Themes
Songs
Chronology
|
Collection Themes Songs Chronology | |
Chubby Jackson Big Band | ||
See also Fantasy 3-6 |
| |
CD and LP |
| |
See also Mulligan Plays Mulligan |
 |
 |
LINER NOTES |
| GERRY MULLIGAN QUARTET
"The freshest sound to come out of jazz in a long time," was the way many critics and musicians greeted the first Gerry Mulligan Fantasy record. The quartet, playing compositions by Mulligan or Mulligan arrangements of standards and jazz tunes has, in the short space of six months, created considerable excitement on the jazz scene.
With grace precision, delicacy and intelligence and without neglecting that important jazz factor, the beat, Mulligan has produced a remarkable series of records for Fantasy. Mulligan, a young saxophonist and arranger, graduate of the bands of Gene Krupa and Charlie Barnet, had already established a reputation for himself with his writing for the Miles Davis Capitol recording when the work of his own group and his recent arrangements for the Stan Kenton orchestra broadened public knowledge of his work. Today he is accepted as one of the most talented minds in the jazz world.
The first four tunes, recorded in September of 1952 while the band was playing at the Black Hawk in San Francisco, are outstanding examples of the one-microphone set-up which, in this instance, has captured the sound and mood of the group to an unusual degree. The charming interplay between Gerry's baritone sax and the soft but determined trumpet of Chet Baker, the flowing and solid rhythm supplied by bassist Carson Smith and drummer Chico Hamilton are presented to the listener with a clarity and detail somewhat unusual in jazz recordings. "Carioca" is a showcase for Chico's drumming - skin on skin in the introduction, rather than sticks and brushes. "My Funny Valentine" is the tune which Mulligan single-handedly brought back into national popularity. "Line for Lyons" is a catchy thing dedicated to San Francisco disc jockey, Jimmy Lyons, and "Bark for Barksdale" is for Oakland's Olympic basketball star and disc jockey, Don Barksdale.
The second set of four tunes was taped in Hollywood's Radio Recorders studio, early in January of 1953 just before Chico left the group to join Lena Horne on tour. On this date four microphones and an echo chamber were used to duplicate the acoustical effect of the tunes recorded in San Francisco.
"Turnstile" and "Limelight" are both Mulligan originals. "The Lady Is a Tramp" is, of course, the perennial Rodgers and Hart sophisticated lament. "Moonlight in Vermont," a lovely treatment of a lovely, moody tune, effects a startling illusion of three horns. The "third horn" is actually the bouncing Chico Hamilton!
In these eight renditions there are marvelous moments as the two horns play musical catch with the tune, tossing phrases back and forth. There are also delightful examples of parallel thinking on the part of the instrumentalists whose ideas seem to spring from one central concept, one pattern of thought and to be spoken in identical accents.
Concluding each side of this LP record you will hear 18 seconds of the Mulligan sign-off, a novel little effort Gerry calls "Utter Chaos." It is included here to preserve the atmosphere and feeling of one of the most inventive and unusual groups in modern music. This is the way the Gerry Mulligan quartet sounded as they played-right down to the sign off.
RALPH J. GLEASON, San Francisco Chronicle Gerry's at his best in these sides, which means that the baritone sax is at its most persuasive. The best for Gerry has always meant for me a prevailing gentleness, and it is that quality which prevails in the staccato measures of Carioca and the more legato Line far Lyons. Chet Baker on trumpet and his Miles Davisish sound, vigorously inflected, complements Gerry's sweetness very well. Carson Smith is an able bassist and Chico Hamilton, on drums, gives the more or less bop flavor of these sides real authenticity. -METRONOME Mulligan's kind of sound is just about unique in the jazz field. In comparison with the frantic extremes of bop, his jazz is rich and even orderly, is marked by an almost Bach-like counterpoint. TIME CHUBBY JACKSON BIG BAND WITH GERRY MULLIGAN Historians, when evaluating modern jazz and its various forms, will probably not afford Chubby Jackson a position alongside Oscar Pettiford, Charlie Mingus and Ray Brown as a giant of the bass. However, Jackson will find his name prominently featured in discussions of the big band in the 1940's certainly as an important bassist, band leader and as a one-man organizing force whose presence was felt as a cheerleader and champion of the new music. There is no question that Chubby Jackson was the modern jazz equivalent of Eddie Condon. Greig Stewart Jackson was born in Freeport, Long Island, New York on October 25, 1918. His early experience was with popular dance bands and he worked and recorded with men like Jan Savitt, Raymond Scott, Henry Busse, Terry Shand and Johnny Messner. In 1943, he was a part of a two-bass team (with Oscar Pettiford) in Charlie Barnet's band. The Barnet band of this period nurtured some important modern jazz talent including Howard McGhee, Eddie Bert and Ralph Burns. 1943 also found Jackson beginning what was to be his most famous association when he joined the Woody Herman orchestra. Jackson was responsible for bringing several of the First Herd's top stars into the band and was present on all the celebrated Herman recordings for Columbia. After the First Herd disbanded Jackson went his own way although he returned to the Second Herd for a few months in 1948 and was on the Capitol sessions that produced Early Autumn and Lemon Drop. Jackson would return to the Third Herd for a short time and was on the recordings by this band done for Herman's own Mars label. It was shortly after leaving the first Herd that Jackson began playing a five-string bass. The instrument was his own invention and was manufactured for him by the Kay Company. Jackson still plays the instrument today. The post-war period found Jackson to be one of the most ubiquitous figures in a scene noted for the variety of its happenings. He again worked with Barnet and was instrumental in bringing Lennie Tristano to New York. He recorded in many different contexts and sessions with Charlie Venture, Flip Phillips, Bill Harris, Georgie Auld, Red Rodney, Neil Hefti, the Esquire All-Stars and the Metronome All-Stars come immediately to mind. Although Jackson was a sideman for much of his career he also led some very interesting groups of his own. Through much of the 1940's and 50's he led small groups of excellent musical quality. One of them toured Sweden in 1947 (the first bebop group to tour Europe). But the big band was certainly his first love and, aside from the band presented here, his large group, with different personnel, cut four excellent sides for Columbia in February 1949. In the late 50's, a big Jackson band did two LPs for Argo. In the 1960's, he has been living in Florida working a small group sometimes with tenor man Flip Phillips and featuring his son, Duff, on drums and conducting a TV show for youngsters. From time to time he leads a big rehearsal band and, in 1964, he was involved in the Stan Kenton Clinics. The style of Chubby's big band would be echoed throughout the 50's and 60's in the bands of Woody Herman, Elliot Lawrence, Gene Krupa, Count Basic and Gerry Mulligan. The actual recording, the first big band date recorded by Prestige was done in the old Cinemart studios in New York City. The studio was so small that the trumpet section had to face the wall to make for a better balance. At the time of the session, Georgie Auld owned a bar and jazz club called Tin Pan Alley in the basement of a hotel on 49th Street. The club was a favorite oasis for Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan and J.J. Johnson among others and everybody would come by to jam. At the date Mulligan remarked how loose he felt when working with Zoot. Certainly the loose feeling permeated the entire session as Auld, Jackson and Don Lamond fooled around with one of those fake nose and glasses disguises and Chubby kicked off the time in his stocking feet! The date was the second recording of J.J. Johnson and Kay Winding in tandem, the first being a Metronome All-Star session in January 1949. The Tiny Kahn charts were a constant topic of conversation and the band which Jackson had led in early 1949 had played most of them, some under different titles, at Bop City and The Royal Roost. Flying The Coop is a Tiny Kahn composition formerly titled Belvedere Hop and the first of four Kahn arrangements in this set. All of Kahn's work in the big band idiom features a loose kind of swing that made his writing fresh and exciting. Solos are by Charlie Kennedy, Sims, Johnson, Winding and Aless while Chubby hollers encouragement and Don Lamond boots the band along. Why Not was composed and arranged by Tiny Kahn and should not be confused with the chart of the same name that Neil Hefti wrote for Count Basic. Soloists are Georgia Auld (deep in a Prez bag), Mulligan, Howard McGhee, Winding, Johnson and Aless. The trumpet section lays out on So What composed and arranged by Mulligan. This tune has been done several times since this original recording and is better known under the title Apple Core. Kennedy has the bridge to the first chorus but from then on it is Sims and Mulligan, backed by riffing trombones, first in solo and then in a series of exchanges. I May Be Wrong is arranged by Mulligan and is similar in nature to many of the dance charts that he did for Elliot Lawrence and Gene Krupa. Except for brief bits by Aless and McGhee this is Mulligan's vehicle. New York is the work of Al Gothi, a man who is and was quite akin to this style of playing. McGhee has the opening solo and is followed by Georgie Auld sounding like Gene Ammons in his Prez days. Chubby is once again heard hollering his encouragement and Aless then has a spot before the ensemble sparked by lead of Al Porcino and drummer Lamond take the tune out. New York was also the band's theme song. The gentle Leavin' Town was arranged by Al Cohn as a vehicle for Zoot Sims. Sims and Cohn have been musically allied for more than twenty years and this beautiful job of scoring and playing. Hot Dog is Zoot's tune with the chart by Kahn. There are short solos by Charlie Kennedy. J. J. then Kai, Gerry, McGhee, Sims and Tony Aless with some nice fills by Don Lamond. Sax Appeal was written and arranged by Tiny Kahn. It is a solo feature for Georgie Auld and features a four brothers sound in the sax section. Auld has really been a chameleon who seems to change his sound and style every few years but, as is his previous solos here, this is very good Lester Young derived tenor in keeping with the temper of the session. It is interesting to note that on this LP Chubby Jackson does not do much solo playing. This is unusual but again it emphasizes Jackson's role as an organizer. He had musical talent as well as the ability to get good men into good places. Valuable contributions to the American Art Form and contributions that both listeners and historians alike can be grateful for. Notes: Ernie Edwards, Jr. (Feb. 1969) Jazz Discographies Unlimited Notes adopted from Prestige 7641. CONCEPTION I May Be Wrong, recorded March 15, 1950 with Chubby Jackson's Orchestra; So What, recorded March 15, 1950 with ZOOT SIMS, tenor sax; Charlie Kennedy, alto sax; Jay Jay Johnson, Kai Winding, trombones; Tony Aless, piano; Chubby Jackson, bass; Don Lamond, drums. Gerry has turned a lot of heads with his playing and writing. The tenor-like handling of his cumbersome instrument influenced the late Bob Gordon, and Sweden's Lars Gullin. When Bud Shank plays baritone, a Mulligan stamp is evident. |
| Collection Themes Songs Chronology | |
"EP"21" & Prep 1323"