Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Raymond Colignon was born on February 7, 1907 in Liège, Belgium. He initially was active as an accompanist for silent films, then went on to tour Switzerland, France and Algeria. In the early 1930s, he joined the Lucien Hirsch and His Orchestra who made the first recordings for Columbia Records. Between 1931 and 1934 he worked in a nightclub in his native town. From 1935 to 1940 he played and wrote big band arrangements with Fud Candrix.

As a soloist, he recorded under his own name for the Brussels Jazz Club record label. In 1939 he recorded Honeysuckle Rose for Telefunken and Swinging Through the Style, accompanied by bassist Camille Marchand and drummer Armand Dralandts. The early Forties saw him playing in Brussels, Belgium with Jack Lowens and His Swing Quartet, in Berlin, Germany with Kurt Widmann and his dance orchestra, and in Adolf Steimel ‘s Organum dance orchestra.

In 1941/42 further recordings were made in Brussels under his own name, with trumpeter and singer Billy West recording I Hear A Rhapsody and with Tony Jongenelen Gute Nacht, Mutter (Good NIght , Mother) sung in German. In the post World War II period he worked mainly as an organist in the genre of dance and entertainment music, recording Surprise Party – Calling All Dancers or Come Dance with Me for Philips.

Pianist, organist and arranger Coco Colignon, who was involved in 53 jazz recording sessions between 1931 and 1961, transitioned on February 10, 1987 in Wavre, Belgium.

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A Date With Jimmy Smith, Volume One~ Jimmy Smith | By Eddie Carter

Jimmy Smith steps into the spotlight for this morning’s discussion with his 1957 album, A Date With Jimmy Smith, Volume One (Blue Note BLP 1547/BST 81547). This is the first of three large group recordings the organist made for Blue Note, the other two were in 1958, producing the albums, Houseparty and The Sermon and 1960, resulting in Open House and Plain Talk. It’s also the only time he recorded with Donald Byrd (tracks: A1, B1) on trumpet and Hank Mobley (tracks: A1, B1) on tenor sax. Also featured is Lou Donaldson (tracks: A1, B1) on alto sax, Eddie McFadden on guitar, Art Blakey (tracks: A1, B1), and Donald Bailey (track: A2) on drums. The copy used in this report is a friend’s 1966 Liberty Mono reissue sharing the original catalog number.

Falling In Love With Love by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart opens the album with the sextet’s collective uptempo melody. It was first heard in the musical, The Boys From Syracuse (1938). Hank leads off with a smokin’ opening solo, then Eddie puts together a swinging statement. Jimmy dispenses enthusiastic energy on the next presentation. Donald shifts into high gear on the fourth reading. Lou cooks on a delicious solo and Art shares a brief exchange with the front line ahead of the closing chorus. How High The Moon by Nancy Hamilton and Morgan Lewis is a gorgeous jazz standard from the Broadway revue, Two For The Show (1940). This is a trio tune with Bailey taking over the drum chair. Jimmy embraces the melody tenderly and gives two thoughtfully passionate solos. McFadden also has a very gentle reading and Bailey compliments both with elegant brushwork.

Funk’s Oats is a bluesy midtempo original by Jimmy beginning with the sextet stating the melody. Lou leads off this time with a joyously carefree interpretation. Donald extends the happy mood on the second statement. Hank delivers some excellent blowing with an easy swing next. Eddie unfolds the fourth reading as smooth as velvet, and Jimmy takes us into the ensemble’s reprise and exit with a delightful groove. A Date With Jimmy Smith, Volume One was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, and this Liberty reissue has an outstanding soundstage. The vinyl is quiet for a pressing of this vintage and the instruments emerge from your speakers as if the group is in your listening room. If you’re a jazz fan who enjoys the swinging organ of Jimmy Smith, I offer for your consideration A Date With Jimmy Smith, Volume One. It’s a vibrant, inspired album with everyone in top form that’s sure to make a nice addition to any jazz library!

~ Houseparty (Blue Note BLP 4002/BST 84002), Open House (Blue Note BLP 4269/BST 84269), Plain Talk (Blue Note BST 84296), The Sermon (Blue Note BLP 4011/BST 84011) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Falling In Love With Love, How High The Moon – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Buddy Cole was born Edwin LeMar Cole on December 15, 1916 in Irving, Illinois. He started his musical career in the theater, playing between movies and by age 19 he was recruited to be part of the Gil Evans band.

Moving to Hollywood, California in the second half of the 1930s, Buddy played in dance bands, including those led by Alvino Rey and Frankie Trumbauer. From the 1940s, his main work was as a studio musician, utilizing piano, electric organ, celeste, harpsichord and Novachord.

Cole worked with Henry Mancini, who used his Hammond organ for the soundtrack to the TV series Mr. Lucky. He also played most of the piano parts in the 1951 film Young Man with a Horn, subbing for Hoagy Carmichael, who appeared on screen. He also wrote the music for the television game show Truth or Consequences.

He performed on Bing Crosby’s hits In a Little Spanish Town and Ol’ Man River, and on the albums Some Fine Old Chestnuts and New Tricks. Buddy also played on Rosemary Clooney’s radio program and some recordings from the show were released on the album Swing Around Rosie.

Pianist, organist, orchestra leader, and composer Buddy Cole, who recorded several organ albums as a leader for Warner Brothers, Columbia, Alshi and Doric, passed away on November 5, 1964 in Hollywood, California.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

William James “Count” Basie was born on August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father played the mellophone, his mother played the piano and gave him his first piano lessons. Taking in laundry and baking cakes for sale for a living, she paid 25 cents a lesson for his piano instruction. The best student in school, he inished junior high school and spent much of his time at Red Bank’s Palace Theater, where he quickly learned to improvise music appropriate to the acts and the silent movies.

A natural pianist but preferring drums he was discouraged by the obvious talents of Sonny Greer, who also lived in Red Bank and became Duke Ellington’s drummer in 1919, He let the idea of drumming go and concentrated on the piano exclusively at age 15. He and Greer played together in venues until Greer set out on his professional career. By then, Basie was playing with pick-up groups for dances, resorts, and amateur shows, and Harry Richardson’s Kings of Syncopation.

By 1920 Basie was in Harlem where he bumped nto Greer and started meeting the musicians making the scene like Willie “The Lion” Smith and James P. Johnson. Before he was 20 years old, he toured extensively on the Keith and TOBA vaudeville circuits as a solo pianist, accompanist, and music director for blues singers, dancers, and comedians. This provided an early training that was to prove significant in his later career.

Back in Harlem in 1925, he met Fats Waller, who taught him how to play that instrument. As he did with Duke Ellington, Willie “the Lion” Smith helped Basie out during the lean times by arranging gigs at house-rent parties, introducing him to other leading musicians, and teaching him some piano technique.

In 1928, Basie joined Walter Page and his Famous Blue Devils. It was at this time that he picked up the moniker of Count. The next year saw him in Kansas City holding down the piano chair with Bennie Moten. After a couple of re-organizations of the band, Basie formed his own nine-piece band, Barons of Rhythm who played regularly at the Reno Club and on the radio. Moving to Chicago, Illinois the band eventually became the Count Basie Orchestra where they did their first recordings for Vocalion under the name Jones-Smith, as Basie had already signed with Decca.

Over the course of the fifty years he led the band he was instrumental in creating innovations like the use of two “split” tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, which any other bands copied. He also brought to prominence such players as Lester Young, Herschel Evans, Freddie Green, Buck Clayton, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Al Grey, Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams.

Pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer Count Basie, who recorded close to two hundred albums and in 1958 became the first Black man to win a Grammy Award, passed away on April 26, 1984.

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Soul Message ~ Richard “Groove” Holmes | By Eddie Carter

This morning’s choice from the library is an album I first heard on our then R&B station in Cleveland, Ohio, WJMO 1490 AM. I knew the song Misty from my uncle’s weekend jazz listening sessions but had never heard it played on the organ before. I called the station and that’s how I discovered organist Richard “Groove” Holmes.  Soul Message (Prestige PR 7435/PRST 7435) serves up six delicious tunes of Soul-Jazz that are something special. Gene Daniels on guitar and Jimmie Smith complete the trio, and my copy used in this report is the 1965 US Stereo pressing. Daniels played with Holmes on two earlier albums in 1961 and 1962, Groovin’ With Jug and After Hours. This was Smith’s only time recording with Richard, but he would go on to enjoy a successful career playing with Toshiko Akiyoshi, Benny Carter, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Erroll Garner, Gene Harris, Terry Gibbs, and Joe Pass.

Groove’s Groove, a soulful blues by Holmes starts with an infectious melody compelling one to snap their fingers and tap their toes right away. Richard hits a groove immediately with a marvelous interpretation. Gene follows with a statement as succulent as a huge Sunday meal from Mom’s or Grandma’s kitchen. Holmes returns for a brief anecdote ahead of the finale. Dahoud by Clifford Brown moves the tempo up to a tropical flavor in the opening chorus. Daniels emerges first with a perfectly constructed opening solo. Holmes delves down into the tune’s roots, stating his point with excellent enunciation into the trio’s reprise. Misty by Erroll Garner and Johnny Burke begins on an upbeat note with Richard soaring at length after the melody. Gene and Jimmie propel the song forward into a charming climax. Misty became Richard’s biggest hit and his signature song whenever he performed live.

Side Two starts with the trio easing into the melody of Song For My Father by Horace Silver. Daniels brings blues-rooted energy to the first solo, then Holmes builds on the momentum with a happy performance that he manages tastefully. The Things We Did Last Summer is a beautiful song by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. The trio cultivates an irresistible warmth on this 1946 evergreen with a remarkably respectful opening chorus. Richard approaches every note of the lead and closing solos softly and tenderly. Gene completes the gentle mood with a lovely interpretation of romantic reflection before the trio’s delightfully delicate ending. The title track, Soul Message wraps up this set with a cheerful sermon by Holmes who preaches a concise mellow statement with light and airy verses after the catchy melody.

Soul Message was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder and it’s a good recording, but not perfect. On Groove’s Groove during Richard’s second solo, and on Misty, the microphone picks up a bit of distortion in the upper register lasting about one verse on Groove’s Groove and during the second, third and fourth verses on Misty. This is particularly noticeable if you are wearing a good pair of headphones as I do when listening to jazz late at night. These two issues aside, the instruments have a good soundstage on the remainder of the album. Richard also recorded for Groove Merchant, Muse Records, and Pacific Jazz. He passed away from a heart attack on June 29, 1991, at the age of sixty after battling prostate cancer. If you are a fan of the jazz organ or are just discovering the music of Richard “Groove” Holmes, I invite you to audition Soul Message for a spot in your jazz library. It’s a vibrant, inspired album by the organist, and after you’ve heard it, I’m almost certain you’ll get the message!

~ After Hours (Pacific Jazz PJ-59/ST-59), Groovin’ With Jug (Pacific Jazz PJ-32/ST-32) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Misty – Source: JazzStandards.com ~ Richard “Groove” Holmes, Jimmie Smith, The Things We Did Last Summer – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter

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