Five-Star Collection... Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane

Kenny Burrell With John Coltrane

Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane

These selections were recorded in 1958 and present Coltrane and Burrell in very good form. The emphasis is on improvisation and not on writing or ensemble blend, though Flanagan's original Trane and Burrell's Lyresto are attractive lines that are enhanced by the guitar-tenor combination.

There is an abundance of fine soloing, but it is best to start with Coltrane's performance.

He was gaining prominence in 1958 but was the subject of much adverse criticism. Listening to him on the first three tracks, we can hear that his ideas are well resolved and his solos have good continuity. On all tracks he gets a groove and swings infectiously. His playing on I Never Knew is quite relaxed.

Why Was I Born?, a Burrell-Coltrane duet, demonstrates that Coltrane has one of the finest tenor saxophone tones — pure and hauntingly beautiful — and can control it superbly. Big Paul, which takes up most of the second side, has an extremely intense Coltrane solo, but despite its length, the tenorist is never at a loss for ideas. That he is able to sustain such a high degree of emotional excitement for chorus after chorus is remarkable.

Flanagan, too, is brilliant. Though his playing has often been praised, he often is taken for granted. This may be because he has recorded with a variety of groups and is not thought of as a member of a particular clique. He probably would have rated much higher in the polls, for instance, if he’d been Miles Davis' regular pianist over the last few years. At any rate, here there are some examples of his lovely playing. He is unceasingly inventive, exhibits a beautiful touch, organizes his solos intelligently—and his rhythm section work is superb.

Burrell offers imaginative and well-sustained solos, his lines clean and flowing, and he gets a pretty sound from his instrument. On Born he accompanies Coltrane nicely.

The rhythm section performs well. Chambers pushes the soloists relentlessly, and his soloing on Big Paul exhibits continuous forcefulness.

All in all, one of the best examples of jazz in the late '50s.

*Harvey Pekar (Down Beat, July 4, 1963 [5 stars])*

For his final Prestige-related session as a sideman, John Coltrane (tenor sax) and Kenny Burrell (guitar) are supported by an all-star cast of Paul Chambers (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums), and Tommy Flanagan (piano). This short but sweet gathering cut their teeth on two Flanagan compositions, another two lifted from the Great American Songbook, and a Kenny Burrell original. Flanagan's tunes open and close the album, with the spirited "Freight Trane" getting the platter underway. While not one of Coltrane's most assured performances, he chases the groove right into the hands of Burrell. The guitarist spins sonic gold and seems to inspire similar contributions from Chambers' bowed bass and Coltrane alike. Especially as the participants pass fours (read: four bars) between them at the song's conclusion. The Gus Kahn/Ted Fio Rito standard "I Never Knew" frolics beneath Burrell's nimble fretwork. Once he passes the reins to Coltrane, the differences in their styles are more readily apparent, with Burrell organically emerging while Coltrane sounds comparatively farther out structurally. Much of the same can likewise be associated to Burrell's own "Lyresto", with the two co-leads gracefully trading and incorporating spontaneous ideas. While not as pronounced, the disparity in the way the performance is approached is a study in unifying and complementary contrasts. The delicate "Why Was I Born" is one for the ages as Burrell and Coltrane are captured in a once-in-a-lifetime duet. Together they weave an uncanny and revealing sonic tapestry that captures a pure and focused intimacy. This, thanks in part to the complete restraint of the ensemble, who take the proverbial "pause for the cause" and sit out. What remains is the best argument for the meeting of these two jazz giants. The performance can likewise be located on the various-artists Original Jazz Classics: The Prestige Sampler (1988) and Playboy Jazz After Dark (2002) and is worth checking out, regardless of where one might find it. In many ways the showpiece of the project is Flanagan's nearly quarter-hour "Big Paul." The pianist's lengthy intro establishes a laid-back bop-centric melody with his trademark stylish keyboards perfectly balancing Chambers and Cobb's rock-solid timekeeping. Coltrane's restraint is palpable as he traverses and examines his options with insightful double-time flurries that assert themselves then retreat into the larger extent of his solo. Those interested in charting the saxophonist's progression should make specific note of his work here. *Lindsay Planer*

1 - Freight Trane

(Tommy Flanagan)

2 - I Never Knew

(Fiorito, Kahn)

3 - Lyresto

(Kenny Burrell)

4 - Why Was I Born

(Kern, Hammerstein)

5 - Big Paul

(Tommy Flanagan)

Kenny Burrell (guitar), John Coltrane (tenor sax),

Tommy Flanagan (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums).

Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey, March 7, 1958

Five-Star Collection... Porgy And Bess

Miles Davis

Porgy And Bess

The inherent pensiveness of Gil Evans' writing and the introversion of Miles Davis' playing produces something akin to a gas flame turned as low as it can be without going out. Its heat is quiet, but very intense.

What is it possible to say now about Gil Evans? This man has genius. He is one of the few living composers whose magic passes all the technical tests for stature without dying in the process. He has taken what he wanted and needed from the classical tradition, and yet remained a jazz writer, safely evading the lure of contemporary classical music, which has written itself up a blind alley. In His control and reserve (notice Summertime) he can put you in mind of Sibelius, who may have been the last classical composer to express himself naturally and without calculation of effects and because he felt it that way. Yet Evans is unique, and his development has been quite personal. His debts are to himself: there are things in this album that hark back to his days of writing for Claude Thornhill.

The Porgy songs submerged in this album, soaked up by the personalities  — or rather, the joint personality — of Evans and Davis. You forget the underlying structures and, since the music used is not in the standard AABA pop song form to begin with, the album becomes a remarkable jazz experience, both for the musicians and the listener, who will be forcibly reminded of the great seriousness and the greatness in jazz, the universality in it that Andre Hodeir is always talking about.

Some of the best of Miles is to be heard in this album — along with some of the sloppiest. There are cracked and fuzzed notes and other things that just shouldn't have been let go. (Strawberry may make all but the most uncritical Davis fans squirm.) Why these things were let pass is anybody's guess. Maybe Miles didn’t care. Maybe they were let pass in accordance with the dubious faith that even mistakes are part of the whole and therefore to be admired in jazz. Maybe it is because the executives-in-charge think that Miles' stature is such that these considerations are small in comparison — which, as a matter of fact, is true.

In any case, the Davis-Evans relationship has again produced superb music. In the jazz albums of Porgy, this one is in a class by itself. Which figures: it named its own terms.

*Down Beat, July 23, 1959 (5 stars)*

1 - The Buzzard Song

2 - Bess, You Is My Woman Now

3 - Gone

4 - Gone, Gone, Gone

5 - Summertime

6 - Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess

7 - Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)

8 - Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab

9 - My Man's Gone Now

10 - It Ain't Necessarily So

11 - Here Come De Honey Man

12 - I Loves You Porgy

13 - There's A Boat That's Leaving Soon For New York

(All compositions by George Gershwin)

Miles Davis (trumpet, flugelhorn);

Ernie Royal, Bernie Glow, Johnny Coles, Louis Mucci (trumpets);

Dick Hixon, Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland, Joe Bennett (trombones);

Willie Ruff, Julius Watkins, Gunther Schuller (french horns); Bill Barber (tuba);

Phil Bodner, Jerome Richardson, Romeo Penque (flutes, alto flutes, clarinets)

Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), Danny Bank (alto flute, bass flute, bass clarinet);

Paul Chambers (bass); Philly Joe Jones [#1, #3 to #7, #9, #12, #13],

Jimmy Cobb [#2, #8, #10, #11] (drums). Gil Evans (arranger, conductor)

Recorded at CBS 30th Street Studio, New York City, July 22 [#3, #4, #9], 

July 29 [#2, #8, #10, #11], August 4 [#1, #5, #6, #7, #13], August 18 [#12], 1958

✳✳✳

The Bill Potts Big Band

The Jazz Soul Of Porgy And Bess

An immediate and obvious comparison will arise between this album and the Miles Davis Porgy album. It should be dismissed. All they have in common is that they are the two outstanding instrumental Porgy performances in the rash of recent releases of discs inspired by the movie. Otherwise, they are dissimilar. Their purposes are different, and so are their final effects.

This LP, in which United Artists is taking thoroughly justified pride, is actually truer to the spirit of the Gershwin music than the Miles-Gil album was or was meant to be. And it establishes Washingtonian Potts as a major arranger. This is a man to be watched.

The instrumentation he has used is what might be termed augmented conventional. Potts finds his colors — and rich ones they are — in the instruments considered normal to jazz. But by the careful (and brilliant) use of the highly individual soloists at his disposal, he has created a tapestry of rich variety.

All the men are given blowing room, and Sims, Cohn, Brookmeyer, Farmer, and Edison turn in individual statements that are up to the standards we have come to expect of them. Indeed, there isn't a poor solo in the lot, and some are superb. Evans plays with a harder jazz feeling than has usually been thought to be within his scope. Markowitz, not too known to the public as a jazzman, invests My Man's Gone Now with all the warmth and feeling it can hold.

Of course, there can be a danger in having so many gifted soloists playing section. But in the ensemble passages, all of them submerge themselves in the task at hand, and the result is a cohesiveness and power rarely found in studio-band playing.

This project was the coddled baby of UA's Jazz A&R man, Jack Lewis. The coddling was worth it, and he is to be congratulated. This is a beautiful, beautiful album.

*Down Beat, September 3, 1959 (5 stars)*

1 - Summertime

2 - A Woman Is A Sometime Thing

3 - My Man's Gone Now

4 - It Takes A Long Pull To Get There

5 - I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'

6 - Bess You Is My Woman

7 - It Ain't Necessarily So

8 - Medley: Prayer, Strawberries, Honey Man, Crab Man

9 - I Loves You Porgy

10 - Clara, Clara

11- There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York

12 - Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess

13 - Oh Lawd, I'm On My Way

(All compositions by George Gershwin)

Art Farmer, Harry Edison, Bernie Glow, Markie Markowitz, Charlie Shavers (trumpets);

Bob Brookmeyer, Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland, Earl Swope, Rod Levitt (trombones);

Phil Woods, Gene Quill (alto saxes); Zoot Sims, Al Cohn (tenor saxes);

Sol Schlinger (baritone sax); Bill Evans (piano); George Duvivier (bass);

Herbie Powell (guitar); Charley Persip (drums); Bill Potts (arranger, conductor).

Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, January 13, 14 and 15, 1959

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.