Showing posts with label Cat Anderson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cat Anderson. Show all posts

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Lionel Hampton All Star Band - At Newport '78

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:21
Size: 86,9 MB
Art: Front

( 4:51)  1. Stompin' At The Savoy
( 4:49)  2. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(10:05)  3. Hamp's The Champ
( 7:18)  4. Carnegie Hall Blues
(10:16)  5. Flying Home

Good / It sounds as a masterpiece symbolizing the swing era, a luxury board that recorded the concerts in '78 in New York, high in the Lionel • Hampton All Star B band! https://www.jetsetrecords.net/lionel-hampton-lionel-hampton-all-star-band-at-newport-78/i/162512626001/

Personnel:  Conductor, Vibraphone – Lionel Hampton;  Alto Saxophone – Charles McPherson;  Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute – Earle Warren;  Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams;  Bass – Chubby Jackson;  Clarinet – Bob Wilber;  Drums – Panama Francis;  Guitar – Billy Mackel;  Piano – Ray Bryant; Tenor Saxophone – Arnett Cobb, Paul Moen;  Trombone – Benny Powell, Eddie Bert, John Gordon;  Trumpet – Doc Cheatham;  Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Cat Anderson, Jimmy Maxwell, Joe Newman

At Newport '78

Sunday, September 9, 2018

Cat Anderson and The Ellington All Stars - Ellingtonia

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:02
Size: 69,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:38)  1. Between Some Place, Goin' No Place
(4:34)  2. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing
(2:43)  3. The Mexican Bandit
(4:17)  4. Lovelinessence
(3:03)  5. Accen'tuate
(4:20)  6. Chelsea Bridge
(3:43)  7. Summertime
(3:41)  8. Like, Dig

Cat Anderson was arguably the greatest high-note trumpeter of all time. His solo on "Satin Doll" from Duke Ellington's 70th Birthday Concert is a perfectly coherent chorus consisting of notes that are so high that it is doubtful if another trumpeter from all of jazz history could hit more than one or two. He first learned trumpet while at the Jenkins Orphanage in Charleston and toured with the Carolina Cotton Pickers, a group in which he made his recording debut. During 1935-1944, Anderson played with many groups including those of Claude Hopkins, Lucky Millinder, Erskine Hawkins, and Lionel Hampton. Hampton loved his high-note mastery, although Hawkins reportedly fired Anderson out of jealousy. In 1944, Cat Anderson was first hired by Duke Ellington and it ended up being the perfect setting for him. Ellington enjoyed writing impossible parts for Cat to play, and Anderson received publicity and a steady income. He was more than just a high-note player, being a master with mutes and having a fine tone in lower registers, but no one could really challenge him in the stratosphere (although Maynard Ferguson, Jon Faddis, and Arturo Sandoval have come close). 

Anderson was with Ellington during 1944-1947, 1950-1959, and off and on during 1961-1971. Occasionally he would go out to lead his own bands but he always came back. After Ellington's death, Cat Anderson settled on the West Coast where he often played with local big bands, including an exciting one led by Bill Berry. ~ Scott Yanow https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/ellingtonia/425573374

Personnel:  Cat Anderson - trumpet;   Butter Jackson - trombone;   Sam Woodyard - drums;   Ray Nance - violin;   Jimmy Woode - bass;   Bud Johnson - flute and tenor saxophone;   Rudy Powell - clarinet and alto saxophone;   Leroy Lovett - Piano

Ellingtonia

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Cat Anderson - Cat's In The Alley

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:23
Size: 144,4 MB
Art: Front

(7:40)  1. Little Man
(2:26)  2. Cat's In The Alley
(4:00)  3. Blue Jean Beguine
(2:48)  4. My Adorable "D"
(3:23)  5. June Bug
(2:37)  6. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
(3:24)  7. Birth Of The Blues
(3:12)  8. You're The Cream In My Coffee
(2:37)  9. Nina
(4:20) 10. Chelsea Bridge
(2:46) 11. The Mexican Bandit
(4:18) 12. Loveinnessence
(4:36) 13. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing
(3:41) 14. Between Some Place, Goin' No Place
(3:04) 15. Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive
(3:45) 16. Summertime
(3:39) 17. Like Dig

As the lead soloist for the Duke Ellington Orchestra and recognized in smaller circles as one of the all-time great jazz trumpet improvisers, Cat Anderson did not have much time for fronting a band of his own. Up until his passing in 1981, Anderson still took many a backseat for listeners, critics, and the general public who knew virtually nothing about him. This single CD should change all of that, a reissue of his first two dates as a leader, with a 15-piece big band Cat on a Hot Tin Horn for Mercury records, and Ellingtonia, for octet, originally on the obscure Wynne label. Both have been out of print on vinyl for decades, making this release more than merely long awaited. Anderson, a proprietor of the upper octave high note solos that bent notes and challenged air traffic lanes, surprisingly takes a backseat for the greater good of the ensemble on most of this, and also finds him an adept composer of original swing to bop music. Of course the bands are fully loaded with great soloists, Ellingtonians or not, most notably fellow trumpeters Clark Terry and Ernie Royal, trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, tenor saxophonists Jimmy Forrest and Ernie Wilkins (also arranger,) and drummer Panama Francis. Of the nine big band charts from 1958, the opener and longest jam, "Little Man," gets the ball rolling with standout solos from the wailin' Forrest, baritone saxophonist Sahib Shihab, Cleveland, and a free-for-all from the trumpet section. 

The rest of the tunes are short, ranging from Anderson's supremely confident low octave, vocal-like lead on "Birth of the Blues," the dramatic, Latin "Besame Mucho" flavored, light lavender colored "Blue Jean Beguine," and the jumpier "Mexican Bandit." Earle Warren's bravissimo vibrato on alto sax is featured during "My Adorable D," while the rocking drums of Francis set off the sparks of a "Blues for Sale" spin-off "Cat's in the Alley," and the skittering and even slightly irritating but big themed "June Bug." The large group pieces from 1959, with legendary Elllington trombonist Quentin "Butter" Jackson and different (than Francis for sure) drummer Sam Woodyard, sports an entirely different lineup, with two features, the sensual "Lovelinnessence" and the classic ballad "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing," for the immortal violinist Ray Nance. Budd Johnson and Rudy Powell split sax and clarinet chores. Johnson is backing Nance, and Powell adds to the advanced modern swinger "Between Some Place, Goin' No Place" the bouncy, fun "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive," and the bright, happy "Like Dig." Throughout the disc you hear many typical Ellington phrases, as if the master is looking over Anderson's shoulder, but they are snippets and not clichés. Besides "Flower," the big band with Anderson upfront does a muted trumpet wah wah plunger-accented "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," while the octet performs a perfect "Chelsea Bridge" and a lush, Ellington-like, hot, slow, and sultry "Summertime," but those are the few and far between covers. This one should, by definition, be impossible to nit-pick, for the recording sound is excellent, the players beyond reproach, and the variety of (then) modern jazz fits the progressive aesthetic of Ellington and the then expanding Anderson to a T. This comes highly recommended; it's nearly essential, and is one of the best mainstream jazz reissues in recent years. ~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/cats-in-the-alley-mw0001161028

Personnel:  Cat Anderson, Ernie Royal, Clark Terry (tp), Jimmy Cleveland, Henderson Chambers (tb), Earl Warren, Jimmy Forrest, Ernie Wilkins, Budd Johnson (reeds), Ray Nance (vln), Jimmy Jones (p), George Duvivier, Jimmy Woode (b), Panama Francis, Sam Woodyard (d)

Cat's In The Alley

Monday, September 3, 2018

Cat Anderson - Americans Swinging In Paris

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:07
Size: 131,1 MB
Art: Front

(7:59)  1. A "Chat" With Cat
(5:05)  2. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
(2:50)  3. Muskat Ramble
(3:55)  4. A Gathering In A Clearing
(5:13)  5. C Jam Blues
(4:15)  6. Confessin'
(3:28)  7. For Jammers Only
(5:18)  8. Concerto For Cootie
(5:48)  9. Black And Tan Fantasy
(3:55) 10. Blues For Laurence
(6:18) 11. Ain't Misbehavin
(2:58) 12. You're The Cream In My Coffee

Cat Anderson was arguably the greatest high-note trumpeter of all time. His solo on "Satin Doll" from Duke Ellington's 70th Birthday Concert is a perfectly coherent chorus consisting of notes that are so high that it is doubtful if another trumpeter from all of jazz history could hit more than one or two. He first learned trumpet while at the Jenkins Orphanage in Charleston and toured with the Carolina Cotton Pickers, a group in which he made his recording debut. During 1935-1944, Anderson played with many groups including those of Claude Hopkins, Lucky Millinder, Erskine Hawkins, and Lionel Hampton. Hampton loved his high-note mastery, although Hawkins reportedly fired Anderson out of jealousy. In 1944, Cat Anderson was first hired by Duke Ellington and it ended up being the perfect setting for him. Ellington enjoyed writing impossible parts for Cat to play, and Anderson received publicity and a steady income. He was more than just a high-note player, being a master with mutes and having a fine tone in lower registers, but no one could really challenge him in the stratosphere (although Maynard Ferguson, Jon Faddis, and Arturo Sandoval have come close). Anderson was with Ellington during 1944-1947, 1950-1959, and off and on during 1961-1971. Occasionally he would go out to lead his own bands but he always came back. After Ellington's death, Cat Anderson settled on the West Coast where he often played with local big bands, including an exciting one led by Bill Berry. ~ Scott Yanow https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/american-swinging-in-paris/696362646

Americans Swinging In Paris

Friday, August 31, 2018

Cat Anderson - Cat Speaks: The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1977
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:48
Size: 160,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:24)  1. Good Queen Bess
(6:05)  2. The Cat Hums
(4:14)  3. Stompy Jones
(5:23)  4. The Cat In G Flat
(4:26)  5. The Jeep Is Jumpin'
(5:13)  6. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
(6:13)  7. Black And Tan Fantasy
(4:40)  8. Struttin' With Some Barbecue
(6:14)  9. Cat Speaks
(7:33) 10. What Am I Here For
(5:24) 11. The Cat In G Flat (take 1)
(7:52) 12. Just Squeeze Me

Cat Anderson, 60 at the time of this session, was still at the height of his power at the time. Heading a quintet with fellow former Ellington member Sam Woodyard on drums plus Frenchmen Gerard Badini on tenor and clarinet, pianist Raymond Fol and bassist Michel Gaudry, Cat not only blasts out a few high notes but displays his expertise in the lower registers and with the plunger mute; he even takes a vocal on "The Cat Hums." This small group swing Lp (which has among its more memorable performances spirited renditions of "Stompy Jones" and "The Jeep Is Jumpin'") is one of Cat Anderson's finest and is well worth searching for. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/cat-speaks-mw0000373665

Cat Speaks: The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions