Cecil Payne - Payne's Window

Styles: Saxophone, Flute Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:45
Size: 169,3 MB
Art: Front

(9:25)  1. Spiritus Parkus
(4:26)  2. Martin Luther King Jr.
(7:38)  3. James
(8:49)  4. That's It Blues
(7:38)  5. Payne's Window
(7:09)  6. Southside Samba
(4:38)  7. Lover Man
(8:46)  8. Tune Up
(7:06)  9. Delillah
(8:05) 10. Hold Tight

Cecil Payne turns seventy-seven this month. Most people who are lucky enough to reach such an advanced age have long since retired from their craft. Payne has chosen a different path and judging from the sturdy work on this disc he isn't showing many signs of slowing down in his twilight years. After over a half century in the jazz trenches he's still delivering his signature brand of versatility and style to his instrument. And as on his earlier Delmark releases he's shaped a band that effectively bridges the generations. My first exposure to Payne's playing was on Coltrane's "Dakar where he rounded out a formidable horn section alongside Pepper Adams in a baritone sax combo that was tough to beat when that classic record was released and still is. Ever since hearing that album harboring a lasting appreciation for his oeuvre has been easy. Throughout his lengthy career he has balanced an enviable agility on the weighty reed with a rustic affinity for the blues and a gracious willingness to shape his sound to the setting he's in. He could play scalding hot runs or just as effortlessly change up and blow a breezy blue-tinged ballad. Over the intervening years Payne has unavoidably slowed a little in his attack, but he's traded some of the quicksilver veracity of youth for a sureness of tone that is contagious among his compatriots. The bucolic bite of his sax delivers the perfect impetus for the group to take flight. Along for the ride is a solid crew of supporters. Alexander is no stranger to spirited blowing sessions and he delivers his usual high level of empathy and improvisational ingenuity. 

On many of the tunes he favors the lower registers of his horn and his lines fit snugly against Payne's own deep-toned musings. Mabern shares distinction along with Payne as another elder statesman of hard bop. His emotive accompaniment is frequently the common denominator in the relaxed approach the group takes on most of the numbers. Webber and Farnsworth fill in the rhythmic blanks with skill and sensitivity. As for the program of tunes, they are mainly basic blowing vehicles, but the emphasis here is rightfully on inspired playing, not on compositional complexity. The opening "Spiritus Parkus lights the flames with rollicking solos from everyone save Farnsworth and over the course of the next sixty minutes the sextet continually delivers the goods. Standouts include the gentle ballad "Martin Luther King, Jr. and a dusky quartet reading of "Loverman, which features Payne as the only horn. "That's It Blues is another winner thanks mainly to Davis' cobalt slurs which slither deftly against Farnsworth's light cymbals. Regrettably Payne's featherweight flute only crops up Gershwin's "Delilah and would have been well served by more exposure. All things considered though this disc is a treat from start to finish and is easily recommended. Take a leisurely look through Payne's propitious window and you're guaranteed to be pleased by what you see. 

~ Derek Taylor https://www.allaboutjazz.com/paynes-window-cecil-payne-delmark-records-review-by-derek-taylor.php

Personnel: Cecil Payne, baritone saxophone, flute; Eric Alexander, tenor saxophone; Steve Davis, trombone; Harold Mabern, piano; John Webber, bass; Joe Farnsworth, drums.

Payne's Window

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Milt Jackson - That's The Way It Is

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz 
Year: 1969
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:24
Size: 97,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:43)  1. Frankie And Johnny
(7:45)  2. Here's That Rainy Day
(4:32)  3. Wheelin' And Dealin'
(7:15)  4. Blues In The Bassment
(8:44)  5. Tenderly
(7:22)  6. That's The Way It Is

As the story goes, Milt Jackson and Ray Brown would meet up once a year for a run of gigs at Shelly's Manne-Hole, not because they couldn't find work elsewhere, but rather (as the liner notes put it) for "the pleasure of making music". That's The Way It Is comes from a pair of 1969 shows with a stellar quintet that featured three jazz masters (Teddy Edwards and the two headliners) along with the young up-and-comer Monty Alexander, who would go on to have an impressively long and varied career that is still going strong today. The somewhat obscure Dick Berk manned the drummer's chair, admirably laying down the tempo for this set of hard bop jazz that not surprisingly harkens back to a simpler time of blues-based jazz music. Jackson and Brown's friendship went way back, they first played together in the rhythm section of Dizzy Gillespie's band from 1946 to 1951. The other members of the rhythm section, not coincidently, were John Lewis and Kenny Clarke, who would soon thereafter go on to form The Modern Jazz Quartet with Jackson, the group for which he is most often associated with. Brown is best known for his enduring work with the Oscar Peterson Trio, whom he played with for nearly fifteen years from 1951 until 1966. Apparently the two men remained close throughout the years, resulting in their yearly meetings at the famous Hollywood jazz club. In addition to this live LP, they would also record a couple of big band albums together for Impulse!, both of which remain pretty obscure. That's The Way It Is finds the pair playing a jazz style that by 1969 had fallen out of favor with the listeners of popular music (at least in terms of record sales), but that's the reason I love a record like this: it gives a sense of what you would find in smaller jazz clubs during this period when this music was supposedly a dying art form. This was a time when post bop, electric jazz and fusion were the stylistic watchwords of the day, so it's nice to see that Impulse! had the sense to record Jackson and Brown playing in a modern jazz style that they once helped to popularize. Even though the record is fairly mellow, the musician's love of the classic jazz sound shines through, and the subtle nature of the music seems a conscious choice against the more in-your-face electric jazz that was gaining momentum all around them. One can imagine the audience members kicking back with their cocktails, nodding their heads in appreciation at the calm and collected grooves being laid down in front of them.

No need to extoll the great talents of Jackson and Brown here, if you are unfamiliar with their work go check out the Modern Jazz Quartet and Oscar Peterson Trio, but a few quick words on Teddy Edwards seem appropriate. By the time of That's The Way It Is he had certainly fallen out of favor with the jazz mainstream, but in the late 1940s he was considered one of the best (if not the most influential) tenor saxophone players along with Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray. In 1947 Edwards and Dexter Gordon released the "The Duel", a recording that would cement both men's legendary status in the jazz world. It seems Edwards didn't achieve the same level of fame as his counterparts from the '40s due to his decision to remain in Los Angeles rather than head east, but that would explain Jackson and Brown tapping him to play in their quintet at a Hollywood jazz club, and what better choice for this set of music than a cat like Edwards who by this time had presumably seen and played it all. While the quieter tracks on the album feature some outstanding bass work from Brown (particularly his solo work on "Tenderly"), I'm certainly more partial to the upbeat tracks, in particular "Wheelin' And Dealin'" and the title track that closes out the record. The band swings and there is an instant delight in the interplay between the musicians. Nothing fancy, just some great jazz music. I'll quote Morgan Ames' liner notes again, as he sums up the recording quite well: "This is not experimental jazz. It's beyond that, or as they say in New York, outside that. This is solid, rooted, sweet-smelling earth of an enduring style, as played by masters." Well said, and even if the record labels had already begun to abandon this "enduring style", it's reassuring in hindsight to know that it was still out there, almost underground perhaps, but like the best that art has to offer it was simply biding it's time until the world would be once again ready to embrace it. The Details: An original 1969 pressing on the first version of the "Impulse! ABC Records" label. It is easily dated as pre-1972 by "A Product of ABC Records, Inc. New York, N.Y. 10019 • Made in USA" along the bottom (this would be shortened to differing lengths starting in 1972 until the next label change in 1974). This label version is often considered to be the last if the "audiophile" sounding pressings, although I own some later "neon" and "green bullseye" repressed titles and they sound pretty darn good to my ears (especially at the nice price you can snag em at). http://www.thejazzrecord.com/records/2016/5/29/milt-jackson-quintet-featuring-ray-brown-thats-the-way-it-is

Milt Jackson - Vibes; Ray Brown - Bass; Teddy Edwards - Tenor Sax; Monty Alexander - Piano; Dick Berk - Drums

That's The Way It Is

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The George Shearing Trio - 500 Miles High

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:07
Size: 99,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:50)  1. Cheryl
(4:48)  2. 500 Miles High
(5:29)  3. I Wished On The Moon
(4:32)  4. Old Folks
(5:13)  5. Jordu
(7:33)  6. P.S. I Love You
(3:54)  7. Everything Happens To Me
(5:40)  8. Here's That Rainy Day
(3:04)  9. Invitation

The most underrated recordings of George Shearing's career were his trio sets made in the mid-'70s for MPS after the breakup of his popular Quintet. This particular LP is one of three that feature the brilliant pianist in a drumless trio with guitarist Louis Stewart and bassist Niels Pedersen. The music is essentially bop-based with just one newer song (an interesting version of Chick Corea's "500 Miles High") included among the nine standards. The more memorable selections are "I Wished on the Moon," "Old Folks" and "Here's That Rainy Day." Tasteful performances with plenty of subtle surprises. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/500-miles-high-mw0000893509

Personnel: Piano – George Shearing; Bass – Niels Henning Ørsted-Pedersen; Guitar – Louis Stewart

500 Miles High

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