Archive for the ‘Tommy Flanagan’ Category
Roy Haynes: Out of the Afternoon (1962 – Impulse! Records)
This splendid-sounding CD reissues a 1962 set from the Roy Haynes Quartet — which, at the time, consisted of Haynes, Henry Grimes on bass, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Roland Kirk on saxes, manzello, stritch, and flutes. The album is a delightful mix of techniques in arrangement and performance, with all of the musicians delivering terrific work — Haynes’ drumming is absolutely wonderful here, lightly dancing around the other instruments, Flanagan’s piano playing is equally light and delicate, Grimes’ bass work is outstanding (during “Raoul” you have a chance to hear one of the few bowed bass solos on records of that era), and there’s not much that can be said about Kirk’s sax and flute work that hasn’t already been said a hundred times, apart from the fact that the flute solos on “Snap Crackle” help this cut emerge as particularly outstanding.
Steven McDonald, All Music Guide.
1. Moon Ray
2. Fly Me To The Moon
3. Raoul
4. Snap Crackle
5. If I Should Lose You
6. Long Wharf
7. Some Other Spring
Personnel:
Roland Kirk: Ten sax & flute
Tommy Flanagan: Piano
Henry Grimes: Bass
Released in 1962 – Label: Impulse! Records
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Clark Terry: Color Changes (1960 – Candid Records)
This is one of flügelhornist Clark Terry’s finest albums. Terry had complete control over the music and, rather than have the usual jam session, he utilized an octet and arrangements by Yusef Lateef, Budd Johnson, and Al Cohn. The lineup of musicians (C.T., trombonist Jimmy Knepper, Julius Watkins on French horn, Yusef Lateef on tenor, flute, oboe, and English horn, Seldon Powell doubling on tenor and flute, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Joe Benjamin, and drummer Ed Shaughnessy) lives up to its potential, and the charts make good use of the sounds of these very individual stylists. The material, which consists of originals by Terry, Duke Jordan, Lateef, and Bob Wilber, is both rare and fresh, and the interpretations always swing.
Scott Yanow (All Music Guide)
Original Release Date: November 19, 1960 – Label: Candid Records
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Benny Golson: The Best Of Benny Golson (2009 – Concord Music)
The seductive charm that makes Benny Golson’s “Whisper Not” so appealing has not diminished in half a century, as is evident when listening to the two performances found here, one recorded in 1956, the other just last year. The latter, with Al Jarreau singing the Leonard Feather lyrics with surprising sensitivity, comes from Golson’s latest version of the sextet he originally formed with the late Art Farmer in 1959. The 1956 instrumental recording, by a nonet, is an opulent rendering with heraldic flourishes by Julius Watkins’ French horn plus solos from Farmer’s trumpet, Gigi Gryce’s alto and Golson’s rococo climactic tenor sax.
“Whisper Not” is one of many tunes that have made Golson one of jazz’ leading composers. He has displayed an unfailing gift for suave melodies combined with elaborate and sophisticated harmonies, all spiced with rhythms ranging from sultry saunters to high-stepping marches. And his playing, like his compositions, never relinquishes melody, no matter how baroque or extravagant his bebop-inspired harmonic flights may soar.
“The Best Of” album concentrates as much on presenting Golson the improviser as it does the composer, with his early work represented by tracks featuring mostly quintets with trombonist Curtis Fuller. His solos reflect the influence of Lucky Thompson with intimations of John Coltrane’s explorations, especially on an aggressive “Are You Real?” The heavy, breathy vibrato of Thompson, most prominent on a very slow “April in Paris” from 1959, became much less pronounced over the years, as tracks from the ’80s on confirm, but Golson never lost that edge of velvet in his tone, nor that commitment to melody that make his solos on “Five Spot After Dark” (1997) and “Killer Joe” (2004) so warmly engaging.
George Kanzler (All About Jazz)
Personnel: Art Blakey, Ray Bryant, Paul Chambers, Kenny Dorham, Ray Drummond, Art Farmer, Tommy Flanagan, Curtis Fuller, Gigi Gryce, Barry Harris, Eddie Henderson, J.J. Johnson, Wynton Kelly, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Arthur Taylor, and others.
Original Release Date: January 20, 2009 – Label: Concord Music Group
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Across Rhythm 