You can make a good argument that REAL jazz didn’t come from New Orleans, but up the river a bit to Kansas City, which brought us Basie and, of course, a guy named Charlie Parker who influenced everyone in his wake. Here are three albums from the wonderful reissue giants Avid and all three are heavily influenced by, or come from, the land of great BBQ.
Duke Jordan was Charlie Parker’s pianist in the late 40s, so he knew thing or two about bebop. The 1955 Do It Yourself session has four tunes with protoboppers Gigi Gryce/as, Oscar Pettiford/b and Kenny Clarke/dr and they do some great work on thriving takes of “Sometimes I’m Happy” and “Jordu” while “Embraceable You” floats like a dandelion. A latter session from the same year has Jordan in a trio setting with Percy Heath/b and Art Blakey/dr and they do some wonderful things with Jordan’s own “Sultry Eve” and a hip take of “Night in Tunisia.” A quintet brings in Cecil Payne/bs and Eddie Bert/tb and the bari adds extra molasses to “Cu-Ba” while raising a few eyebrows on “Scotch Blues.” The 1960 Flight to Jordan is a true classic, with Dizzy Reece/tp and Stanley Turrentine/ts holding the front line with Jordan, a pre-Coltrane Reggie Workman/b and Art Taylor/dr. Turrentine preaches on “Deacon Joe” and the fingers are snapping on “Split Kick and the title track. Bop at its best. The 1962 soundtrack for the French film was with the solid team of Charlie Rouse/ts, Sonny Cohn/tp, Eddie Kahn/b and Art Taylor/dr, but the feeling is more background than you might prefer. Moody for the film noire fans.
Big Joe Turner was the embodiment of the KC blues shouter-big, bold and room filling. This 2 disc set is the PERFECT starting point to find out what the fuss of the KC sound is all about. A heap of singles from 1947-47 have Turner with a group of barrelhouse pianists, the best of which are lifelong teammate Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons, with the settings varying between duets all the way to septets. Earthy treatments of material like “Nobody in Mind,” “Lucille, Lucille” and “Miss Brown Blues” are just heart wrenching, and the definition of what KC is all about. Then, the absolutely Desert Island Disc of Boss of the Blues from 1956 has Turner with Johnson and a roomful of Basie sidemen being pulsed along by Freddie Green. The group is swinging loose and giving textbook renderings of “Cherry Red,” “Roll ‘Em Pete” and there’s a reading of “How Long Blues” that will have you shaking in your boots as BIg Joe gasps for his final breath at the end. A bunch of outtakes from the session are rougher, looser and therefore even better than the originals. Finally, a 4 tune set from the 1958 Newport Jazz Fest has Turner with a swinging team that includes Pete Johnson/p, Buck Clayton/tp, Buddy Tate-Georgie Auld/ts and Kenny Burrell that swing like the Daisy Chain on “Honey Hush” and “Corrina, Corrina.” You’ll wear this set out, or it will wear YOU out!
Alto saxist Phil Woods is still with us, and still smitten by the Bird Bug. Here, he’s caught in an early phase of his long career, with a sizzling quintet session from ’56 with Donald Byrd/tp, Al haig/p, Teddy Kotick/b and Charlie Persip/dr. Woods is at home with classics “Dewey Square” and “Lover Man,” while his own “House of Chan” holds up well. A rotating team which includes up to three altos at once has Woods with Gene Quill, Jackie McLean, John Jenkins and Hal McKusick forming an alto horn section that pre-dates Supersax. “Bird Feathers” is fascinating in that you get to compare Woods with McLean in their tone, style and delivery, while “Airegin” hits hard with the addition of Billy Byers on trombone. A 1957 Memorial Concert dedicated to Parker includes Duke Jordan/p, Wendell Marshall/b, Cecil payne/bs and everyone stretches out in hog heaven on “Steeplechase” and the more obscure “Buzzy.” A couple songs from a 1959 gig at the Half Note with Zoot Sims/ts, Al Cohn/ts, Mose Allison/p (!), Paul Motian/dr and Knobby Tota/b(?) tear through “Wee Dot” and “After You’re Gone.” A celebration of Ornithology.
Avid Group UK