Ah! There’s nothing like the big beefy sound of the “Texas Tenor” to cure whatever pains you have. I’m convinced if you could just take Gene Ammons’ tone and make a balm out of it and rub it into your muscles, you’d feel like you had a 30 minute massage. Here are a couple 2cd sets from 56-58 that Ammons lead with pianist Mal Waldron and guests wich include Jackie McLean, Pepper Adams and a vintage hard bop rhythm section which included Art Taylor behind the drums along with either Doug Watkins, Paul Chamber , George Joyner or Addison Farmer at bass. Put the car on cruise control and kick back!
The 1956-57 albums with Jackie McLean include three tunes with the golden trumpet of Art Farmer and Donald Byrd as everyone stretches out on a jam session over a pair of blues and Ammons holding court on an autumnal “We’ll Be Together Again.” Guitarist Kenny Burrell joins up with the band to replace Byrd and contributes some nice work on his title track “Funky” while Jimmy Mundy does some nice arranging of “Pint Size” and “King Size” to keep you alert. MacLean’s bright tone is filled with spice here. The 1957 Stereo Jammin’ session includes the underrated trumpet of Idrees Sulieman, still with Burrell in tow, and they let four songs ride for 11-13 minutes each. A boppin’ “Four” and a sauntering “Pennies from Heaven” are putty in the hands of these giants. Most of the 1956 The Happy Blues album is on this disc, with one track on the other set, with pianist Duke Jordan getting some space on the title track and Farmer glowing on “The Great Lie.” Not a weak nanosecond of sound.
The Complete Sessions with Adams are culled from three 1958 sessions, Blue Gene, Groove Blues and The Big Sound along with a single track from a 1956 album. A warm ballad like “Hip Top” mixes with blues such as “Blue Greens ‘n Beans” which has some nice conga work by ray Barretto. John Coltrane shows up on on alto (!) show up for “The Real McCoy” and Jerome Richardson’s flute floats along with Paul Quinichette’s lighter than air tenor on the title track “Groove Blues.” Pepper Adams slithers and snaps on “That’s All” and you can palpate Ammon’s breath on “Jug Handle” and “Blue Hymn”. These two collections make you stop and wonder, “who playing nowadays would I want to be on a jam session?” The fact you’re still waiting for a first candidate tells you more than anything else why you should grab these gems!
Fresh Sound Records