1953 - May 20

Howard McGhee Sextet – May 20 1953 

 

Michael Cuscuna – 1998 CD Reissue Liner Notes 

BETWEEN HOWARD McGHEE'S 1950 Blue Note sextet session and the 1953 affair enclosed here, he made no commercial recordings as a leader. But recordings from Seoul and Guam surfaced from the Oscar Pettiford band with McGhee and J. J. Johnson that toured Korea, Japan and various Pacific Islands in the winter of 1951-52 for the armed forces. At any rate, this date, McGhee's last for the label, is one of the standout recordings of his career, thanks in part to his impeccable taste in sidemen. 

Down Beat July 1953

Gigi Gryce was an up-and-coming alto saxophonist, flutist and composer who grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. When Stan Getz plucked Horace Silver and Walter Bolden out of Hartford in 1951 to join him in New York, the tenor saxophonist took a handful of great Gryce compositions as well including "Mosquito Knees." Gryce would soon lend his considerable talents to Blue Note dates by trumpeters Clifford Brown, Thad Jones and Lee Morgan. He later co-led The Jazz Lab with Donald Byrd and had a quintet with Richard Williams before retiring to teaching in 1961. His compositions include "Hymn To The Orient, "Nica's Tempo" and "Social Call." 

Howard McGhee, Gigi Gryce, Tal Farlow
Photo by Francis Wolff

A guitarist of astonishing depth and facility, Tal Farlow had already made his name with Buddy DeFranco, Red Norvo and Artie Shaw before this session. He made his debut as a leader on Blue Note with the music that completes this CD. Throughout, he is playing brilliantly, but it was the 1956 trio he led with Eddie Costa and Vinne Burke that truly achieved greatness. 

Photo by Francis Wolff

Horace Silver had already made his first Blue Note session by the time of this McGhee date and went on to change the face of modern jazz and the fortunes of Blue Note Records. The rich, earthy bass of Percy Heath was a familiar sound on many Blue Note sessions at the time. A year later, he would become part of the officially formed Modern Jazz Quartet. 

Walter Bolden, who composed "Ittapnna" for the date, was a busy freelance drummer in New York for years working with Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn & Zoot Sims and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross among others. In 1978, he made an excellent album of his own for Nemperor with George Coleman and Harold Mabern among the cast. 

Photo by Francis Wolff

Down Beat 21 October 1953 Volume 20 Issue 21 

Unlike the last McGhee LP, this was not recorded in Guam. It was cut in a studio with a roof, and you can hear how many men are in the band. It’s less glamorous but much more acoustical. 

McGhee’s tone has pinpointed itself a little since his rough-and-ready-bop period; the result is a maturer sound, along with the expected personal phrasing and ideas. 

Gigi Gryce, now in Europe with Hamp, plays some buoyant alto and is especially effective with his flute bits on McGhee’s Jarm and his own Shabazz. Futurity is another Gryce original and Ittapanna (who is Patti Ann?) a swinging product of drummer Walter Bolden’s wig. 

Fall 1953 New Releases
Down beat Magazine

Horace Silver and Tal Farlow, both effectively presented in solo roles, team with Bolden and Percy Heath to provide a fine rhythm section. The whole LP is a welcome reminder of McGhee’s still important place in the vanguard of modern hornmen. (Blue Note 5024.) 

Session Information 

Howard McGhee, trumpet; Gigi Gryce, alto sax, flute #1-6; Horace Silver, piano; Tal Farlow, guitar; Percy Heath, bass; Walter Bolden, drums. 

WOR Studios, NYC, May 20, 1953 

 

BN483-2 tk.3, Shabozz, Blue Note BLP 5024 

BN484-2 tk.6, Tranquillity, Blue Note BLP 5024 

BN485-1 tk.8, Futurity, Blue Note BLP 5024 

BN486-0 tk.9, Jarm (fast version) 

BN486-1 tk.10, Jarm, Blue Note BLP 5024 

BN487-1 tk.12, Ittapanna, Blue Note BLP 5024 

BN488-2 tk.15, Goodbye, Blue Note BLP 5024