A tenor man from the UK and two rich toned ladies are revisited from Avid…
While best known for having the number one jazz club in England, Ronnie Scott first made his name at a swinging tenor sax player. These hard to come by albums from the 50s are finally seeing the light of day. A 1956 album has Scott at the Royal Festival Hall for a gig and the team swings through standards like “Flying Home” and It Might As Well Be Spring”. Along with tenor saxist Tubby Hayes, Scott is recorded at The Flamingo Club for some bopping pieces like “A Night In Tunisia” and the ballad “Autumn Leaves”. In 195, he’s with a sextet that includes some Ellingtonia like “Squeeze Me” and “It Don’t Mean A Thing” with Hayes reuniting with Scott for a fun “Thought The Night Roared The Overland Express” and the saxes rolling in on “A Foggy Day”. Tenor gladness
One of the forgotten female vocalists from the 1950s has to be Ethel Ennis, who made some great recordings with Ellington and Basie before going on her own. Her 1955 debut has her with Hank Jones/p and Kenny Clarke, and she glistens on “love For Sale” and “Blue Willow”. Backed by Neal Hefti’s orchestra, she coo s on “Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe” and swoons on “Thrill Me”. On an album teamed with arrangements by conductor Sid Feller, she goes cool and mellow on “How About Me” and “For All We Know”. After starting her career with Lionel Hampton, vocalist Ernestine Anderson carved out an impressive career, with this one album from 1950 teaming her with Milt Hinton/b, Charlie Persip/dr, Rome Penue/bars and Pacheco/cong through some sultry pieces like “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” and “Jus A Sittin’ and A Rockin’”. Earth tones.