Ted brown & Jimmy Raney: "In Good Company" (Label: Criss Cross – 1985)

In Good Company makes a nice companion piece to Warne Marsh’s Back Home, another mid-’80s Criss Cross date reissued in 2001. Ted Brown and guitar legend Jimmy Raney are essentially co-leaders here, teaming with a stellar rhythm section in pianist Hod O’Brien, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer Ben Riley. The CD adds five alternate takes to the original seven selections. There’s some good Tristano-oriented bop writing here, particularly Brown’s opening “Blimey,” based on “Limehouse Blues.” 

David R. Adler, All Music Guide

Tracklist:

1 Blimey 

2 Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You

3 Lost and Found 

4 Sir Felix 

5 Instant Blue 

6 We’ll Be Together Again 

7 People Will Say We’re in Love 

Personnel: 

Ted Brown (tenor saxophone); 

Jimmy Raney (guitar); 

Hod O’Brien (piano); 

Ben Riley (drums).

Recorded December 23, 1985 in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA by Rudy Van Gelder (Label: Criss Cross)

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Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall & Zoot Sims: Two Jims and Zoot (1964 – Mobile Fidelity)

After the first of two stints with Stan Getz in 1951-52, clean, crisp swing/bop guitarist Jimmy Raney recorded his first handful of albums as a leader in the mid 1950s – including Five (1954) and Indian Summer (1956). By the mid 1960s, Raney’s bout with alcoholism forced him into a decade-long hiatus during which time he relocated back to his childhood home of Louisville, Kentucky. A real shame this was, since this piano-less quintet date featuring Jim Hall, recorded shortly before that hiatus, far exceeds the quality of his earlier leader dates and reveals a career highlight.
A gentle Steve Swallow and a stationary Osie Johnson leave Raney and Hall in the spotlight throughout “Move It,” an up-tempo swinger near the end of the record. Hall is surprisingly active – one might even say aggressive – during sections of Raney’s improvisation here. But because there’s a stable rhythm section and no piano, it’s the open interaction between the complete-line comping from Hall and the western-swing infused bop runs from Raney that makes this track more than a worthwhile listen.
Eric Novod (www.jazz.com Review)

Track List:

1.Hold Me 2:55

2.A Primera Vez 4:19

3.Presente de Natal 3:06

4.Morning of the Carnival 4:34

5.Este Seu Olhar 4:35

6.Betaminus 3:18

7.Move It 4:25

8.All Across the City 4:48

9.Coisa Mais Linda 4:20

10.How About You?

Personnel:

Jimmy Raney (Guitar)

Jim Hall (Guitar)

Zoot Sims (Tenor Sax Tenor)

Steve Swallow (Bass) 

Osie Johnson (Drums)

Original Release Date: September 1964  –  Label: Mobile Fidelity

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