Command RS 815 SD
My Vinyl Rip
DR Value 10
Front, Back & Inside Covers
FLAC
Persuasive Trombone was the 15th album issued by Command, and the first of many that Urbie recorded for the label in the 1960s. What makes this particular album special is the hip swinging arrangements, the band's knot-tight attack and Green's rich swinging horn. Unfortunately, the back of the original album was devoted to text rattling on about the album's technical data rather than who wrote the arrangements. My best guess would be Ralph Burns on the ballads and Al Cohn on the swingers.
There are plenty of surprises. The first track—At Last—opens with an I Can't Get Started intro but then kicks into a mid-tempo swinger. There's fine piercing solos by trumpeter John Bello on Prisoner of Love, Dream and other tracks. The album ends, interestingly, with a simple and beautiful working by Green of I Can't Get Started.
Throughout his career, Green's appeal rested with his ability to sing beautifully through his trombone. He employed a velvety tone and a breathing technique that erased any evidence of taking a breath. Notes seemed to pour from a pitcher, and Green somehow managed to move effortlessly up and down along the surface of melodies like a cue ball on marble.
This album is sultry and seductive and yet still swings without bringing down the house.
The album featured Nick Travis, John Bello, Don Ferrara and Doc Severinsen (tp), Urbie Green and Bobby Byrne (tb), Gil Cohen (b-tb), Hal McKusick (as), Rolf Kuhn (as,cl), Eddie Wasserman (fl,ts), Pepper Adams (bar), Dave McKenna (p), Barry Galbraith (g), Milt Hinton (b) and Don Lamond (d). On half the tracks, Gene Allen (bar) and Nat Pierce (p) replaced Pepper Adams and Dave McKenna.
The Tracks:
01 At Last / 02 Prisoner Of Love / 03 Dream / 04 I've Heard That Song Before / 05 Moonlight Serenade / 06 Stairway To The Stars / 07 Let's Fall In Love / 08 My Silent Love / 09 My Melancholy Baby / 10 I Had The Craziest Dream / 11 I'm Getting Sentimental Over You / 12 I Can't Get Started
Command RS 33-838
1962
Command RS 33-838
My Vinyl Rip
Front & Back Covers
DR Value 13
FLAC
This follow-up volume to an earlier Command LP features trombonist Urbie Green leading an orchestra through a dozen arrangements by Ralph Burns. The primary emphasis is on Green's mellow solos and the ensemble passages, so there's a certain sameness from track to track, though all of the music is enjoyable. Fortunately, tracks such as the swinging "No Moon at All" showcase a greater range of individual musicians within the orchestra. It's a bit odd that no personnel list is provided on the album jacket, as the players include trumpeter Joe Wilder, alto saxophonist Walt Levinsky, Eddie Costa (who evidently plays both piano and vibes), and bassist Bob Haggart. Unlike many recordings produced by Enoch Light for the label, this one swings too hard to possibly be mistaken for easy listening. Though the 1962 release is long out of print, don't be surprised to run across a copy of it.
.....AllMusic Review by Ken Dryden
The Tracks:
01 While We're Young / 02 It Could Happen To You / 03 No Moon At All / 04 On A Slow Boat To China / 05 Love Letters / 06 Hello Young Lovers / 07 Close Your Eyes / 08 I Fall In Love Too Easily
09 The Poor Soul / 10 On The Street Where You Live / 11 Skylark / 12 Runnin' Wild
