PAUL GONSALVES - CLEOPATRA FEELIN' JAZZY - 1963 VINYL

1963

Impulse AS-41

My Vinyl Rip + Front & Back Covers
DR Value 13

WAVE

Tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves casts the Egyptian queen's life in a jazz set of originals and Alex North movie themes. One of just two dates Gonsalves did for Impulse and part of an all-too-thin solo catalog, Cleopatra -- Feelin' Jazzy finds the famed Ellington soloist in the prime company of hard boppers like pianist Hank Jones, organist Dick Hyman, guitarist Kenny Burrell, bassist George Duvivier, and drummer Roy Haynes. The band shines throughout, with Hyman's organ adding exotic film theater ambience on the two North cuts that kick off the album. Switching over to more straightforward fare, Gonsalves and company stretch out on Burrell's "Bluz for Liz" (read Elizabeth Taylor, one of the leads in the movie) and Ellington's "Action in Alexandria." The album's conceptual framework is maintained on standouts like "Cleo's Asp," Burrell's second piece here, and the Manny Albam blues ballad "Cleopatra's Lament." Gonsalves impresses with both complexly swinging solos and breathy ballad statements. A very fine effort by one of the unsung giants of jazz....Stephen Cook All Music

The Tracks:

01 Caesar & Cleopatra / 02 Anthony & Cleopatra Theme / 03 Bluz For Liz / 04 Cleo's Blues / 05 Action In Alexanderia / 06 Cleo's Asp / 07 Cleopatra's Lament

PAUL GONSALVES - TELL IT THE WAY IT IS! (1963) 24~48 VINYL

1963
Impulse A-55
My Vinyl Rip
Front, Back, & Inside Covers
DR Value 12
WAVE 460 MB

When Duke Ellington's sidemen recorded on their own, the Duke's influence often had a way of asserting itself even if he was nowhere near the studio. This was true in the 1930s and 1940s, and it was true on some of Paul Gonsalves' recordings of the 1960s. Nonetheless, Gonsalves was his own man, and this excellent LP points to the fact that the breathy tenor saxophonist wasn't afraid to enter a variety of musical situations.  Tell It the Way It Is unites Gonsalves with the great Swedish trumpeter Rolf Ericson and pianist Walter Bishop, Jr. as well as such Ellington alumni as Johnny Hodges (alto sax) and Ray Nance (cornet, violin). The strong Ellington influence asserts itself on pieces that range from Hodges' "Rapscallion in Rab's Canyon" to "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" and "Duke's Place." ....AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson

The Tracks: 

01 Tell It The Way It Is! / 02 Things Ain't What They Used To Be / 03 Duke's Place / 04 Impulsive

05 Rapscallion In Rab's Canyon / 06 Body And Soul