Requisites
Nippon Soul ~ Cannonball Adderley Sextet | By Eddie Carter
This morning’s discussion is about an album I first heard when I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1988. Two of my favorite record shops to visit each weekend were Everybody’s Records and Record Theatre. At the latter store, Nippon Soul (Riverside RM 477/RS 9477) by The Cannonball Adderley Sextet was playing over the loudspeakers, which blew me away, and I picked it up immediately. It was recorded during the group’s first Japanese tour in July 1963 at Tokyo’s Sankei Hall and released the following year. The personnel is Nat Adderley on cornet, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley on alto sax, Yusef Lateef on flute (track: A1), oboe (track: B3), and tenor sax (tracks: A2, A3, B1, B2), Joe Zawinul on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. My copy is the 1966 US Stereo reissue (Riverside RLP 9477).
Side One opens with Cannonball’s introduction of the title tune, Nippon Soul, an original by the altoist that begins with the sextet’s carefree melody. Nat sets the solos in motion with an infectiously swinging interpretation; then, Cannonball delivers a statement of delightful pleasure. Yusef’s flute compliments both horns on the following performance, and Joe scores a direct hit in the closer ahead of the theme’s reprise and ending. Cole Porter’s jazz standard, Easy To Love, moves briskly from the two-instrument introduction by Cannonball and Louis into the ensemble’s rapid delivery of the melody. Cannonball takes off like a race car covering a great distance in the opening solo, then engages in a vigorous exchange with Hayes into the sextet’s closing chorus, ending abruptly.
The first side finale, The Weaver by Yusef Lateef, is a dedication to a friend, Lee Weaver. Cannonball briefly introduces the song; then, the rhythm section gives an exhilarating introduction featuring each of the horns in the melody. Cannonball opens the solos energetically, then Yusef’s tenor sax enters slowly but expands into an ambitious performance of fierce intensity. Nat delivers an equal amount of heat on the following statement, and Joe enters the spotlight last with a lively aggressiveness preceding the ensemble’s quick reprise and climax. Side Two starts with Tengo Tango, Julian, and Nat’s original that’s suitable for dancing. The sextet opens the melody collectively; then, Cannonball gives a funky solo before the theme returns and the dance ends.
Come Sunday by Duke Ellington comes from his Black, Brown, and Beige suite. It opens with a gorgeous duet between Joe and Sam, the featured performers in this rendition. Joe shows a light touch in his playing that characterizes the beauty of this song to perfection, complimented by Sam’s bass and the front line’s subtle support into a tender ending. Brother John by Yusef Lateef is his tribute to John Coltrane and features him on the oboe as he leads the group through the melody. Yusef takes flight first with an adventurous opening solo. Afterward, Cannonball briefly comments, then Nat blazes into the second statement with considerable agility. Cannonball follows with a swiftly paced presentation, and Joe has one of his best moments ahead of Yusef’s theme restatement and finale.
Orrin Keepnews produced Nippon Soul, but who recorded the album is unknown. However, don’t let that dissuade you. The sound quality is exquisite, with an excellent soundstage that places the listener in the Sankei Hall audience as the musicians perform. If you’re a Cannonball Adderley fan, I invite you to check out Nippon Soul the next time you’re out vinyl shopping. It’s a fantastic set capturing The Cannonball Adderley Sextet at the top of their game, and despite being sixty years old, it sounds as fresh today as when it was first released. This album also complements their New York and San Francisco live releases and is highly recommended for a spot in your library!
~ Jazz Workshop Revisited (Riverside RM 444/RS 9444), The Cannonball Adderley Sextet in New York (Riverside RLP 404/RLP 9404) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Come Sunday, Easy To Love – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter
More Posts: choice,classic,collectible,collector,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Kaoru Abe 阿部 薫 was born on May 5, 1949 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. Self-taught at a young age, at 17 he dropped out of highschool in 1967 to focus on perfecting his playing. The following year he played his first performance at a jazz spot named Oreo.
He generally performed solo but played with notables Motoharu Yoshizawa, Takehisa Kosugi, Yosuke Yamashita, Derek Bailey, and Milford Graves. In 1970, Laoru met guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi and recorded with him.
Abe was prolific, appearing almost every day to jazz spots and concerts. His library consists almost entirely of archival and live recordings, however he has done studio recordings.
His later years saw Kaoru playing different instruments like the bass clarinet throughout his career. By 1976 for two years he was mostly explorative with the harmonica. He was portrayed in Kōji Wakamatsu’s film Endless Waltz by novelist and punk rock singer Kō Machida.
Avant-garde alto saxophonist Kaoru Abe transitioned on September 9, 1978 from Bromisoval overdose causing an acute gastric perforation.
More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Lars Gunnar Victor Gullin was born May 4, 1928 in Visby, Sweden. A child prodigy on the accordion, by age thirteen, he played clarinet in a military band and later learned the alto saxophone. After moving to Stockholm, Sweden in 1947 he became a professional musician as a pianist. Planning on a classical career he studied privately with classical pianist Sven Brandel.
He filled the baritone chair in Seymour Österwall’s band in 1949 by chance, it was enough for him to decide that it was an instrument with possibilities. He was influenced by baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan for the first time on the Birth of the Cool recordings. He worked as a member of Arne Domnérus’s septet for two years from 1951.
Gullin began working with visiting American musicians, recording with James Moody, Zoot Sims and Clifford Brown. Most importantly, he first performed with Lee Konitz in 1951, an association which was to be repeated several times in future years.
In 1953 formed his own group, probably the only regular group he was to lead. It was short-lived, breaking up later that year after Lars was responsible for causing the group to be involved in an automobile accident, although no one was seriously hurt. The next year, 1954, he won the best newcomer award in the American DownBeat magazine. Later his albums were leased to Atlantic Records in the United States and toured several European countries with Chet Baker in 1955.
The remainder of his career was blighted by his own narcotics problems and sometimes he survived on artists’ grants from the Swedish government. During most of 1959 he was active in Italy, he played with Chet Baker again and with the jazz alto saxophonist Flavio Ambrosetti, making radio broadcasts with him in Lausanne, Switzerland.
He recorded with Archie Shepp in 1963. One of his last major statements was his Aeros aromatic atomica suite recorded in 1973. A recording jointly led by Lee Konitz and pianist Lars Sjösten, Dedicated to Lee … Play the Music of Lars Gullin was recorded in 1983 and issued by Dragon Records. Baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin transitioned from a heart attack on May 17, 1976, brought on by his long-term addiction to methadone.
More Posts: bandleader,clarinet,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,saxophone
Requisites
Boss Tenor ~ Gene Ammons | By Eddie Carter
Gene Ammons enters the spotlight of this morning’s discussion with a splendid quintet date titled Boss Tenor (Prestige PRLP 7180/PRST 7180). It hit the stores in 1960 and was the first album Ammons recorded after spending two years in prison for narcotics possession. It’s also considered one of the best in his extensive discography. Here, the tenor saxophonist demonstrates his strengths in a program of two originals and five standards with an excellent rhythm section. Tommy Flanagan on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, Arthur Taylor on drums, and Ray Barretto on congas complete the ensemble. My copy is the 2016 Analogue Productions Stereo audiophile reissue sharing the original catalog number.
The quartet opens Side One by Hittin’ The Jug, a slow tempo blues by Gene Ammons that gets underway with a short solo by Tommy. Gene takes over for an exquisitely tasteful melody and opening statement. Doug answers the tenor with a laid-back reading as fresh as a cool breeze on a warm evening. Gene returns for a few final thoughts ahead of the closing chorus. The foursome picks up the pace for a lively rendition of Close Your Eyes by Bernice Petkere. Ammons shows off his spirited lyricism in the opening chorus and first solo. Flanagan briefly expresses the song’s sunny nature next as the rhythm section’s sprightly supplement holds everything together until Jug’s ending theme gently fades into silence.
The first side finale, My Romance by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, is captured in its purest essence by the ensemble. Tommy makes his entrance gently in the introduction. Gene takes over to present an elegant melody and a sweet expression of love in the song’s only interpretation, complimented by the trio’s sensuously tender accompaniment into a lovely ending. The quintet kicks off Side Two with a pleasure trip to see the Canadian Sunset by Eddie Heywood and Norman Gimbel. The rhythm section sets this enjoyable excursion in motion with their introduction, then Ammons proceeds to take a leisurely trip through the opening chorus. He completes the journey with an entertaining ride in the song’s only solo ahead of the theme’s restatement and close.
Gene’s Blue Ammons is next and reminiscent of The Happy Blues that Gene recorded in 1956. It begins with a two-instrument introduction by Doug and Art that grows into the saxophonist’s medium melody. Gene starts the solos with a relaxing presentation that’s light and airy. Tommy comes in next and swings comfortably in a short statement, then Gene has an easy-going concise conversation with Art before the closing chorus gently fades into oblivion. Charlie Parker’s Confirmation picks up the beat from the start of the quintet’s brisk melody, and Ammons opens the solos with an effervescent presentation. Flanagan follows him and gives an enthusiastic statement, then Watkins delivers a concise comment. Ammons and Taylor share a brief exchange preceding the closing chorus and exit.
Savoy, aka Stompin’ at The Savoy, by Benny Goodman, Andy Razaf, Arthur Sampson, and Chick Webb, pays homage to the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, where Webb was the orchestra leader, and people danced their troubles away during the Depression. Gene leads the quintet in the melody with a toe-tapping beat that extends to his spirited opening solo. Tommy soars cheerfully into the subsequent statement, and Ray adds a short footnote during the theme’s reprise and climax. Bob Weinstock supervised the initial album, and Rudy Van Gelder was the recording engineer. Kevin Gray mastered this reissue; the album cover is worthy of hanging on your wall, and the record is pressed on 200 grams of audiophile vinyl that’s dead silent until the music starts.
The sound quality of this reissue is so spectacular that if you close your eyes while listening, you’ll swear the quintet is playing right before you in your listening room. Ammons and company are at their best from the first note to the finale of every track. I happily recommend Boss Tenor for a spot in your library if you’re discovering Gene Ammons for the first time or are a longtime fan. It’s a fantastic performance that will enjoy repeated listens on the turntable for anyone who loves and appreciates the tenor sax!
~ Close Your Eyes, Confirmation, My Romance, Stompin’ at The Savoy – Source: JazzStandards.com ~Canadian Sunset – Source: Wikipedia.org © 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter
More Posts: choice,classic,collectible,collector,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Cecilia Wennerström was born on April 21, 1947 in Stockholm, Sweden. Educated at the music academies in Malmoe and Gothenburg. She was influenced by Archie Shepp, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, Elvin Jones, Jack DeJohnette, and Charlie Haden. She took part in a workshop led by David Murray and has allied herself with the music since the Eighties.
From 1979-91 she was the leader of Salamander, a jazz group that toured a lot in Sweden and Europe on festivals and clubs. Salamander made its debut 1981 at the Women’s Jazz Festival in Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1990 she started working with the talented singer and voice art performer Marie Selander in several creative and exciting projects, like for instance Maries composition “Blåst-Tuuli-Wind” that was performed in Kallio-Kuninkala Festival, Finland in 1996. She would go on to tour many times between 1997 to 1999. During the decade she was a member of the all nordic women big band April Light Orchestra
Cecilia is a member of Wennerstrom Larsson Explicity with her husband Sven Larsson. They released their first CD Tussilago in 2011, and she is in the octet LARS 8 which plays compositions by Lars Gullin and other Swedish jazz icons.
Saxophonist, composer and arranger Cecilia Wennerström has won several awards over the three decades and continues to perform, record and compose.
More Posts: arranger,bandleader,composer,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone