Al Grey - Basic Grey

Mwha...MMMwhaaaaaaaa.

That one of a kind, distinct sound was Al Grey's calling card. Infact, he literally wrote the book on it. Grey's career is the stuff of jazz legend, setting the bar for all who follow. He did it all...composer, arranger, player, performer, recording artist, author, educator and all around purveyor of all things jazz.

Al Grey played for years with Count Basie, but luckily for us, set out to lay down his own path. For the most part, he brought his Basie bandmates along forming firstly the Al Grey/Billy Mitchell sextet, and The Basie Wing. During the 60's he recorded several wonderful sides for Argo/Cadet, the jazz arm of Chess Records.


Basic Grey is a collection from his Argo sessions. More specifically, it's actually 3 full length sides released on two LPs. This album was released on the Chess Jazz Masters Series, which took a close look at their jazz catalogue, re-issuing some greats. Unlike many of the two-fers that Prestige or Riverside released, Chess decided to give the listeners the full experience of each album, even keeping the track listings as they originally appeared. We are treated to Snap Your Fingers, The Al Grey/Billy Mitchell Sextet and The Last Of The Big Plungers. "Sextet" is actually a live album, recorded in NYC.

I will keep this review limited to generalizations. Clearly from the list of sidemen, this collection is a monster. Grey favours larger groups as far as the "small" group goes, usually between 6 - 9 players. The front line is generally weighed down with brass and as a result is real, real heavy. Dynamically the impact is just like a big band...fantastic.


All manner of tunes are called upon, but the consistent theme with Al Grey is the blues. It's best fit to his style, and he is relentless during a full on blues jam.


This double set is in NM condition. The fidelity of these recordings is outstanding making these transfers a real joy. Of course, they were ripped at 24/44.1 wav and dithered to 16/44.1 FLAC. The tracks from the live set are best enjoyed with no dead space or cross fade between. I have included all images from the original gatefold, and the notes will help to guide anyone wishing to re-tag these into single sides. And here we go again...Crypt style!! Enjoy!!

Snap Your Fingers:
Al Grey (tb); Billy Mitchell (ts); Dave Burns (tp); Bobby Hutcherson (vibes); Floyd Morris (p); Herman Wright (b); Ed Williams (d) also Al Grey (tb); Billy Mitchell (ts); Donald Byrd (tp); Herbie Hancock (p); Bobby Hutcherson(vibes); Herman Wright (b); Ed Williams (d)

The Last Of The Big Plungers: Al Grey (tb); Bennie Powell (tb); Joe Newman (tp); Billy Mitchell (ts); Charlie Fowlkes (bs); Floyd Morris (p); Ed Jones (b); Sonny Payne (d)

The Al Grey/Billy Micthell Sextet: Al Grey (tb); Billy Mitchell (ts); Henry Boozier (tp); Gene Kee (p); Art Davis (b); Jule Curtis (d); Ray Barretto (c)