Edmond Hall’s All Star Quintet – January 25 1944
Richard Havers – Uncompromising Expression
As Blue Note celebrated its fifth birthday in January 1944, [Edmond] Hall and his All Star Quintet, which included vibes player Red Norvo and Café Society regular Teddy Wilson on piano, were turning out yet more singles.
Eric Thacker – The Complete Edmond Hall/James P. Johnson/Sidney DeParis/Vic Dickenson Blue Note Sessions
Red Norvo’s sympathies were already wide. He fitted himself into a variety of styles, being one of the first of the older generation to divine the spirit of bop. He is, however, most readily associated with what used to be known as ‘chamber jazz’, and he played with some of [Benny] Goodman’s small contingents.
Pete Welding B-6505 Liner Notes
By 1944, when these four recordings were made, the clarinetist was almost completely under Goodman's vastly influential sway — given the time, it would have been impossible not to have been influenced by Goodman one way or another. Even a casual listen to the two sessions here, recorded a scant three years apart, reveals the extent to which Hall assimilated elements of Goodman's approach. On the 1944 quintet sessions, Hall's sound and phrasing have changed drastically from those of the quartet date, While they are no less controlled, they are cooler, more obviously "cerebral," more daring harmonically (though not rhythmically), and very suave. Still, he remains very much himself; in fact, perhaps the single factor most reaponsible for Hall's having been one of the most recorded jazz clarinetists during the late '30's and early to middle '40's was his success in incorporating the most viable elements of Goodman's approach into his own agile, personal style.
Dan Morgenstern - Edmond Hall Profoundly Blue CD Issue
We find Hall at the helm of a quintet patterned on the Goodman model, if without drums. Hall, who'd turned down an offer from Duke Ellington, was then with Wilson still at Café Society (Duke wound up hiring his predecessor with Wilson, Jimmy Hamilton), and Wilson and Red Norvo were both on CBS radio working with Paul Barron on the Mildred Bailey Show. Guitarist Carl Kress was also part of the studio scene: having lost his duet partner, Dick McDonough, in 1938, he's making one of his rare jazz appearances here (later, he'd team up with George Barnes). Bassist Johnny Williams was then with Wilson—he and Red Norvo, born respectively on March 13 and March 31 of 1908, are, at the time of this writing, the sole survivors among the players on this CD — and had service with such stalwarts as Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins and Louis Armstrong under his belt.
This is delightful chamber jazz. Teddy and Red go so well together in conception, and on "Blue Interval," which opens with superlative Wilson blues, Red recalls his solo on their famous 1937 "Blue Mood" encounter. "Rompin'" (Rhythm changes with a Cherry bridge) lives up to its title, and the two takes of "Smooth Sailing" (not the Goodman sextet piece) offer interesting solo comparisons. On "Seeing Red/" Kress takes his longest solo turn (you don't hear this kind of guitar anymore, except when Marty Grosz is around, and a kick), while Teddy shines again.
Pete Welding B-6505 Liner Notes
Norvo, too, was widely recognized as one of the leading lights of orchestral and small-group jazz. His musical career extends back to 1925, when he turned professional at the age of 17, A wide range of musical experience, including radio studio work and several years' featured billing With Paul Whiteman's huge orchestra, preceded the formation of Norvo's first group, an octet, which debuted at New York's Hickory House in 1935, The following year he formed a 12-piece orchestra with his wife Mildred Bailey as vocalist, which enjoyed great popularity and which recorded extensively until 1939, Norvo continued to lead a band sporadically through the mid '40's, though from about 1943 on he worked mostly With smaller units, It was also during that year that he switched from xylophone to vibraphone, with which instrument he is heard on these recordings.
Max Margulis – Blue Note Marketing Brochure, Nos. 30, 31)
WHILE hitherto BLUE NOTE has emphasized the continuing aspects of musical feeling derived from the old sung blues, it now interestingly extends its sphere of exploration. In the present records, it highlights some new phases of style that have been evolving during the past decade.
The instrumental grouping (BN No.30 and No. 31) consisting of clarinet, piano, vibraphone, guitar and bass, it is not altogether uncommon. But here, the vibraphone is predominantly melodic, rather than percussionistic, with a characteristic, filigree-like, ornamental line. The piano is similar, and both instruments compliment each other. In general, it is an arabesque style, abstract and delicate. The guitar style, on the other hand, stems from one particular way of playing associated with the early thirties, and its clipped strokes and full-bodied tone awake an instant nostalgia. Finally, the clarinet, while employing the incisiveness and technical niceties necessary for certain kinds of invention, renders plain, by the quality of its intonation and the nature of its phrasing, the fact that its roots are in the blues mode of expression.
The music crystallizes the fusion of a newly-evolved rococo pattern, so to speak, with traditional expressive content.
As for the selections offered, Rompin’ in ‘44is a relaxed piece, exploiting a central, rhythmically attractive motif. Smooth Sailing projects an interesting theme with ingenious integration of mood. Blue Interval has melodic invention at once delicate and subtle, with sustained line and sweeping scope. Seein’ Red is rapid and climactic. Its brief introduction and coda, based on familiar ensemble figures, are good-humoredly satirical.
—MAX MARGULIS
Session Information
Edmond Hall And His All Star Quintet
Edmond Hall, clarinet; Red Norvo, vibes; Teddy Wilson, piano; Carl Kress, guitar; Johnny Williams, bass.
WOR Studios, NYC, January 25, 1944
BN908-1, Rompin' In '44 (alternate take)
BN908-2, Rompin' In '44, Blue Note 30, B-6505
BN910-1, Smooth Sailing (alternate take)
BN910-2, Smooth Sailing, Blue Note 30, B-6505
No comments:
Post a Comment