Gene Estes - Westful: Jazz In Hollywood

GENE ESTES BAND
Westful: Jazz In Hollywod
1976
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Nocturne NRS-701

Preview clip:
Big "P"
Besame Mucho


Although the name may not jump out at you right away, first-call LA percussionist Gene Estes has played a part in many classic recordings, including some of my best-loved soul faves like Willie Hutch's The Mack, Eddie Kendrick's The Hit Man (c/o Flabbergasted Vibes RIP) and Johnny Bristol's Feeling The Magic. He worked with practically every big name who recorded in LA for a major label during the 60s and 70s and appeared on dozens of albums spanning genres from jazz and soul to rock and country and almost everywhere in between. Counted among the "Important Records" to which he contributed are The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, Frank Zappa & The Mothers' Freak Out! and David Axelrod's Songs of Innocence as well as critically-acclaimed records by Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash, Nilsson and a host of others.

Brian Wilson w/ Gene Estes on the vibes in May 1967 from
Pop Surf Culture: Music Design Film and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Era

OK, so he's also assisted corporate concoctions like Sonny & Cher, The Monkees, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Eric Carmen, REO Speedwagon and many other mediocre MOR megastars but then that's LA session life for ya, ain't it? It's no wonder then that this obscure solo project, the culmination of a couple years spent jamming every Sunday night with other SoCal session stalwarts, is brimming with the energy of a joyful release from frustration and monotony. In the liner notes Estes describes their weekly rehearsals as not "trying to prove anything with writing or playing...it's just a matter of having a ball" and that pretty much says it all about the atmosphere here.

Besides a noticeable lack of bombast or breakneck tempos normally found on drummer-led big band dates, there's really not much in the way of surprises here - just the sound of some excellent musicians gelling together to get that swing and nailing their solos without melodrama or overwrought pyrotechnics. In fact, the entire affair actually sounds like a throwback that could have been recorded 15-20 years prior and as such, it's one of those rare jazz albums recorded in the 70s upon which Mr. Yanow and I can agree:

AMG Review
by Scott Yanow

Other than a very obscure early-'60s LP for the Carlton label, this album from 1976 was drummer Gene Estes' debut as a leader. For the only recording by Estes' rehearsal big band, the drummer contributed five of the nine selections and all of the arrangements. Among the all-star jazz and studio players heard from are saxophonists Med Flory and Tom Scott, trumpeter Conte Candoli, trombonists Herbie Harper and Bob Enevoldsen, pianist Joyce Collins and Gene's younger brother Alan Estes on vibes. The excellent music is essentially straight-ahead and has its exciting moments, although this LP may be difficult to locate.

Gene would maintain his roughly 16-year cycle and record another album as leader in 1993, when he returned with another equally anachronistic slice of jazz called On The Edge. There would be one further posthumous release, In A Sentimental Mood, which contained material recorded shortly before his passing in 1996.

Discography as Leader

1960 The Greatest Stereo Vibraphone in Recording History
[Carlton ST LP 12/25]

1976 Westful: Jazz In Hollywood
[Nocturne NRS-701] at Soundological

1993 On The Edge
[Progressive 7095] at Amazon

2000 In A Sentimental Mood
[Arbor ARB0101] at iTunes

Gene Estes - Drums
Med Flory - Sax
Tom Scott - Sax
Bob Hardaway - Sax
Jay Migliori - Sax
Bill Hood - Sax
Meyer Hirsch - Sax (7 & 8)
Ollie Mitchell - Trumpet
Ralph Osborn - Trumpet
Conte Candoli - Trumpet
Herbie Harper - Trombone
Bob Enevoldsen - Valve Trombone
Dick Leith - Bass Trombone
Joyce Collins - Piano
Alan Estes - Vibes
Jim Hughart - Bass


1 Sharly My Boy
2 All About Henry
3 Poca Nada
4 Big 'P'
5 Pot Luck
6 D.A.V.
7 Sweet Lump
8 Besame Mucho
9 Good-Bye


Ride off into the sunset with Gene Estes and Soundological in the comments.

Moe Koffman - Museum Pieces

MOE KOFFMAN
Museum Pieces
1978
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Janus JXS-7073

Preview clip:
Digs (Archaeology)


What's the direct connection to the previous post featuring Hank Crawford? Since Moe avoids the sax entirely, it's the fact Crawford and Koffman regular Doug Riley were past musical directors for Ray Charles; Hank for an extended stint at the start of the 60s and RIley for a short spurt at the end of the same decade. Otherwise, the albums were released within a year of each other and share something in musical sensibilities as well, a fact picked up on by Dusty Groove who mention it in their brief review:

A groovy album of moody electric funk tracks from Moe Koffman -- and probably one of his best records from the 70s! The groove is nice and rolling, with less of the break-oriented sound than you might expect, but still with some very nice mellow, almost CTI-ish moments, thanks to keyboards from Don Thompson.

Not much left unsaid about Moe or this roster of regulars in one of the many posts here on Soundological covering Koffman and Riley. However, out of Moe's oeuvre, it is by far and away the closest to the smooth jazzfunk sound epitomised by Creed Taylor's imprint. More importantly, it pretty much sidesteps the copious cheese slathered upon the albums book-ending this session (Jungle Man before, Things Are Looking Up after) and hits a sweeter spot where groove, technique and studio polish intersect.

A snapshot of many popular trends in jazz during the period, there are a couple adventurous post-bop tunes on hand ("Dinosaurus" & "Wildlife"), some proto-smooth jazz moments ("Pharoah's Dream"), orchestral string-backed slow blues ("Evolution Blues") and a couple outright funkified offerings in the form of Weather Report-style fusion with some drum breaks ("Rocks") and the Mizell-flavoured downtempo funk of "Digs."

Days Gone By (Egyptology)

Based on its use by Jill Scott, you may already be aware of the mellow "Days Gone By (Egyptology)" and though it's not the best track on the record, it's why sample-spotters often snatch this one up on sight. That bite alone is one of the main reasons copies of this album are seldom seen out in the wild, coupled with the fact this is probably Koffman's strongest effort in the latter part of his pop-fusion phase so folks were likely more inclined to keep it in their collections.

Jill Scott's Slowly, Surely & Marc Mac's Visioneers Remix

Featuring prominently on the track is Ed Bickert's crystal clear tone on the guitar. He displays his deft mastery of the instrument throughout the album and for many fans his playing here is a big reason to pick up this set. Though more well-known for his work on bass, Don Thompson's contributions on keyboards (mostly Rhodes) are mainly as an astute accompanist with few solos on the album outside of "Wildlife" and "Days Gone By." Speaking of Ed and Don, this album was released around the same time as their critically acclaimed live duo set, At The Garden Party.

Intro to "Rocks (Mineralogy)"

On "Rocks" it's pretty clear Riley's still crushing on Mwandishi and Head Hunters era Hancock but always with his own bluesy touch thanks to his B-3 background. However, he's all over the map stylistically on his own composition "Dinosaurus", a tune described as "a delightful romp through the harmonic overtone series" which highlights both his skills and his influences (especially Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson) but meanders a bit too much as a result of some kitchen-sinkism.

For the most part Moe keeps it melodic throughout, maintaining his mainstream-oriented style without taking the type of excursions in his solos witnessed on the kosmigroovish Solar Explorations nor straight-up displaying his bebop chops like when he was Live at George's. However, he has a few moments where he lets go a bit and soars high, especially on "Pharoah's Dream" and "Wildlife."

Sometimes a picture doesn't paint a 1000 words
Australian issue [RCA VPL14130]

All in all, an enjoyable album that saw a modicum of critical and chart success here in Canada upon its release (nominated for 2 Juno awards in 1978). Created as a conceptual piece to accompany exhibitions at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto (pictured on the back cover), its main drawback is in replicating the sterile, hands-off environment of most museums to a fairly high degree.

As indicated by the cover art's roped-off skeleton, sarcophagus and caveman mannequin, the music is often dryly academic and tends to be aimed moreso at the head rather than the heart or hooves. However, as also hinted at on the cover, there's just enough howler monkey to keep things lively and nobody is placed on a pedestal so it stands as cohesive communal effort among some of Canada's A-list jazzbos of the late 70s.


Moe Koffman - Flute
Ed Bickert - Guitar
Marty Morell - Drums and Percusion
Rick Homme - Electric and Acoustic Bass
Don Thompson - Keyboard, Arco String Bass
Bob Mann - Rhythm Guitar on "Rocks," "Digs" & "Museum Piece" + solo on "Dinosaurus"
Doug Riley - Keyboard on "Rocks," + Clavinet & Piano on "Dinosaurus"


1 Museum Piece
2 Rocks (Mineralogy)
3 Digs (Archaeology)
4 Evolution Blues
5 Pharoah's Dream
6 Wildlife (Mammalogy)
7 Days Gone By (Egyptology)
8 Dinosaurus


Celebrate Cheeba's birthday today by tagging along with Soundological & Moe for a trip to the museum - free ticket in the comments!

Hank Crawford - Tico Rico

HANK CRAWFORD
Tico Rico
1977
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Kudu KU-35

Although this popped up on the essential and now-defunct The CTI Never Sleeps blog a while ago, I thought I'd offer up another rip from my clean copy of this fairly rare OOP session Hank Crawford recorded for Creed Taylor's Kudu imprint. There was also an issue with the tracks on that version being wrongly named and tagged, which is not a concern here since they are correct in this package.

This album actually highlights the issue of abuse of copyright laws since rumour has it the original tapes have disappeared. If true, this would mean CTI does not hold the original sound recordings and would only be able to exert rights based on ownership of a copy - which Brooklyn Law School's Jason Mazzone has included as one of the four types of what he calls "copyfraud." However, try as I could, I could find no official statement that the master tapes for this album no longer exist but it still doesn't necessarily mean the album is in the public domain, or the even greyer category of "orphaned works," by default just because no one can technically prove they "own" the original.

There may be other reasons CTI has not reissued this record. Out of the eight records Crawford recorded for Kudu, this is not the only one to never see a reissue since originally hitting the streets; neither Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing nor Cajun Sunrise have been released in digital format either. The remaining five that have been given the CD treatment are only available as Japanese imports on the King label.

For some reason, CTI has never reissued any of Crawford's albums on this side of the pond and the sole Crawford Kudu release on iTunes is Wildflower. WTF is up with that? It's especially odd since you'd think record company ghouls would be grinding his corpse like nobody's business after his passing just over a year ago. It's what they do best. Y'know, maybe there is some truth to the rumour after all...

Tico Rico & Funky Rooster

Fairly popular on its release, Tico Rico debuted at #31 in its first week and ultimately peaked at #28 on Billboard's 1977 Jazz Album chart. Of course, you know what that means to our favourite whipping boy over at AMG ...

Review by Scott Yanow

This LP has generally weak material ("Teach Me Tonight") is the only standard, the arrangements by David Matthews are routine and Crawford's soulful alto sounds obviously overdubbed over the string section; the "background" vocals on "Lullaby of Love" also do not help. The only reason to acquire this album is to hear Crawford's always appealing sound, but there are many more rewarding Hank Crawford recordings currently available.

In other words, Hank's holdin' his down but there's too much funky business goin' on out there on the lawn. Of course, this latter aspect is of most interest to our merchant friends at Dusty Groove, who are more forgiving and even more succinct playing up the album's strengths in their appraisal:

More of a David Matthews album than a Hank Crawford one -- as Matthews handled the arrangements in that slick funky big band style he was using at the time, letting Crawford come into solo over the top, but not really leading the session in any sort of obvious way.

However, probably the definitive assessment of this record on the web is likely courtesy of (surprise, surprise) CTI afficianado numero uno Doug Payne. He devotes a few paragraphs to this album in his insightful essay covering Matthews' work for Creed Taylor during the 70s. Not just a purveyor of fact-filled fanboy fodder, his wit and passion for the subject matter at hand always makes for an enjoyable read. I've snipped out some of the background info and play-by-play for Tico Rico in hopes you'll visit Doug's blog to learn more:

Hank Crawford recorded many albums for the Atlantic, Kudu and Milestone labels during his career, but very few on any label that had more than one or two great tunes. This is one that is terrific from start to finish, with Crawford in perfectly bluesy and swinging form, driven by Matthews's superb, yet simplified, electrifying charts. If a soloist is only as good as his arranger, then Matthews is probably the best Crawford ever had (and Crawford was the guy who arranged for Ray Charles!). Tico Rico - which has never been issued on CD - is undoubtedly their best work together. <<...>> Matthews provides an alluring, romantic underscore that Crawford simply sets alight. A fine achievement for both Hank Crawford and David Matthews.

Sax - Hank Crawford
Sax - Michael Brecker
Trumpet - Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker
Flute - Jeremy Steig
Guitar - Eric Gale
Bass - Gary King
Drums - Steve Gadd, Steve Taylor
Keyboards - Cliff Carter, Dave Matthews
Percussion - Nicky Marrero, Sue Evans
Cello - Alan Shulman, Charles McCracken
Viola - Emanuel Vardi, Lamar Alsop
Violin - Charles Libove, David Nadien, Emanuel Green, Marvin Morgenstern, Matthew Raimondi, Max Ellen, Max Pollikoff, Paul Gershman
Backing Vocals - Frank Floyd, Raymond Simpson, Zachary Sanders


1 Tico Rico
2 Teach Me Tonight
3 Lady Soul
4 Lullaby Of Love
5 I've Just Seen A Face
6 Lament
7 Funky Rooster


Soundological suggests you take your own Tico Rico to go while it's still hot in the comments!

Jeannie Trevor - Sings!!

JEANNIE TREVOR
Jeannie Trevor Sings!!
1965
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Mainstream 56075

Preview clips:
Four
Visit Me

Could any record be better suited to current predilections of Soundological? We have here a lesser-known chanteuse supported by the Quartette Trés Bien recording for the first incarnation of Bob Shad's Mainstream records, wrapped in a wonderful Jack Lonshein pop-art cover. Although the QTB is not listed by name "due to contractual problems" (in other words, Bobby didn't want to pay Decca and/or Norman Wienstroer) their sound is unmistakable and Jeter Thompson is given ample room to shine on the ivories throughout. In fact, it pretty much sounds like a slightly poppier-than-usual QTB record with a vocalist and a horn player present - a good thing in this case considering the fine talents displayed by both soloists.

Jeanne Trevor was a Harlem native who trained in opera and then moved out west after graduation, eventually settling in St. Louis after a short stint in tinseltown. With her wide vocal range and ability to belt out big tunes as easily as she can sweetly and softly croon, she soon become a local icon in the swinging 60s scene revolving around the infamous Gaslight Square district. Mainly a live performer, aside from contemporaneous singles on local labels like Norman Records, "the first lady of St. Louis jazz" would not return to the recording studio for another 33 years (not counting the occasional voice work on commercials that garnered her a Grammy). Rather than delve into her long and illustrious bio here, you can read it elsewhere or watch a recent interview with her below.

Jeanne Trevor on KETC-TV St. Louis

Trevor and the QTB are joined on this set by another legendary Gaslighter, Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum. He's the uncle of smooth jazz sax sensation Kirk Whalum, who's been causing a stir the last few years with his The Gospel According To Jazz concert series, the most recent of which features George Duke. Although not the most recognised name in the biz, he's played with luminaries like Nat King Cole, Billy Exkstine, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald to name but a few. Born in Memphis, Whalum wound up in St. Louis when he was touring with Lionel Hampton's band and the city happened to be the tour's last stop. Seems he just stuck around ever since.

Peanuts is often praised by industry insiders for his subtle improvisational skills and his personal approach to phrasing on sax. He's also highly regarded among musicians for his ability to effortlessly forge an emotional connection to both his material and his band-mates. Much the way a sports team's playmaker will chalk up more assists than goals themselves, Peanuts is one of those sought-after accompanists who focuses more on the final score than personal glory. Still plugging away at 82 on piano as well as tenor, he released his first solo album Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum in 2006 to high critical praise - head over to his MySpace page to hear some of the tunes.

Jeanne & Peanuts ca. 2009 c/o St. Louis Magazine

As you probably gathered from watching the interview or judging by the pic just above, Trevor also remains active on the scene to this day. As well as acting in plays and musicals, she continues to be a popular draw as a songbird both on tour and in St. Louis where, some 45 years on from the recording of this album, she can still be seen gigging with Peanuts. Besides the aforementioned release in 1998, she also appears on a recent CD, Together, a collection of standards in duet with yet another Gaslight Square veteran, Kevin Kruth.

1999 Love You Madly
buy at Amazon

2009 Together w/ Kevin Kurth
buy at kmk music

Jeannie Trevor - Vocals
Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum - Sax
Jeter Thompson - Piano
Richard Simmons - Bass
Albert St. James - Drums
Percy James - Percussion


1 People Will Say We're In Love
2 Don't Blame Me
3 Get Out Of My Life
4 I've Got You Under My Skin
5 Four
6 Lady With A Painted Smile
7 Moonlight Serenade
8 The Last Moment
9 I Know That You Know
10 From An Ancient Proverb
11 The Lady's In Love With You
12 Visit Me


If you happen to find this album for less than $50, consider yourself lucky. This rip is from a mono version (it seems almost impossible to find a stereo version) that was in excellent condition when it arrived on the doorstep. In fact, the original shrinkwrap was fully intact and only removed so the cover could be properly scanned for posterity. You can have your own personal powwow with Jeannie, Peanuts and the QTB by checking out the comments.

Les McCann - Les McCann Plays The Hits

LES McCANN
Les McCann Plays The Hits
1966
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Limelight LS 86041

Another of Les McCann's unabashed stabs at the mainstream market for Quincy Jones' Limelight during the mid-60s, Les McCann Plays The Hits is exactly what the title advertises. Although enjoyable on the whole, it's generally a luke-warm affair for the most part as Les sounds less eager to interpret these tunes than the liner notes would lead you to believe. While "Sunny" and "Sunshine Superman" certainly have sizzle, and McCann's jubilation during the gospel read of "River Deep, Mountain High" is palpable even in the bum notes, the remainder of the instrumentals come off as merely the work of a lounge band, albeit a highly competent one as the roster attests.

Original Billboard review from Nov. 19, 1966

Ironically, two of the top tracks are not only the sole original compositions, one by himself and one by friend Gene "Not Yet Eugene" McDaniels, they're also the only vocal tunes and seem somewhat tacked-on to the track listing. It could be the inclusion of "Sad Little Girl" and "Compared To What" was a concession on Limelight's part, especially when it comes to the latter song. That type of social commentary in pop soul lyrics, which would be Les' specialty by the time he moved to Atlantic, had not yet fully come into vogue on the hit parade. The Summer of Love was still almost a year off and the bubbling brew of aspirational middle-class America's angst and disillusionment was not quite potent enough to sanctify its clear reflection in the charts.

As noted a few years ago on Funky 16Corners, this seems to be the first recorded appearance of McDaniels' "Compared To What." It pre-dates any others involving McCann and was taped prior to any version recorded by McDaniels himself. I originally heard the track on Roberta Flack's First Take, a classic soul-jazz "perfect storm" that remains one of my most cherished albums. Although for me Flack's remains the definitive version (mostly due to Ron Carter's bass), this version feels closer to the style McDaniels' exhibited on his later albums, such as the 1971 masterpiece Headless Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Various Artists - The Guitar Players

VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Guitar Players
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from MRL 410

Ernie Wilkins & His Orchestra - Thank You



Shad gets pretty desperate for product placement on this one, even more so than with some of the other compilations released at the tail-end of Mainstream's run. This one's culled haphazardly from previously available material (whereas Jazz and Booty featured session out-takes) with little regard to a genre-centred theme (whereas Yesterday=Bop, Get It Together=Funk & Soul, Billie Holiday Revisited=Billie Holiday). Running the gamut from blues to bossa to bop with bits of funk and rock for good measure, there's a distinct lack of continuity in the programming. Not only that, he's fudged some of the artists' names, giving performance credit to whomever the guitar player was on the track in hopes that their current fortunes would inculcate success at the cashier's counter.

Ernie Wilkins' cover of Sly Stone's "Thank You (Fallettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" from Hard Mother Blues is credited entirely to David Spinozza (and spelled incorrectly to boot), who was only one of four guitarists for that session. However, Spinozza had grown in stature since this set, appearing on a multitude of classic albums and was dating Yoko Ono at the time while her and John Lennon were separated. In other words, besides being a hot property in the studio and on many charting albums, his newsworthy name was also popping up in gossip rags.

In much the same spirit David T. Walker and Arthur Wright, two indisputable dominators of the six-string domain, are named as the artists for Afrique's "Dueling Guitars" from the monster funk album Soul Makossa. At least there's some truth-in-advertising on this one and a close call for Shad to make: go with the names of the highly-respected session strummers or with the faceless studio creation who provided the label with a Top 40 R&B album the year before. Since Walker, who was highly prolific at this point in his career, remains a legend and Afrique was eventually forgotten by all but the most fanatic funksters, he probably made the proper strategic decision in this case.

Shad also wears his disdain for Paul Jeffrey's debut set on his sleeve as discussed previously in the post for Watershed. However, it's hard to wag the finger too vigorously in his direction for using Jack Wilkin's name since his fiery performance on the album is not only a show-stealer, it was also the impetus for Shad to extend a recording offer to the young guitarist.

More sensibly, Shad credited Ted Nugent for the cover of Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go" from his band's self-titled debut album The Amboy Dukes. While the Dukes were largely an outdated garage band clinging to past glories by this time, the Nooge's antics and knuckle-dragging guitar style was gathering steam and the Motor City Madman had yet to release his first album sans The Dukes. Another fine example of Shad's savvy marketing skills and crafty cash-in tactics.

Save for dropping Sonny Terry's name from the famous blues duo, the rest of the tracks are properly credited. In fact, Jim Raney is once again given the nod for "Move It," which originally appeared on his lovely album Two Jims and Zoot during Mainstream's first run in the 60s but was reissued under Zoot Sims' name as Otra Vez in the MRL series.

Ultimately, Shad simply slapped together an album with minimal musical cohesion to maintain maximum marketing impact. This doesn't preclude quality entirely and the Jay Berliner tracks - in addition to those of Afrique, Paul Jeffrey, Jim Raney and Ernie Wilkins - are highly recommended if you haven't already heard them on their respective releases. While actually a very good representative of the myriad flavours to be found in the MRL catalogue, it's much more likely to please all of the people some of the time than some of the people all of the time.

1 Afrique - Dueling Guitars [David T. Walker & Arthur Wright]
2 Amboy Dukes - Baby Please Don't Go [Ted Nugent]
3 Jay Berliner - Papa Was A Rolling Stone
4 Lightning Hopkins - Lightning's Blues
5 Jay Berliner - Getting The Message
6 Ernie Wilkins & His Orchestra - Thank You [David Spinozza]
7 Paul Jeffrey - Minor Scene [Jack Wilkins]
8 Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Man Ain't Nothing But A Fool
9 Jim Raney - Move It

Get your gitbox fix from Soundological HERE or HERE.

Joe Scott - A Symphony of Our Time

JOE SCOTT
A Symphony of Our Time
1970
256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from MRL 307

Movement 1 (excerpt)



This is the second of two albums Joe Scott put together for Bob Shad's newly revamped Mainstream imprint, Mainstream Red Lion. The first, Motion Pictures: The NOW Generation, was a pretty straight-forward orchestral take on the hits of the day with some dope guitar fuzz by Jay Berliner (who would release one of the funkier albums on MRL, Bananas Are Not Created Equal) and some fine electric piano/organ/old skool analogue synth sounds from the keys of session man Frank Owens (check out his sole solo LP over at never enough rhodes) accentuating the arrangements. Personally, I very much enjoyed the set as it was anchored by some boffo bass from a youngish Chuck Rainey and provided a much meatier take on the "hip hits orchestra" meme that pervaded the sonic landscape from the mid-60s to mid-70s.

The line up for A Symphony of Our Time stayed much the same, with minor differences in the horn & string sections, with Romeo Penque added on flute while swapping Owens for Dick Hyman and Rainey for Joseph Macho (he previously played with Owens in support of Bob Dylan and in the group The Restless Feelin's and he would also go on to contribute to one of my all-time fave albums, Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece). Although the personnel changes were slight, the compositions took on a whole new level of complexity as Scott used the pop material as a spingboard to a true symphonic arrangement, rather than simply arrange the songs to be played by an orchestra.

In the intensely informative liner notes replete with massive music-geekery, Scott explains in detail his process and the manner in which he conceptualised the songs as themes to be developed in a classical mode. A case could be made for this recording to be considered as Third Stream, although academics would likely cringe at the thought since the improvisational aspect is hard to discern, the focus is much more on the "rock" than the "jazz" and the compositions do teeter on the precipice of being fugal. I would conjecture that the very act of melding the different themes together into a single movement would avoid its fall into the latter, but I'd have a hard time arguing the case in classicist court.

There are some surprisingly sublime moments here where Scott's gambit pays unexpected dividends. However, at times he overreaches (not necessarily a bad thing in itself) or keeps the structure too rigidly poppy or classical and winds up a bit too predictable or slightly cliché. However, you've gotta give the man an A+ for effort at connecting people with music from the other side of the fence and trying to create something new and completely different in an idiom that was all too often rife with ivory tower elitism, artistic laziness or outright crass opportunism. Years later this kind of treatment would be adopted by struggling symphony orchestras to get bums in the seats or by pretentious prog-rockers searching out a certificate of authenticity for their oeuvre.

I would love to have been able to provide some biographical info on Mr. Scott since the slightly generic name shows up in different roles from the 40s to the 00s and I wanted to get the facts straight. Was he the Trumpet player & arranger who worked with who worked closely with Bobby Blue Bland since the 40s? Was he the singer for mid-60s art rock act Ford Theatre as some claim? Was he the arranger & conductor for a plethora of rock and C&W acts in the late 60s and early 70s? Was he the bass player who worked with Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers and Curtis Mayfield? Is he the guy who fronts a popular wedding band on these days? All of the above? AMG lists no less than 15 artists with the same name or variations thereof and speaking to the man himself would help nail it down.

I was hoping to do so before posting because the fine Mr. Bostrom, who hosts the other Scott album linked to in the first paragraph, sent me Joe's email over a week ago but I haven't heard back from the man yet. Unfortunately, time is of the essence since I'm aiming to post the last five remaining MRLs yet to appear in the blogosphere before the 12th of the month - Bobby Shad's 90th birthday! Rest assured that if Mr. Scott does reach out, I'll update the post with any info he feels like sharing with us...


1 Movement 1 (Sonata Allegro) - Introduction: House of the Rising Sun; Theme I: Ruby Tuesday; Theme II: A Day in the Life
2 Movement 2 (Andante) - White Room
3 Movement 3 (Moderato) - America
4 Movement 4 (Finale) - Theme I: Dandelion; Theme II: We Can Work It Out; Theme III: Yellow Submarine


Savour Scott's symphonic sonics courtesy of Soundological HERE or HERE.

Paul Jeffrey - Watershed

PAUL JEFFREY
Watershed1973
256+ VBR mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from MRL 390

Paul Henley Jeffrey is one of post-war jazz's brighter flames, a light who remains burning and is widely regarded as a prime participant in passing the torch to younger generations. Although he's better known for his stint as professor of Jazz Studies at Rutgers starting in 1977 then as Artist in Residence and Director of the Jazz Program at Duke University for 20 years until 2003, according to his entry in Feather & Gitler's Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz he also taught at Columbia University, Jersey State College and the University of Hartford in addition to hosting a show devoted to jazz on NYC's WFUV radio station during the 70s. As you see, the man was serious about bringing youth into the fold for 50-odd years and is still at it, continuing to tour and record at the age of 76.

By all accounts, even before he'd graduated from the music program at Ithaca College in '58, he was already another young buck with a sax for an axe working the late 50s R&B circuit as sideman with acts like Big Maybelle, Illinois Jacquet and BB King until settling in NYC in 1961. This move ultimately led to him blowing on the bandstands of Dizzy and Basie by the end of the decade. Although originally pegged as somewhat of another Bird disciple, a friendship with another saxophone colossus, Sonny Rollins, would open him up to further developing his own sound and soon he would find himself in the thick of it with Thelonious Monk and blowing for our man Mingus through the better part of the 70s.

1968 Sonny Rollins CBC Documentary -- 1968 with Dizzy "Things to Come"

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Paul Jeffrey with Thelonious Monk Quartet

According to Jack Wilkins, although released in 1973 and bearing a copyright notice for 1972, Watershed was actually recorded in 1971 while PJ was a participating member of Monk's band (he would be the last sax player to work in his Quartet before it folded around '74). This rings true, not just because Jack is a stand-up guy who - like his guitar - don't lie, but also because Monk Jr. was a member of his dad's group around this period and he hits the skins for PJ on this hard-driving traditional bop session.

Jack's smoking performance on the album (he almost steals the show) prompted Shad to invite him to record his own LP, Windows, so chances are this watershed moment in Wilkins' life is pretty much indelibly etched in his memory. As Jack says:

"If it wasn't for my dear friend Paul, I never would have recorded that album. I had recorded his record called "Watershed" from a year earlier. After that the producer, Bob Shad, asked me to record my own record."

Getting inked for your first album is not exactly a forgettable event in one's life and an instant that most folk would remember down to the most minute detail. It obviously impressed Wilkins and in times such as those the psyche soaks up a lot of detail that can be consciously recalled later on. Considering Bobby's notoriously naff notation of details, I'll take Jack's recollection to be the more accurate retelling of events.

Paul visits Jack during the recording of Windows.

The traditional nature of this session was probably the main reason Shad shelved it for a couple years, seeing as his mission statement for the label was to highlight the new electronic sounds and focus on the now! sound of the times. Always on the cutting-edge of technological advances and with his finger forever on the pulse of the public, his philosophy was summed up in the April 29, 1970 issue of Billboard thusly:

Shad feels many of the younger players came out of the acid rock mould and brought into their jazz playing electronic accessories like echoplexes and echo delays. Shad's newest move to expand his jazz coverage is to develop a combination sound built on jazz, rock and blues.

When you contrast that statement with the following quote from the man himself printed a few months earlier in the June 19, 1971 issue under the headline Mainstream Shifts to Improvisational LP's, it becomes clear Jeffrey's straight-ahead session was likely much less "hip" (read "fusion") than Shad had bargained for:

"As an analogy, the word jazz is an old term. When people hear that word, nine times out of 10 they cringe. It almost connotes death. Personally, I would like to find a new term to use. A term that fits the time as well as the music."

Well, there's no dodging the term on this album. It's Jazz with a capital "J" followed by a squiggly exclamation mark with little jazzhands coming out the sides. That should come as no surprise since Jeffrey was a serious student, and soon to be professor, of jazz. His deep understanding of the form paired with sensibilities that were both intense (yet not brooding) and buoyant (but not bouncy) had already provided challenging compositions on his premiere release while his knack for writing open charts and keeping them tight had garnered him a degree of respect in musician circles.

Compound his challenging sound with its very nature as a traditional throwback played in a mainly acoustic setting and it's fairly easy to see why this piece would linger in Shad's library until MRL was sputtering its last breaths and he was desperately raiding his catalogue for "new" product to put on the shelves. As a result, the first of the three sessions PJ led for Mainstream was the second to be released, sandwiched between Family and Paul Jeffrey. The fact shameless hustler and savvy promoter Shad rarely mentioned or advertised Jeffrey's albums in print to the extent he did other members of his roster is partly responsible for their obscurity, and for him this one seemed an afterthought.

Ironically, a few years earlier PJ had recorded an album for Savoy (one of Shad's old stomping grounds as an A&R man) called Electrifying Sounds of The Paul Jeffrey Quintet, that was somewhat kinda more aligned to the Mainstream mission. On that debut, besides posing for what could well be the best ironic indie-hipster disco-synth-punk album cover ever, PJ does an Eddie Harris and runs his horn through a Gibson Maestro "not for amp, but for widening pitch range and producing an octave unison line on the single instrument" as the liner notes explain.

Speaking of liner notes, Bob Porter's essay for this release is pretty much spot-on, so rather than needlessly extend this post by reinventing his wheel with a play-by-play, click on the gatefold image at the top of the post or read it at your leisure once you've downloaded the file. This one will definitely please fans of Dizzy, Parker and bebop in general, and will prove entertaining for Wilkins afficianados since this is the first time he stepped into the studio to be waxed for posterity.
Paul Jeffrey - Sax
Thelonious Monk, Jr. - Drums
Richard Davis - Acoustic bass
Jack Wilkins - Electric Guitar


1 Minor Scene
2 Brand New Day
3 Love Letters
4 Moon Madness
5 Brand X
6 My Son
7 Geometric Blues
8 Serenity

Discography as leader

1968 Electrifying Sounds Of The Paul Jeffrey Quintet [Savoy MG 12192] at Fat Toro

1971 Watershed
[Mainstream MRL-390] at Soundological

1972 Family
[Mainstream MRL-376] at Arkadin's Ark

1974 Paul Jeffrey
[Mainstream MRL-406] at the shad shack

1994 Tribute To Trane[Duke University Jazz DUJ 94]

1996 Together In Monaco w/ Curtis Fuller
[Amosaya AM 2531]

2009 We See
[Imago] at israbox

Paul Jeffrey links:
MySpace page
Wiki entry
Imago page
Jazz Discography leader page


Experience your own watershed moment with Paul Jeffrey and Soundological HERE.