Harry 'Sweets' Edison & Jonah Jones - S/T

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:38
Size: 145.7 MB
Styles: Mainstream jazz, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1985
Art: Front

[ 8:08] 1. Black Orpheus
[ 6:59] 2. Keester Parade
[ 7:31] 3. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[ 9:08] 4. Seven Eleven
[10:48] 5. Ode To Billie Joe
[ 1:07] 6. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
[ 2:16] 7. I Let A Song
[ 2:57] 8. Mood Indigo
[ 4:15] 9. It Don't Mean A Thing
[ 3:11] 10. Caravan
[ 3:04] 11. Take The A Train
[ 4:07] 12. The Sheik Of Araby

A talented and flashy trumpeter, Jonah Jones hit upon a formula in 1955 that made him a major attraction for a decade; playing concise versions of melodic swing standards and show tunes muted with a quartet. But although the non-jazz audience discovered Jones during the late '50s, he had already been a very vital trumpeter for two decades. Jones started out playing on a Mississippi riverboat in the 1920s. He freelanced in the Midwest (including with Horace Henderson), was briefly with Jimmie Lunceford (1931), had an early stint with Stuff Smith (1932-1934), and then spent time with Lil Armstrong's short-lived orchestra and the declining McKinney's Cotton Pickers. Jones became famous for his playing with Stuff Smith's Onyx club band (1936-1940), recording many exciting solos. He gigged with Benny Carter and Fletcher Henderson and became a star soloist with Cab Calloway (1941-1952), staying with the singer even after his big band became a combo. Jones played Dixieland with Earl Hines (1952-1953), toured Europe in 1954 (including a brilliant recording session with Sidney Bechet), and then led his quartet at the Embers (1955), hitting upon his very successful formula. His shuffle version of "On the Street Where You Live" was the first of many hits and he recorded a long series of popular albums for Capitol during 1957-1963, switching to Decca for a few more quartet albums in 1965-1967. Jonah Jones recorded a fine date with Earl Hines for Chiaroscuro (1972) and still played on an occasional basis in the 1980s and early '90s; he died April 30, 2000, at the age of 91.

Harry "Sweets" Edison (1919-1999) is one of the few players in the history of jazz trumpet who could be instantly identified after only a few notes; along with Bobby Hackett, he was acknowledged as one of the few master trumpet accompanists. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Edison moved to Louisville, Kentucky to live with his uncle, a coal miner and farmer. It was his uncle who first exposed Edison to music, first teaching him to play a pump organ. Edison later found an old cornet in the house and taught himself scales. He cited early exposure to recordings of Louis Armstrong backing up Bessie Smith as important influences on his playing.

In 1952, Edison moved to California, where he established himself as a stalwart studio musician and first call trumpet soloist for the influential arranger Nelson Riddle. He would record with Sinatra for six years, and fill similar roles on recordings Bing Crosby, Billy Daniels, Nat Cole, Margaret Whiting, Jerry Lewis and Ella Fitzgerald, and played on many film soundtracks. (His commercial work and the studio pension system provided him $800 a week for the rest of his life, giving him a great deal of prosperity later in life.) During this time, Edison also led his own band in Los Angeles, and toured with Norman Granz's all-star Jazz at the Philharmonic unit. During the Fifties he recorded frequently with Shorty Rogers' Giants. He played in the bands led by Henry Mancini, Quincy Jones, Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson, plus frequent guest appearances with the Basie band. Edison taught music seminars at Yale University and was honoured as a 'master musician' in 1991 with a National Endowment for the Arts Award at the Kennedy Center.

Harry "Sweets" Edison (trumpet); Jerome Richardson (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Charles Coker (piano); Earl Palmer , Paul Humphrey (drums).

Harry 'Sweets' Edison & Jonah Jones

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