A new rip in 24/48! Sounds pretty good to me.The story of these rather extraordinary records dates back to a short lived label called Signal (thus the title). Signal was the brain child of Jules Colomby, brother of Harold Colomby who was Monk's manager. Colomby had the idea that they would make records of a soloist over a crack rhythm section and put that on one side of the record, while on the other side the soloist would be deleted, leaving space for the home player to now play over the rhythm section. Kind of a cool idea. Jules got his brother Harold and Don Schlitten to become his partners and they found a silent partner investor for capitol. The investor eventually wanted his money back and the label was folded and sold to Savoy.
Sides one and two here are the quartet sides from Jazz Laboratory - Do It Yourself Jazz, volumes 1 and 2. On side one Gryce plays in front of the jaw dropping rhythm team of Duke Jordon, Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke! Side two features Phil Woods in front of Hall Overton, Teddy Kotick, and Mick Stabulas. Both sessions are quite nice but I think Phil's tone sounds a bit muddy next to Gryce's.
The second record gets REALLY interesting. I'm not sure if these two sessions were ever presented in the format described above or even intended to be, but each is half a record so who knows what they had in mind. Side three is a lovely large band set with Gryce sounding glorious in front of a large portion of the Oscar Pettiford Orchestra of that time. Side four is the BIG payoff though...four tracks of Gryce in a quartet with Thelonious Monk, Percy Heath, and Art Blakey!!! Can you imagine if they DID make a second side without Gryce and you got to try to play over those guys? This second record was later released as Nica's Tempo.
Gigi Gryce - Duke Jordan - Hall Overton – Signals
Label:Savoy Records – SJL 2231, Format:2 × Vinyl, LP, Reissue
Country:US, Released:1978, Genre:Jazz, Style: Bop, Swing
A1 Sometimes I'm Happy
A2 Embraceable You
A3 Jordu
A4 Oh Yeah!
B1 Pennies From Heaven
B2 Yesterdays
B3 It's Only A Paper Moon
B4 You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
C1 Speculation
C2 In A Meditation Mood
C3 Social Call
C4 Smoke Signal
C5 (You'll Always Be) The One I Love
C6 Kerry Dance
D1 Shuffle Boil
D2 Brake's Sake
D3 Gallop's Gallop
D4 Nica's Tempo
Alto Saxophone – Gigi Gryce (tracks: A1 to A4, C1, C2, C4, C6, D1 to D4), Phil Woods (tracks: B1 to B4)
Baritone Saxophone – Cecil Payne (tracks: C3, C5), Danny Bank (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6)
Bass – Oscar Pettiford (tracks: A1 to A4, C1, C2, C4, C6), Percy Heath (tracks: D1 to D4), Teddy Kotick (tracks: B1 to B4)
Drums – Art Blakey (tracks: C3, C5, D1 to D4), Kenny Clarke (tracks: A1 to A4, C1, C2, C4, C6), Mick Stabulas* (tracks: B1 to B4)
Executive Producer – Steve Backer
French Horn – Gunther Schuller (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6), Julius Watkins (tracks: C3, C5)
Mastered By, Recorded By [Original Recording] – Rudy Van Gelder
Piano – Duke Jordan (tracks: A1 to A4), Hall Overton (tracks: B1 to B4), Horace Silver (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6), Thelonious Monk (tracks: D1 to D4)
Producer [Original Sessions] – Jules Colomby
Reissue Producer – Bob Porter
Trombone – Eddie Bert (tracks: C3, C5), Jimmy Cleveland (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6)
Trumpet – Art Farmer (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6)
Tuba – Bill Barber (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6)
Vocals – Ernestine Anderson (tracks: C3, C5)
Side 1 Recorded In Hackensack. March 7, 1955.
Side 2 Recorded In Hackensack. February 8, 1955.
Side 3 Recorded In Hackensack. October 22 & 30, 1955.
Side 4 Recorded In Hackensack. October 15, 1955.
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