Gene Ammons - Boss Tenor (1960)

This relaxed, swinging quintet session from 1960 isn't the landmark that many of the other releases in this series are. But it is among the finest, most rewarding music tenor great Gene Ammons (1925-74) ever made. Boss Tenor - easily confused with Boss Tenors, the 1961 Verve record Ammons cut with Sonny Stitt - is probably included here due to Ammons's enduring and unprecedented affiliation with Prestige. Ammons recorded over 50 albums for the label from 1950, around the time of the label's inception, until Ammons's death in 1974 (interrupted only by seven years in jail between 1962 and 1969). A warm, burnished, consistently recognizable tone always blew through Ammons's horn and the assured, identifiable manner he could scale ballads, blues, bop and r&b was always reliable and appealing. Here, though, he is ideally teamed with the gracefully elegant and innately soulful pianist Tommy Flanagan, Prestige house bassist, Doug Watkins, and house drummer, Art Taylor, and with just the right amount of Latin spice, Ray Barretto's congas. The feel, less loose than many of the 1950s jam sessions that Ammons participated in, seems unusually well considered and as rehearsed as any Blue Note date. Ammons chooses well here too, glossing musically over Bird's "Confirmation," Bill Doggett's "Savoy" and easing lovingly through Rodgers and Hart's "My Romance" (ranking right up there with Ben Webster's classic interpretations). Two "hits" actually emerged from this record, making it one well worth acquiring: Ammon's soulful blues, "Hittin' The Jug," and a swinging rendition of the otherwise corny pop hit "Canadian Sunset." A winner all the way around, and one of the definitive additions to Ammons's huge discography. ~ Douglas Payne, AllAboutJazz.com.

Prestige Records, PRLP 7180, 1960

Concord Music Group, 00025218810227, 2006

Recorded 16^th June, 1960 At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Gene Ammons - Tenor Saxophone

Tommy Flanagan - Piano

Doug Watkins - Bass

Art Taylor - Drums

Ray Barretto - Congas

Tracks:

1. Hittin' The Jug {Gene Ammons} (8:28)

2. Close Your Eyes {Bernice Pelkere} (3:44)

3. My Romance {Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart} (4:13)

4. Canadian Sunset {Eddie Heywood, Norman Gimbel} (5:25)

5. Blue Ammons {Gene Ammons} (4:58)

6. Confirmation {Charlie Parker} (5:25)

7. Stompin' At The Savoy {Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, Edgar Sampson} (3:32)

Total Time: 35:35

Credits:

Supervision - Esmond Edwards

Reissue Producer - Nick Phillips, Bob Porter

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Remastering - Rudy van Gelder, 2005

Reissue Production Assistant - Stuart Kremsky

Cover Photo - Esmond Edwards

Original Liner Notes - Leroi Jones

Reissue Liner Notes - Bob Porter, 2005