Doc Cheatham and Sammy Price -
DOC & SAMMY - Sackville 3013
Sackville has followed their wonderful Jay McShann and Buddy Tate duet album with another duet recording of two older jazz stylists. Sammy Price is one of the few true surviving boogie woogie pianists left, though his playing also incorporates some stride and swing elements. Doc Cheatham is representative of the blues-drenched trumpet stylings of the twenties.
Together they do some wonderful earthy interpretations of traditional jazz staples like "Tishomingo Blues" and "Sheik of Araby." Fats Walter's "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose" receive lively takes. The empathy of Price and Cheatham is quite high and they produce a most rewarding set for which we should be thankful to Sackville and Doc and Sammy for giving us. Here's hoping Sackville continues this series of traditional jazz stylists in duo settings.
Incidentally the order of tunes on the record label and jacket is erroneous though listening makes it clear which is "Summertime" and which is "The Sheik of Araby."
I likely received a review copy from the publication. Sackville issued this as part of a double CD. This double CD is available from Delmark Records. This review appeared in the June 1978 Buffalo Jazz Report (Issue 52). Here is Doc and Sammy from an earlier recording where they played Gershwin.
Willie "The Lion" Smith & Don Ewell Grand Piano Duets Sackville/Delmark
This joyous piano collaboration between one of the great stride piano legends and one of the great two-fisted traditional pianists was recorded in 1967. Patrick Scott observes this is music "to be listened to and not written about." He also notes that The Lion is on the left channel and Ewell on the right, but at times where one will be incapable of telling them apart. They had never met until brought together for a 1966 Canadian TV show. This is the second of two albums by the two, and another welcome Sackville reissue from Delmark.
Musically, the mood is set with a blistering, stomping "I've Found a New Baby," followed by a relaxed but also playful, "A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid." The interplay between the two on the opening of "I Would Do Anything For You," the wistfulness of "Some of These Days," and then the breakneck tempo of "Just Me, Just You." "Everybody Loves My Baby," is taken at a relaxed tempo with stunning playing. "Keepin' Out of Mischief," has an interjection from the Lion as the two trade lines at a relaxed pace before "Sweet Georgia Brown," that starts in a sedate manner before the two transform it as a lively stomp.
The fact that this is such fun listening should not detract from the fact that there is some serious music being played as well by the two masters of early piano jazz style.
I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is a clip of Willie "The Lion" Smith performing and a clip of a duet by Don Ewell with pianist Dick Wellstood.
Still known as Dollar Brand when Sackville released some of this on a vinyl album, "Sangoma," it was recorded during his first visit to Toronto in 1973 shortly after converting to Islam and having made a recent pilgrimage to Mecca. What fascinates about these lengthy solo piano improvisations is his jazz invention extemporizing off South African folk themes in a magical manner
The title of the vinyl album "Sangoma" means the one who beats the drum, and that meaning is consistent with the percussive aspects of Ibrahim's playing as he develops the folk themes underlying the compositions, starting with the title track, a three part suite of "The Water's Edge,""Bertha in Turquoise," and "Krotoa." Simply listening to his improvisation during this first part is mesmerizing as he develops a melodic line set against a droning rhythmic bass foundation as he chants with the music with seamless transitions to the other parts of this suite. The other two improvisations are similarly fascinating to listen to his inventiveness.
The final selection, "Khotgso" is previously unissued. Here Ibrahim plays a bamboo flute (instead of piano) and provides a spoken recitation. It is a captivating performance that brings to a close another important Delmark reissue from the Sackville catalog.
I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is a recent performance from Abdullah Ibrahim.
DOC CHEATHAM AND SAMMY PRICE DOC & SAMMY SACKVILLE 3013
Sackville has followed their wonderful Jay McShann and
'BuddyTate duet album with another duet recording of two older
jazz stylists. Sammy Price is one of the few true surviving
boogie woogie pianists left, though his playing also incorporates
some stride and swing elements. Doc Cheatham is representative of the blues-drenched trumpet stylings of the twenties.
Together they do some wonderful earthy interpretations of traditional jazz staples like "Tishomingo Blues" and "Sheik of
Araby." Fats Walter's "Ain't Misbehavin" and "Honeysuckle
Rose" receive lively takes. The empathy of Price and Cheatham
is quite high and they produce a most rewarding set for which
we should be thankful to Sackville and Doc and Sammy for giving
us. Here's hoping Sackville continues this series of traditional
jazz stylists in duo settings. Incidentally the order of tunes on
the record Iabel and jacket is erroneous though listening makes
it clear which is "Summertime" and which is "The Sheik of
Araby."
I do not remember how I acquired this release back in 1978. Delmark has since acquired the Sackville catalog and I am not sure if the reissue program of Sackville has yet reached the two albums by the pair. The review appeared originally in the June 1978 Buffalo Jazz Report (Issue 52). Here is a video of a group led by Sammy Price that includes Doc Cheatham doing "One O'Clock Jump."
“Bones Blues” under the leadership of drummer Pete Magadini, is a strong mainstream Sackville Records session that is being rereleased by Delmark who acquired the Sackville catalog not that long ago. Magadini anchored a piano trio that included one of Canada’s most gifted pianists, Wray Downes on what was his first recording session and bassist Dave Young would later play with Oscar peterson. Added to this trio is tenor saxophonist Don Menza who brings a relaxed, melodic quality here to go with his oft sinewy attack.
The straight-ahead date opens with a swinging rendition of “Old Devil Moon” with Menza blasting off as the rhythm section pushes him along deftly before Downes exhibits with his fluid, precise playing why he was so highly regarded followed by a short solo from the leader. Menza gets really going on Miles Davis’ “Freddie Freeloader” from the legendary “Kind of Blue” recording, and his fervent solo is followed by Downes fresh twist on the theme. Menza’s marvelous way with a ballad is exhibited on a lovely “Poor Butterfly,” with the trio providing nice understated support. Young’s bass joins Menza to state the theme of Miles Davis’ “Solar” and his emphatic playing helps propel this swinging rendition. There is also lovely renditions of Benny Golson’s “I Remember Clifford,” and Dave Young’s wistful “What a Time We Had,” which showcases Young’s strong playing. Menza contributed the title track which is a solid medium tempo blues from Menza’s pen and followed by an alternate take of ““Freddie Freeloader.”
Throughout “Bones Blues” Menza is robust and tender as appropriate, and the trio of Magadini, Downes and Young are terrific in their backing and their own playing. It simply is a wonderful recording of swinging, straight-ahead jazz.
I received my review copy from Delmark. This review appeared in the September-October 2014 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 356). Here is Pete Magadini with Jim Galloway and Dick Wellstood doing some classic jazz.
The Jazz Giants was a group assembled for a performance at Toronto's Colonial Tavern. The nominal leader of this group was cornetist Wild Bill Davison although pianist Claude Hopkins was the musical director. Others in the group included clarinetist Herb Hall, who like Davison was a mainstay of Eddie Condon's New York club; veteran trombonist Benny Morton whose career stretched back to Fletcher Henderson in the 1920s; bassist Arvell Shaw of Louis Armstrong's All Stars; and drummer Buzzy Drootin. This group was recorded following the gig at the Colonial and "The Jazz Giants" was the initial release on Sackville. Delmark has re-released it under that title but under Wild Bill Davison's name.
Davison was a highly energetic cornet player who like others of his generation was inspired by Louis Armstrong and his brash, driving attack and complemented by a fine band that on the surface is similar to Armstrong's All Stars (trumpet or cornet, clarinet, trombone, piano, bass and drums), a fact that the group's repertoire is grounded in a number of songs that are associated with Armstrong starting with the bustling swing of "Struttin' With Some Barbecue,"on which Hall contributes serpentine clarinet lines against the swinging rhythm section prior to Davison taking off with his marvelous attack, with Morton, Shaw and Hopkins all spotlighted with a short drum break at the end. The warmth Hall was able to convey convey is exhibited on the bouncy "Darnanella." "Black and Blue" (which is also presented in an alternate), was one of Armstrong's seminal recordings and receives a wonderful interpretation here (and Hopkins piano accompaniment merits notice). Listening to the performance here, one has a sense of the spirit of Pops' music.
Hopkins was one of the writers of "I Would Do Anything For You," which was first recorded by Hopkins and his Orchestra in 1932. The ensemble provides a nice small ensemble rendition with Davison's vibrato and use of tonal effects quite enjoyable while Morton adds a gruff lyricism, and followed by a relaxed groove for the trad staple "I Found a New Baby." One of the surprises of repertoire on this date is "Blue Again," revisiting another of Armstrong's classic performances from the late twenties and early thirties. If Pops had heard this performance, it would likely have made him smile. Davison displays a bit of his own lyricism on a lovely "I Surrender Dear" while "Yesterdays" is a feature for Shaw's Arco bass playing.
"The Jazz Giants" were a marvelous ensemble brought together for one gig and we are fortunate that John Norris and others collaborated on financing the recording of this group. This is swinging music of energy and high spirit that gets one toes dancing and one's spirits lifted.
I received my review copy from Delmark. This review originally appeared in the July-August 2015 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 361). Here is Wild Bill Davison performing.
Delmark’s acquisition of the Canadian Sackville label continues to make available some wonderful recordings covering the whole spectrum of jazz. Among the latest releases to get back into circulation is a live solo piano recording from the wonderful Junior Mance, “Jubilation” (Sackville). Mance, who established himself with Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderly and the two tenor team of Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis and Johnny Griffin, had been working leading his own trios and also in duos in New York from the 1960s on when he was recorded at Toronto’s The Montreal Bistro in September, 1994.
“Jubilation” was originally released in 1996 and likely will be new to most ears. In a program ranging from Hoagy Carmichael, Ellington and Strayhorn, W.C. Handy, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, Dizzy Gillespie and Cole Porter, Mance throughout showcases his considerable and ability in mixing gospel and blues roots with florid Tatum-esque runs. The title track is a particularly exhilarating performance, but his touch and tenderness is shown on a rendition of “Georgia On My Mind.”
Mance gets playful on “Lady Be Good,” while his take on “All the Things You Are” is a high point on this exceptional release. Mance also puts his own stamp on a marvelous take of the venerable “St. Louis Blues,” as well as on “Birks Works,” while he invests a morose tone to “Lover Man.” “What Is Thing Called Love” starts in a reflective manner before Mance turns his interpretation into a stride-rooted romp. This track exhibits the wide ranging musical imagination mixed with his formidable technique making “Jubilation” such a delightful recording.
I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is Junior Mance doing "Jubilation" in 1959.
Buddy Tate was both a band mate of, and successor to, fellow Texas tenor saxophonist Herschel Evans. Both had played together in Troy Floyd’s Band and when Evans passed away at a young age, Tate was called to replace him in the Count Basie Band. Like Evans, Tate had a big sound drenched in the blues and like Evans, his playing contrasted with Lester Young. His playing was typical of what has become known as the Texas Tenor sound which includes such other masters as Illinois Jacquet and Arnett Cobb. After leaving Basie in 1949, Tate had a lengthy career leading his own Celebrity Club band in Harlem as well as extensively touring Europe. By the time the Sackville album, that Delmark recently reissued “Texas Tenor,” was recorded in 1978, many artists would travel as single artists and hook up with local rhythm sections. In the present case, Tate was hooked up with the terrific rhythm section of pianist Wray Downes, bassist Dave Young and drummer Pete Magadini for a session of ballads and standards.
This is a wonderful date full of swing and some marvelous ballad playing. The opening tunes “June Night” and “Someday Sweetheart” are swinging renditions of numbers that were popular in Tate’s youth. The latter number was recorded by Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver, although Tate’s version is more modern rhythmically than the versions by those pioneering jazz artists. “If You Could See Me Know” is a wonderful rendition of Tadd Dameron’s ballad displaying the warmth and tenderness generally characteristic of Tate with the rhythm section providing a light touch. The rhythm is hotter on the fine rendition of “I’ll Remember April,” with Downes adding some nice latin accents.
Tate is heard on clarinet on a bluesy take on “Georgia on My Mind,” followed by some somewhat breathy tenor on “Alone Together.” His swinging, nuanced tenor throughly delights on “Bye Bye Blackbird,” where his swinging, nuanced playing thoroughly delights. This Delmark reissue of the Sackville release includes two previously unissued selections, a lovely rendition of the Ellington-Strayhorn collaboration “Isfahan” (Tate evokes later day Ben Webster here), and “Lullaby of the Leaves” which provides another example of his clarinet playing with a woody, bluesy flavor.
Supported by a rhythm section, Tate is terrific throughout the marvelous “Texas Tenor.”
I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is Tate doing the classic ballad "Blue and Sentimental."
A welcome re-release by Delmark from the Sackville label is Don Pullen’s Richard’s Tune. Originally released in 1975 as “Solo Piano Album,” the album takes its title from the title track which was dedicated to Muhal Richard Abrams. Pullen first attracted attention as a member of the “New Thing” with recordings for ESP, but later was working in rhythm and blues. He worked with such perfomers as Big Maybelle, Ruth Brown, Irene Reid, Arthur Prysock and Nina Simone before joining Charles Mingus for what is considered the bassist's last great band along with drummer Danny Richmond and saxophonist George Adams. After Mingus death, he would form a quartet with Adams and Richmond.
The five compositions performed on Richard's Tune, (including two takes of Big Alice), illustrate what Stuart Boomer describe in his liner notes as “a lyric historicism, a capacity to invoke the past in the light of the absolute present and presence, drawing at will on the history of jazz and its still potent roots in blues and gospel.” This aspect is evident on the title selection which ranges from the post-Monk piano tradition (some evokes Randy Weston to these ears) and includes a brief dense, percussive segment that mixes with the general lyricism of much of his playing on this. His playing here also illustrates his precise touch.
The longest selection is a dedication to Malcolm X Suite (Sweet) Malcolm (Part : Memories and Gunshots), a number that, with elegance, lyricism and passion, mixes Pullen's gospel and soul roots with percussive free passages for a musical tour de force. It is followed by Big Alice, a bouncy number with a rhythm and blues underpinning. Boomer notes that this was rare sideman original that Mingus would perform with his group and here it is a joyous performance with its almost New Orleans feel . Song Played Backwards is played in reverse of the note sequence that Pullen composed. It is densest and most percussive performance on this rerelease.
Don Pullen passed away in April, 1975 at the age of only 53. Delmark is to be thanked for making Richard’s Song readily available again as it is a buoyant, passionate display of Don Pullen’s piano mastery and marvelous compositions.
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