When popular music's 12-inch album era began in 1955, jazz record labels scrambled for artists who could fill up the longer sides cohesively. Many labels looked for musicians who could arrange, bring in top artists for sessions and rehearse them in advance. In effect, they needed managers of highly creative artists who could deliver results quickly. [Photo above of Ernie Wilkins]
At Savoy, producer Ozzie Cadena was in a good spot. The label was based in Newark, N.J., and Rudy Van Gelder's studio, in his parents' home, was in Hackensack. In '55, Cadena produced several superb albums by tapping into the Basie band. One of these albums was Ernie Wilkins's Flutes & Reeds. [Photo above, Gloria and Ozzie Cadena on their two-day honeymoon in New York in 1950, where they did their two favorite things: they went to see jazz and they went to a Giants game; courtesy of Gloria Cadena]
Recorded in August 1955, the album featured Jerome Richardson and Frank Wess (fl,ts), Ernie Wilkins (as,arr,dir), Hank Jones (p), Eddie Jones and (b) Kenny Clarke (d). Of the sextet, Wess, Wilkins and Eddie Jones were associated with the Basie band. Richardson, Hank Jones and Clarke were standout musicians in their own right.
The songs were Basie's Shorty George, Wilkins's Bouncin' With Boots, Blues in a Cold Water Flat and Stereophonic, Frank Foster's Doin' the Thing and Marcel Daniels's That's a Woman. Here's the solo lineup:
- Shorty George—Wess solos on flute first and then Richardson
- Bouncin' With Boots—Richardson, Wilkins and Wess
- That's a Woman—Wilkins, with Wess and Richardson in the background
- Doin' the Thing—Wess on flute, Richardson on tenor saxophone
- Blues in a Cold Water Flat—Wess, Wilkins and Richardson
- Stereophonic—Wess on flute and Richardson on tenor saxophone
Especially interesting on this album is the opportunity to hear Ernie Wilkins on alto saxophone. On most albums, he turns up in the credits as the arranger. Here, we get to hear him play beautifully in a small-group setting. In addition, the jazz flute was just emerging during this period. Wess and Richardson were pioneers of the instrument in a jazz setting along with Buddy Collette, Herbie Mann, Sam Most and a handful of others. [Photo above of Frank Wess]
Other great albums in this mid-'50s period featuring Basie sidemen included The Frank Wess Quintet (Commodore) in 1954, The Fabulous Thad Jones (Debut) in 1954, Joe Newman and the Boys in the Band (Storyville) in 1954, Kenny Clarke (Savoy) in 1955, Joe Newman: I Feel Like a Newman (Savoy) in 1955, Joe Newman: Rompin' With the Count's Men (Concert Hall Society) in 1955, Frank Foster's No Count (Savoy) in 1956, Frank Wess: Opus in Swing (Savoy) in 1956, Joe Newman: The Midgets (Vik) in 1956, Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute (Savoy) in 1956 and Frank Wess: Jazz for Playboys (Savoy) in 1957.
Ernie Wilkins died in 1999.
JazzWax tracks: For some reason, Flutes & Reeds was never reissued on CD in the States. I did find it hidden under Jerome Richardson's name on Four Classic Albums from the U.K.'s Avid label here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Frank Wess and Jerome Richardson on Bouncin' With Boots...
And here's Wilkins on That's a Woman...