TT 515: Alto Sax Discography

Reflections on Jim Snidero's list

Yesterday I posted a short Q&A with Jim Snidero, pegged to his second trio album with Peter Washington and Joe Farnsworth. His suggestions for listening were intriguing! Here is a re-run of his list, now with my own annotations.

---

Johnny Hodges “Day Dream” from ...And His Mother Called Him Bill
A late Ellington masterpiece, recorded by Duke as a tribute to Billy Strayhorn after Strayhorn passed in 1967. There are several standout Hodges solos on the LP, including “Blood Count” and “The Intimacy of the Blues.” “Day Dream” is just gorgeous, of course.

Charlie Parker The Washington Concerts
Bird sits in with a big band and plays like he had been there all along. 1953: rather late in the time line of Bird’s short life (he died in 1955). Three tracks from this LP appear on the list “Live Bird is the Best Bird” by fellow maven Mark Stryker. The sophisticated chart “Willis” is sort of in the “Birth of the Cool” bag, and towards the end Bird plays along by ear.

Lou Donaldson Lush Life
A lesser-known session of soulful ballads recorded in 1967 but not released until much later. The modernist all-stars play solid charts by Duke Pearson: it’s rather shocking to hear Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, and McCoy lay down the law after Donaldson’s immensely satisfying preach on “Sweet Slumber.” Al Harewood is in the hot seat, charged with keeping the band moving along, although Ron Carter is also a great help of course. A terrific sleeper choice from Snidero.

Lee Konitz Motion
Konitz always sounded good, but the quality of his accomplices varied. Here Elvin Jones lights it up with a relaxed and active feel; Sonny Dallas is weirdly square against Elvin, but that also brings something unique to the session. This was the first alto trio date of any consequence, and boasts some of the most-transcribed alto solos after Bird. “I Remember You” belongs in anyone’s pantheon.

Dick Oatts All of Three
Oatts is fervently admired by all his fellow altoists, one of many New York jazz legends a bit hidden in plain sight. He has played in the Vanguard big band for almost 50 years and did an important stint with Red Rodney’s group; his own albums have been often direct affairs on Steeplechase. All of Three from 1998 features Dave Santoro and James Oblon. I suspect Snidero included it here partly because there are not so many alto trio discs. The set list is mostly originals, although a highlight is Oatts’s wistful and unforced reading of “Alone Together.”

Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival
In the 50’s, Woods was an excellent bebopper, one of the best, but he also paid attention to changes of fashion and kept up with the 60’s modal ethos. In 1970 he was playing a truly hair-raising amount of alto saxophone in concert with the European Rhythm Machine (Gordon Beck, Henri Texier, and Daniel Humair). The band gels beautifully; just a great vibe all-around. The opening uptempo “Freedom Jazz Dance” is a hell of blindfold test. Later on there are free moments, a rock beat, and Beck even plays some Rhodes. Victor Feldman’s “Joshua” is played very fast. Woods just strolls through it all. (My eyebrows shot to the top of my forehead at a few moments from virtuoso Gordon Beck as well.)

Jackie McLean Jackie's Bag
I had this in CD in high school but hadn’t heard it in decades. It really hit me just now like a blast of fresh air. Simply the best. Long live Jackie McLean, here with two great bands in 1960. The opening “Quadrangle” must be his response to Ornette Coleman. Fabulous. Philly Joe Jones on “Blues Inn,” my god. Sonny Clark is in some kind of unusually proactive mood as well. From the second session, “Appointment in Ghana” has gone into the books as a crucial early modal tune. The other horns include Donald Byrd, Blue Mitchell and Tina Brooks.

Ornette Coleman “Lonely Woman” from The Shape of Jazz to Come
The opening track from the first great Ornette album offers pure melody and emotion. These days I hear how much Ornette’s ballads are in a European idiom. (Mahler? Granados?) Billy Higgins is playing an uptempo ride cymbal beat: according to legend, Ornette wanted the beat to be free but nobody knew what that was yet. Of course, Higgins’s choice ended up being iconic.

Charles McPherson “Countdown” from a set at Birdland uploaded by Michael Weiss to YouTube [link]
This is a true find because McPherson is not associated with Coltrane changes. Simply incendiary saxophone, the best I’ve ever heard anyone play “Countdown,” including Coltrane and Mehldau. “The Song is You” from the same set is just as great.

Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section
From 1957 with Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. A fun date with many bright moments from Pepper, who breathes flawless bop tempered by West Coast relaxation. I like “Tin Tin Deo.”

Gary Bartz West 42nd Street
Snidero was at the gig: Bartz’s 1990 Birdland sets with Claudio Roditi, John Hicks, Ray Drummond, and Al Foster. A notably strong CD with great playing from all hands. Perhaps it is particularly valuable to hear Foster in such masterful form in such a context. (I got to town in 1991, when there was still a lot of this sort of music to be heard in the city. Had I known then that this generation was basically the last of the line, I would have paid even more attention.)

Kenny Garrett Pursuance: The Music of John Coltrane
Garrett is a tremendous talent, one of the brightest lights of his era. This 1996 tribute record with Pat Metheny, Rodney Whitaker, and Brian Blade is very good, of course, but unfortunately I listened in order, and this tight studio set suffers a bit when heard immediately after the casual mastery of Bartz live at Birdland. Garrett’s team is trying a lot harder for less naturally ecstatic results. Still, it’s very cool to hear Metheny as a sideman on Coltrane tunes!

Sonny Stitt “Laura” from The Complete Roost Sonny Stitt Studio Sessions
I hadn’t heard this before Snidero’s recommendation. Sensational track; I also admire Jimmy Jones’s colorful and active piano comping. (Jones was the choice of both Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.) The more I have understood something about this music, the more I appreciate the great Sonny Stitt. Stitt played flawless tenor as well, but Stitt on alto is where it's at.

Cannonball Adderley Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago
Cannonball and Coltrane together accompanied Miles Davis on two of the most essential discs of all time, Milestones and Kind of Blue. Quintet in Chicago gives the saxes and rhythm (Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb) a chance without Miles. The opening “Limehouse Blues” is famous, with an incredible alto solo followed by one of the earliest examples of the tenor executing “Coltrane changes.” Adderley dances a walking ballad with “Stars Fell on Alabama,” “Grand Central” is a furious steeplechase, and the Coltrane blues “Sleeper” has a decidedly avant-garde bass line and melody, an idiom that influences Wynton Kelly’s piano solo to a remarkable extent. Years ago I asked Kurt Rosenwinkel to name some of his favorite classic jazz albums, and the first one he mentioned was Cannonball and Coltrane in Chicago.