JazzWax

Perfection: Count Basie - 'Blues in My Heart' (1969)

One of Count Basie's most powerful arrangers was Chico O'Farrill. Born in Havana, O'Farrill's father was from Ireland and his mother was of German descent. Sent to a Georgia military school, O'Farrill learned to play trumpet. Back in Cuba in his late teens, he couldn't get enough of Havana's night life.

O'Farrill moved to New York in 1948 and became one of the fathers of Afro-Cuban jazz. He had a way of turning up the brass section's heat and producing exciting arrangements that were as explosive as they were seductive. His work for Benny Goodman's Capitol band in the late 1940s was terrific. For more on O'Farrill's arranging for producer Norman Granz in the late 1940s and early '50s, I highly recommend Cuban Blues: The Chico O'Farrill Sessions on Verve. For more, go here.

For Basie, O'Farrill arranged Basie Meets Bond (1965), a wonderfully inventive album that maximized the band while retaining Bond's cool persona; Basie's Beatles Bag (1966); Broadway Basie's Way (1966); Basie's in the Bag (1967); The Happiest Millionaires; Count Basie and His Orchestra (1967); Annual Report with the Mills Brothers; Standing Ovation (1969), on which he shared arranging credits with Sammy Nestico; Basic Basie (1969); and Count Basie and His Orchestra (1970).

Among them, my favorite is Basic Basie. Don't get me wrong, I love many of the others, too. but this one is special. I first discovered it in 1972 as Evergreen, on Sonny Lester's Groove Merchant label. The album was so good I purchased a second one soon after. Despite the quality of my Dual turntable, I knew I was going to wear it out, and I did.

As Tom Lord's online Jazz Discography notes:

All above titles also on Groove Merchant GM2201 titled "Evergreens"; this release is listed in Chris Sheridan's Basie discography as the first issue for this session. Although Sonny Lester was the producer of the session it was for MPS, not Groove Merchant. Groove Merchant GM2201 was published from 1972 well after the original release of MPS (G)15264 published in 1971.

The band: Gene Goe, Oscar Brashear and Sonny Cohn (tp); Waymon Reed (tp,flh); Frank Hooks, Melvin Wanzo and Grover Mitchell (tb); Bill Hughes (b-tb); Marshal Royal (as,cl); Bobby Plater (as,fl); Eric Dixon (ts,fl); Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (ts); Charlie Fowlkes (bar); Count Basie (p,org); Freddie Green (g); Norman Keenan (b,el-b); Harold Jones (d); Chico O'Farrill (arr) on all titles except Eric Dixon on I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You.

The album is perfect from start to finish. To give you a taste, here's Blues in My Heart...

And here's the full album's tracks with ads...

Other Perfection tracks in this ongoing series...

• Paul Desmond and Jim Hall: Any Other Time, go here.
• John Coltrane: You Say You Care, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Funk Junction, go here.
• Art Farmer's Work of Art, go here.
• Miles Davis: A Gal in Calico, go here.
• Gene Krupa: Mulligan Stew, go here.
• Dave Brubeck: The Duke, go here.
• Horace Silver: The Back Beat, go here.
• Horace Parlan: Up & Down, go here.
• Dexter Gordon: Society Red, go here.
• Barney Kessel: You Go to My Head, go here.
• Count Basie: Corner Pocket, go here.
• Herbie Mann: Manteca, go here.
• Donald Byrd: Bronze Dance, go here.
• George Shearing: I'll Be Around, go here.
• Ammmons & Stitt: You Talk That Talk, go here.

Crown Sessions: Buddy Collette & Teddy Edwards

The West Coast produced a sizable number of gifted jazz tenor saxophonists in the late 1940s and '50s who either were born there or settled there. Among them were Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Bill Holman, Harold Land, Bill Perkins, Bob Cooper and Jack Montrose. Two other exceptional West Coasters were Buddy Collette and Teddy Edwards. A new album from Fresh Sound features both artists leading separate quartets for Crown Records.

Buddy was an accomplished and prolific multi-instrumentalist who recorded as a leader and a sideman and appeared on many Hollywood pop recording sessions, including those by Frank Sinatra. Teddy Edwards also worked steadily, composed and was the first saxophonist in the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet in 1954. [Photo above of Buddy Collette]

What gave these two their "jump" were gigs in the mid- and late 1940s in R&B bands and orchestras and Los Angeles bebop groups. Many of the clubs on L.A.'s Central Avenue sought out players who could solo for extended periods and thrill audiences. [Photo above of Teddy Edwards]

Crown Records was a subsidiary of the Modern label run by Saul, Jules and Joe Bihari. Why did two superb players wind up on a budget label? Probably because the Bihari brothers let them record what they wanted. By the late 1950s, other labels were either pop-minded or jazz specialists run by founders with a vision and under pressure to turn a profit.

This album features both Buddy and Edwards in a freewheeling jump-blues groove with a bop overlay. The music is superb all the way through. Uniting the musicians' Crown recordings on a single CD was very clever by Fresh Sound's Jordi Pujol.

The tracks:

1. What's Up?
2. Hideaway
3. Reunion
4. Joggin'
5. Evergreen
6. Bye Bye
7. The Groove
8. Lucky Me
9. Miss Beat
10. The Grind Part 1
11. The Grind Part 2
12. Across Town

(1-8) The Buddy Collette Quartet, with Buddy Collette (ts), Gerald Wiggins (p), Joe Comfort (b) and Bill Douglass (d)

(9-12) The Teddy Edwards Quartet, with Teddy Edwards (ts), Joe Castro (p), Leroy Vinnegar (b) and Billy Higgins (d)

As you listen, pay careful attention to the pianists—Wiggins and Castro. Both are superb here.

Buddy Collette died in 2010 at age 89; Teddy Edwards died in 2003 at age 78.

Note: To read Part 1 of my five-part interview with Buddy Collette, go here (a link to additional parts can be found above the red date at the top).

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Buddy Collette and Teddy Edwards Quartets: The Crown Sessions (Fresh Sound) here.

If you buy, don't forget to use the code (JAZZWAX_DISCOUNT) to cut your price by 8%.

JazzWax clips: Here's the Buddy Collette Quartet playing Hideaway...

Hideaway

And here's the Teddy Edwards Quartet playing Miss Beat...

Miss Beat

John Fedchock: 'Justifiably J.J.' (2024)

Back in June, I reviewed trombonist Nick Finzer's tribute to trombonist J.J. Johnson, with Renee Rosnes on piano, Rufus Reid on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. Now John Fedchock, another terrific trombonist, has released his own salute to Johnson.

The album is Justifiably J.J., and features pianist Steve Allee, bassist Jeremy Allen and drummer Sean Dobbins. Recorded live at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, Ind., the album has a studio sound, with the audience in the distance.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, John joined Woody Herman's band in 1980 and was the band's featured soloist. He arranged and went on tour with Gerry Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band, the Louie Bellson Big Band, the Bob Belden Ensemble, the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra, the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. He also has performed at jazz festivals and concert halls around the world in small groups and his big band. [Photo of John Fedchock]

On his new album, John showcases Johnson's fat tone and pushy attack; Allee is spectacular on piano, gliding around effortlessly; Allen's bass is big and pronounced in the ensemble and on solos; and Dobbins' drums are crisp and alive. All of the album's songs are by Johnson except Lullaby of Jazzland, which was by Manny Albam.

The Tracks:

• Naptown USA
• Short Cake
• Lullaby of Jazzland
• Kenya
• Say When
• Lament
• Minor Mist
• Ten 85

A beautiful tribute from start to finish of a singular soloist who came up in the bebop era and always sounded like he was moving furniture around a room to create the most exquisite interior. Kudos to John for celebrating J.J. in his centenary year. [Photo above of J.J. Johnson by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]

JazzWax tracks: You'll find John Fedchock's Justifiably J.J. (Summit) here or on streaming platforms. 

JazzWax clips: Here's Say When...

Here's Lament...

Bonus: So you have the sound of Johnson's horn in your head, here's Lovely, from J.J.'s Broadway (1963)...