Tenor saxophone legend Don
Byas is heard with great clarity on this, a relative jam session, as is
vocalist Helen Humes (the first two cuts) and ostensible leader/trumpeter Joe
Guy, whose high energy solos are very good in spots. Less audible in the mix
are pianist Thelonious Monk and drummer Kenny Clarke, working in this band
while bebop was fermenting. These two would lead the bop charge later in the
'40s at Minton's Playhouse, the bebop concubine/jazz club in N.Y.C. The music
is pretty much swing material, with Humes tossing in a ballad
("Stardust") and a bluesy number ("Exactly Like You") while
the instrumental "Indiana" is all fired up, and they typically chill
down "Body & Soul." Present on the dates is an unidentified tenor
saxophonist and trumpeter tossing in his/her less than two-cents worth solos.
Even annotator Dan Morgenstern, with his detailed and informative liner notes,
can't ID the pair. The star is clearly Byas. His well-rounded tenor inflections
and characteristic quarter-to-eight note slurve is on throughout the
performance. He can be at once warm, witty, smooth, precise, and consistently
wonderful. He's one of the first original jazz voices on his horn and emphatic
to boot on these tunes. These are true club date "field recordings,"
from the then Columbia University student Jerry Newman's portable unit, replete
with crowd noise in the background (one can hear Humes rebuffing a
heckler/admirer) annoying kicking of the stage area, and a brief drop out or
distortion. Total time is barely 39 minutes. But the overall sound quality is
quite acceptable, at most times remarkable. The music itself is priceless, the
document of a transitional period from swing to bop, and some of the people
that made it happen, especially the underappreciated genius Byas. ~ by Michael
G. Nastos, AMG.
HighNote Records, HCD 7044, 1999
Recorded March, 1941 At
Minton's, New York
Musicians:
Don Byas - Tenor Saxophone
Helen Humes - Vocals (#1,2)
Joe Guy - Trumpet
Thelonious Monk - Piano
(#1,2)
Kenny Clarke - Drums (#5,6)
On other selections unknown
Bass and Drums
Tracks:
1. Stardust {Hoagy
Carmichael, Mitchell Parish} (9:09)
2. Exactly Like You {Dorothy
Fields, Jimmy McHugh} (9:06)
3. Uptown {Don Byas} (2:48)
4. Body And Soul {Edward
Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green} (7:34)
5. I Can't Give You Anything
But Love {Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh} (4:11)
6. [Back Home Again In]
Indiana {James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald} (6:31)
Credits:
Producer - Jerry Newman, Don
Schlitten
Reissue Producer - Joe Fields
Recordings [Original] - Jerry
Newman
Remastering [CD] - Malcolm
Addey
Repackaging, Design &
Digital Imaging - Hal Wilson
Cover Photo - Frank Driggs
Collection
Photos [Inside & Tray] -
Bob Parent
Note:
Originally released on Onyx
Records (1973)
