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."