Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Richard Edwin Morrissey was born on May 9, 1940 in Horley, Surrey, England. Self-taught, he started playing clarinet in his school band, The Delta City Jazzmen, at the age of sixteen with fellow pupils. He then joined the Original Climax Jazz Band before going on to join trumpeter Gus Galbraith’s Septet, where alto saxophonist Peter King introduced him to Charlie Parker’s recordings, Shortly afterward he began specializing on tenor saxophone.

Making his name as a hard bop player, Morrissey appeared regularly at the Marquee Club in 1960, and recorded his first solo album It’s Morrissey, Man! in 1961 at the age of 21 for Fontana Records. Spending most of 1962 in Calcutta, India as part of the Ashley Kozak Quartet, they played three 2-hour sessions seven days a week. Upon returning to the UK he formed his quartet and recorded three LPs, Have You Heard?, Storm Warning!, and Here and Now & Sounding Good!.

He went on to play regular gigs in London and during this time Dick also played extensively in bands led by Ian Hamer and Harry South, including The Six Sounds. He also played briefly in Ted Heath’s Big Band, Johnny Dankworth and his Orchestra, the Harry South Big Band. and Eric Burdon and The Animals’ Big Band.

The mid-1960s, saw Dick played with Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy Witherspoon, J. J. Jackson and Sonny Stitt together with guitarist Ernest Ranglin recorded with him during the Sixties and early Seventies.

In 1969, Morrissey by thenwas a  many-time winner and runner-up of the Melody Maker Jazz Poll, and teaming up with another Melody Maker award-winner, guitarist Terry Smith, with whom he had worked in J. J. Jackson’s Band, to form an early jazz-rock group, If.

When If disbanded in 1975, he toured Germany and the United States, recording with the Average White Band, before meeting up with Glaswegian guitarist, Jim Mullen. With some of the members of AWB, together they formed Morrissey–Mullen, recording their first album, Up in 1976) in New York. On returning to Great Britain, Morrissey–Mullen formed another band which rapidly became Britain’s most highly acclaimed jazz-fusion band of the day. They ultimately recorded seven albums over the 16 years they were together, with Morrissey and Mullen collaborating on each other’s solo albums.

He went on to have  numerous collaborations with Tubby Hayes, Bill Le Sage, Roy Budd, Ian Hamer, Ian Carr, Tony Lee, Tony Archer, Michael Garrick, Spike Robinson, Allan Ganley, Peter King, Ray Warleigh, and Hoagy Carmichael among others. Tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, and composer Dick Morrissey passed away on November 8, 2000.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Herbert Bickford Steward was born May 7, 1926 in Los Angeles, California.

He recorded six albums as a leader and worked as a sideman with Serge Chaloff, Zoot SimsAl Cohn and Stan Kenton.

Saxophonist Herbie Steward, widely known for being one of the tenor saxophone players in Four Brothers, part of Woody Herman’s Second Herd, passed away on August 9, 2003 in Clearlake, California.

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The Quaratined Jazz Voyager

Still not all that anxious to mingle as safeguards are being lifted and society is comfortable in bigger groups. I am staying to my schedule of grocery, doctor visits, home.

The album I’ve chosen for this week is the 1970 Blue Note album Fancy Free by trumpeter Donald Byrd. It was recorded May 9, and June 6, 1969 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The album was produced by Duke Pearson.

This album has Byrd leading a large ensemble that prominently featured Frank Foster on tenor, Lew Tabackin and Jerry Dodgion on flute, along with several percussionists. This date has Duke Pearson playing electric piano and marks the first time Byrd utilized the instrument. On this project the trumpeter concentrated more on grooves and beats, accompanying them on his trumpet rather than being driven by them.

1. Fancy Free (Donald Byrd) ~ 12:06
2. I Love the Girl (Donald Byrd) ~ 8:48
3. The Uptowner (Mitch Farber) ~ 9:16
4. Weasil (Charles Hendricks) ~ 9:00

• Donald Byrd – trumpet
• Julian Priester – trombone
• Frank Foster – tenor and soprano saxophone
• Jerry Dodgion (#1, 3) – flute
• Lew Tabackin (#2, 4) – flute
• Duke Pearson – electric piano
• Jimmy Ponder – guitar
• Roland Wilson – bass guitar
• Joe Chambers (#2, 4), Leo Morris (#1, 3) – drums
• Nat Bettis – percussion
• John H. Robinson Jr. – percussion

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Hasaan Ibn Ali, born William Henry Langford, Jr. on May 6, 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1946 at age 15, he toured with trumpeter Joe Morris’s rhythm and blues band and two years later he was playing locally with Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, J. J. Johnson, Max Roach, and others. Based in Philadelphia, he freelanced and acquired a reputation locally as an original composer and theorist. The pianist performed with Horace Arnold in New York City in 1959, and again in 1961–62, in a trio with Henry Grimes.

According to Roach, while visiting New York, Ibn Ali went from club to club to play, and sometimes at the drummer’s home in the middle of the night continued to play unaccompanied on the piano there. The drummer routinely recorded Ibn Ali’s playing in this way when the pianist visited.

An album, The Max Roach Trio Featuring the Legendary Hasaan, was recorded on December 4 and 7, 1964, with bassist Art Davis, and was released six months later. Seven of the tracks were written by Ibn Ali. After the release of thealbum,

Ibn Ali mentored saxophonist Odean Pope, Ibn Ali had further studio sessions, with Pope, Art Davis and drummer Khalil Madi, on August 23 and September 7, 1965. Unfortunately for music posterity, the master tapes were destroyed in the fire at Atlantic’s warehouse at Long Branch, New Jersey in 1978. Pope believed that the recordings were not released by Atlantic because the label found out that the pianist had been imprisoned shortly after the sessions for drug offences. A copy of the recording was uncovered decades later; CD and LP versions were released as Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album by Omnivore Recordings in 2021.

His parents died in a fire that destroyed their home North Gratz Street on October 24, 1980. Reckless with his health, pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali who was strongly influenced by Elmo Hope, passed away in 1980 at 48 or 49. He built a reputation in Philadelphia, where he influenced musicians including John Coltrane, but he remained little known elsewhere.

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Requisites

The Kenny Drew Trio steps into the spotlight for this morning’s discussion with their 1980 album, Ruby My Dear (SteepleChase Records SCS 1129). This was Kenny’s fourth release on the Danish label using a trio format, the first three are Dark Beauty (1974), If You Could See Me Now (1975), and Morning (1976). Here, Drew’s working with David Friesen on bass and Clifford Jarvis on drums.  My copy used in this report is the US Stereo album sharing the Danish catalog number.

Kenny began playing the piano at age five, and later attended the High School of Music & Art. His first recording was with Howard McGhee. He’s also worked with John Coltrane, Buddy DeFranco, Johnny Griffin, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Dinah Washington, and Lester Young among others. Drew also led his own groups throughout the fifties and has an extensive discography as a leader and sideman. Bassment, an uptempo original by Kenny launches Side One with an exciting introduction into a spirited melody. The leader’s opening solo sizzles right from the start, then David ends with an effective climax into the threesome’s closing chorus.

Thelonious Monk composed some of the most evocative standards in jazz and Ruby My Dear is one of his most beautiful songs. It’s named for Monk’s first love, Rubie Richardson, and was originally released in 1947, then later reissued on Genius of Modern Music, Volume 1 (1952). The trio starts the melody speaking elegantly, then Drew provides a solo of serene beauty into an intimate coda. Gentle Rain possesses a Bossa Nova flavor as originally intended by its creator, Luis Bonfá who wrote it with Matt Dubey. It premiered in The Gentle Rain that Bonfá scored with Eumir Deodato a year later. The group’s theme is sweet and lovely. Kenny swings softly on the only reading with an enchanting reading.

Side Two starts with Kenny’s Ending. This very pretty ballad opens with a short introduction by the trio preceding an elegant melody. Drew cultivates a very beautiful tone into a memorable interpretation. Friesen delivers the closing performance with easy assurance, ending with a tranquil finale. Sunspots by Austin Wells gets underway with a very pretty introduction of gentle cascades on the piano, gradually growing to a lively frolic on the opening chorus. Kenny starts the solos with a lengthy interpretation that’s a work of art. David steps in next for a rousing statement of effortless artistry. Clifford has an invigorating exchange with the leader and bassist on a breathtaking finale ahead of a soft climax.

Ruby My Dear was produced by SteepleChase Records’ Founder Nils Winther and the man behind the dials is Freddy Hansson. Both men put their talents to great use because the sound quality is astonishing with superb fidelity, placing the trio in your listening room to fill your ears with excellent music. If you’re seeking some outstanding bop for your library, I enthusiastically offer for your consideration, Ruby My Dear by The Kenny Drew Trio. It’s a perfect introduction to Drew’s music for newcomers, and an exceptional companion to his other three albums as well!

~ Dark Beauty (SteepleChase SCS-1016), Genius of Modern Music, Volume 1 (Blue Note BLP 5002), If You Could See Me Now (SteepleChase SCS-1034), Morning (SteepleChase SCS-1048), Ruby My Dear (Blue Note 549) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Kenny Drew, Ruby My Dear – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter

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