Five-Star Collection... The Modest Jazz Trio

The Modest Jazz Trio

Good Friday Blues

INTUITION: The power of knowing, or the knowledge obtained, without recourse to inference or reasoning; innate or instinctive knowledge — Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.

Gerry Mulligan had a way of expressing this phenomenon: "I know, don't know how". His statement contains a qualification which is tantamount to an admission that this is purely instinctive knowledge. He doesn't know how, but does know. To know collectively is a phenomenon which occurs with a fair degree of regularity among jazz musicians whose empathy towards each other is highly developed.

Here are three men, each a distinct talent, none, under ordinary circumstances interdependent upon the others for inspiration; playing together on a level of emotional and mental cohesion that is born of collective intuition. They know with such intensity, what the others are doing or are about to do, that the collective result is a marvelous example of form, of continuity of thought, and of completeness. *Woody Woodward (from the liner notes)*

In this day of trends and fads, where the jazz we hear is contrived in many instances, this is a revelation. Perhaps it is all the more warming because it is accomplished within the context of a trio. The piano-bass-drums trio often seems to be a vehicle for slickness and all other similar faults attributable to the conscious attempt to "sell".

Here the music just flows out a stream of genuine emotion from three artists who obviously enjoy playing for the sake of playing. They are grooving themselves but not in a way that excludes the audience. This surrounds the album with a feeling that defies rating by stars. It exemplifies the best kind of honest jazz expression. Hall, Mitchell, and Kelly are en rapport all the way. The "fours" between guitar and piano on Bill, Not Phil and, especially, I Remember You build beautifully as they unfold.

This is the first time Hall has really stretched out on record, and it is his best work to date. He gets a pure, natural sound that has none of the drawbacks of an amplified instrument.

On Good Friday and Willow he is appropriately more earthy but not so much as to distort his basic personality. You may find a similarity between Hall and Jimmy Raney on Mitchell's lovely When I Have You. In the main, however, his spinning out of singing, single lines shows him off as an individual and one of the important jazz guitarists.

Mitchell is one of the great bassists. He is also a very fine piano player, who not only thinks melodically but economically. Knowing when and when not to play is a Mitchell attribute. His rhythmic sense, and the way he incorporates his personal touch with this accenting, leads to a unique swing.

Kelly has the strength of a benevolent genie. He does everything asked of him as rhythmic complement and contributes some good solos, too.

The Modest Jazz Trio is an apt name for these three. When you play this, the music does all the talking that is necessary and then some. *Ira Gitler (Down Beat, February 16, 1961 [5 stars])*

1 - Good Friday Blues

(Red Mitchell)

2 - Willow Weep For Me

(Ann Ronell)

3 - I Remember You

(Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger)

4 - Bill Not Phil

(Bill Harris)

5 - When I Have You

(Red Mitchell)

6 - I Was Doing All Right

(George and Ira Gershwin)

Jim Hall (guitar), Red Mitchell (piano), Red Kelly (bass).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, April 8, 1960