Sunday, November 15, 2015

James Moody - Hey! It's James Moody (1959) [vinyl>flac]

It remains remarkable, how fresh James Moody sounds, even when some of the arrangements show their age. Indeed, some of these tracks have passed into jazz lore, including "Last Train from Overbrook (the salute to Moody's return to the scene) with Eddie Jefferson's ebullient vocal. The leader excels on tenor, but his full-bodied, soulful and technically sure flute playing deserves special mention. He shines on a languid "Indian Summer that is far too short, and "Trouble In De Lowlands finds him appropriately mournful. "Tali is a bit too precious, but Moody almost salvages it with a far-too-short swinging segment. On tenor, Moody soulfully explores "Don't Blame Me, taking his time to build a compelling solo. On "Woody'N You (aka "Algo Bueno), Dizzy Gillespie's tribute to Woody Herman, he soars again on tenor, using fragments of the melody to launch segments of blowing choruses. His tenor playing, individualised with gruff, acidic traces, is always compelling. This release is a snapshot of James Moody's output from the late '50s. Here and there it can sound a bit dated, however Moody's warm, passionate, focused voice, however, stands out. Whether in the studio or in the band box, he was then - and remains now - exciting, soulful and expressive. ~ extracts from review by Andrew Rowan, allaboutjazz.com

Argo Records, LP-666, 1960
Recorded 29th December, 1959 at Ter-Mar Recording Studios, Chicago, Illinois

Musicians:
James Moody - Tenor Saxophone (#A1,A3-A5,B2,B3), Flute (#A2,B1,B4,B5)
Johnny Gray - Guitar
Eldee Young - Bass
Clarence Johnson - Drums
Eddie Jefferson - Vocals (#A4,B4)

Track Listing:
A1. Stella By Starlight {Victor Young, Ned Washington} (3:05)
A2. Indian Summer {Al Dubin, Victor Herbert} (2:36)
A3. Don't Blame Me {Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields} (4:28)
A4. Last Train From Overbrook {James Moody} (2:32)
A5. Please Say Yes {Tom McIntosh} (3:58)
B1. Blue Jubilee {Tom McIntosh} (6:15)
B2. Woody'N You {Dizzy Gillespie} (3:12)
B3. Trouble In De Lowlands {James Moody} (2:23)
B4. Summertime {George Gershwin} (2:29)
B5. Tali {Tom McIntosh} (2:48)

Credits:
Supervision - Jack Tracy
Recording Engineer - Ron Malo
Cover Photo - Chuck Stewart
Cover Design - Don Bronstein
Liner Notes - Leonard Feather

10 comments:

  1. My Moody collection is remarkably thin... thanks for this one!

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  2. I have this LP and it also has the great Johnny Gray on guitar.
    Thank you. Nice!
    FILE: James Moody - Hey It's James Moody - B2 - Woody'N You.flac
    Size: 23355152 Hash: 33A435E697679E0067213C140D09150D Accuracy: -m0
    Conclusion: MPEG 95%
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    FILE: James Moody - Hey It's James Moody - B5 - Tali.flac
    Size: 15536723 Hash: 91859051999EA56B661AD7A85F183AF0 Accuracy: -m0
    Conclusion: MPEG 93%

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  3. @ deGallo the more I check my files for accuracy the more I get confused. In the end if the music is of good quality why worry. I used the program you suggested and another and got variant results! Some cleaning filters alter the makeup of some sound files. It is a process of trial and error. Any way glad it was a nice listen regardless.

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  4. Yes, the sound is very nice Chris and I certainly appreciate your rips. In no way are my comments a criticism of your posts...only information in case you want to check your recording process. The only way to really check them is with an audio editor like iZotope in Spectral View. Thank you for all the music.

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  5. Thank you for this Moody lp and for all the effort in transferring these to files!

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  6. Wonderful LP sound quality. Many Thanks!

    ReplyDelete