Harry "Sweets" Edison was widely recognized as a master of the muted blues trumpet sound, both when he was with Basie's band during the swing era, and from 1953 on, as a freelance on many of the jazz and pop recordings that emanated from Hollywood. In the fall of 1958, Sweets moved back to New York to start a third phase in his career. He put together the swinging sextet showcased in these recordings produced by Verve's Norman Granz. The group featured tenorist Jimmy Forrest, who contributed with his great taste and tonal strength, and a first class rhythm section, blessedly boosted by Freddie Green's punching guitar, pianist Jimmy Jones, a crisp-toned and flexible delight, the tasteful Joe Benjamin on bass, and the controlling force of Charlie Persip on drums. This was the kind of straightforward, utterly groovy small group jazz with consistently clear-thinking and strong voices. Trumpeter Buck Clayton joined the second date, playing back to back with Sweets, and guitarist Steve Jordan replaced Green in most of the tracks. Harry Edison "the swinger," playing standards or originals or just the blues, glows in these warm sessions with incandescence. He neatly swings through standards and a few of his own tunes. On the last three tracks of CD-2, coming from a Roulette session, the contribution of the sidemen can easily be overlooked, for it is the Edison personality, open or muted, that lends the tunes its character.
M**I
Echoes of Kansas City
This compilation is actually three whole albums recorded for Verve and three bonus tracks recorded for Roulette - also in 1958 - by the same personnel.Before I delve into the who's, when's and where's, run through the sound samples on this page. The first thing you will notice is the energy. 1958 was an excellent year for Edison. He is in top form and brimming with musical energy and ideas. Having the dean of rhythm guitar and a member of the All American Rhythm Section, Freddie Green, in the line-up of all but the final three bonus tracks adds a lot to this compilation. He never was prominent in the mix of any live or recorded performance, but always added an ineffable quality to every one. Having Jimmy Forrest - composer of James Brown's hit Night train - on these track shows just how sadly underrated he was as a musician.All of the tracks on Disc One are from a recording session in NYC on September 18, 1958. Sweets on trumpet is accompanied by Jimmy Forrest on tenor sax and a rhythm section comprised of Jimmy Jones on piano, Freddie Green on guitar, Joe Benjamin on bass and Charlie Persip on drums. This session produced two albums that are now individually out of print: The Swinger (Verve MGV 8295) and Mr. Swing (Verve MGV 8353). They are currently available as a two-album set titled The Swinger/Mr. Swing .On Disc Two the first two tracks are from the session listed above. Tracks three through nine are from another out-of-print album titled Harry Edison Swings Buck Clayton And Vice Versa (Verve MGV 8293). The tracks were recorded in NYC on October 16, 1958 by Sweets and Buck Clayton on trumpet, Jimmy Forrest on tenor sax, Eddie Costa on vibes and the same rhythm section as the September 18 session above.The final three tracks are bonus tracks from a November 1958 recording session in NYC for Roulette. The Roulette sessions are available on Essential Jazz Masters , which is an album I highly recommend if you like this one.There are over two and a half hours of excellent music on this compilation - and you can clearly hear the Kansas City influence in every track. Plus it's plain fun.
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