JazzWax

Backgrounder: Marge Dodson - 'Lovely Way to Live'

Vocalist Marge Dodson recorded just three albums. Her first two for Columbia were straightforward songbook efforts: In the Still of the Night (1959) and New Voice in Town (1960). But the third, for Decca, was way more interesting and so 1960s!

A Lovely Way to Live (February 1968) was swinging, brash and groovy, from the psychedelic cover art to the arrangements by Dave Blume, who also conducted and composed a few of the songs. The album was produced by Dick Jacobs. [Photo above of Marge Dodson]

Dodson was born in Philadelphia and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. Early on, she wanted to become a concert singer or a musical comedy star, and with those goals in mind studied music. Soon she was singing pop, encouraged by pianist Coleridge Perkinson, who would accompany her on her first album.

Dodson took first prize in a string of talent contests contests, won over musicians such as pianist Teddy Wilson and flutist Sam Most, and landed a two-album Columbia contract. After her second LP failed to chart, her contract wasn't renewed and she toured the Eastern half of the country throughout the 1960s and early '70s. She was a huge attraction in Boston, according to local papers, performing with the Dave Blume Trio. That's where my research trail went cold given the time  had to research her background. More to come as readers check in.

The tracks:

• My Heart Loves the Samba (Samba da Bencao), from the film A Man and a Woman (Baden Powell-Vinicius DeMoraeKs with English lyrics by Jerry Keller)
• Lover Man (Jimmie Davis-Ram Ramirez-Jimmy Sherman)
• Don't Explain (Billie Holiday-Arthur Herzog Jr.)
• Sunday's Child (Rod McKuen)
• Yesterday Is Crowding My World (Judy Spencer-Pockriss
• I Walk a Little Faster (Cy Coleman-Carolyn Leigh)
• Foolin' Around (Jerry Keller-Dave Blume)
• If You Knew (David Shire-Richard Maltby Jr.)
• A Lovely Way to Live (Judy Spencer-Kenyon Hopkins)
• What Happened to You and Me (Jerry Keller-David Blume)
• Be Your Baby (Carolyn Hester-Dave Blume)

Here's Marge Dodson's A Lovely Way to Live, without ad interruptions...

A special thanks to Adam Sieff on the South East Kent coast in England for reminding me of Marge.

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• 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.
• Walter Davis: Davis Cup, go here.
• Wynton Kelly: Kelly at Midnite, go here.
• Jack Sheldon: Jack's Groove, go here.
• Herbie Nichols: Complete Masters, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Hank Mobley Quartet, go here.
• Mundell Lowe: Satan in High Heels, go here.
• Hal McKusick and Art Farmer: Quintet Sessions, go here.
• Os Poligonais: Os Poligonais, go here.
• Buddy Fite: Tasty, go here.
• Al Sears: Swing's the Thing, go here.
• A.K. Salim: Complete Savoy Recordings, go here.
• Rosinha de Valença, go here.
• Remo Rau, Evening at Cafe Africana, go here.
• Georgie Auld, Plays the Winners, go here.
• Complete Oscar Pettiford Orchestra, go here.
• East Coast - West Coast Scene, go here.
• O'Donel Levy: Black Velvet, go here.
• Sonny Rollins: Alfie, go here.
• Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By, go here.
• Complete Grant Green and Sonny Clark Quartets, go here.

Perfection: Harry James in the Late '50s/Early '60s

Two big bands that knock me out from the late 1950s and early 1960s are the ones led by Count Basie and Harry James. Both could swing the house sideways, but both knew when enough was enough. Basie, of course, invented the concept of just enough, but James's decade-straddling band is often overlooked for the same quality. James's near-stalker passion for Basie is well known ("Two O'Clock Jump) but less known is that during this period, they shared the same arrangers, including Neal Hefti and Ernie Wilkins. Bill Holman and Jack Haskell were also fundamental to James's updated swing sound.

Both bands packed a lyrical punch built on a riff, and their charts were always tasty. Today, I'm going to prove my point with six Perfection tracks of the James Gang in the stereo era [photo above of Harry James]:

Here's Neal Hefti's Bells (April 1958), with Harry James (tp); Nick Buono, Ollie Mitchell and Bob Rolfe (tp); Ray Sims and Bob Edmondson (tb); Ernie Tack (btb); Willie Smith (as); Herb Lorden (cl,as); Sam Firmature (ts); Bob Poland (ts,bar); Ernie Small (bar); Jack Perciful (p); Dennis Budimir (g); Russ Phillips (b) and Jackie Mills (d)...

Here's Ernie Wilkins's Fair and Warmer (1958), with Harry James, Rob Turk, Nick Buono, Bud Billings and Vern Guertin (tp); Ray Sims and Dick "Slyde" Hyde (tb); Dick McQuary (b-tb); Willie Smith and Pat Chartrand (as); Sam Firmature (ts); Modesto Briseno (ts,bar); Ernie Small (bar,fl,tb); Jack Perciful (p); Terry Rosen (g); Russ Phillips (b) and Tony DeNicola (d)...

Here's Bill Holman's Here's One, with the same band...

Here's Jack Haskell's J. Walkin' (1958), with Harry James, Nick Buono, John Audino, Ollie Mitchell and Bob Rolfe (tp); Ray Sims and Bob Edmondson (tb); Ernie Tack (b-tb); Willie Smith and Herb Lorden (as,cl); Sam Firmature and Ernie Small (ts); Bob Poland (bar); Jack Perciful (p); Dave Koonse (g); Marvin Shore (b) and Jackie Mills (d)...

Here's Wilkins's Get Off the Stand (May 1959), with Harry James, Nick Buono, John Audino, Ollie Mitchell and Bob Rolfe (tp); Ray Sims and Bob Edmondson (tb); Ernie Tack (b-tb); Willie Smith and Herb Lorden (as,cl); Sam Firmature and Ernie Small (ts); Bob Poland (bar); Jack Perciful (p); Dave Koonse (g); Marvin Shore (b) and Jackie Mills (d)...

And here's Neal Hefti's The Creeper (May 1961), with Harry James, Rob Turk, Nick Buono, Bud Billings and Vern Guertin (tp); Ray Sims and Dick "Slyde" Hyde (tb); Dick McQuary (b-tb; Willie Smith and Pat Chartrand (as); Sam Firmature (ts); Modesto Briseno (ts,bar); Ernie Small (bar,fl,tb); Jack Perciful (p); Terry Rosen (g); Russ Phillips (b) and Tony DeNicola... 

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 / Stanley Turrentine, When 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.
• Gerry Mulligan: Westwood Walk, go here.
• Red Garland/Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: We'll Be Together Again, go here.
• Bill Evans: Reflections in D, go here.
• Ted McNabb & Co.: Mountain Greenery, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Fox Hunt, go here.
• Serge Chaloff & the Herdsmen: The Most!, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Starfire, go here.
• Urbie Green, Please, go here.
• Machito, Conversation, go here.
• David Allyn, Love Is a Serious Thing, go here.
• Lennie Tristano, Wow, go here.
• Teddy Charles, Borodin Bossa Nova, go here.
• Gerry Mulligan, Night Lights, go here.
• Tommy Flanagan, In the Blue of Evening, go here.
• Stan Getz, Stella by Starlight, go here.
• Erroll Garner, It's the Talk of the Town, go here.
• Sonny Stitt, Miss Ann, Lisa, Sue and Sadie, go here.
• Jimmy Forrest, Soul Street, go here.

Who Was George Adams?

The reason you may not be familiar with George Adams or his music is that much of it was recorded in Italy. Born in Covington, Ga., in 1940, the tenor saxophonist and flutist did most of his recording as a leader or co-leader in a range of Italian studios. 

Adams is probably best known for his work with Charles Mingus, including his terrific solos on Changes One and Changes Two, both released in 1975. His finest work was co-leading a quartet with pianist Don Pullen that featured drummer Dannie Richmond (all three were Mingus alums) and bassist Cameron Brown. They recorded 12 albums between 1979 and 1987 and continued to collaborate until 1992.

George Adams died that year at age 52, following a respiratory illness.

In tribute to Adams as a leader and co-leader, give a listen:

Here's the 1975 album Jazz a Confronto #22, with George Adams (ts,fl,p,vcl), Don Pullen (p), David Williams (b) and Dannie Richmond (d)...

Here's Suite for Swingers in 1976, with George Adams (ts,vcl), Don Pullen (p,el-p), David Friesen (b), Dannie Richmond (d) and Afonso Vieira (perc)...

Here's A Spire from the 1979 album Sound Suggestions, with Kenny Wheeler (tp,flhrn), George Adams (ts,vcl), Heinz Sauer (ts), Richie Beirach (p), Dave Holland (b) and Jack DeJohnette (d)

Here's the 1979 album All That Funk, with George Adams (ts), Don Pullen (p), Cameron Brown (b) and Dannie Richmond (d)...

Here's the album Paradise Space Shuttle from 1979, with George Adams (ts,fl,vcl), Ron Burton (p), Don Pate (b), Al Foster (d) and Azzedin "Niles" Weston (perc)...

Here's the title track from Earth Beams in 1980, with George Adams (ts,fl,vcl), Don Pullen (p), Cameron Brown (b) and Dannie Richmond (d)...

Here's The Clocker from Hand to Hand in 1980, with Jimmy Knepper (tb), George Adams (ts,fl), Hugh Lawson (p), Mike Richmond (b) and Dannie Richmond (d)...

Here's the title track from Breakthrough in 1986, with George Adams (ts), Don Pullen (p), Cameron Brown (b) and Dannie Richmond (d)... 

And finally, here's Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are, from Old Feeling, Adams's final album, in 1991, with Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson (tp), George Adams (ts,vcl), Jean-Paul Bourelly (g), Santi DeBriano (b) and Lewis Nash (d). Click "Watch on YouTube" in embedded screen...

Bonus: Here's George Adams on one of my favorite Charles Mingus albums, Changes One (1975)...

A special thanks to Raúl Romero for the reminder.