by Scott Yanow
MOSAIC’S LATEST BOX SET
The Vanguard label originally featured classical and folk music. In 1953, the legendary producer and talent scout John Hammond was hired to produce the Vanguard Jazz Showcase, a series that continued until 1959. Hammond focused on recording swing era veterans who were still very much in their prime and the result was a series of mainstream jazz classics.
The limited-edition seven-CD Mosaic box set Classic Vanguard Small Group Swing Sessions brought back a variety of timeless sessions. Now the six-CD Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions reissues additional albums that feature five major pianists.
While the otherwise admirable and well-researched liner notes by Thomas Cunliffe states that many of these sessions have been unavailable since their original issue, often as ten-inch Lps, actually all of the music was later reissued on Lps and most also appeared on CDs that can be found without much difficulty. Ironically Bobby Henderson’s Call House Blues, which along with Mel Powell’s octet session Bandstand was left off of this reissue, is the scarcest of the Vanguards and one that I have yet to hear. It is a pity that this box could not have also included the two missing albums and been seven CDs instead of six.
But focusing on what is included, there are quite a few timeless performances. Leading off the package are nine songs by drummer Jo Jones’ trio with pianist Ray Bryant (1931-2011) and bassist Tommy Bryant. The pianist is heard in the original version of his famous originals “Little Susie” and one of his earliest renditions of “Cubano Chant.” He also plays the lowdown blues “Spider Kelly’s Blues” and the uptempo blues “Bicycle For Two.” Jones takes some fine solos (usually on brushes) along the way and is showcased extensively on “Ol’ Man River.”
While Sir Charles Thompson (1918-2016) could sound like his friend Count Basie, on the two sessions that he leads he plays forward-looking swing in his own voice. Four songs are performed with the famous Count Basie rhythm section (rhythm guitarist Freddie Green, bassist Walter Page and drummer Jo Jones) while the second set is with guitarist Skeeter Best (a major asset) and bassist Aaron Bell in a drumless trio. Thompson sometimes includes riffs that add to the standards’ freshness and he also swings such then-current pop tunes as “Hey There” and “Mr. Sandman.”
Although he was active in Harlem in the 1930s, Bobby Henderson (1910-1969) settled in Albany, New York and did not make any recordings until John Hammond rediscovered him in 1956. That was a real pity for Henderson was an excellent stride and swing pianist with his own musical personality. His Handful Of Keys album which is reissued in the Mosaic box features him playing solo piano on a set that pays tribute to his old friend Fats Waller. He strides quite well on “Handful Of Keys” and a slightly slower than usual “Ain’t Misbehavin,” plays a lowdown “Blues For Fats,” and is in top form on “Sugar.” While “Sweet Lorraine” and “Twelfth Street Rag (the latter taken at a rapid pace) are not associated with Waller, Fats would have enjoyed this memorable date.
Mel Powell (1923-1998) became famous in 1941 when he was just 18, playing piano and arranging for Benny Goodman. At that point, he had already been playing with major jazz artists for two years. He was part of Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Band during 1943-45, wrote music for movies and cartoons, studied classical music with Paul Hindemith, and continued for a time recording jazz on a freelance basis and having reunions with Benny Goodman. After the mid-1950s, Powell mostly worked as a non-tonal classical composer. Two CDs on the Mosaic box feature Powell in several different settings. He leads an exciting septet that includes trumpeter Buck Clayton, trombonist Henderson Chambers, and clarinetist Edmond Hall with the highlights being a revival of “It’s Been So Long” and uptempo versions of “’S Wonderful” and Eubie Blake’s “You’re Lucky To Me.” Out of place but rather fascinating is Powell’s solo piano rendition of his three-part classical work “Sonatina For Piano.” He is heard playing with two trios that have drummer Bobby Donaldson and either tenor-saxophonist Paul Quinichette or cornetist Ruby Braff performing music that ranges from hot swing to surprisingly adventurous pieces (particularly “Borderline,” “Thigamagig,” and “Bouquet”) that hint strongly at his interest in classical music. For his final album from 1955, Powell’s swing-based piano (influenced in these settings by Teddy Wilson and Earl Hines) is featured in a variety of groups ranging from trios to a septet. While some of the arrangements are intriguing, best are the more freewheeling numbers, particularly the tunes (including a blazing “Liza,” “The Best Thing For You,” and “Rosetta”) that feature Mel Powell interacting with the inspired cornet playing of Ruby Braff. The music on these titles from Oct. 19, 1955 are so exciting that it is a real shame that, with the exception of a few one-time appearances with Benny Goodman and an informal set of music from a 1987 cruise, Mel Powell at age 32 was finished with jazz.
The final two discs on the Mosaic box are the classic duets by cornetist Ruby Braff and pianist Ellis Larkins from 1955. Braff (1927-2003) was considered a new discovery at the time even though he had recorded with clarinetist Edmond Hall in 1949 and been recording regularly since 1952. A swing stylist whose heroes were Louis Armstrong and Lester Young, Braff was nearly alone in his generation since nearly all of his contemporaries were much more inspired in bebop. He stuck to his guns throughout his career, working with veterans in the 1950s and much younger swing players in the 1980s and ‘90s. Braff always had his own recognizable sound, played with a great deal of passion, and made every note count. Ellis Larkins (1923-2002) had a much different quieter musical personality, working as a masterful accompanist and seeming to know every song ever written and every possible chord. His tasteful playing was always in demand by singers and, like Braff, he was often dramatic in the way that he contrasted sounds with silence.
Braff and Larkins recorded two full duet albums during 1955: 11 standards (some rarely played) and two blues on Feb. 17, and a dozen Rodgers and Hart songs on Oct. 14. The warm ballads and occasional medium-tempo performances are consistently exquisite. These recordings became famous with Braff and Larkins later recording a duet album for Chiaroscuro (1972) and two for Arbors (1994) that nearly reach the heights of their 1955 meetings.
Needless to say, Mosaic’s limited-edition Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions should be acquired as soon as possible by anyone with an interest in these brilliant artists. It is available from www.mosaicrecords.com.
Candid Records has had three different lives. Formed as a subsidiary to Cadence in 1960 with Nat Hentoff as its A&R man and producer, Candid recorded around 20 releases with gems by Charles Mingus, Cecil Taylor (on dates actually led by Buell Neidlinger), Steve Lacy, Pee Wee Russell, Booker Little, Don Ellis, Richard Williams, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, Booker Ervin, bluesmen Otis Spann and Lightnin’ Hopkins and a few others during 1960-61. Many of those albums are considered highpoints in the careers of the artists. However due to Cadence’s financial problems, Candid stopped recording after late 1961. While the music was leased and reissued a few times, nothing much was heard from Candid until the late 1980s when producer Alan Bates bought the label, recording 300 new jazz albums in the next three decades. In 2019 Bates decided to retire, selling Candid to Glen Barros who with a few other executives brought back Candid in 2021 with reissues and new recordings.
Many of the albums from the Nat Hentoff era have returned including the three in this review. Pianist Jaki Byard (1922-99) was one of the most versatile of all jazz pianists. While based in bop, he could also play swing, closely imitate Dave Brubeck, play credible stride piano, and engage creatively in free improvisations. His solo piano album Blues For Smoke from 1960, his first as a leader, was not released until 1988 despite being filled with brilliant playing. Byard pays tribute to earlier styles on “Pete And Thomas (Tribute To The Ticklers),” and “Spanish Tinge No. 1,” and also looks ahead to the future. Most unique is the all-too brief “Jaki’s Blues Next” which has him alternating between sounding like James P. Johnson and Cecil Taylor, finally playing the two very different approaches at the same time!
Nancy Harrow, who is still with us at age 94, had a fast start to her career once she decided to sing jazz. In 1960 she was discovered by Nat Hentoff while singing at a club. He soon had her record her debut, Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues. 30 at the time, the recording did well and was followed by a set for Atlantic in 1962. But the singer became busy raising a family, musical tastes changed, and she would not record again until 1978. Fortunately her career became busy after that until she began to slow down in her seventies.
On Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues, Nancy Harrow is teamed with three Count Basie veterans (trumpeter Buck Clayton who provided the arrangements, trombonist Dickie Wells, and tenor-saxophonist Buddy Tate) in a nine-piece group that also includes pianist Dick Wellstood and guitarist Kenny Burrell. Highlights include “On The Sunny Side Of The Street,” “All Too Soon,” a seven minute “Blues For Yesterday” and the title cut. There is plenty of spirit and enthusiasm to be heard on this memorable album and Nancy Harrow displays great potential which she would later realize.
Bluesman Memphis Slim (1915-88) had already been recording for over 20 years when Hentoff got him into the studio. A talented pianist who probably could have played jazz, and a personable and expressive blues singer, Memphis Slim (whose real name was Peter Chatman) was born in Memphis, moving to Chicago in 1939. He teamed up with Big Bill Broonzy, recorded regularly for the Bluebird label, led jump blues bands in the mid-to-late 1940s, and composed “Nobody Loves Me” which later became “Every Day I Have The Blues.” He stayed busy in the United States in the 1950s but moved permanently to Paris in 1962 where he worked regularly for 25 years.
Memphis Slim USA teams Slim in a trio with harmonica player Jazz Gillum and guitarist Arbee Stidham, both of whom also sing. They perform a wide-ranging set of blues including “Born With The Blues,” “Red Haired Boogie,” “Harlem Bound,” and “Bad Luck And Troubles.” The combination of instruments works well and Memphis Slim in heard throughout in top form.
All three of the Candid reissues plus many more releases are available at www.candidrecords.shop.musictoday.com.
Every jazz musician needs a well-written press biography, every CD (and even downloads) deserves informative liner notes (I have now written 995), and important events benefit from press releases. I write all of these and more at reasonable rates. Please contact me at 661-678-3542 or at scottyanowjazz@yahoo.com for further information about my services. My latest book, Jazz Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist (My Jazz Memoirs) is available at www.amazon.com.
I have a new book that is available from amazon.com. Life Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist. It is subtitled My Jazz Memoirs and is my 12th book and first in a few years. I discuss in an often-humorous fashion my early days and discovery of jazz, my period as the jazz editor of Record Review, the story behind my involvement with the All Music Guide, and I reminisce about some of my adventures as an amateur musician. Included are vintage interviews with Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, and Maynard Ferguson, encounters with Clint Eastwood, summaries of the Monterey and Playboy Jazz Festivals (including a full-length review of the 1985 Playboy Festival), memories of other events (such as the IAJE Conventions), and brief snapshots of many memorable club and concert performances. There is also background information about my other books, evaluations of the jazz critics who inspired me early on, and my thoughts on jazz criticism which includes advice to up-and-coming jazz journalists. Rounding out the book is a chapter on how the jazz writing business has changed over the past 50 years, and appendixes that include the jazz greats of the past, 86 jazz giants of today, 21 young performers to look for in the future, jazz books and DVDs that everyone should own, and a dozen enjoyable Hollywood jazz films.
Life Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist, a paperback book, sells for $26 through Amazon.com Signed copies (which will take 2-3 weeks) are also available for $30 (which includes free postage) by sending the money via Pay Pal to scottyanowjazz@yahoo.com and by sending your mailing address to that E-mail.