The man that freed up the piano from the rhythm of stride to the spaciousness of single solo notes is featured on this sumptuous 7cd/dvd set. Earl “Fatha” Hines was one of the few jazz artists who not only defined a style of jazz, but was able to change with the times and always stay up to date, keeping his sound fresh and exciting up to the day he died. This boxed set shows him in performances from the 1920s up through the 70s in formats ranging from solo to small traditional groups.
His legendary recordings from New York, Chicago and Long Island City are on the first disc, and they are simply the Mount Rushmore of solo jazz performance. “Blues In Thirds” and “A Monday Date” are glorious display of digital prowess, while his 1940 read of “Body and Soul” is filled with dreams. Six unaccompanied tunes from 1974 show his more modern side, as he stretches out like a bungee chord on “I’ve Got the World On A String” and “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”
The small group recordings include a swinging radio broadcast from 1948 with Louis Armstrong And His All Stars which includes Jack Teagarden/tb, Barney Bigard/cl and Sidney Catlett for a vibrant “Muskrat Ramble” and rich “Royal Garden Blues.” Three discs from the mid 50s have Hines leading various All Star groups with Muggys Spanier’s trumpet in glowing form on “Mahogany Hall Stomp” and “Wang-Wang Blues” while recordings from San Francisco’s Club Hangover have the team loose and wild in after hours reads of “Boogie Woogie On St. Louis Blues” and a bopping “Jumping With Symphony Sid” with Dicky Wells. Hines shows amazing chops on the boogie woogie, while the Hangover band recording with “Mary Marsala/tp, Darnell Howard/cl and Jimmy Archey/tb are propelled by a hard driving Joe Watkins drum set on “Ballin’ The Jack” and “Sweet Georgia Brown.” These guys play like they’re trying to prove something!
A cozy quartet has Hines with Calvin Newborn/g, Carl Pruit/b and Bill English/dr for two discs worth of 1959 recordings at Chicago’s London House. The band swings with delight on a sublime “Rosetta” and Hines shows his ability to glide on the ivories on “Moonlight in Vermont” and “Willow Weep For Me.” This atmosphere is where Hines was at his best, able to stretch out into the modern at will, but still retain his lyricism from the swing as well as his drive from the hot jazz era. A dvd of Hines in 1970 has him all alone at the piano, veering through a lovely Fats Waller Medley which includes Hines singing on “Honeysuckle Rose” while his fingers flow like champagne on “I Cover The Waterfront.”
Most jazz fans don’t have any Earl Hines material, and it’s a pity, as he was a true link from jazz’s birth into the modern era. Check out a real pioneer that struck gold.
Storyville Records