Charlie Rouse, Julius Watkins And The Jazz Modes

The Jazz Modes was a jazz group with a truly distinctive sound, which was only active between 1956 and 1959. The group's sound was built on its unusual instrumentation. Despite a typical jazz rhythm section of piano, bass and drums, the front line blended the sounds of the French horn and tenor saxophone. The band was formed by French horn player Julius Watkins and tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse.

Julius Watkins was virtually the father of the jazz French horn. He started playing French horn at the age of nine, although he worked with the Ernie Fields orchestra on trumpet (1943-1946). In the late ’40s, he took some French horn solos on records by Kenny Clarke and Babs Gonzales, and spent 1949 as a member of the Milt Buckner big band. After three years of study at the Manhattan School of Music, Watkins started appearing on small-group dates including a pair of notable sessions led by Thelonious Monk in 1953-1954.

Possessor of a distinctive tone and a fluid bop-oriented style, Charlie Rouse was in Thelonious Monk's Quartet for over a decade (1959-1970) and, although somewhat taken for granted, was an important ingredient in Monk’s music. Rouse was always a modern player and he worked with Billy Eckstine's orchestra (1944) and the first Dizzy Gillespie big band (1945), making his recording debut with Tadd Dameron in 1947. Rouse popped up in a lot of important groups including Duke Ellington's Orchestra (1949-1950), Count Basie's octet (1950), on sessions with Clifford Brown in 1953, and with Oscar Pettiford's sextet (1955). 

After the Jazz Modes experience, Watkins toured with Quincy Jones' big band (1959-1961); did plenty of studio work (including the Miles Davis-Gil Evans collaborations); and recorded with Charles Mingus (in 1965 and 1971), Freddie Hubbard, John Coltrane (the Africa sessions), and the Jazz Composer's Orchestra, among many others.

For his part, Rouse joined Thelonious Monk for a decade of extensive touring and recordings. In the 1970s he recorded a few albums as a leader, and in 1979 he became a member of Sphere. Charlie Rouse’s unique sound began to finally get some recognition during the 1980s. He participated on Carmen McRae’s classic Carmen Sings Monk album and his last recording was at a Monk tribute concert.

With slight personnel variations, The Jazz Modes recorded a total of five albums, most of which are now very hard to find. All of these LPs are included in the following collection in their entirety and in chronological order.

As a bonus, we have included three further complete albums, all of which were originally issued as 10" LPs. Oscar Pettiford’s Oscar Rides Again is the only other existing album, outside of the Jazz Modes body of work, to feature both Rouse and Watkins in the front line. The two volumes by the Julius Watkins Sextet, on the other hand, present Watkins in the company of other celebrated tenor saxophonists: Frank Foster and Hank Mobley.

Charlie Rouse And Julius Watkins

The Complete Jazz Modes Sessions

The three discs in this set collect all the work by this short lived group, The Jazz Modes. Of particular interest are the two albums under Julius Watkins' name he recorded for the Blue Note label-now available on CD, or used if you can find them. Talking about these two albums, the personnel consists of Watkins-French horn, Hank Mobley-tenor sax, Duke Jordan-piano, the great Oscar Pettiford-bass, and Art Blakey-drums, with Perry Lopez-guitar.

The remaining albums have slightly differing personnel, but the core players are Watkins (who played with Coltrane, Mingus, Miles Davis, Gil Evans, and many others), Charlie Rouse (who played with Monk for years)-tenor sax, and Gildo Mahones-piano. Other players throughout consist of Art Taylor, Kenny Clarke, Paul Chambers, and Sahib Shibab. There's a few others showing up on bass and drums, along with Eileen Gilbert-on mostly wordless soprano vocals, Janet Putnam-harp (on 2 tracks only), and Chino Pozo-congas. This release is closer to 3 1/2 "stars" — the half for experimenting with the soprano voice in a jazz setting. Otherwise this is straight 1950's jazz-before the great changes began to happen in the 1960's.

The 30 page booklet contains an essay on the group as a whole, the primary players, original liner notes, (then) contemporary reviews, and a number of photos and reproductions of the album covers. Also included is song information, dates and who plays on which album. Again, some of this music is perhaps 3 or 3 1/2 "stars". But overall you have to give the principle players much credit for trying something new and different-especially during the relatively button-downed 1950's. A word about the vocals. To present day ears Eileen Gilbert's vocals will come as a bit of a shock. While her voice is a fine soprano, the juxtaposition within a jazz setting is hard to get into. Remember, this was the late 50's, and Rouse and Watkins (especially) were experimenting with a different approach to jazz. Some may like the combination, some will not. But underneath the vocals is some well arranged jazz. So you've been warned.

Don't let the French horn scare you away. This is some fine/very fine straight ahead jazz as they played it in the late 50's. The rhythm section(s) keep everything moving along on the up tempo tunes, and are suitably restrained on the ballads. All three of the principle players get room to solo throughout these albums. Rouse's big sound is right at home on these tunes, and Watkins' horn-sounding like a French horn-is used in much the same manner as any more conventional horn in jazz. Mahone's piano is straight out of the be-bop style of jazz, and fits in very well.

Songs are a combination of standards or (mostly) Watkins' compositions. But no matter which tune, this very fine, unique group plays each song as if it were their own. Straight ahead 1950's jazz/Watkins/Rouse fans need to hear this collection. This was experimental jazz in the 50's-the French horn, the impressionistic vocals, all were an attempt to find something new and different. But even if their music didn't catch on, it's still some good yet different, small group jazz. Period jazz fans may want to check this out-and having all the albums by this group in one collection is very handy, along with a useful booklet. It's definitely of it's era-certainly different than music of the present. A interesting sometimes good side street off the main boulevard of jazz.

*Stuart Jefferson (amazon.com)*

*CD 1*

1 - Dancing On The Ceiling

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

2 - Legend

(Gildo Mahones)

3 - Temptation

(Arthur Freed, Nacio Herb Brown)

4 - Episode

(Julius Watkins)

5 - Dancing In The Dark

(Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz)

6 - Goodbye

(Gordon Jenkins)

7 - Town And Country

(Varon)

8 - When The Blues Comes On

(Alvin G. Cohn, Charles Isaiah Darwin)

9 - Blue Modes

(Julius Watkins)

10 - You Are Too Beautiful

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

11 - So Far

(Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II)

12 - Idle Evening [Jazz Garden Suite, part I]

(Julius Watkins)

13 - Garden Delights [Jazz Garden Suite, part II]

(Julius Watkins)

14 - Strange Tale [Jazz Garden Suite, part III]

(Julius Watkins)

15 - Two Songs [Jazz Garden Suite, part IV]

(Julius Watkins)

16 - Stallion

(Gildo Mahones)

17 - Baubles, Bangles And Beads

(Alexander Borodin, George Forrest, Robert Wright)

18 - Autumn Leaves

(Jacques Prévert, Johnny Mercer, Joseph Kosma)

19 - The Golden Chariot

(Gildo Mahones)

20 - Let's Try

(Charlees Isaiah Darwin, Paulette Girard)

21 - Bohemia

(Ed Smollett, Charles E. Shirley, Mynell Allen)

22 - Cath Her

(Julius Watkins)

*CD 2*

1 - Hoo Tai

(Julius Watkins)

2 - Mood In Scarlet

(Julius Watkins)

3 - Linda Delia

(Julius Watkins, George Butcher)

4 - I've Got You Under My Skin

(Cole Porter)

5 - We Can Talk It Over

(Julius Watkins)

6 - Standing On The Corner

(Frank Loesser)

7 - Joey, Joey, Joey

(Frank Loesser)

8 - Warm All Over

(Frank Loesser)

9 - Happy To Make Your Acquaintance

(Frank Loesser)

10 - My Heart Is So Full Of You

(Frank Loesser)

11 - The Most Happy Fella

(Frank Loesser)

12 - Don't Cry

(Frank Loesser)

13 - Like A Woman

(Frank Loesser)

14 - Somebody Somewhere

(Frank Loesser)

15 - The Oblong

(Julius Watkins)

16 - 1-2-3-4-0 In Syncopation

(Julius Watkins, Princess Orelia Benskina)

17 - Blue Flame

(Julius Watkins)

18 - Mood In Motion

(Julius Watkins)

*CD 3*

1 - Knittin

(Charlie Rouse)

2 - This 'N That

(Charlie Rouse)

3 - Glad That I Found You

(Julius Watkins)

4 - Princess

(Julius Watkins, Princess Orelia Benskina)

5 - Sextette

(Gerry Mulligan)

6 - The Golden Touch

(Quincy Jones)

7 - Cable Car

(Oscar Pettiford, Sonny Clark)

8 - Trictrotism

(Oscar Pettiford)

9 - Edge Of Love

(Charles Ables, Goode, Baker)

10 - Oscar Rides Again

(Oscar Pettiford)

11  - Linda Delia

(Julius Watkins, George Butcher)

12 - Perpetuation

(Julius Watkins)

13 - I Have Known

(Julius Watkins, Gene Morgan)

14 - Leete

(Julius Watkins)

15 - Garden Delights

(Julius Watkins)

16 - Julie Ann

(Julius Watkins, Gene Morgan)

17 - Sparkling Burgundy

(Julius Watkins)

18 - B And D

(Bennie Harris)

19 - Jordu

(Duke Jordan)

*CD 1*

#1 to #6 from the album Jazzville '56, Vol.1 (Dawn DLP1101):

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn),

Gildo Mahones (piano), Paul West (bass), Art Taylor (drums). 

Recorded in New York City, June 1956. 

[Despite its short duration, this album was a 12" LP, although Side B featured a Gene Quill-Dick Sherman Quintet.]

#7 to #16 from the album Les Jazz Modes (Dawn DLP1108)

 [reissued in 1960 as Smart Jazz for the Smart Set (Seeco CELP466).]:

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn),

Gildo Mahones (piano), Paul Chambers (bass),

Oscar Pettiford (bass, replaces Chambers on #11, #12 and #14 only),

Janet Putnam (harp on #8 and #10 only), Ron Jefferson (drums),

Eileen Gilbert (soprano vocals on #8, #12 and #14 only). 

Recorded in New York City, June 12, 1956.

#17 to #22 from the album Mood in Scarlet (Dawn LP1117):

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn),

Gildo Mahones (piano), Martin Rivera (bass), 

Ron Jefferson (drums), Chino Pozo (bongos on #20 and #21). 

Reorded in New York City, December 4, 1956.

*CD 2*

#1 to #5 from the album Mood in Scarlet (Dawn LP1117):

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn),

Gildo Mahones (piano), Martin Rivera (bass),

Ron Jefferson (drums), Eileen Gilbert (soprano vocals on #1 and #2).

Recorded in New York City, December 4, 1956.

#6 to #14 from the album The Most Happy Fella (Atlantic LP1280):

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn),

Gildo Mahones (piano), Martin Rivera (bass),

Ron Jefferson (drums), Chino Pozo (conga, bongos),

Eileen Gilbert (soprano vocals on #10 only).

Recorded in New York City, November 7, 1957.

#15 to #18 from the album The Jazz Modes (Atlantic LP1306):

#15, #16, #18: 

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn),

Sahib Shihab (baritone sax), Gildo Mahones (piano),

Martin Rivera (bass), Jimmy Wormworth (drums).

Recorded in New York City, 1959.

#17:

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn),

Gildo Mahones (piano), Martin Rivera (bass),

Ron Jefferson (drums), Chino Pozo (congas, bongos),

Eileen Gilbert (soprano vocals).

Recorded in New York City, October 28, 1959.

*CD 3*

#1 to #4 from the album The Jazz Modes (Atlantic LP1306):

#1, #3, #4:

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn),

Gildo Mahones (piano), Martin Rivera (bass),

Ron Jefferson (drums), Chino Pozo (congas, bongos),

Eileen Gilbert (soprano vocals).

Recorded in New York City, October 28, 1959.

#2:

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn),

Sahib Shihab (baritone sax), Gildo Mahones (piano),

Martin Rivera (bass), Jimmy Wormworth (drums).

Recorded in New York City, 1959.

#5 to #10: from the album Oscar Rides Again (Bethlehem 10” LP BCP1003),

 [reissued on Bass (Bethlehem 12” LP BCP-6]:

Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn), Duke Jordan (piano),

Oscar Pettiford (bass, cello on #6, #9,#10), Ron Jefferson (drums).

Recorded in New York City, September 1954.

#11 to #14: from the album Julius Watkins Sextet,

[a.k.a New Faces, New Sounds (Blue Note BLP5053)]:

Julius Watkins (French horn), Frank Foster (tenor sax),

George Butcher (piano), Perry Lopez (guitar),

Oscar Pettiford (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).

Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey, August 8, 1954.

#15 to #19: from the album Julius Watkins Sextet, Volume Two (Blue Note BLP5064):

Julius Watkins (French horn), Hank Mobley (tenor sax),

Duke Jordan (piano), Perry Lopez (guitar),

Oscar Pettiford (bass), Art Blakey (drums).

Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey, March 20, 1955.

• The Jazz School •

A nice bop compilation featuring three different sessions as below:

Art Mardigan Sextet featuring John Williams on piano: a refreshing bop session with unique sound colour; Paul Gonsalves Sextet featuring Clark Terry: a bit corny, but also a nice mainstream session; and two tracks by Joe Gordon Quintet: Gordon's brilliant trumpet blows so great, and Art Blakey's propulsive rhythm gives the entire mood of this great hard-bop session.

Strictly personal rating (to what extent I could enjoy this album); 8 out of 10.

*Matsubayashi "Shaolin" Kohji [microgroove.jp]*

There are sixteen students in this class of the Jazz School; sixteen young men whose grades are impeccable, whose studies have clearly qualified them for a successful and distinguished career. 

At the head of the class for the first four exercises is a member of the drums Corps, a familiar figure by the name of Arthur Mardigan.

Art is a native Detroiter, born in December, 1923 and a name band musician since the age of nineteen, when he joined Tommy Reynolds. After Army service in 1943-44 he spent a year with Georgie Auld's group, then went home to Detroit for a while before entering the New York scene, where he was a part of many noteworthy 52nd Street combos under the leadership of Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Allen Eager and Kai Winding. In addition, Art worked off and on with Woody Herman and Elliot Lawrence. In 1954, when Pete Rugolo came east to form a band for a tour, Art was a cornerstone of that all-star ensemble.

Featured with Art on his four performances here are Don Joseph, a cornetist who's been a familiar figure around New York jazz circles for several years; Milt Gold, a trombonist who has seen service with such name bands as Stan Kenton's and Claude Thornhill's; and Al Cohn, the tenor saxophonist and arranger who has been rising rapidly to jazz eminence in the past year. Heard with Mardigan in the rhythm section are John Williams, the 25-year-old pianist from Windsor, Vermont, best known for his work with Stan Getz; and Teddy Kotick, a 27-year-old bass man who has been prominent on the New York scene with Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Buddy De Franco and a flock of other combos. 

Class dismissed.

A new group moves in: at the head of this class is Paul Gonsalves, tenor saxophonist from Brockton, Massachusetts. Raised in Pawtucket, R.I., Paul started his musical life as a guitarist at the age of sixteen, in 1936; later, switching to tenor saxophone, he became popular as a featured member of the Sabby Lewis orchestra, a well known Boston group, with which he made his record debut.

A three-year hitch in the Army, from 1942 to '45, was followed by a stint in the Count Basie orchestra, and a brief fling in Dizzy Gillespie's final big band. Then, early in 1951, Paul joined the great Duke Ellington orchestra, of which, except for a few weeks in Tommy Dorsey's band in 1953, he has been a member ever since. 

Paul's colleagues on this, his first record session under his own leadership, include Clark Terry, another great Ellingtonian of several years standing and sitting; Porter Kilbert, baritone saxophonist, who worked briefly on alto with Ellington in 1951; Junior Mance, a gifted 27-year-old pianist from Chicago, best known for the fine work he has done as Dinah Washington's accompanist; Eugene Miller on drums; and the inimitable, poll-winning bassist of erstwhile Woody Herman fame, Greig Stewart "Chubby" Jackson. 

... dismissed...

Time now for graduation exercises. The class is headed by Joseph Henry Gordon, another brilliant New Englander on the modern jazz scene. Born in 1928 in Boston, Joe worked as a sandwich boy on the Boston-Albany railroad as recently as 1947, but later in that same year made his professional bow with his own combo at Boston's Savoy Ballroom, where the above-named Sabby Lewis was a frequent favorite. Joe also worked as a sideman with Sabby, as well as with a variety of other groups, from Georgie Auld to Charlie Mariano, from Charlie Parker to Lionel Hampton.

Heard with Joe on these sides are Charlie Rouse, a tenor man from Washington, D.C., who was with Duke Ellington in 1949-'50; Junior Mance, reappearing on piano; Jimmy Schenck on bass; and the pride of Pittsburgh, winner of the 1953 New Star award in the critics’ poll, Art Blakey on drums.

So these are the men you will meet in the Jazz School. It seems superfluous to point out that every last man of these sixteen students has graduated, as he deserves to, summa cum laude. 

*(from the liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - I've Found A New Baby

(Plamer, Williams)

2 - Moroccan Blues

(Al Cohn)

3 - Old Gold

(Milt Green)

4 - Golden Touch

(Quincy Jones)

5 - Evening Lights

(Joe Gordon)

Side 2

6 - It Don't Mean A Thing

(Mills, Ellington)

7 - Take Nine

(Paul Gonsalves)

8 - Everything Happens To Me

(Adair, Dennis)

9 - Don't Blame Me

(Fields, McHugh)

10 - Body And Soul

(Heyman, Sour, Green, Eyton)

#1 to #4: Art Mardigan Sextet

Don Joseph (cornet), Milt Gold (trombone), Al Cohn (tenor sax), John Williams (piano), Teddy Kotick (bass), Art Mardigan (drums).

Recorded in New York City, May 20, 1954.

#6 to #9: Paul Gonsalves Sextet

Clark Terry (trumpet), Porter Kilbert (alto sax), Paul Gonsalves (tenor sax), Junior Mance (piano), Chubby Jackson (bass), Eugene Miller (drums).

Recorded (probably) in Chicago, Illinois, February 6, 1954.

#5 and #10: Joe Gordon Quintet

Joe Gordon (trumpet), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Junior Mance (piano), Jimmy Schenck (bass), Art Blakey (drums).

Recorded at Fine Sound Studio, New York City, September 3 (#10) and 8 (#5), 1954.

 

Art Blakey & Joe Gordon - The Complete Art Blakey On EmArcy

The textbook method of studying jazz history frequently creates and perpetuates misconcenptions, overemphasizing certain individuals at the expense of others. While Art Blakey should be a familiar name to all jazz fans, Joe Gordon and Gigi  Gryce have been somewhat forgotten. However,  in their time, both men were extremely well respected and worked with manyof the figures who made the textbook roll call.

The 1954s sessions recorded for EmArcy label collected here, have long been favorites of connoisseurs of the intense but accessible sounds know as hard bop, a style wich was developed in the mid-1950s. However, they have been hard to come by, and this is their first complete appearance on a United States compact disc. 

Blakey

&

Introducing Joe Gordon

A fantastic hard bop reissue! This CD combines two rare early sessions by Art Blakey – one recorded under his name, the other under the leadership of trumpeter Joe Gordon, a fantastic player who died an early death, and never got to record as much as he should have. Both albums were only ever issued on rare 10" LPs during the mid 50s, and they're combined here with great sound, great notes, and two bonus tracks. The set's over 70 minutes in length, and every cut crackles with a sinister intensity that's just fantastic – made all the more special by a host of original compositions by both Gordon and Gigi Gryce, who arranged one of the session. One session features Gordon on trumpet, Gigi Gryce on alto, and Walter Bishop on piano; the other features Gordon, Charlie Rouse, and Junior Mance – and Blakey is on drums throughout. Titles include "Evening Lights", "Rifftide", "Lady Bob", "Eleanor", "Minority", "Hello", "Mayreh", and "Futurity".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

This compilation assembles some long unavailable bop sessions led by either Art Blakey or trumpeter Joe Gordon as a collectable Verve Elite Edition reissue CD. Blakey's quintet includes Gordon pianist Walter Bishop, Jr. and alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce, who composed most of the music. "Minority" has long since become a standard among boppers but "Salute To Birdland" is almost as good; the remaining tracks are quite as strong. Gordon's set leads off with Coleman Hawkins' well known riff tune "Rifftide"; Pianist Junior Mance provides Gordon with some strong backing and a young Charlie Rouse adds a spirited tenor sax solo. Gordon's playing is a little choppy on his tunes "Xochimilco" and "Evening Lights", while his lyrical take of "Body And Soul" is strangely backed by Blakey's tom toms. This is a mandatory acquisition for Blakey fans and those who enjoy bop. *Ken Dryden*

1 - Minority

(Gigi Gryce)

2 -Salute To Birdland

(Gigi Gryce)

3 - Eleanor

(Gigi Gryce)

4 - Futurity

(Gigi Gryce)

5 - Simplicity

(Gigi Gryce)

6 - Strictly Romantic

(Gigi Gryce)

7 - Hello

(Gigi Gryce)

8 - Mayreh

(Horace Silver)

9 - Rifftide

(Coleman Hawkins)

10 - Lady Bob

(Quincy Jones)

11 - Grasshopper

(Quincy Jones)

12 - The Theme

(Kenny Dorham)

13 - Bous Bier

(Quincy Jones)

14 - Xochimilco

(Joe Gordon)

15 -Evening Lights

(Joe Gordon)

16 - Body And Soul

(Edward Heyman, Frank Eyton, John Green, Robert Sour)

#1 to #8: from the album Blakey, EmArcy (MG 26030)

Joe Gordon (trumpet), Gigi Gryce (alto sax), Walter Bishop, Jr. (piano), Bernard "Bernie" Griggs (bass), Art Blakey (drums).

Recorded at Fine Sound, New York City, May 20, 1954.

#9 to #14: from the album Introducing Joe Gordon, EmArcy (MG 26046) and EmArcy (MG 36025)

#15 and #16: from the album The Jazz School, EmArcy (MG-36093)

Joe Gordon (trumpet), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Junior Mance (piano), James "Jimmy" Schenk (bass), Art Blakey (drums).

Recorded at Fine Sound, New York City, September 3 (#11, #12, #14, #15) and September 8 (#9, #10, #13, #16), 1954.

Nat Adderley And The Big Sax Section - That's Right!

This unusual and richly inventive album should do much to emphasize the important fact that NAT ADDERLEY is swiftly and steadily rising towards a position in he very front ranks of today's jazz artists. 

This rise can largely be credited to such basic factors as a sharp and continuing maturing of Nat's talents, to an ever-increasing fulfillment of the Young star's vast promise, and to a heightened awareness by the jazz public of just how much Nat has to offer. The younger Adderley brother’s playing contains a most uncommon egree of wit, warmth, imagination and power; and he has also a thorough command of his instrument — which, by choice, has always been the slightly sharper-pitched Cornet rather than the trumpet — over an awesomely wide range. 

It is worth noting in particular that Nat's stature grew with startling speed during the year preceding the recording of this album. For this was the first year (starting in the Fall of 1959) of the new and phenomenally successful Cannonball Adderly Quintet, in which Nat is featured alongside his brother; thus it was a year in which, night after night, Nat was able to play the kind of music he most enjoys and in the best of company. 

In other words, a happy year for Nat: and his work (on this album and elsewhere) strikingly demonstrates the excellent results of that happiness. *Orrin Keepnews (liner notes)*

A mong Nat Adderley's half-dozen Riverside and Jazzland albums of the late 1950s and early 60s, That’s Right! occupies a special place. Because of Adderley's energy, musicality, and leadership, the all-star makeup of the truly Big Sax Section, a dream rhythm section, some of Jimmy Heath's best arrangements, and perhaps most of all because the studio chemistry for these sessions was perfect, the music's freshness and warmth is undiminished. In addition to Nat's variety, pungency, and emotional range on cornet, there are outstanding solos by Heath, Charlie Rouse, Yusef Lateef, Cannonball Adderley, and Wynton Kelly. *concord.com*

One of cornetist Nat Adderley's best early albums, That's Right! has eight selections (seven of which were arranged by Jimmy Heath) that feature Nat with five saxophonists (altoist Cannonball Adderley, baritonist Tate Houston, and the tenors of Yusef Lateef, Jimmy Heath, and Charlie Rouse), and a rhythm section led by pianist Wynton Kelly. Despite Cannonball's presence, this is very much Nat's date (the altoist has just one solo), although there is some ample solo space for the three tenors. Highlights include Nat's memorable original "The Old Country", a touching version of "The Folks Who Live on the Hill", and "You Leave Me Breathless". Recommended. *Scott Yanow*

1 - The Old Country

(Nat Adderley)

2 - Chordnation

(Jimmy Heath)

3 - The Folks Who Live On The Hill

(Kern, Hammerstein)

4 - Tadd

(Barry Harris)

5 - You Leave Me Breathless

(Hollander, Freed)

6 - Night After Night

(Joe Bailey)

7 - E.S.P.

(Barry Harris)

8 - That's Right!

(Nat  Adderley)

Nat Adderley (cornet); Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (alto sax); Jimmy Heath, Charlie Rouse (tenor saxes); Yusef Lateef (tenor sax, flute [#1, #3], oboe [#6]); Tate Houston (baritone sax); Wynton Kelly (piano); Jim Hall [#2, #3, #5], Les Spann [#1, #4, #6, #7, #8] (guitars); Sam Jones (bass); Jimmy Cobb (drums). 

Arrangements by Jimmy Heath, Jimmy Jones and Norman Simmons.

Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York City, August 9 (#2, #3, #5) and  September 15 (#1, #4, #6, #7, #8), 1960.

Gerry Mulligan - The Arranger / Mullenium

Everybody knows that Gerry Mulligan is a saxophonist —most often to be heard on the baritone sax— but he’s also a pianist, a composer, an arranger and a bandleader. This album focuses on two important stages in the course of his career as an arranger. The first aspect is exemplified by four items which are representative of his manner in the late 40's, when he was only twenty years and worked for Gene Krupa and Elliot Lawrence. The following four pieces, so far unissued except for "Thruway", were recorded in the late 50's. by a big band an together by Gerry in New York.

During the ten years between those two series, Gerry wrote and arranged for several bands, including the Miles Davis Nonet, Charlie Parker's strings and Claude Thornhill's orchestra. He also went to California where, in 1952, he gained worldwide recognition with his revolutionary piano-less Quartet. Later, in 1955, he put up his Sextet.

Big bands are scarce nowadays and a lot of people the whole world over certainly wish there were more of them on the jazz scene. Not only those who are old enough to have enjoyed on the hoof, so to speak, the music of the 40's and the 50's, but also the younger set, the people in their twenties and thirties who are now discovering it. Both age-groups should be happy with this album, which aptly illustrates one of the most authentic and specific aspects of a purely American musical world: the Big Band, with its seven brass, its five reeds and its rhythm section. One may well wonder how such a rigid formula can allow any latitude to original creativity. Because Gerry Mulligan is not only a brilliant soloist but also a superbly gifted composer and arranger, he has long known the answer to that question. This album makes it obvious. *Henri Renaud (from The Arranger's liner notes)*

Gerry Mulligan

Mullenium

In 1977, a long-lost Gerry Mulligan big-band session from 1957 was released for the first time. The four selections featured the baritonist's arrangements for a 15-piece group that included such notables as altoist Lee Konitz, Zoot Sims, and Charlie Rouse on tenors, and valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. To fill out the LP, two of Mulligan's vintage arrangements for the Gene Krupa Orchestra ("How High the Moon" and the hit "Disc Jockey Jump") from 1946-1947, and a pair of charts for Elliot Lawrence's big band ("Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and "Elevation") were reissued. On those titles, Mulligan only plays one solo; he is not even on the Krupa recordings, since he was much better-known as an arranger than as a player at the time. In 1998, all of the music from the album (which was titled The Arranger) was reissued on this CD, along with two alternates from the 1957 set and a newly discovered alternate take of "Disc Jockey Jump." The music overall (even the early titles) definitely has the good humor and swinging flavor of usually found in Mulligan's music, and even if it is not quite as essential as his most significant work, this CD is easily recommended to the baritonist's fans. *Scott Yanow*

Here is a well-drawn portrait of a multitalented artist —first as a young man, then as a figure of international stature. We encounter Gerry Mulligan —arranger/composer/pianist/clarinetist/prime mover of the "West Coast Jazz" of the early 1950's (and, of course, the definitive modern baritone saxophonist) as an ambitious 19-year old whose arrangements caught the ear of Swing drumming demigod Gene Krupa.

Krupa's exciting swing-to-bop band is heard playing a pair of Mulligan's charts, "How High The Moon" (whose chords were the basis of Charlie Parker's bebop 

anthem, "Ornithology", and to whose line Mulligan’s pulsating arrangement alludes) and two takes of the "Four Brothers"-like "Disc Jockey Jump", a tune credited to Mulligan (1927-1996) and the leader. If you’ve ever seen Scorcese's wonderfully evocative but commercially-failed movie "New York, New York", these two cuts exemplify the kind of music favored by Robert DeNiro's selfabsorbed, tenor saxophone-playing main character.

Mullligan and bandleader-pianist Elliot Lawrence went back to their hometown days in Philadelphia. Like Krupa, Lawrence was impressed by Mulligan's ideas, but was more in tune with their modernist viewpoint. Significantly, it was during the period the two Lawrence selections ("Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" and "Elevation") were recorded that Mulligan achieved his greatest successes up to that point. As a member of Miles Davis' nonet of young direction-setters, he wrote and arranged "Jeru", "Rocker", and "Venus De Milo" and arranged two other titles for the group’s watershed album, Birth Of The Cool.

Finally, we move forward to 1957, by which time Mulligan was almost a household name, thanks mostly to his pianoless early '50s quartet, featuring trumpeter Chet Baker. There are six performances by a 15-piece Mulligan-led orchestra, comprising a host of New York's first-call jazz and studio musicians. The corps of superb soloists includes tenor saxophonists Zoot Sims and Charlie Rouse, alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, the under-appreciated, lyrical trumpeters Don Joseph and Jerry Lloyd, plus the leader on baritone saxophone and piano.

Mulligan's masterly voicings and contrapuntal writing are evident throughout, with "Motel" issued for the first time in complete form and all of the material, save for "Thruway", released for the first time in stereo.

This newly remixed and remastered edition of Mullenium includes previously unpublished photographs from the sessions, as well as new liner notes by respected arranger (and Mulligan authority). *Bill Kirchner*

Here's baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan as big–band conductor/composer/arranger/player with his own ensemble and others led by Elliot Lawrence and Gene Krupa. These radiant sessions, recorded between 1946–57, show that Gerry was comfortably at home in any setting from pianoless quartet to full–fledged orchestra (big bands, in fact, were his early proving ground) and serve as a touching reminder of how much was lost when he left us in January 1996 at age 69. When Gerry arranged "How High the Moon" for drummer Krupa's big band in 1946, he was barely 19 years old. That chart is here with two takes of "Disc Jockey Jump", written and arranged by Mulligan for the Krupa orchestra; his own "Elevation" and the standard "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", performed by Lawrence's ensemble; and six selections by Mulligan's orchestra from 1957 (not released until 1977) including three of Gerry's compositions, "Mullenium" and two takes each of "Thruway" and "Motel", alongside Jerome Kern's memorable standard, "All the Things You Are". The disc moves backward in time with the Mulligan ensemble first, followed by Lawrence (from 1949) and Krupa. Mulligan's orchestra, also for the most part pianoless (except for Gerry's occasional comping), was a platform for future superstars with names like Sims, Brookmeyer, Konitz, Rouse, McKusick and Rehak, all of whom are given solo space, with the irrepressible Zoot, at the top of his hard–swinging game, an exceptionally dynamic presence throughout (his shouting solo on track 6 is pure gold) while Konitz dances gracefully around Gerry's gruff baritone on "All the Things You Are" and Brookmeyer weighs in with several enterprising choruses. Drummer Bailey and bassist Benjamin aren't flashy but they get the job done. Sound quality on the Lawrence and Krupa tracks — none of which runs longer than 3:19 — is vastly inferior, with many a snap, crackle and pop, but there's more than enough wonderful music to counterbalance that shortcoming. I can still remember the impression "Disc Jockey Jump" made on me when I first heard it as a pre-teen (how's that for dating oneself?) and it's every bit as good as I remembered it to be. Mulligan was beyond question one of the finest big-band composer/arrangers of the modern era (bop and beyond), and this album definitely belongs in everyone's big-band library. *Jack Bowers*

1 - Thruway (take 6)

(Gerry Mulligan)

2 - Motel (take 5 )

(Gerry Mulligan)

3 - All The Things You Are

(O. Hammerstein II, J. Kern)

4 - Mullenium

(Gerry Mulligan)

5 - Thruway (take 7)

(Gerry Mulligan)

6 - Motel (take 4)

(Gerry Mulligan)

7 - Elevation

(Gerry Mulligan, Elliot Lawrence)

8 - Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

(H. Arlen, T. Koehler)

9 - Disc Jockey Jump

(Gerry Mulligan)

10 - How High The Moon

(M. Lewis, N. Hamilton)

11 - Disc Jockey Jump (alternate take 1)

(Gerry Mulligan)

#1 to #6:  Gerry Mulligan and His Orchestra

Gerry Mulligan (piano, baritone sax); Hal McKusic, Lee Konitz (alto saxophones); Zoot Sims, Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophones); Gene Allen (baritone sax); Phil Sumkel, Jerry Lloyd, Don Joseph, Don Ferrara (trumpets); Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone); Frank rehak, Jim Dahl (trombones); Joe Benjamin (bass); Dave Bailey (drums).

Recorded at Colombia 30th Street Studio, New York, April 19 (#1, #4, #5) and April 20 (#2, #3, #6), 1957.

[Note: Mullenium's version here has an intro by Gerry on piano that is not featured on the LP "The Arranger"]

#7: Elliot Lawrence and His Orchestra

John Dee, Joe Techner, Jimmy Padget, Bill Danzizen (trumpets); Vince Forrest, Sy Berger, Chuck Harris (trombones); Joe Soldo, Louis Giamo (alto saxophones); Phil Urso, Bruno Rondinelli (tenor saxophones); Merle Bredwell (baritone sax); Bob Karsh (piano); Tom O'Neil (bass); Howie Mann (drums).

Recorded in New York, April 13, 1949.

#8: Elliot Lawrence and His Orchestra

John Dee, Joe Techner, Jimmy Padget, Bill Danzizen (trumpets); Frank Hunter, Gene Hessler, Sy Berger (trombones); Gerry Mulligan (alto and baritone sax); Joe Soldo (alto sax); Phil Urso, Bruno Rondinelli (tenor saxophones); Merle Bredwell (baritone sax); Elliot Lawrence (piano); Tom O'Neil (bass); Howie Mann (drums).

Recorded in New York, October 10, 1949.

#9 and #11: Gene Krupa and His Orchestra

Ray Triscari, Al Porcino, Ed Badgley, Don Fagerquist (trumpets); Clay Hervey, Dick Taylor, Emil Mazanec, Jack Zimmerman (trombones); Harry Terrill, Charlie Kennedy (alto saxophones); Buddy Wise, Mitch Melnick (tenor saxophones); Jack Schwartz (baritone sax), Buddy Neal (piano); Bob Lesher (guitar); Bob Strahl (bass); Gene Krupa (drums).

Recorded in New York, January 22, 1947.

#10: Gene Krupa and His Orchestra

Ray Triscari, Joe Triscari, Tony Anelli, Red Rodney (trumpets); Warren Covington, Carl Ziggy Elmer, Dick Taylor, Ben Seaman (trombones); Harry Terrill, Charlie Kennedy (alto saxophones); Charlie Ventura, Buddy Wise (tenor saxophones); Jack Schwartz (baritone sax), Teddy Napoleon (piano); Mike Triscari (guitar); Bob Munoz (bass); Gene Krupa (drums).

Recorded in New York, May 27, 1946.