A History Of Blue Note Records: 1950

Howard McGhee All Stars – January 23 1950

Down Beat 26 January 1951 Volume 18 Issue 2

Jack [Tracy]: McGhee, J.J. Johnson, Brew Moore, Curley Russell, Max Roach and pianist Kenny Drew do the honors on these sides, as session that came off pleasantly, albeit some unfortunately sloppy ensemble work. Brew is the outstanding man here, with his easy-riding swing and good sound. But less reliance on phrases directly from Lester Young would be welcomed. McGhee blows better than is his usual wont, cruises right along on Donellon. Rating: Donellon—7; Drive—6; Meciendo—6; Lo-Flame —7

George [Hoefer]: The four sides on this date came out as better-than-usual bop. Brew shines on Fluid-Drive, and Meciendo has the best all around performance. Rating: Drive Donellon—6; Lo-Flame—6; Meciendo—7.

Pat [Harris]: J. J. and Brew are the ones you'll listen to several times on these records, as McGhee manages to be comparatively unobtrusive. Meciendo, the best of the four sides, is fluid, warm, and gay. Others, especially Drive, show their musical parentage a little too clearly, sound like several hundreds of other frantic discs. (Blue Note 1573, 1574.) Drive—4; Donellon —6; Lo-Flame—4; Meciendo—6.

Michael Cuscuna - 1998 Connoisseur Reissue Liner Notes

HOWARD McGHEE'S first professional associations (Lionel Hampton, Andy Kirk, Charlie Barnet and Count Basie) predate the rise of bebop. In fact, it was Louis Armstrong's playing that inspired him to switch from clarinet to trumpet in high school. But by the time he moved to California with Coleman Hawkins in 1944 (and made those great Hawkins Capitol sessions), the new music was his language. In Los Angeles, he led his own combo, the high point of which was the addition of Charlie Parker in early 1947 for a stint at the Hi-De-Ho and several Dial recording sessions. Later that year, McGhee co-led a wonderful Clef session with Flip Phillips and joined the ever-touring Jazz At The Philharmonic.

By 1948, McGhee was famous enough to cut sides in Chicago for Savoy, in Paris for Vogue and co-lead a Blue Note date with Fats Navarro in New York. His next session as a leader included the six tunes (and now one alternate take) that comprise the beginning of this CD. J.J. Johnson, the under-recorded Brew Moore, Curly Russell and Max Roach were all young but established artists on the bebop scene. The odd man out was 21-year-old Kenny Drew, who was not only making his recording debut in such heavy company, but also wrote two thirds of the repertoire!

Howard McGhee

Photo by Francis Wolff

Down Beat 21 April 1950 Volume 17 Issue 8

A too-short opening chorus, with McGhee, Brew Moore, and J.J. Johnson all playing well, leads into Kenny Drew’s piano chorus. His playing builds steadily into a peak of interest at the end. Fuguetta sounds a little like Indiana, in any event is well-played by all concerned. (Blue Note 1572)

Down Beat 28 January 1953 Volume 20 Issue 2

First eight sides are releases of singles made a few years ago. McGhee, J.J. Johnson, Brew Moore, and Kenny Drew have good solos on the first six, last pair have the added luster of Fats Navarro in contest with Howard (Blue Note LP 5012)

Blue Note Howard McGhee biography by Scott Yanow

During 1945-1949, Howard McGhee was one of the finest trumpeters in jazz, an exciting performer with a sound of his own, who among the young bop players, ranked at the top with Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. The “missing link” between Roy Eldridge and Fats Navarro (Navarro influenced Clifford Brown who influenced most of the post-1955 trumpeters), McGhee originally played clarinet and tenor, not taking up trumpet until he was 17. He worked in territory bands, was with Lionel Hampton in 1941, and then joined Andy Kirk (1941-1942), being featured on “McGhee Special.” McGhee participated in the fabled bop sessions at Minton’s Playhouse and Monroe’s Uptown House, modernizing his style away from Roy Eldridge and towards Dizzy Gillespie. He was with Charlie Barnet (1942-1943), returned to Kirk (where he sat next to Fats Navarro in the trumpet section), and had brief stints with Georgie Auld and Count Basie before traveling to California with Coleman Hawkins in 1945; their concise recordings of swing-to-bop transitional music (including “Stuffy,” “Rifftide,” and “Hollywood Stampede”) are classic. McGhee stayed in California into 1947, playing with Jazz at the Philharmonic, recording and gigging with Charlie Parker (including the ill-fated “Lover Man” date) and having an influence on young players out on the Coast. His Dial sessions were among the most exciting recordings of his career, and back in New York he recorded for Savoy and had a historic meeting on record with Navarro in 1948 on Blue Note.

Eventually, drugs began to affect McGhee’s career. He traveled on a USO tour during the Korean War, recording in Guam. McGhee also had sessions for Bethlehem (1955-1956) but was inactive during much of the ’50s. He recorded some strong dates for Felsted, Bethlehem, Contemporary, and Black Lion during 1960-1961, and on a quartet outing for United Artists (1962), but (with the exception of a Hep big band date in 1966) was largely off records again until 1976. He had a final burst of activity during 1976-1979 for Sonet, SteepleChase, Jazzcraft, Zim, and Storyville, but by then, McGhee was largely forgotten and few knew about his link to Fats Navarro and Clifford Brown.