1. My melancholy Baby [6:05]; 2. Great Scott [7:51]; 3. How am I
to know [8:29]; 4. The opener [6:25]; 5. Baubles, bangles and beads
[8:34]; 6. Hey Lock! [7:51]; 7. Lover [8:11]; Flight of the foo birds
[6:06]; 9. Round midnight [6:41].
Harry Allen (tenor saxophone), Scott Hamilton (tenor saxophone),
Rossano Sportiello (piano), Joel Forbes (bass), Chuck Riggs (drums)
rec. at Nola Studios, New York, USA on February 6-7, 2012. Engineers:
Jim Czak & Bill Moss [66:24]
Harry Allen and Scott Hamilton follow the tradition of that other
great and popular duo Al Cohn and Zoot Sims and the sound is not dissimilar
to the other star in this tradition of tenor playing that was so popular
in the 1960s, Stan Getz, and through that line of influence we can
be taken back through Coleman Hawkins and others to Lester Young -
what a pedigree! That is not to say that each of these musicians did
not or do not have their own distinctive sound but the style is similar
in all cases, characterised by an easy, laid back and mellow sound.
Indeed the booklet notes confirm this when writing about Scott Hamilton
clearly stating that he was most influenced by Zoot Sims and Ben Webster,
another star in the tenor sax galaxy who Al, Zoot and Stan all gave
as one of their tenor idols. They say that `what goes around comes
around' and so it is here, which is good for the current generation
of jazz lovers who might otherwise regret having missed out on hearing
the aforementioned four great tenorists live because they have the
chance of hearing these two who continue to carry on the tradition.
Though they have duetted together in concerts on many occasions this
disc is only their third collective collaboration, here along with
their preferred rhythm section and Harry's regular partners. It's
a nice touch that it was Harry who had played an influential role
to the young Scott while he was honing his own craft and that now
they should get to play together; a `marriage' made in heaven perhaps,
well jazz heaven at the very least. The two so perfectly complement
each other it's easy to understand that playing together was something
that was just meant to be. Kicking off the disc is My melancholy
Baby and it was interesting to hear this rendition which is a
classic approach and so different to the one that appears on another
disc I recently reviewed Blues-a-plenty ALC99058 on which
Ben Webster, no less, is the tenor soloist, along with alto saxophonist
Johnny Hodges, and which dates from 1959 when Harry Allen was a 2
year old toddler and Scott was yet to be born for another 7 years.
On this account each of these two genial tenorists are generous in
the way they share the music with neither making any attempt to steal
any thunder from the other, making for a partnership borne of mutual
respect and the result is plain to hear. I was fascinated to learn,
incidentally, that My melancholy Baby, though always linked
with the 1920s, was in fact composed in 1912 when it was first sung
by no other than William Frawley who famously made his name as the
cantankerous miserly landlord of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in the
long-running 1950s TV sitcom I love Lucy. There follows a
tribute to his partner here that Harry wrote entitled Great Scott
that allows each to take three choruses while pianist Romano gets
a spot and then the duo get to indulge in some sax pyrotechnics. How
am I to know the booklet informed me was an obscure song that
though written in 1929 waited until Billie Holliday recorded it in
1944. Romano sets what the notes describe as a `basie groove' then
taken up by Scott, leading to improvisation from Harry and bassist
Joel Forbes gets moment to shine. It was interesting that when The
opener comes along it turns out to have been a tune penned by
Bill Potts for a 1960 album by...Al Cohn and Zoot Sims! That these
two tenor players are the natural inheritors of the sound that those
two stars forged is very evident here with those distinctive, gentle,
mellow lines. This groove is then repeated in a particularly bossa
inspired version of Baubles, bangles and beads which itself
emerged into the public consciousness from the musical Kismet
that was so controversial when it first came out due to allegations
of plagiarism because the main song was an almost note for note steal
from Borodin's Polovtsian Dances from the opera Prince
Igor. The duo make a beautiful job of the three bs and that rocking
Latin beat perfectly expresses the tune bringing out all the nuances
within it. Hey Lock refers to Eddie “lockjaw” Davis, its
composer and the duo had always wanted to feature it and as the notes
say ‘The wait was worth it’ to which I must add a resounding ‘I agree’!
Lover, that wonderful Rodgers and Hart number which dates
from 1932 and Flight of the foo birds (where do they get
these titles?!) allow both tenors to have a pretend trade off with
each other but it’s all good natured sparring and as the note writer
Scott Yanow rightly says it is the listener that wins. The concluding
track is the album’s sole ballad and title track and is the right
note to end on as Round midnight is a wonderful tune that
was a signature one for one of its co-writers Thelonious Monk and
brings out the lazy sounding style as much as anything else on the
disc with the two tenors seemingly vying with each other while in
fact proving what a brilliant partnership it is when they manage to
play together as here but regrettably as the notes emphasise they
were both straight off again after the recording to play again to
their thousands of fans the world over. The rhythm section play such
a key role of support for the two, whose interplay is the record’s
raison d’être, that they can easily get forgotten but they shouldn’t
be because it is that rock solid support that helps make the experience
what it is, a joy from start to finish!
Steve Arloff
CD Reviews
Challenge Records CR73348
