JazzWax

Backgrounder: Walter Davis Jr. - 'Davis Cup' (1959)

Walter Davis Jr. was an exceptional hard bop pianist and composer. He was commanding and percussive, similar in this regard to Horace Silver. As a leader, Davis made a bunch of terrific albums for Blue Note, and one of his best was his first—Davis Cup.

The album was recorded on August 2, 1959. The reason I include the date here is because based on my calculations, Davis Cup was the first to be recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's newly constructed studio in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Rudy's previous recordings were engineered at his parents' house in nearby Hackensack.

The quintet features a sterling mix of musicians: Donald Byrd (tp), Jackie McLean (as), Walter Davis, Jr. (p), Sam Jones (b) and Art Taylor (d). What I love most about this album, beyond Davis's piano, is the sourness of McLean's alto combined with the bouncy quality of Byrd's trumpet. McLean had a richly impatient tone, and Byrd's horn was meditative with a blaring quality up on top. Jones and Taylor fed the scurrying quality of the two frontmen.

The tracks (all composed by Walter Davis Jr.):

• Smake It
• Loodle-Lot
• Sweetness
• Rhumba Nhumba
• Minor Mind
• Millie's Delight

Here's Walter Davis Jr.'s Davis Cup in full, without ad interruptions...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
• The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.
• Shorty Rogers: Cool and Crazy, go here.
• The Return of Art Pepper, go here.
• Benny Golson and the Philadelphians, go here.
• Moacir Santos: Coisas, go here.
• Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Lock, the Fox, go here.
• Tony Bennett: The Movie Song Album, go here.
• Thad Jones/Mel Lewis: Consummation, go here.
• James Moody: Return From Overbrook, go here.
• Barry Galbraith: Guitar and the Wind, go here.
• Count Basie: With Quincy Jones and Neal Hefti, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Walk Softly, Run Wild!, go here.
• Dave Pike: Bossa Nova Carnival, go here.
• Clare Fischer: Só Danço Samba, go here.
• Reggie Johnson: First Edition, go here.
• John Graas: French Horn Jazz, go here.
• Eddie Lockjaw Davis & Johnny Griffin: Tough Tenor Favorites, go here.
• Bill Perkins: Bossa Nova With Strings Attached, go here.
• Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, go here.
• Pepper Adams Quintet, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plus 4, go here.
• Coleman Hawkins: Desafinado, go here.
• Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays, go here.
• Paul Quinichette: Moods, go here.
• Jimmy Forrest: Forrest Fire!, go here.
• Brazilian Jazz Quartet: Coffee and Jazz, go here.
• Art Blakey!!! Jazz Messengers!!!, go here.
• Sidney Bechet/Martial Solal, go here.
• John Carisi: The New Jazz Sound Of "Show Boat," go here.
• The Marty Paich Quartet, Featuring Art Pepper, go here.
• João Gilberto, 1998, go here.
• Bobby Timmons: Soul Time, go here.
• Gerry Mulligan: Jeru, go here.
• Ray Bryant: Alone With the Blues, go here.
• Leon Spencer Jr.: Bad Walking Woman, go here.
• Jimmy McGriff: Step 1, go here.
• Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Breakout, go here.
• Oliver Nelson: Taking Care of Business, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Americans in Paris, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Tune-Up!, go here.
• Herbie Mann: Yardbird Suite, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Twilight Time, go here.
• Lou Levy Quartet: Jazz in Four Colors, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Rapaz de Bem, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Poppin', go here.
• Barney Kessel: Kessel's Kit, go here.
• Larry Young: Into Somethin', go here.
• Henry Mancini: The Jazz Sound From Peter Gunn, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Night Crawler, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Around the Horn, go here.
• Frank Rosolino: Franky Speaking!, go here.
• Ben Webster: King of the Tenors, go here.
• Kenny Dorham: Una Mas, go here.
• Gigi Gryce: Nica's Tempo, go here.
• Charlie Parker With Strings: The Master Takes, go here.
• The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn Jr., go here.
• The Complete Chet Baker Sings, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Courts the Count, go here.
• Miles Ahead: Miles Davis +19, go here.
• Kenny Burrell, Jazzmen - Detroit, go here.
• Bill Watrous, In Love Again, go here.
• Gene Ammons, Boss Tenor, go here.
• Roy Eldridge: The Strolling Mr. Eldridge, go here.
• Clifford Brown and Max Roach with Sonny Rollins, go here.
• Fats Navarro: Nostalgia, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Hank Mobley Quintet, go here.
• Sandy Mosse: Relaxin' With..., go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: A Message From Newport, go here.
• Jimmy Raney: Two Jims and Zoot, go here.
• Zoot Sims Plays 4 Altos, go here.
• Jimmy Forrest: Out of the Forrest, go here.
• Jazz Studio 2, From Hollywood, go here.
• Billy Taylor: My Fair Lady Loves Jazz, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Soul Station, go here.
• Sylvia Telles, Lúcio Alves and Roberto Menescal: Bossa Session, go here.
• Horace Silver: The Horace Silver Trio, go here.

Perfection: Gerry Mulligan - 'Westwood Walk' (1953)

Every celebrity I've interviewed who lives in the Westwood section of Los Angeles has said the reason they live there is you don't have to take a car to get around the village. You can walk. I'm not sure if that was the meaning behind Gerry Mulligan's song title, but it would certainly make sense. Or he originally entitled the song Westward Walk, in tribute to his trip made by hitchhiking from New York to Los Angeles in 1951.

Mulligan recorded Westwood Walk with his newly formed tentet in January 1953. The musicians were Chet Baker and Pete Candoli (tp), Bob Enevoldsen (v-tb), John Graas (fhr), Ray Siegel (tuba), Bud Shank (as), Don Davidson and Gerry Mulligan (bar), Joe Mondragon (b) and Chico Hamilton (d).

Here's information on Westwood Walk from the site of J.W. Pepper, the sheet-music publisher:

This bright swing arrangement was written by Gerry Mulligan shortly after he arrived in California in 1952. He originally arranged this for eight with a rhythm section: alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, two trumpets, French horn, trombone and tuba. The January 1953 recording was done with just bass and drums for the rhythm section.

Here's the Gerry Mulligan Ten-tette playing Westwood Walk...

Here's Les Double Six singing Westwood Walk in 1961 with singer Mimi Perrin's French lyrics and arrangement...

And here's a gem. To see and hear a super-rare video of Les Double Six rehearsing the song in 1965 plus a brief interview in French with Mimi Perrin, go here (be sure to unclick the mute button).

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.
• Ammons & Stitt: You Talk That Talk, go here.
• Count Basie: Blues in My Heart, go here.
• Moonlight in Vermont, go here.
• Johnny Griffin / Matthew Gee, Here, go here.
• Jimmy Smith / Stanely Turrentine: When I'I Grow Too Old to Dream, go here.
• Chet Baker, Estate, go here.
• Jazz Studio 1, Tenderly, go here.
• Herb Pomeroy, Down Home Outing, go here.
• Frank Sinatra, There's a Small Hotel, go here.
• Bill Harris Herd, Blackstrap, go here.

 

Fresh Sound Albums for the Holidays

If not for Fresh Sound in Spain, you probably wouldn't have heard of half the jazz albums you now love. Instead, you'd still be standing in used record stores running your fingers through bins of LPs or blowing a fortune on vinyl jazz albums at Ebay. Major labels that own the rights to thousands of jazz albums have entombed them in vaults and have no interest or budget to reissue them. There just isn't a sufficient market for them. Fresh Sound has and continues to keep jazz from the 1950s and early '60s by terrific artists alive. [Photo above of Fresh Sound's Jordi Pujol]

Founded in 1983 by Jordi Pujol, Fresh Sound specializes in previously unknown jazz reissues that feature robust liner notes (often by Jordi) and upgraded fidelity. Jazz history would be incomplete without his hard work and his label's tireless efforts to reissue long forgotten LPs on CD.

Here are eight superb Fresh Sound releases. Be sure to use your 8% JazzWax discount at checkout with this code: JAZZWAX_DISCOUNT 

Tommy Wolf: Wolf at Your Door and Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most—Both of these albums have been out of print for decades. A composer and pianist, Wolf wrote a long list of songs with lyricist Fran Landesman. Many of their tunes were recorded by the duo Jackie and Roy as well as dozens of other artists. On these two albums, now on a single CD, Tommy sings and accompanies himself on piano. Always exciting to hear a composer play and sing his own songs, especially ones that are this clever and sophisticated. Go here.

Joe Roland: Complete 1949-1956 Sessions—Joe Roland began his music career in 1937 as a clarinetist, but in 1940 he switched to the xylophone and then the vibes. In the 1950s, he appeared as a sideman on recordings led by major jazz artists, including Oscar Pettiford (1951), George Shearing (1951–1953), Howard McGhee, Artie Shaw and his Gramercy Five (1953–1954), Freddie Redd (1955), Mat Mathews (1956) and Aaron Sachs (1956). He only recorded a handful of albums as a leader. Go here.

Johnny Glasel's Jazz Session and Mel Davis's Trumpet With a Soul—These two fine trumpeters have slipped into obscurity. Yet both were terrific, especially on their own leadership albums in 1956. On this two-fer, we hear Glasel's Jazz Session and Davis's Trumpet With a Soul. Glasel played with Bob Wilber in the 1940s and studied music at Yale in the 1950s. After he graduated, he quickly found work as a studio musician and would spend much of his career as a session player. As for Davis, he had a big full sound and played behind a long list of pop singers. He also was in the Tonight Show band under Skitch Henderson. Davis is probably best known for his more than 17 years in the Sesame Street house band. Both of these albums are great. Go here.

Jacques Denjean and His Jazz Orchestra: 1959-1962. Jacques Denjean was a French composer-arranger who also was a member of Les Double Six jazz vocal group. Between 1959 and '62, he was given a chance to show off his jazz band arranging, pulling in many of France's finest jazz players. The result had Basie's spare feel and call-and-response arranging style, but Denjean had a denser execution. Go here.

Raymond Fol: Rediscovering. Raymond Fol was a French pianist who worked with many of France's best jazz players and touring American artists. With his brother saxophonist Hubert Fol, they formed the Bebop Minstrels. This two-CD set features Raymond in exquisite form, proving he should be included on the list of France's leading jazz keyboard players. Go here.

Sam Most, Undercurrent Blues: Sextets, 1952-1956. Frank Wess, James Moody, Herbie Mann and Bobby Jasper were early jazz flute greats. Lesser known was Sam Most. His playing style was more spirited and pronounced than many of his peers. He also could swing hard. These two CDs feature Most's exquisite sextet recordings for Prestige, Debut and Vanguard. Go here.

Nick Brignola: This Is It! Recorded in 1967, Brignola's first album featured him mostly on baritone saxophone backed by a trio. Brignola here also plays the alto saxophone, saxello, flute and bass. What you notice immediately about his low-register energy and tonal bark is how much he sounded like baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams. A jazz album that also stylistically reflects the shifting sands of the times. Go here.

Tony Luis's Introducing and Bob Freedman's Piano Moods. Tony Luis is unknown for good reason: He only recorded three 10-inch LPs, in 1954 and 1955. On the keyboard, he had a superb lounge sound. Bob Freedman is the famed arranger, conductor and composer who wrote for Maynard Ferguson and many other jazz and pop groups. Bob was a chunkier player on his debut album in 1953, favoring chords and interesting voicings, as most piano-playing arrangers do. Go here.