Jim Galloway - Echoes of Swing

Styles: Saxophone Jazz 
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:08
Size: 157,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:30)  1. Sometimes I'm Happy
(6:44)  2. Jeepers Creepers
(7:57)  3. Cheek to Cheek
(5:55)  4. Just Squeeze Me
(8:18)  5. Christopher Columbus
(7:28)  6. Blue Turning Grey Over You
(6:04)  7. Sugar
(6:53)  8. In My Solitude
(6:01)  9. I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll
(7:13) 10. Runnin' Wild

There has been much discussion recently at the Kentonia (fans of Stan Kenton) web site about swing what it is (and isn’t), how one can identify and/or define it, does it mean the same thing to different people, and so on. May I suggest that those who’ve not yet gotten their hands around the topic pick up a copy of this delightful session by Canadian-bred saxophonist Jim Galloway’s six-member group, Echoes of Swing, which does precisely that from pillar to post, stem to stern and all stops in between. Galloway, who was only a little tad when the Swing Era was in bloom, learned about it by playing alongside such swing masters as Buck Clayton, Yank Lawson, Buddy Tate and the irrepressible Jay McShann. The ensemble he leads here is an outgrowth of The Metro Stompers, co-led by Galloway and journalist/drummer Paul Rimstead, which has performed for many years (since 1974, actually) on Caribbean cruises sponsored by Brotherton’s Travel. This album, the group’s first recording on dry land, was taped last year for an appreciative audience at the Montreal Bistro nightclub in Toronto. A group photo in the booklet shows five grey  to white haired gentlemen and one (bassist Dave Field) whose hair hasn’t yet turned to silver. Clearly, these chaps have been around the block a time or two and it shows. They approach each of these venerable themes as if it were brand new and being performed for the first time. The result is a concert that is deceptively laid back and mellow yet swings at every tempo, reminiscent of the similarly swing-based albums that appear regularly on the Arbors and Nagel-Heyer labels. 

After opening with three well-known standards, the group turns to music by Ellington (“Just Squeeze Me,” “In My Solitude”), Fats Waller (“Blue Turning Grey Over You”) and a trio of Swing Era favorites, “Christopher Columbus,” “Sugar” and “Runnin’ Wild.” The other tune, “I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll,” is the only one the ensemble plays at every gig, as it was a special favorite of the late Jack Britton who founded Brotherton’s Travel and suggested to Rimstead that he host a Jazz group on the Caribbean cruises that Brotherton’s was sponsoring on the Holland America line. While all of the soloists are first class (trombonist Bower is featured all the way on “Solitude”), Galloway is positively awesome on soprano or baritone (“Jeepers Creepers,” “Christopher Columbus”), displaying an elegance on the former that reminds one of such Swing Era (alto) giants as Benny Carter, Johnny Hodges or Marshall Royal (with traces of another of the great ones, best known as a tenor saxophonist, Zoot Sims). The vocalist on “Sugar” and “Jelly Roll” isn’t identified, so I assume that’s Galloway too. A thoroughly pleasurable concert session that does what it sets out to do, and that is swing. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/echoes-of-swing-jim-galloway-cornerstone-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Jim Galloway, soprano, baritone sax; Dave Johnston, trumpet; Laurie Bower, trombone; Ian Bargh, piano; Dave Field, bass; Don Vickery, drums.

Echoes of Swing

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Ralph Sutton, Jim Galloway, Don Vickery - Pocketful Of Dreams

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:54
Size: 151,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:34)  1. Sleep
(7:50)  2. Farewell Blues
(7:33)  3. Sweet And Slow
(6:05)  4. Blue Skies
(4:54)  5. I've Got a Pocket Full of Dreams
(7:01)  6. You've Changed
(5:59)  7. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
(7:12)  8. Poor Butterfly
(6:49)  9. If Dreams Come True
(6:51) 10. She's Funny That Way

Ralph Sutton was the greatest stride pianist to emerge since World War II, with his only close competitors being the late Dick Wellstood and the very versatile Dick Hyman. Nearly alone in his generation, Sutton kept alive the piano styles of Fats Waller and James P. Johnson, not as mere museum pieces but as devices for exciting improvisations. Although sticking within the boundaries of his predecessors, Sutton infused the music with his own personality; few could match his powerful left hand. Ralph Sutton played with Jack Teagarden's big band briefly in 1942 before serving in the Army. After World War II he appeared regularly on Rudi Blesh's This Is Jazz radio show and spent eight years as the intermission pianist at Eddie Condon's club, recording frequently. He spent time playing in San Francisco, worked for Bob Scobey, moved to Aspen in the mid-'60s, and became an original member of the World's Greatest Jazz Band with Yank Lawson, Bob Haggart, and Bud Freeman. 

In the 1970s, he recorded many exciting albums for the Chaz label and then cut albums for quite a few labels. Despite suffering a stroke in the early '90s, Sutton kept a busy schedule through the mid-'90s, playing at jazz parties and festivals. He died suddenly on December 29, 2001, in his car outside a restaurant in Evergreen, CO. Although he would have received much greater fame if he had been born 20 years earlier and come to maturity during the 1930s rather than the 1950s, at the time of his death it was obvious that Ralph Sutton had earned his place among the top classic jazz pianists of all time. ~ Bio  https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ralph-sutton/id1579569#fullText

An excellent swing soprano player with a lighter tone than Sidney Bechet, Jim Galloway has made many recordings with like-minded veterans. He played locally in Scotland on clarinet and alto before emigrating to Canada in 1965. He soon began specializing on soprano, led the Metro Stompers (1968), put together the Wee Big Band (1978), and hosted the weekly jazz radio program Toronto Alive! (1981-1987). Galloway, who has appeared at many jazz festivals and jazz parties, has recorded for Sackville, Hep, and Music & Arts along with several smaller Canadian labels with such pianists as Dick Wellstood, Art Hodes, and most often with Jay McShann. ~ Bio  https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/jim-galloway/id110727063

Personnel: Ralph Sutton (piano); Jim Galloway (soprano saxophone); Don Vickery (drums).

Pocketful Of Dreams

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