Etta Jones - Houston Person & Dylan Cremer

(1) Etta Jones

Sings Lady Day

High Note HCD 7078

That Ole Devil Called Love/ All of me/ But Beautiful/ You’ve Changed/ I Cried For you/ Fine and Mellow/ God Bless the Child/ Them There Eyes/ You better Go Now.

Jones, vcl; Houston Person, ts; Richard Wyands, p; Peter Bernstein, g; John Webber, b; Chip White, d. New York, NY, June 21, 2001.

(2) Houston Person

Blue Velvet

High Note HCD 7090

Everything I Have Is Yours/ Wonder Why/ Blame It On My Youth/ Too Late Now/ There’s No You/ Be My Love/ I Want To Talk About You/ I Hadn’t Anyone Till You/ Blue Velvet

Person, ts; Richard Wyands, p; Ray Drummond, b; Grady Tate, d. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. July 10, 2001

(3)Dylan Cramer

All Night Long

Nagel Heyer Records CD 073

Caruso/ Estate/ Bumpin’/ Black Orpheus/ All Night long/ Stolen Moments/ Lover Man/ Clouds/ My Funny Valentine/ So What.

Cramer, as; Ron Johnston, p; Steve Holy, b; John Nolan, d. Vancouver, British Columbia. October 7 & 8, 1998.

The release of (1) occurred almost simultaneously with Etta Jones’ passing.  I was obviously conceived as a tribute to Billie Holiday and succeeds as such and also a reminder of the wonderful voice that Ms. Jones had given us for all these years.  The liner notes observe that Jones’ debt to Holiday but asserts she was no imitator, not directly pattern her approach on Holiday’s.  There are times when listening to this that I almost felt that I was hearing Holiday more in the tone of Jones’ voice than her phrasing, but even there one could observe the inspiration of Holiday’s immense legacy.  Included is a nice mix of material from a couple of numbers most associated with Holiday, “God Bless the Child” and “Fine and Mellow,” along with standards such as “All of Me,” and “Then There Eyes.” The supporting band led by her long-time musical collaborator Houston Person is superb here.  Person’s walking tempo tenor solo is a highlight on “All of Me,” while his blues mastery is evident on “Fine and Mellow.” On the opening passages of “You’ve Changed,” he plays with a romantic feeling that evokes Ben Webster.  Both pianist Wyands and guitarist Bernstein are prominent on the performance of the ballad, “But Beautiful,” with Jones’ expressiveness here rivaling that of Holiday.   The singing and playing here is exquisite and with her wonderful final recording, Etta Jones sang as well and as movingly as any point in her life.

(2) is Person’s latest High Note recording with Ray Drummond on bass and Grady Tate on drums joining Person and pianist Wyands for a disc of ballads and mid-tempoed swingers.  Person is marvelous throughout with a warm, full tone and just a touch of vibrato as is the rhythm section whether Wyands lightly comping behind Person or some nice cymbal work or use of brushes from Tate.  Person’s solos here are romantic without employing any devices like excess vibrato, his solos are wonderfully developed, and do not overstay their welcome.   Wyands contributes several nice solos with the one on “Be My Love” being a choice one.  It is followed by a short Drummond solo on bass before Person reenters to lead the song to its conclusion.  The rhythm section plays so well supporting Person that one can almost forget they are there.   While I do not claim an exhaustive familiarity with Person’s recordings, this release is as good as anything I have heard from him recently.

I am unfamiliar with Dylan Cramer, but I take it that (3) is his debut recording. In his notes, Cramer cites his indebtedness to Sonny Criss and L.A. Studio saxophonist Phil Sobel, both of whom he studied with.  Cramer plays cleanly and fluidly on an interesting mix of material.  He sounds as much at home with the almost dirge-like tempo of “Caruso,” as with a bossa nova such as “Estate” or “Clouds.” It's intriguing to hear Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen Moments” played as Cramer’s alto brings a different attack and sound to that Eric Dolphy did four decades ago.  He brings a big, forceful attack to “So What,” at times he comes across as more than one horn. Cramer imparts a nice, bluesy edge to  Wes Montgomery’s “Bumpin’” where pianist Johnston and bassist Holy both take concise solos.  It's a delight to hear such a solid new talent with solid support for a superb debut.

These reviews were written for Cadence Magazine and published in 2002. I received my review copies from Cadence. Here is Etta Jones and Houston Person performing "Fine and Mellow."

Etta Jones Sings Lady Day

Etta Jones

Sings Lady Day

High Note HCD 7078

That Ole Devil Called Love/ All of Me/ But Beautiful/ You’ve Changed/ I Cried For you/ Fine and Mellow/ God Bless the Child/ Them There Eyes/ You Better Go Now.

Jones, vcl; Houston Person, ts; Richard Wyands, p; Peter Bernstein, g; John Webber, b; Chip White, d. New York, NY, June 21, 2001.

 

The release of "Sings Lady Day" occurred almost simultaneously with Etta Jones’ passing. It is obviously a tribute to Billie Holiday and succeeds not simply as such, but also a reminder of just how marvelous Ms. Jones herself was for all these years. The liner notes observe Jones’ stylistic debt to Holiday but asserts she was not an imitator. Still, there are times when listening to this that I almost felt that I was hearing Holiday more in the tone of Jones’ voice than her phrasing. There is short segment in “Fine and Mellow“ where she briefly shows us “Ms Billie Holiday did it a little bit like this” and does a brief vocal impersonation.

There is a nice choice of material ranging from a numbers most identified associated with Holiday, “God Bless the Child” and “Fine and Mellow,” along with standards such as “All of Me,” and “Then There Eyes.” The supporting band led by her long-time musical collaborator Houston Person is superb. Person’s tenor solo is a highlight on “All of Me,” and his solo on “Fine and Mellow,” is a marvelous example of Person’s deep blues roots. Both pianist Wyands and guitarist Bernstein are prominent on the performance of the ballad, “But Beautiful,” with Jones’ expressiveness here rivaling that of Holiday. Everything about this recording is exquisite.

This review was written for Cadence Magazine in early 2002 as part of a review that included the review of Houston Person's "Blue Velvet" that I posted this past Wednesday. Given that this is the centenary of Billie Holiday, this wonderful tribute from some years back should not be overlooked and stands along the wonderful recent Cassandra Wilson and Jose James tributes. It is still in print I believe and available as downloads. I likely received my review copy from Cadence. Here is Etta Jones in performance.

 

Mike LeDonne Keeps The Faith.

I was not familiar with organist Mike LeDonne prior to listening to his new Savant CD Keep The Faith. LeDonne grew up on hard soul and funk before falling under the spell of Miles Davis and Wes Montgomery and the swing feeling. He spent eleven years in the legendary vibist, Milt Jackson’s quartet before establishing “The Groover Quartet” with saxophonist Eric Alexander, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth. LeDonne’s band is well name as they hit the groove and run hard with it.

This disc opens with a dynamic rendition of the O’Jay’s hit, The Backstabbers, which establishes the mood with Alexander as well as the leader both being especially striking as drummer Farnsworth provides the hard swinging rhythm. The late Charles Earland was a major influence on LeDonne, and the Earland penned title track that hurdles out the gate like a runaway midnight special. Alexander takes things up a notch followed by fiery single note playing by Bernstein who certainly has become one of the most in demand guitarists (Sonny Rollins for one) and so at home in the context of an organ band. The leader himself provides plenty of chicken fried grease here as well followed by the three trading fours with drummer Farnsworth. Its typical of the fire to be heard here.

LeDonne’s original blues, Big John, is a tribute to another jazz organ master, John Patton. The relaxed walking tempo provides a change of pace from the burners that opened this album. It is followed by the relaxed groove in an interpretation of Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel.” The four invest quite a bit of feeling into Donny Hathaway’s classic Someday We’ll All Be Free. Another LeDonne original, Scratchin’ is fleet groover as Bernstein takes a driving solo followed by some strong tenor sax while “Burner’s Idea” is a hot bluesy number that shows inspiration in Earland’s similarly styled compositions (Earland’s nickname was “The Mighty Burner”). The leader takes us to the church of organ blues here.

This writer is an unabashed fan of organ jazz. Listening to this was like being an eleven year boy alone in a candy store. However, the musical treats of Mike LeDonne and The Groover Quartet, on Keep The Faith, have no calories, don’t promote tooth decay and is musically enriching. LeDonne has produced a superior organ jazz recording that will be listened to repeatedly by this writer.

My review copy was provided by Jazz & Blues Report for whom this review was written. Here is Mike and the Groover Quartet at the 2010 Chicago Jazz Festival.