As JJ Johnson was to the bebop era, trombonist Curtis Fuller defined what a trombone should sound like during the hard bop days of the 1950s, appearing on a plethora of classic albums as a sideman for John Coltrane and Art Blakey, as well as being an impressive leader on his own. Here are eight albums that no self-respecting fan of straight-ahead jazz should be without.
Fuller teams with Miles Davis members Paul Chambers/dr and Red Garland/p as well as Louis Hayes/dr and Sonny Red/as for a glassy take of “Moonlight Becomes You” and gorgeously emotive “Stormy Weather”. The same year of 1957 has Fuller bringing in a pair of French Horn players (Julius Watkins & David Amram” for a textured “Roc and Troll” and “Five Spot”. Fuller’s ’57 debut for Blue Note Records teams him with tenor man Hank Mobley, pianist Bobby Timmons, drummer Art Taylor and bassist Paul Chambers for some clever standards like “Here’s to My Lady” as well as Oscar Pettiford tunes like the hip “Oscarlypso”. His BN sophomore disc has him with baritone saxist Tate Houston and regulars , Taylor and Sonny Clark/p for a fun “Heart and Soul” and the toe tapping “Bone & Bari”. His third volume features him with the glowing horn of Art Farmer with Fuller showing his compositional skills on “Quantrale” and “Carvon”.
A couple albums on the Savoy label resulted in the classic teaming of Fuller with Benny Golson/ts, Tommy Flanagan/p, Jimmy Garrison/b and AL Harewood/dr for an irresistible “Five After Dark” and “Blues-Ette”. A larger ensemble from 1960 includes McCoy Tyner/p, Lee Morgan/tp, and Yusef Lateef for advanced charts on “Accident” and “Darryl’s Minor”. A switch to the Impulse! label results in a formidable meeting with Freddie Hubbard/tp, Jimmy Heath/ts, Jymie Merrit/b and Jimmy Cobb/dr for palpable originals like “Ladies’ Night” and “The Clan” with Fuller shining brightly on “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning”. Polished brass!