Trumpeter Don Goldie played with power and a Dixieland feel. There also were shades of Harry James in his horn. He began recording in 1959 and spent his first few years on albums by trombonist Jack Teagarden. He also recorded with Buddy Rich, Ralph Burns, Gene Krupa and others before recording a string of songbook albums for his own Jazz Forum label.
In June 1960, Goldie recorded Brilliant! The Trumpet of Don Goldie for Chicago's Argo label. The personnel was Don Goldie (tp), Eddie Higgins (p), Fred Rundquist (g), Richard Evans (b) and Jimmy Cobb (d). A fascinating trio behind Goldie. Higgins was an elegant pianist who at the time led a trio at Chicago's London House, Rundquist was a member of the Art Van Damme Quintet and Jimmy, of course, was Miles Davis's drummer.
The tracks were Soon, I'll Be Around, Hand Me Down My Walkin' Blues, Someday You'll Be Sorry, Look for the Silver Lining, Struttin' With Some Barbecue, Tis Autumn, Toy Trumpet, Do You Know What It Means and They Didn't Believe Me.
Goldie had a swell swinging sound that catches your ear and foot. There was a mellowness, too, with beautiful phrasing. He also knew how to hit the gas and run up to the top of a chord and hold a note. I could listen to Goldie play all day long.
Goldie came from a musical family His father, trumpeter Harry Goldfield, played with Paul Whiteman in the 1920s and 1930s while his mother, Claire St. Claire, was a concert pianist and a piano teacher for George Gershwin. Goldie began on the piano and moved on to the trumpet when he was 10. In the late 1940s, while still in his teens, he played with Art Hodes and Willie "The Lion" Smith. Goldie hit his stride just as opportunities were slowing and wound up recording on his own label. It's a shame these aren't available.
Don Goldie died in 1995.
JazzWax tracks: Don Goldie's Brilliant! is available on CD only in Japan. The album never made it to the download format. Hopefully a label will pick up on this one and team it with his other albums, which are all out of print.
JazzWax clips: Here's the entire Brilliant! album...