The Red Garland Quintet: Soul Junction

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Arthur Taylor, Ben Webster, Dizzy Gillespie, Donald Byrd, Duke Ellington, George Joyner, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Phil De Lancie, Red Garland, Rudy Van Gelder, The Red Garland Quintet, Vincent Youmans

“Soul Junction” was recorded on November 15, 1957,
by the Red Garland Quintet. This album was firmly rooted
in the Hard-Bop tradition of the day, yet strongly influenced
by the Blues. This was evident when hearing the
15-minute title cut, credited to Garland (1923-1984).
The other four tracks include the well-known,
“Woody ‘N You” by Dizzy Gillespie, “Birk’s Works,” also by
Gillespie, the Ben Webster/Duke Ellington penned ballad,
“I’ve Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good),” and the upbeat
“Hallelujah” from Vincent Youmans, which was taken at
a very fast tempo.

All five of these tunes provided an ample opportunity
for Garland and his four bandmates to demonstrate their
considerable skills. John Coltrane was on tenor saxophone
at this session. By then, he’d logged many hours with
Garland, as a part of Miles Davis’ first great quintet,
and had also headlined some recordings of his own. All of
these songs featured Coltrane’s unique ability to break
down chords and render strikingly original solos, showing
that he’d “arrived” as a player.

Donald Byrd’s full, crisp tone on trumpet was also a strong
component of these recordings, with drummer Arthur Taylor
and bassist George Joyner ideally rounding out the
rhythm section. This Rudy Van Gelder session would also
yield another disc, “All Morning Long,” as well as part of
“High Pressure,” an album recorded for the Prestige label.
Otherwise, Garland primarily recorded as the leader of
his eponymous trio.

It’s interesting to hear a musician like Garland leading
a session versus performing as a sideman, as he had
with Miles Davis. This record illustrated his solid
stewardship, and resulted in a 43-minute disc that any
Jazzman could point to with pride. I’m looking forward
to hearing the other fruits of this session.

Released under the Prestige label, this recording was
digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie in 1990. It sounds
great and is highly recommended.

The Duke Ellington Orchestra: The Duke at Fargo 1940

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Barney Bigard, Ben Webster, Billy Strayhorn, Dick Burris, Harry Carney, Herb Jeffries, Ivie Anderson, Jack Towers, Johnny Hodges, Juan Tizol, Ray Nance, The Duke Ellington Orchestra

It’s always interesting to chart the histories of various big
bands that have endured over many years, while watching
them transition from “strength” to “strength,” as their
various members come and go. The Duke Ellington Orchestra
was a prime example of this trend, as an organization
that featured many fine players, from its inception during
the 1920’s until the early 1970’s, punctuated by Ellington’s
death in 1974.

“The Duke at Fargo 1940” is a two-CD set issued by the
Jazz Classics label which captures a live, November 7, 1940
performance given in Fargo, North Dakota. We owe special
thanks to the creativity of recording engineers,
Jack Towers (1914-2010) and Dick Burris, who recorded the
event with microphones attached to a portable disc cutter,
which they placed outside of the venue in their car!
The process of creating this memorable document for
posterity was described in the liner notes accompanying
these CDs.

These gentlemen only had one cutting machine and
therefore had to replace full acetate discs with new ones,
during the performance. Unfortunately, there were portions
of certain songs that were missed. Nevertheless, the
performance was broadcast live on the radio and very
little of it was not recorded. In fact, these two CDs contain
approximately two and one-half hours of music, which is
spread over more than 40 tracks.

The accompanying liner notes also indicated the strength
of this 1940 Ellington Orchestra, and I was particularly
grateful to hear Ben Webster’s (1909-1973) contributions
on the tenor saxophone, as his tenure with Ellington was
relatively brief. His performance on “Star Dust,’ a track
near the end of Disc Two, featured his “velvety” tone and
provided some interesting colors.

Of course, this is just one example of an orchestra that
was known for its tonal colors, and it also featured
Johnny Hodges (1906-1970), Harry Carney (1910-1974),
Juan Tizol (1900-1984), and Barney Bigard (1906-1980),
to name a few. Additional contributions included vocals
from Ivie Anderson (1905-1949) and Herb Jeffries
(1913-2014). Trumpeter Ray Nance (1913-1976) was
new to the band, and was also featured on violin!

These talented players were provided with skillful
arrangements from Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
(1915-1967), distinguishing the Ellington Orchestra
from other big bands of this and subsequent eras.
The results were difficult to match and have never been
exceeded. Despite the sonic limitations of the recording
process, this set provides an important document of
a big band in one of its “prime” incarnations.

The Ben Webster Quintet: Soulville

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Ben Webster

Ben Webster’s distinctive sound was on full display when
I heard “Soulville,” a 1957 recording by The Ben Webster
Quintet, produced by Norman Granz for the Verve label.
The cuts consisted primarily of ballads and easy-going,
swing tunes, such as “Makin’ Whoopee,” “Soulville,” and
“Lover, Come Back to Me.” Webster’s sound was big, sexy
and “woolly,” and I’ve noticed that his solos often contain
introductory glissandi when he begins a phrase. There is
also a lot of air that escapes between his lips and the
mouthpiece, which is particularly noticeable when
he’s closely miked.

These characteristic Webster trademarks don’t detract
from the music making found on this congenial and
satisfying release. Here, he’s backed by the Oscar
Peterson Trio with the addition of Stan Levey on drums.
A more sympathetic rhythm section would be hard
to imagine.

This 1989 digitally remastered CD also includes three
previously unreleased tracks at the end, “Who,”
“Boogie-Woogie” and “Roses of Picardy,” which
feature Webster on piano. An accompanying essay by
Phil Schaap explains that Webster began his professional
music career as a pianist, and played for about five
years before learning the saxophone. These cuts
reveal Webster to be an able if unremarkable pianist,
and provided me with a more complete picture of this
Jazz legend. It proves that when listening to an artist,
we’re often only aware of the tip of the iceberg!