Bill Crow is one of jazz's finest living bassists. Bill began his recording career on a Claude Thornhill session in October 1952. A month later he was a member of the Stan Getz Quintet. The studio and live recordings of this group in '52 and '53 remain exquisite. Over the next two years, Bill recorded with Al Haig, Jimmy Raney, Marian McPartland (at New York's Hickory House), Jackie and Roy, and Victor Feldman. Then he joined the seminal Gerry Mulligan Sextet and Quartet in 1956. During the late '50s, Bill also played and recorded with Zoot Sims and Bob Brookmeyer, as well as Mose Allison, Bobby Scott, the Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band, Benny Goodman and on and on. Bill spent much of his career on the East Coast and is best known for his work with Getz and Mulligan—two guys who liked to hear a bass talking to them loud and clear.
Bill recorded just two leadership albums, both late in his career: From Birdland to Broadway (1995) and Jazz Anecdotes (1996), which was named after his 1990 memoir. The latter is the focus of this post. Bill is first and foremost a storyteller bassist. This means that his bass lines and solos typically sound like a narrative—a tale being told on the instrument from point A to point Z, with the plot thickening in places.
That's why so many great artists loved him on their recording sessions and in their groups. When you're a leader responsible for playing most song's melodies and solos, the piano provides texture, drums keep you in tempo but the bass is the instrument that does the taking. Most listeners don't pick up on this, but leaders depend on the dialogue the bass lays down.
Bill's storytelling prowess isn't exclusive to his playing. If you follow him on Facebook, you know that he loves to tell engaging stories about jazz history from the perspective of an eyewitness. Bill has been there and done that, so those stories are invaluable. [Photo above of Bill Crow in 1958]
Jazz Anecdotes was recorded for Japan's Venus label and featured Bill (b), Carmen Leggio (ts), Joe Cohn (g) and David Jones (d). It's a real swinger, as is to be expected when Leggio, Cohn and Jones are in the mix. Leggio was perhaps best known for playing in Maynard Ferguson's powerhouse Roulette band in the late 1950s and Woody Herman's early '60s orchestra. Cohn recorded with Buddy DeFranco, Harry Allen, Grant Stewart and is an incredibly tasteful and engaging player. And Jones has been recording in groups since the 1980s.
The tracks are Jazz Anecdotes; Oscar Pettiford's Bohemia After Dark; Duke Ellington's In a Mellotone; the standard Street of Dreams; Bill's Tarrytown; the standards Lover Come Back to Me, On the Alamo, Mack the Knife and These Foolish Things; Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight; the standard Speak Low and Lester Young's Tickletoe. [Photo above of Joe Cohn]
What I love most about this album is Bill's playing and Leggio's assertive swinging. Bill's bass is so woody and conversational. What's more, instead of trying to hear him within the groups he recorded with over the years, you now can hear what makes him special, since he's fully exposed here. This setting lets you fully appreciate how terrific he is. Bill is such a warm, supersized player. Leggio (who died in 2009) was equally warm and an old-fashioned swinger. Cohn weaves his ringing guitar notes through the solo textures advanced by Bill and Leggio. And Jones keeps everyone on time with a delicate touch. [Photo above of Bill Crow and David Jones]
This is a perfect album and a must own.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the Bill Crow Quartet's Jazz Anecdotes (Venus) here.
You'll also find Bill's memoir Jazz Anecdotes here and his Jazz Anecdotes: Second Time Around here.
JazzWax clips: Here's the Bill Crow Quartet playing the album's title track...
A special thanks to David Langner.
