red" Holt (drums).

Recorded at Ter-Mar Recording Studio, Chicago, Illinois, December 28, 1961

#11 to #22: from the album Look Out!! Look Out!! (Argo LPS 696)

Floyd Marvin (trombone), Wallace Burton (alto sax), Ramsey Lewis (piano),

Roland Faulkner (guitar), Eldee Young (bass), Issac "Red" Holt (drums).

Recorded at Ter-Mar Recording Studio, Chicago, Illinois, December, 1961