Eddie Davis Trio featuring Shirley Scott (1958) [vinyl>flac]

In keeping with the festive season this LP is quite appropriate to start off a New Year.

The album's reviewer sums this LP up as Simple! Unpretentious! And Joyful!

"Good Cheer is the substance of this album. It opens with a beat and closes with a beat and barrels along from beat to beat with - you guessed it! - a beat. From all of this you might gather that this is a swinging album. And of course it is. Any album by Eddie Davis must be. But it is something more as well: it is a joyful album. There are least two ways to clutter up performances such as these. One is to blow so hard that all sweetness and charm disappear. The other is to turn everything into the first riff that emerges naturally from the melody or the chords. Eddie and Shirley hold firm against both temptations. .......Nobody stays in the background for long in this set. They couldn't. It isn't that kind of show. Eddie and Shirley trade solos constantly. George (Duvivier) has a couple of spots to himself. And Arthur (Edgehill) bangs happily away at everything, showing himself expert in Latin figures and in more straightforward jazz lines. All these performances are happily what they are. They make their points, never perfunctorily, but quickly enough. And that is as it should be. For this is a blowing session, a relaxed one. Listening to it, you cannot help but be of good cheer." ~ Extracts from Liner Notes by Barry Ulanov.

Roulette Records, RS 52019, 1958

Recorded March, 1958 in New York City

Track Listing:

A1. Close Your Eyes {Bernice Petkere} (2:32)

A2. Canadian Sunset {Eddie Heywood, Norman Gimbel} (4:14)

A3. Just One More Chance {Arthur Johnston, Sam Coslow} (2:58)

A4. Night And Day {Cole Porter, Fred Astaire} (3:26)

A5. Snowfall {Claude Thornhill, Ruth Thornhill} (2:18)

A6. Afternoon In A Doghouse {Eddie Davis} (3:21)

B1. A Gal In Calico {Arthur Schwartz, Leo Robin, Johnny Mercer} (3:38)

B2. [Where Are You] Now That I Need You {Frank Loesser, Don Covay} (2:36)

B3. This Time The Dream's On Me {Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer} (3:00)

B4. There Is No Greater Love {Isham Jones, Marty Symes} (2:52)

B5. What Is There To Say {Vernon Duke, Yip Harburg} (2:27)

B6. Fine And Dandy {Kay Swift, Paul James} (3:10)

Personnel:

Eddie Davis - Tenor Saxophone

Shirley Scott - Organ

George Duvivier - Bass

Arthur Edgehill - Drums