Ted Curson Quintet - Traveling On (1996) [re-rip]

Here we have another fine album by late Ted Curson. He assembles as per usual another great quintet. The majority of the tunes are his and he doesn’t waste any time showcasing his trumpet playing virtuosity through some brilliant solos. The pianist and flutist also show off their excellent versatility. In addition the listener gets to hear Ted vocalise on three numbers. Overall any fan will be pleased to scoop this one up just hear newer versions of Quicksand, Flatted Fifth, Tears For Dolphy and Song Of The Lonely. Enjoy!

Some people may never get past referring to Ted Curson as "the other soloist" in the great Charles Mingus bands with Eric Dolphy, but that hasn't deterred the trumpet player from pursuing his own, albeit less commercially and critically acclaimed, path. He just keeps Traveling On, the title of his twentieth album and his first release in seventeen years. Even though Curson is Traveling On, he looks back long enough to pay tribute to several of the magnificent musicians with whom he's been partnered in the past with "Tears for Dolphy," "Reava's Waltz (More Mingus)" and the set-ending "Song of the Lonely One (Ode to Booker Ervin)" (another Mingus-Curson connection). This set also includes well-executed covers of Herbie Hancock's venerated "Watermelon Man," the traditional "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Flip Flop and Fly." Curson's playing is confident, taut and swinging throughout, and, on four of these nine selections, it benefits greatly from the addition of four percussionists to the traditional bass/drum/piano backing. Traveling On proves worth the seventeen-year wait. ~ by Chris Slawecki, AMG.

Evidence Records, ECD 22182, 1997

Recorded 23^rd June, 1996 at Sound On Sound, New York City

Personnel:

Ted Curson - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet, Vocals (#6-8)

Mark Gross - Flute, Soprano & Alto Saxophones

Misako Kano - Piano

Ray Drummond - Bass

Sylvia Cuenca - Drums

Everald Brown, Guilherme Franco, Ricky "Bongo" James, David Williams - Percussion (#1-3,6)

Tracks:

1. Lin's Garden {Ted Curson, Graham Collier} (7:51)

2. Quicksand {Ted Curson} (6:55)

3. Flatted Fifth {Ted Curson} (5:50)

4. Tears For Dolphy {Ted Curson} (9:17)

5. Reava's Waltz {Ted Curson} (6:03)

6. Watermelon Man [Lyrical Version] {Herbie Hancock, Jon Hendricks} (7:28)

7. When The Saints Go Marching In {Traditional} (2:42)

8. Flip Flop And Fly {Charles E. Calhoun, Lou Willie Turner} (2:08)

9. Song Of The Lonely One [aka Ode To Booker Ervin] {Ted Curson} (7:20)