Tadd Dameron's compositions have been widely celebrated since his death in 1965. In addition to three albums by Dameronia—a group formed in the 1980s by trumpeter-arranger Don Sickler and drummer Philly Joe Jones—there also is Barry Harris Plays Tadd Dameron (1975), Continuum's Mad About Tadd (1982), Warren Rand Duo and Quintet's Dameron II-V (1995), Tardo Hammer's Look, Stop and Listen (2007), The Dream Is You: Vanessa Rubin Sings Tadd Dameron (2019) and a bunch of others. [Photo above of saxophonist-author Paul Combs]
Add to the list Paul Combs's new Unknown Dameron: Rare and Never Recorded Works of Tadd Dameron (Summit). Recorded in 2017 and 2018, and released this month, the album features 12 obscure Dameron compositions. The album is a product of Combs's research into the life and music of Tadd Dameron for his 2012 biography, Dameronia. Here's what Paul writes in the album's liner notes:
I uncovered many more works by this important musician beyond the eight for which he is generally known; some on rare recordings, others in copyright deposits, and still others in scores tucked away in various libraries. It was my hope to share as much of this music as possible. To this end, I organized a quintet devoted to playing the music I had found. In the end, the original idea of a two-CD set had to be abandoned due to copyright complications and a general lack of resources.
Fortunately, after I moved to San Diego, Ken Poston, fellow researcher and now general manager of KSDS/Jazz88.org, asked if I would like to perform Tadd’s music on one of their live broadcast concerts. We settled on Dameron’s 100th birthday, February 21, 2017. This garnered the interest and support of Summit Records, and made this recording possible.
The album's collective personnel includes Derek Cannon (tp); Paul Combs (saxes); Bill Cunliffe and Ken Cook and Melonie Grinnell (p); Kamau Kenyatta (sax); Jeff Denson, Rob Thorsen and Alex Frank (b); Charles Ruggiero (d); Alex Aspinall and Richard Sellers (perc); and Danielle Wertz (voc).
For the benefit of those who will download the music without the liner notes, here's Combs's take in the notes on each Dameron composition featured:
- Conversation (1940) was copyrighted along with other pieces that Tadd wrote for Harlan
Leonard. There may well have been an arrangement for the band, but it was never recorded. While I can imagine what the arrangement might have sounded like, taken by itself, it suggests something more modern. - Moon From the East (1962) was written for Benny Goodman’s USSR tour in 1962. It was originally a “set piece” without solos, but I have found it to be a good “blowing” vehicle.
- Take a Chance on Spring (1963) is a cheerful piece with lyrics by Maely Daniele. It was recorded by Karin Krog and Per Husby on a record that won an award in Europe, but the song remains unknown in the U.S.
- Don't Forget It (1942), written during Dameron’s tenure with Jimmie Lunceford, is very much in the vein of the popular songs of the day. It was never recorded, but its charming melody has made it one of my favorites.
- The Search (1948) was copyrighted along with some other tunes that were recorded by
Dizzy Gillespie at the time, and I suspect there was an arrangement of this in the Gillespie
book that never made it to “wax.” - Never Been in Love (1963), with lyrics by Irving Reid, was first recorded by Bill Lee and Muriel Winston on a long-forgotten Strata East LP. It was also recorded in the 1980s by the Norwegian vocalist Karin Krog, but it should be much better known.
- Sando Latino (1962) was written for a Milt Jackson session on Atlantic, but its recording was lost in the very unfortunate vault fire at Atlantic that year. Sadly, the master tapes were all that existed at the time, and the whole session was lost.
- A La Bridges (1940) was written for and recorded by Harlan Leonard’s Kansas City Rockets. Dameron chose to share the composer credit with tenor saxophonist Henry Bridges, whose playing inspired the tune. Since we have no record of any other compositions by Bridges, it is my opinion that this is primarily Tadd’s work.
- Weekend (1963), with lyrics by Irving Reid, was also on the Winston/Lee LP. I hear it as
a bossa nova, even though it tells the story of a brief affair at a ski lodge. Dameron was known to be very interested in the bossa nova groove at this time. - Zalkat (c. 1945) was written for Jimmie Lunceford, but some time after Tadd was on staff. It is clearly a bop tune, and while it was never recorded, musicians who were on the scene at the time remember the tune.
- Come Close (1962) only appears as a piano arrangement filed with the U.S. Copyright Office. The title and the melody suggest that Dameron had a lyric in mind, but so far, none has come to light.
- The Rampage (1956) shares some thematic material with Small Groove, which Tadd
wrote for Woody Herman around this same time, and may have been the basis for the
Herman version. This is its first recording.
For those who love Dameron's work, Combs's album is rather miraculous. How lucky are we that Combs went the extra distance to pull loose virtually unknown Dameron compositions, form groups to play them, rehearse tirelessly and record only when the music was perfect. I can't wait to hear Combs's next Dameron recording, if Summit is willing. I hope they will be. It's important jazz history worthy of documentation. What's more, Combs is a superb saxophonist.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Paul Combs: Unknown Dameron (Summit) here (download available now) and here (the CD is out on Friday).
The album is also available at Spotify.
JazzWax clips: Here are tracks from this glorious album. Just let them play...
