Requisites

Gettin’ Together ~ Paul Gonsalves | By Eddie Carter 

I confess to a fondness of the tenor saxophone among my favorite Jazz instruments. Gettin’ Together (Jazzland JLP 36/JLPS 936S) is a 1961 release from the library for this morning’s report. Paul Gonsalves was a proficient tenor saxophonist whose sound and style stood beside Chu Berry, Don Byas, and Coleman Hawkins. Paul, however, was no imitator; he was an original pioneer who began experimenting with different tonalities years before Coltrane started conducting his tonal investigation. He’s best known for the electrifying extensive solo of twenty-seven choruses on Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue at The Newport Jazz Festival in 1956. It immortalized him as an outstanding musician and resulted in one of the biggest-selling albums, Ellington at Newport. Here, he’s working with Nat Adderley on cornet, Wynton Kelly on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. My copy is the 1985 Original Jazz Classics Stereo reissue (Jazzland OJC-203 – J-936).

Side One opens with Yesterdays by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach. The rhythm section introduces the song gracefully. Gonsalves states the melody, then blends beautifully with Adderley’s muted cornet as the theme unfolds. Kelly opens at a softly enunciated swing. Adderley follows with a whispery, delicate reading exhibiting tender restraint. Gonsalves saves the best for last with two choruses of persuasive gentleness. J. & B. Blues by Joe Livramento turns the temperature upward with a speedy opening chorus. Paul starts with an energetic interpretation. Nat unleashes high-octane virtuosity in the following reading, and Kelly cooks on a passionately swift statement. Cobb blazes through the closer, standing out like a beacon with confident brilliance revealing the marvelous interaction he shares between Gonsalves and Adderley, who trade melodic phrases with Jimmy before the theme’s reprisal and abrupt end.

I Surrender Dear by Harry Barris and Gordon Clifford, the first of three quartet numbers, is next. Paul opens with a luxuriously fine presence. The trio joins him, providing the well-constructed foundation underneath Paul’s elegant melody and opening chorus. Kelly responds with a short, tenderly expressive reading presented with proficient taste and poetic sensibility to the incredible warmth from Jones and Cobb’s lush supplement. The first side closes with Gonsalves’ Hard Groove. A cooker launched by a fierce introduction by Cobb before the ensemble’s at a cracking pace. Gonsalves provides the concentrated heat with a scintillating opening statement. Adderley returns to the mute and sparkles on a glowingly hot reading of relentless voracity and fiery enthusiasm. Kelly follows with passionate confidence that raises the temperature for the horns, who return for a few irresistibly explosive riffs before the quintet returns to the closing theme and song’s finale.

Low Gravy, the first of two tunes by Babs Gonzales, kicks off Side Two. This blues establishes the quintet’s ability to change gears while retaining a lyrically innovative beat. The trio begins the introduction; the horns invite the listener to join this bluesy quest at a tranquil tempo. Gonsalves leads off with a firm-toned, folksy tenor solo that’s as smooth as butter on toast. Adderley returns to the open cornet and compliments the leader with some down-home cooking, an excellent display of his rhythmic subtlety and endearing depth of emotion. Kelly continues the laid-back pace on the third interpretation, capturing the character of this music very well with a groovy lick and phrasing so clear it’s velvety soft, and rhythmically moving. Jones ends the solos with an alluring, innately graceful performance in the song’s final statement that concludes with a sensuously moving ending.

I Cover The Waterfront by Johnny Green, and Edward Heyman shows off Gonsalves in one of his favorite tunes to play. This evergreen begins with a cascading flow of notes from Kelly’s piano ahead of a peerless display of sensitivity in Paul’s melody and soothing lead solo. Kelly gives an elegantly tasteful reading that relishes the song’s characteristic beauty. The title tune, Gettin’ Together, by Babs Gonzales, returns the quintet to a lively beat and opens with a memorable melody by the ensemble. Adderley solos first on the open cornet and is most robustly resourceful on the crisp, biting opening statement. Kelly skillfully makes a pertinent comment about unrestrained excitement in the following reading. Gonsalves peppers the closing statement with lively choruses of strength and assurance that meticulously soar over the rhythm section.

The album’s closer is Walkin’, by Richard Carpenter, best known as one half of the sibling Pop Vocal duo The Carpenters. The quartet opens with an aggressive introduction to get this speedy ride started. Gonsalves launches the solos with a blisteringly hot reading, steering an excellent course for Kelly to follow. He continues to surprise with a vigorously spicy presentation. Cobb also gets a chance to stretch out on the closing statement with an impeccably resilient sense of time before the theme’s return and Cobb’s fueling the energetic emotion of the quartet to the sudden finale. Gettin’ Together by Paul Gonsalves is exceptionally presented by this talented quintet and excellently recorded by Bill Stoddard. It’s also a record I’m sure will be able to provide many hours of enjoyable listening as a handsome addition to your jazz library.

~ Ellington at Newport (Columbia CL 934/CS 8648) – Source: Discogs.com
~ Yesterdays, I Surrender Dear, I Cover The Waterfront, Walkin’ – Source:JazzStandards.com, Wikipedia.org
© 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter


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