Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XXV)

James Moody

James Moody

James Moody's self-titled disc from 1959 is a solidly swinging date that finds Moody splitting his time between flute, alto, and tenor sax. His sextet is made up of mostly obscure players, though trumpeter Johnny Coles had a couple of records as a leader. The session was the first for Moody following his stay at Overbrook Hospital and he certainly sounds rejuvenated on uptempo tunes like "Daahoud," "Darben the Redd Foxx", and "Cookie". His work on flute is especially nice on the ballads "Little Girl Blue" and "Yesterdays". Best of all is "R.B.Q.", a funky blues workout that closes the record in style and features Moody on tenor blowing his soul out. This record is a fine example of what makes Moody so wonderful; his exuberance, thoughtfulness, and soul make him one of the greats. If you haven't discovered him yet, this is a good place to start. If you're already hip to the man, this is a vital addition to your collection. *Tim Sendra*

Great work from Moody's "second phase" — the post-Overbrook time in which he picks up the flute, drops a bit of the bop style, and starts working in a much more complicated style that showed that he had a hell of a lot of room to grow as an artist! This album's Moody's second for Argo — recorded in 1959, with help from the brilliant arranger Tom McIntosh. Players include Johnny Coles, Musa Kaleem, Gene Kee, and McIntosh — and the album features the first reading of Moody's famous "Darben The Redd Foxx", plus "Cookie", "RBQ", "Daahoud", and McIntosh's perennial favorite, "With Malice Toward None".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

James Moody’s last album, Last Train From Overbrook, was his first recorded step back from a darkness that had engulfed the career of a distinguished jazz musician. It was made in September of 1958, following his half-year tenure at Overbrook, a New Jersey institution at which a sick and alcoholic Moody regained physical and mental health.

This album is the second step back. It was recorded almost exactly one year later, a year during which Moody had reorganized his seven-piece group and had painfully scuffled for bookings that would support it. And it was a year in which Moody established for himself a basis on which he can once more become one of the best-known names among jazz saxophonists and flutists.

During the recording session, Moody once again had a bottle as his companion — a quart of root beer. At the date’s end, as he was packing his tenor saxophone, he eached into the case and pulled out a pint bottle of cheap wine. It was sealed tight, and on the label he had scratched, "Washington, D.C., 1958". 

"I always carry it with me", he said. "Just to remind me". *Jack Tracy (liner notes)*

1 - Darben The Redd Foxx

(James Moody)

2 - Little Girl Blue

(Rodgers, Hart)

3 - Out Of Nowhere

(Green, Heyman)

4 - Daahoud

(Clifford Brown)

5 - Yesterdays

(Kern, Harbach)

6 - Cookie

(Gene Kee)

7 - With Malice Toward None

(Frank McIntosh)

8 - R.B.Q.

(Gene Kee)

James Moody (flute, alto sax, tenor sax), Johnny Coles (trumpet), Tom McIntosh (trombone),

Musa Kaleem (baritone sax), Gene Kee (piano), John Latham (bass), Clarence Johnston (drums).

Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, August, 1959

✤

To be continued...

James Moody - Flute 'N The Blues

When a musician as high up on the musical ladder of success as James Moody completes a two-day recording session, sandwiched between two distant in-person engagements, with a glowing look of satisfaction, you listeners and legion fans can be assured that the finished product, herewith enclosed, is a real "gasser"...

The true essence of Jazz is maintained throughout the 10 tunes on this LP... Swing... Creativeness... Individuality of Conception... Positive, Professional approach... AND... The ability to Interpret the Composers Original Idea, so that even he may recognize it!!! How rare this last talent, Indeed...

Material-wise, the music here-in is either "Blues" or a "Standard". The title tune of the album, "Flute 'N The Blues" showcases MOODY on his newly conquered instrument, the ever-lovin' Flute... (Evidently a new-found necessity in todays Modern Jazz Scene). The way James gets down into it should have "flautists" galore hitting the wood-shed trail. On "Flute N'", and "BOO'S TUNE", with just the rhythm section him, J. Moody really does what he so aptly calls, "The Thing"... I Think you'll agree that, "The Thing" is really it!

"CREATIVE" is the most happy to welcome JAMES MOODY his FLUTE, TENOR, ALTO, MIND, and BAND into our select group of JAZZ ARTISTS... The recording date was a ball to do, and I'm sure those of you "ear" this LP, the finished High Fidelity Product, will also have a glowing look of satisfaction upon your happy faces. *Joe Segal (liner notes)*

Recorded soon after Moody had taken up the flute demonstrate that he could already put the instrument to rewarding jazz use. This album advertises the instrument’s presence in its title, Flute ‘n’ The Blues, although there is also plenty of the Moody tenor (as on "Body and Soul") and alto (e.g. "Richard’s Blues") to be heard too. Johnny Coles is a distinctive and imaginative musician and his playing, on tracks such as "The Birdland Story" and "Body and Soul", is one of the pleasures of this recording. How far the presence of vocalist Eddie Jefferson on some tracks is to be regarded as a bonus is probably a matter of subjective taste. I must say, I found him more enjoyable in small doses, as here, than I have generally done on albums issued under his own name, where he is heard more extensively. *Glyn Pursglove*

This fairly rare LP features James Moody's septet of 1956, a fine bop-based unit that also includes trumpeter Johnny Coles and pianist Jimmy Boyd. Moody, who had just begun to play flute, is heard on that instrument along with tenor and alto; an added plus are Eddie Jefferson's three vocals (including his alternate lyrics for "Parker's Mood"). The basic material (mostly standards and blues) are given spirited and swinging treatment by the underrated group. *Scott Yanow*

1 - Flute 'N The Blues

(Harold Newboldt, James Moody, Arthur Boyd)

2 - Birdland Story

(Eddie Jefferson, Moody)

3 - It Could Happen To You

(Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke)

4 - I Cover The Waterfront

(Edward Heyman, Johnny Green)

5 - Body And Soul

(Heyman, Green, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton)

6 - Breaking The Blues

(John Adriano Acea)

7 - Parker's Mood

(Charlie Parker)

8 - Easy Living

(Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger)

9 - Boo's Tune

(Florence Pleasant)

10 - Richard's Blues

(Moody, Newboldt)

James Moody (tenor sax, alto sax, flute), Johnny Coles (trumpet), William Shepherd (trombone), Pee Wee Moore (baritone sax), Jimmy Boyd (piano), John Lathan (bass), Clarence Johnston (drums), Eddie Jefferson (vocal [#2, #4, #7]).

Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, February 1956 [other source gives November 1956].