1. Oh, Lady Be Good!
2. In a Sentimental Mood
3. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
4. Memories Of You
5. Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
6. Change Partners
7. Gone With the Wind
8. A Rainy Day
9. More Than You Know
10. These Foolish Things
11. Alabama Song
12. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen
13. Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise
14. Hanky Panky
15. Old Man Time
16. In a Little Spanish Town
17. Those Sunday Blues
18. Tiger Rag
19. Them There Eyes
Phil Bodner - Clarinet
Hank Jones – Piano (tracks 1-4)
Butch Miles – Drums (tracks 1-4)
Gene Bertoncini – Guitar (tracks 5-9)
Dave Young – Bass (track 10)
Jamie Colpitts – Guitar (track 10)
Charlie Goguen – Drums (track 10)
Dick Hyman – Lowrey organ (tracks 11-14), piano
(tracks 15, 19)
Milt Hinton – Bass, vocals (tracks 11-15, 19)
Al Caiola – Guitar (tracks 11-14)
Bob Rosengarden – Drums (tracks 11-14)
Ron Traxler – Drums (tracks 15, 19)
Ron Odrich – Bass clarinet (tracks 16-18)
Derek Smith – Keyboards (tracks 16-18)
Vinny Bell – Guitar (tracks 16-18)
Robert Kreinar – Bass (tracks 16-18)
Jimmy Young – Drums (tracks 16-18)
The
American clarinettist Phil Bodner is not exactly
a household name among jazz fans, since he
did much of his work as a session musician,
accompanying such artists as Peggy Lee, Frank
Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Carmen McRae and Carly
Simon. In fact he played eleven different
instruments during his 40 years in the studios,
including various saxophones, flute, piccolo
and oboe.
These
previously unreleased tracks were recorded
by Phil in the sixties and seventies for his
own pleasure, and they display him with a
variety of backing musicians. Bodner leads
a trio on the first four tracks, with Hank
Jones at the piano and Butch Miles on drums.
Hank sounds rather uncomfortable with the
fastish tempo of Oh, Lady be Good!,
stumbling occasionally, but Phil Bodner makes
an immediate impression with his fluent clarinet,
which may well make you think of Benny Goodman.
Unfortunately he quotes I’m Beginning to
See the Light several times too many.
Butch Miles supplies some classy drum breaks.
Hank Jones is more at ease for In a Sentimental
Mood, where his solo has the elegance
of Teddy Wilson.
The
next five tracks have the sparse sound of
just the clarinet with Gene Bertoncini’s guitar,
but the two men work in fine harmony and are
clearly helped by some pre-arranged passages.
Then come four tracks on which the ever-versatile
Dick Hyman plays the Lowrey organ – an electronic
instrument capable of producing a Hammond
organ sound as well as the harpsichord (similar
to that rather jarring sound on Rosemary Clooney’s
1950s recording of Botch-a-Me). These
four tracks are very varied. Bei Mist Du
Schoen has a Klezmer atmosphere, while
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise is delivered
as a gentle bossa nova. Bodner’s composition
Hanky Panky is almost a boogaloo!
An
audience is present to enjoy Milt Hinton’s
gruff, ironic vocals on Old Man Time.
Bodner’s clarinet duets melodiously with Ron
Odrich’s bass clarinet for In a Little
Spanish Town. Tiger Rag hustles
along briskly, with a novel arrangement which
gives the hackneyed tune a new lease of life.
Here again the clarinet contrasts well with
its bass brother. The CD ends with Them
There Eyes: a quartet performance that
could easily be mistaken for a Benny Goodman
recording.
The
varied line-ups here serve to highlight Phil
Bodner’s versatility. He can move from sweet
mellowness to a gutsy rasp. His broad talent
undoubtedly made him well-suited to the demands
of studio sessions. This collection shows
that he was also a worthwhile jazzman who
could front his own groups with panache.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Arbors
Jazz ARCD 19347
