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…

Philippe Brun was born on April 29, 1908 in Paris, France and first began playing professionally in the late 1920s with the bands of Gregor, Danny Polo, and Ray Ventura. In the early 1930s he spent time in London, England working with Bert Ambrose, Jack Hylton, and Fred Waring.

Returning to Paris around 1936, he performed with Jazz du Poste Parisien and with Ventura again, as well as with Django Reinhardt and Alix Combelle. He was recorded as a leader from 1937-1940. During World War II he worked in Switzerland, with Eddie Brunner, André Ekyan, Edmond Cohanier, and Teddy Stauffer.

Brun’s wife,  Annie Fratellini, a vocalist and comedian, also performed with Raymond Fol and Kenny Clarke. Trumpeter Philippe Brun passed away on January 15, 1994 in Paris.

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

The pandemic has me comfortably relaxing in my listening room selecting my next choice which is the 1956 album Playboys by trumpeter Chet Baker and saxophonist Art Pepper. The album was their third collaboration between Pepper and Baker, following the successes of The Route and Chet Baker Big Band, all three recorded in 1956.

Playboys was reissued in 1961 under the name Picture of Heath after the fifth track (itself a reference to Jimmy Heath, composer of all but two of the tracks). The tracks themselves were presented in a slightly different order, starting with the new title track.

Hugh Hefner reportedly objected to the original album cover (clearly inspired by Playboy magazine with its near-identical wordmark and pinup photo) and threatened to sue. For Picture of Heath, the original cover was replaced with a photo of the artists in the recording studio.

The 1990 Blue Note/Pacific Jazz CD reissue of Playboys used the pin-up cover, but the same label’s 1998 CD reissue returned to the Picture of Health cover.

1. For Minors Only ~ 4:00
2. Minor~Yours (Art Pepper) ~ 6:44
3. Resonant Emotions ~ 5:41
4. Tynan Tyme (Pepper) ~ 5:32
5. Picture of Heath ~ 6:44
6. For Miles and Miles ~ 6:25
7. C.T.A. ~ 5:12

1998 CD Release

1. Picture of Heath
2. For Miles and Miles
3. C.T.A.
4. For Minors Only
5. Minor Yours
6. Resonant Emotions
7. Tynan Tyme

• Chet Baker ~ trumpet
• Art Pepper ~ alto saxophone
• Phil Urso ~ tenor saxophone
• Carl Perkins ~ piano
• Curtis Counce ~ bass
• Larance Marable ~ drums

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Kenneth Colyer was born on April 18, 1928 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, but grew up in Soho, London, and served as a member of his church choir. Listening to his elder brother’s jazz records which influenced him. He joined the Merchant Navy at 17, travelled around the world and heard famous jazz musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana^.

In the UK, Colyer played with various bands and joined the Crane River Jazz Band in 1949  with Ben Marshall, Sonny Morris, Pat Hawes, John R. T. Davies, Julian Davies, Ron Bowden and Monty Sunshine. Rejoining the Merchant Navy, and jumping ship in Mobile, Alabama, he travelled to New Orleans, where he played with his idols in George Lewis’ band. Though offered the job of lead trumpeter on a tour, he was caught by the authorities, detained and deported.

Ken went on to join the Chris Barber Band and made their first recordings on the Storyville in 1953. Parting company the following year, then briefly joined a band in the mid-1950s with clarinetist Acker Bilk and trombonist Ed O’Donnell.

Then he put together his own band with Mac Duncan, Ian Wheeler, Johnny Bastable, Ron Ward, Colin Bowden and Ray Foxley. This band played together until the early 1960s before incorporating a new lineup.

After a bout with stomach cancer in 1972 he stopped being a bandleader but continued to work, occasionally associated with Chris Blount’s New Orleans Jazz Band. A biography, Goin’ Home, was compiled by Mike Pointon and Ray Smith. Trumpeter and cornetist Ken Colyer, who was known for skiffle interludes and devoted to New Orleans jazz, passed away on March 8, 1988.

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

Having completely adapted to a new modus operandi for living this glorious life, I remain vigilant in my social distancing and reminding myself of music I haven’t listened to in a long time. This week I’m pulling out the late great Roy Hargrove who had the vision to record With The Tenors of Our Time. It’s a 1994 release on the Polygram Record label that was recorded at Teatro Mancinelli and Giani Grascinelli Sound Service with executive producer Richard Seidel. The album’s art direction and design is by David Lau, photography by James Minchin, liner notes by Jimmy Katz.

>Others in the team contributing to the production of this album were Larry Clothier ~ production, engineering, mixing; Ed Rak ~ engineering, mastering, mixing; Robert Friedrich ~ assistant engineering; Troy Halderson ~ mastering; Camille Tominaro ~ production coordination; and Nelly Muganda ~ make-up and hair stylist.

1. Soppin’ the Biscuit (composer Roy Hargrove, featuring Stanley Turrentine) ~ 7:59
2. When We Were One (composer Johnny Griffin, featuring Johnny Griffin) ~ 5:59
3. Valse Hot (composer Sonny Rollins, featuring Branford Marsalis, Ron Blake) ~ 6:57
4. Once Forgotten (composer Pamela Watson, featuring Ron Blake on tenor and soprano saxophone) ~ 5:45
5. Shade of Jade (composer Joe Henderson, featuring Joe Henderson) ~ 5:24
6. Greens at the Chicken Shack (composer Cyrus Chestnut, featuring Johnny Griffin) ~ 5:45
7. Never Let Me Go (composer Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, featuring Rodney Whitaker) ~ 5:36
8. Serenity (composer Joe Henderson, featuring Joe Henderson) ~ 5:35
9. Across the Pond (composer Roy Hargrove, featuring Joshua Redman) ~ 6:47
10. Wild Is Love (composer Robert Mickens and G. Brown, featuring     Stanley Turrentine) ~ 6:50
11. Mental Phrasing (composer Roy Hargrove, featuring Ron Blake, Joshua Redman) ~ 6:25
12. April’s Fool (composer Ron Blake) ~ 3:54

• Roy Hargrove – trumpet, flugelhorn (2,4,7,10), production
• Cyrus Chestnut – piano
• Rodney Whitaker – bass
• Gregory Hutchinson – drums
• Ron Blake – soprano, tenor saxophone
• Johnny Griffin – tenor saxophone
• Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
• Branford Marsalis – tenor saxophone
• Joshua Redman – tenor saxophone
• Stanley Turrentine – tenor saxophone

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