britbop

British Bebop

The All-Star Sextet

Reg Arnold, Norman Burns, Alan Dean, Jack Fallon, Aubrey Frank, Tommy Pollard, Ralph Sharon

London - April 1948

 LINER NOTES

While World War II raged in Europe and the Far East, the American jazz community was experiencing its own invasion from within. It began as something of an underground movement among the younger players, as bebop was adopted as the new musical language and clubs like Minton's and Monroe's Playhouse became hothouses for burgeoning new talent in New York. The new music called for rebuilding rather than redesign; chordal structures remained the basis of each piece but entirely new musical edifices were fashioned from them. The spread of the new language was initially confined to the United States, but it spread rapidly to become a worldwide property. Europe did not take long to respond and this CD double documents the early years of the British bebop movement.

Access to the source was obviously a necessity for aspiring European musicians. Drummer Carlo Krahmer formed his own Esquire label and material by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie was issued. He had earlier held record sessions at his home and, through these meetings, had indoctrinated a coterie of locals such as Ronnie Scott, Denis Rose, Lennie Bush and Tony Crombie. For their parts, British musicians went to almost any ends to acquaint themselves with this new, technically challenging music and players such as Scott, Crombie and Johnny Dankworth actually worked on the transatlantic ships purely to spend time in New York. Once there, they could drink at the didactic fountain sprung by the likes of Gillespie, Parker, Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke. Back in Britain, musicians from various stylistic backgrounds turned to bop and it was obvious that some of the more established had to unlearn a jazz language already mastered. Changes, away from the melodic emphasis of the swing era, were called for and a compatibility with the more broken, rhythmic flow of bop established. Ironically, the British bop rhythm sections were slower to master the new requirements but, as they did, the whole scene grew in confidence.

The Victor Feldman group heard here provides a very good illustration. Each of the quartet members is at a different transitional stage. Thompson has the best grasp of bop's phraseology, Howard sticks to essentials, while the leader is in the stage of 'Mintonizing' his Gene Krupa-esque drum figures. It is former traditional clarinettist Dankworth who presents the most intriguing case. The now-famous alto saxophonist here returns to his clarinet and does so in a style owing more to Benny Goodman than to Buddy De Franco, Parker or any other bop reedmen. There are certain George Shearing-like elements to 'Lady Bird' and 'Moonlight In Vermont' but 'Quaternity', in particular, is launched with a Goodman-style riff and the gentle reading of 'Gone With The Wind' certainly recalls that famous Chicagoan.

Recorded a month earlier, the Esquire Five paints a rather different picture. The neatly paraphrased 'Lady Be Good' opens as a smoothly rhapsodic performance with Scott's tone and well-shaded vibrato recalling pre-bop days. The break into double time takes us into pure bop territory: the sound is hardened up, the tenor's vibrato eschewed and the phrase shapes come straight from 52nd Steet. Despite not entirely convincing drum breaks on 'Boppin' At Esquire' Sharon, Fallon and Krahmer seem to have a good grasp of the music's rhythmic principles, while Scott's fine, unhurried solo on 'What Is This Thing Called Love' suggests that he has unlearned his past rather well.

The Town Hall Ensemble augment the smaller unit effectively. The inspiration of the Gillespie Big Band is obvious with 'Buzzy' taking advantage of a good riff based approach, while 'How High The Moon' opens with a stock swing style arrangement, moves to the 'Ornithology' variation, then presents both in counterpoint as a tasteful reminder of their association. On the solo front, Scott is outstanding on both titles, Dankworth is far more bop-orientated on alto and Arnold and Skidmore, although more swing-driven, play convincingly.

The All Star Sextet has a fine rhythm section with Sharon, Fallon and Burns but it does tend to revolve around the swinging, Milt Jackson-inspired vibes of Pollard. He solos impressively on every title but there are other attractions. 'Fallonology' is a bass propelled 'Body And Soul' with a clever arrangement and Sharon has highly valid solos on 'First Gear', 'Confirmation' and 'Jack Fiddles While Norman Burns'. Arnold's Howard McGhee-ish trumpet shines on 'First Gear' and there are samples of Dean's idiosyncratic bop vocals on 'First Gear' and 'My Baby Likes To Bebop'.

The Club Eleven, which began life in London's Windmill Street and later moved to Carnaby Street, was the birthplace of the Ronnie Scott Boptet. The powerful rhythm section is comfortable with bebop, Pollard is a reliable pianist and Bush and Crombie drive the unit well. Scott is outstanding; he solos with distinction throughout, most especially on '52nd Street Theme', 'Scrapple From The Apple1, 'Donna Lee' and the quartet item 'Don't Blame Me'. Trumpeter Rose was the club's bop guru, cognisant of the rules but, as 'Ow!', 'Stoned' and 'Scrapple From The Apple' show, was better at instruction than delivering the message instrumentally. The Ronnie Scott Quartet dates from 1951 and announces a slight modification in outlook. Pollard, Bush and Kinsey are a more lightly swinging, rhythmic unit and there is certainly a change in the leader's approach. His new enthusiasm for the music of Stan Getz is certainly reflected in his work on Too Marvellous For Words' and 'Have You Met Miss Jones' and his understated version of 'Flamingo1 is his natural reaction to the blustering Earl Bostic recording popular at that time.

The 1951 Boptet is a fine unit. It offers the excellent trumpet of Deucher, superbly muted on 'Little Willie Leaps' and attackingly open on 'Crazy Rhythm'. It presents the neatly-swinging Robinson, especially buoyant on 'Chasing The Bird' and 'El Sino', and shows pianist Feldman to very good affect throughout. Scott maintains creative standards with a light style, while Bush and Crombie round off a group that, at times, sounds larger than a sextet.

The 1953 Orchestra is an even more successful big band. It boasts good arrangements - especially for reeds - and has, in Crombie, a drummer in top form. Scott and Deucher continue to excel as soloists but there are fine contributions from Wray ('Compos Mentos'), Humble ('Body Beautiful') and Bush ('Stomping At The Savoy'). They complete an important part of jazz history and make this issue a genuine collector's item. It is one that finds men setting themselves major challenges, meeting them head-on and succeeding in pushing the cutting edge of jazz innovation a little in their own direction. In the process, they have also provided an outstanding listening experience.

Barry McRae