Requisites

Hear Ye!!!! Hear Ye!!!! ~ The Red Mitchell-Harold Land Quintet | By Eddie Carter

The simplest thing I can say about this morning’s choice from the library is it’s a first-rate West Coast Hard-Bop session. But rather than teasing you with a morsel or taste, I’ll attempt to deliver a full-balanced meal to nourish your jazz appetite. Hear Ye!!!! Hear Ye!!!! (Atlantic SD 1376) brings together two elite masters of this style; double-bassist, composer, lyricist, poet, Red Mitchell and composer, tenor saxophonist, Harold Land as co-leaders of a quintet consisting of Carmell Jones on trumpet; Frank Strazzeri on piano; and Leon Betties on drums.  My copy used in this report is the original 1962 US Mono release (1376).

Side One starts with Triplin’ Awhile, a midtempo tune by Land allowing everyone solo opportunities. It opens as a two-instrument dialogue between Harold and Red on the introduction before the ensemble adds to the conversation for the theme.  Land delivers the lead statement with a festive appeal perfectly suitable for dancing. The front line fills the gaps with a brief thematic interlude preceding Carmell’s response, a cheerfully bright performance with a good summer groove. Frank makes an intriguing examination next setting up a comfortable beat for Red who captures the soulful mood to perfection.  Leon takes the final spot on a feisty solo moving fluently towards a short coda.

The tempo moves upward for Rosie’s Spirit, the first of two Mitchell creations opening with the quintet’s vivaciously spirited theme.  Carmell leads off with an effervescent improvisation succeeded by Red’s sprightly statement of swift verses, then Harold seizes the opportunity for a short scorcher. Frank takes a furious flight on the next reading and Leon dives into a lively finale with a bristling passion ascending to a joyful climax.

The title tune, also by Mitchell, concludes the first side on a laid-back note beginning with an introduction by Harold and Red segueing into the quintet’s midtempo melody. Land opens with a bluesy, straightforward solo that’s neat and tidy, then Jones says plenty on the next performance with pinpoint accuracy. Strazzeri exhibits his strong chops on a frisky reading, and Mitchell makes a superb case as one of the best bassists in jazz on the closer.

Somara is from Carmell’s pen, opening Side Two on a brief introduction by the trio blossoming into a collective medium-fast melody.  Land launches the lead solo with high-octane velocity, then Mitchell tackles the second turn radiantly. Carmell cooks with ravenous energy next, followed by Strazzeri who’s on fire on the fourth reading.  Betties exchanges a concise reading of incandescent heat with both horns into the closing chorus.

Catacomb is the second Land original, slowing the speed to a moderate pace from the previous burner as evidenced on the ensemble’s melody.  Harold excels on the opening solo, blowing free and easy against the trio’s sterling groundwork. Red is confidently assertive and direct on the second reading with impeccable intonation, then Carmell melds each note of the third interpretation into a powerful work of inspired creativity. Frank follows, painting an aural picture of melodic emotion with rich and mellow hues.  Leon culminates with a brief presentation that holds together into the subtle climax.

The album wraps up with Frank Strazerri’s original, Pari Passu that fastens your seat belt and you take off on a thrill ride right from the start of a torrid introduction and theme in unison. Frank kicks off the first solo voraciously, then Carmell emits intense heat from his horn. Land comes in next with the ascending movement and violent fury of a twister or tornado.  Red and Leon both have brief words with the front line for a few radiant riffs before the ensemble’s closing chorus rings the curtain down on this very entertaining album.

The sound on Hear Ye!!!! Hear Ye!!!! is outstanding, capturing the vibrant tone and transparency of each instrument vividly, emerging from your speakers with breathtaking clarity. The quintet only remained together a short time, but the meeting that collectively brought them to record this album is one of the most enjoyable jazz LP’s I’ve heard and would enthusiastically recommend anyone audition.

The All Music review by noted author and historian, Scott Yanow states that “this is a fine effort from a group that deserved greater recognition at the time”. I couldn’t agree with him more and will only add that the verification of his statement can be found within the cover of Hear Ye!!!! Hear Ye!!!! by The Red Mitchell-Harold Land Quintet!

~ Excerpt by Scott Yanow – Source: AllMusic.com ~ I’m Old Fashioned, The Way I Feel – Source: Discogs.com

>~ © 2020 by Edward Thomas Carter

Hear Ye!!!! Hear Ye!!!! is an album by the Red Mitchell-Harold Land Quintet recorded in San Francisco, California on October 14th (tracks 1, 3 & 4) and December 13th (tracks 2, 5 & 6), 1961 and released on the Atlantic label in 1962.

Tracks | 52:41

1. Triplin’ Awhile (Harold Land) – 7:46
2. Rosie’s Spirit (Red Mitchell) – 5:26
3. Hear Ye! (Mitchell) – 6:54
4. Somara (Carmell Jones) – 6:42
5. Catacomb (Land) – 8:21
6. Pari Passu (Frank Strazzeri) – 4:55

• Red Mitchell – bass
• Harold Land – tenor saxophone
• Carmell Jones – trumpet
• Frank Strazzeri – piano
• Leon Petties – drums

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

The Quarantined Jazz Voyager wants you to be safe and encourages your diligence in staying healthy by not rushing to get back to normal. As we continue to practice social distancing by staying home, we can listen to great music and share that music with each other weekly to give you a little insight into the music choices during this sabbatical from jet setting investigations of jazz around the globe.

The world will be back and so will I. Until that outcome comes to fruition, this week’s entry is the 1965 album Angel Eyes by tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Errol Leslie Buddle was born on April 29, 1928 and raised in Adelaide, Australia. He first learned the banjo and mandolin and began learning jazz after listening to a Bobby Limb performance in 1944. He attended the Elder Conservatorium of Music as well as the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Influenced by the sound of the bassoon in Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and The Firebird, he began playing the instrument. Over the course of his career, Buddle played fourteen reed instruments and several others. Moving to Melbourne in 1946 he began playing the radio circuit.

Relocating to Sydney by 1951 and performed weekly at the nightclub Chequers’. Another move to Windsor, Ontario in 1952 had him joining the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.

Often performing in Detroit, Michigan, he met and collaborated with Elvin Jones and Johnnie Davis. Errol performed at the jazz club Klein’s and eventually led what later became the Errol Buddle Quartet. He also founded The Australian Jazz Quartet with Jack Brokensha, Bryce Rohde and Dick Healey. The group served as the backing band to several musicians and later played throughout North America before touring Australia in 1958, then disbanded.

He also put together a quintet in various configurations with Bryce Rohde, piano; Dick Healy, flute and alto sax; Jack Brokensha, vibes; Jimmy Gannon, bass; and Frank Capp, drums. After 1958 he performed occasionally.

Bassoon and tenor saxophonist Errol Buddle, who over the course of his career played fourteen reed instruments and several others, passed away at his home in Potts Point, New South Wales on February 22, 2018, aged 89.

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Requisites

Up next from the library is a recent acquisition by a member of The Jazz Messengers and a superb tenor saxophonist of the first order.  Hank Mobley steps into the spotlight with his 2020 release Poppin’ (Blue Note Tone Poet Series B0030597-01). It was the third of four dates Hank recorded that year and he leads an outstanding sextet consisting of Art Farmer on trumpet; Pepper Adams on baritone sax; Sonny Clark on piano; Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums.  The title tune by Mobley kicks off Side One with a vigorously energetic melody in unison. Sonny is up first, delivering each note with radiant heat, illustrating he was maturing and developing the style that would make him one of Blue Note’s most frequently recorded musicians. Pepper steps in next, building each verse with zestful virtuosity, then Art attacks the next solo with great relish.  Hank executes a knockout performance next and Philly closes with propelling force ahead of the reprise and coda.

Darn That Dream, written in 1939 by Jimmy Van Heusen and Eddie De Lange made its debut in the Broadway musical Swingin’ The Dream that premiered that year.  The sextet opens with a brief introduction by the trio and a pensive opening chorus led by Mobley who begins with a softly expressive interpretation.  Farmer also gives a voluptuously pretty muted performance revealing his intimate feelings. Adams follows with a reading exhibiting sensual beauty, then Clark takes the final spot on a deeply enticing solo leading to Hank’s poignantly affecting ending.  Getting’ Into Something, also by the leader ends Side One with the ensemble presenting a lively melody.  Hank goes first with a vibrant performance that starts the listener’s finger-snapping and foot-tapping.  Art follows with a dazzling display of fireworks, then Pepper takes over for a captivating presentation of creative excitement and Sonny caps the solos with electrifying enthusiasm driving straight into the closing chorus.

Tune-Up by Miles Davis starts Side Two, giving everyone a chance for extensive solos starting with a brief introduction by Jones leading the way into the sextet’s collective melody.  Miles wrote it in 1953 and it originally appeared on the ten-inch LP, Miles Davis Quartet a year later. Farmer brings the heat on a fiery hot opening solo, then Pepper takes flight next proceeding swiftly through an exhilarating statement.  Clark fills the next spot of a hard-driving performance with a spontaneous lyricism that burns brightly and strongly. Paul heats up the fourth solo, walking briskly with blazing bass lines, then Hank raises the temperature a few degrees higher on the next solo with electrical energy.  Philly puts the exclamation point on the song with a short statement of ferocious intensity leading to the summation. Hank’s East of Brooklyn closes the album with a soulful Latin flavor on the melody by the sextet.  The leader starts the solos with a charismatic performance, then Art steps up next to spread a little joy on the second statement.  Pepper displays his remarkable gift for straight-ahead bop on a gorgeous reading next, and Sonny reveals the hands of a master in a splendid interpretation that’s a treat to hear.  Paul provides the perfect ending in a nicely conceived, well-executed presentation that says something succinctly before the ensemble’s reprise and exit.

Hank Mobley was also a prolific and gifted composer, whether he wrote tender ballads or torrid uptempo tunes, each work is so eminently enjoyable to listen to and several have become jazz standards.  He recorded a total of twenty albums for Blue Note from 1955 to 1970, and also made records for Prestige, Roulette, Savoy and one LP for Cobblestone as co-leader of The Cedar Walton-Hank Mobley Quintet.  His time with The Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis, Horace Silver and as a leader served him well as one of the best and most sought-after tenor saxophonists in Hard-Bop and Soul-Jazz during the sixties and early seventies.  Lung problems from smoking would force Hank to retire in the mid-seventies. He worked only two more times performing once in 1985 and an engagement a few months before his death from pneumonia at the age of fifty-five on May 30, 1986.

The music on Poppin’ was exquisitely recorded by Rudy Van Gelder and the sound quality is simply breathtaking.  The album was analog remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original master tapes, and the reissue was supervised by Joe Harley of Music Matters Jazz.  The result is the sextet emerges from your speakers with superb detail and fidelity from each of the instruments as if they’re playing right in front of you. Like their MMJ cousins, the Blue Note Tone Poet Series reissues utilize 180-gram audiophile vinyl, are plated and pressed at RTI, and come in deluxe gatefold packaging with photos worthy of hanging on your listening room wall.  The three-horn lineup of Pepper Adams, Art Farmer, and the leader make a formidable front line together and are all excellent soloists. The music swings throughout each selection with the superb ensemble work provided by Sonny Clark, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. In short, Poppin’ by Hank Mobley is a stellar fifties session that I not only recommend but feel will be welcomed in the libraries of any new or seasoned jazz fan!

~ Miles Davis Quartet (Prestige PRLP-161); The Complete Blue Note Hank Mobley Fifties Sessions (Mosaic Records MQ10-181) – Source: Discogs.com

~ Darn That Dream, Swingin’ The Dream – Source: JazzStandards.com

~ RTI is the abbreviation for Record Technologies, Inc.

~ Hank Mobley – Source: Wikipedia.org

1. Poppin’ ~ 6:33
2. Darn That Dream (DeLange, VanHeusen) ~ 6:10
3. Gettin’ Into Something ~ 6:33
4. Tune-Up (Davis) ~ 10:53
5. East Of Brooklyn ~ 10:09

• Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
• Art Farmer – trumpet
• Pepper Adams – baritone saxophone
• Sonny Clark – piano
• Paul Chambers – bass
• Philly Joe Jones – drums

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Preston Haynes Love, born April 26, 1921 in Omaha, Nebraska, grew up in the North Omaha and graduated from North High. He became renowned as a professional sideman and saxophone balladeer in the heyday of the big band era. He was a member of the bands of Nat Towles, Lloyd Hunter, Snub Mosley, Lucky Millinder and Fats Waller before getting his big break with the Count Basie Orchestra when he was 22. Love played and recorded with the Count’s band from 1945–1947 and played on Basie’s only #1 hit record, Open The Door Richard.

Love eventually became a bandleader and played behind Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, his friends Johnny Otis and Wynonie Harris, with whom he had several hits.

In 1952, he launched the short-lived Spin Records, as a joint effort with songwriter Otis René (When It’s Sleepy Time Down South). The label released material by the Preston Love Orchestra, among others.

As the music changed so did he and in the early 1960s Love moved to Los Angeles, California and began working with Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, eventually becoming Motown’s West Coast house bandleader with whom he played & toured with The Four Tops, The Temptations, Tammi Terrell, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder among others.

He recorded with Nichelle Nichols, Janis Joplin, Frank Zappa, Shuggie Otis, T-Bone Walker, Charles Brown, Ruth Brown, and many others. Preston also appears in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty For Me with the Johnny Otis band. He toured the U.S. and Europe quite frequently into the 2000s, additionally lecturing and writing about the history he was part of.

In his later years Love moved back to Omaha, wrote a book, led bands, the last of which featured his daughter vocalist Portia Love, drummer Gary E. Foster, pianist Orville Johnson, and bassist Nate Mickels. He was an advertising agent for the Omaha Star, a local newspaper serving the city Black community.

A recipient of several awards and honors including induction into the Omaha Black Music Hall Of Fame, saxophonist, bandleader, and songwriter Preston Love, who released three albums as a leader, passed away on February 12, 2004, after battling prostate cancer.

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