You’ve got enough sliding ‘bones here to keep a chiropractor busy for a month, as the two major bebopping brass men, JJ Johnson and Kai Winding, got together for a collection of summit meetings that were high on brass tacks. This four disc, 76 song collection has some of the swingingest brass work from a trombone you’ll ever come across.
Arguably the greatest jazz trombonist, JJ Johnson’s first effort with Winding here is actually a trombone quartet (with Bennie Green and Willie Dennis) for a bopping concert back in 1953, with the snappy “Move” and the dark “Yesterdays” rolling over you like a Mack Truck. The actual “Jai & Kai” sessions start with a rhythm team of Charles Mingus/b, John Lewis/p and Art Taylor” for a sizzling “Conversation” and the actual album delivering “Bernie’s Tune” and the classic “Lament” with Mingus, Kenny Clarke/dr and Billy Bauer/g.
There are a couple concert gigs; one from 1954 at Birdland has a joyful “Lullaby Of Birdland” and bouncy “ Funnybone” while a couple years later at Newport they sizzle on “Lover Come Back To Me”. The two keep the idea from being simply a novelty by teaming up with Quincy Jones’ Big Band with vocalist Eddie Jefferson on “Funk Junction” and a hard hitting “Grasshopper” backed by Art Blakey/dr, Oscar Pettiford/b and Horace Silver/p.
Their most sublime work is with Dick Katz/p, Paul Chambers/b and Osie Johnson on the joyful “Let’s Ge Away From It All” and “Goodbye”, with Katz remaining and Candido Camero bringing in some conga’s for a sublime “In The Wee Small Hours of the Evening”. The two return to a four trombone workout on “Four Plus Four” and “The Peanut Vendor” and close out the session with Katz and Bill Brown/b and Kenny Clarke/dr for a velvety “Violets For Your Furs”.
In this day of gimmicks and attitude selling more than pure musicianship, it’s amazing to consider that people actually were attracted to hearing what the two best trombone players of the day could accomplish. What a concept!