Gene Ammons - Boss Tenor - (FLAC и MP3)

Gene Ammons - Boss Tenor - 1960 (2006)
Жанр: Jazz, Hard Bop, Soul-Jazz
Дата записи: Recorded by RUDY VAN GELDER at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ; June 16, I960.
Год переиздания: 2006
Remastering, 2005—Rudy Van Gelder (Van Gelder Studio)
Издатель (лейбл): Prestige Records, ® © Concord Music Group, Inc., CA Made in the EU. LC04643.
Номер по каталогу: 00025218810227
Тип: Remaster, studio
Аудио кодек: (MP3 + FLAC) (*.flac)
Тип рипа: (tracks + .cue)
Корректность рипа: EAC ripped, correct read offset, test and copy
Битрейт аудио: (lossy + lossless)
: full scans, png, 300 dpi
: Моя коллекция, мой рип
Продолжительность: 35:44
Трэклист:
1. HITTIN' THE JUG (Gene Ammons) 8:31
2. CLOSE YOUR EYES (Bernice Pelkere) 3:46
3. MY ROMANCE (Rodgers-Hart) 4:16
4. CANADIAN SUNSET (Heywood-Gimbel) 5:26
5. BLUE AMMONS (Ammons) 4:57
6. CONFIRMATION (Charlie Parker) 5:17
7. STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY (Goodman-Webb-Sampson) 3:34
Состав:
GENE AMMONS - tenor saxophone
TOMMY FLANAGAN - piano
DOUG WATKINS - bass
ARTHUR TAYLOR - drums
RAY BARRETTO - conga

RUDY VAN GELDER

FOR NEARLY A QUARTER-CENTURY, beginning in 1950, tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons (1925 -1974) was among the brightest stars in the Prestige Records firmament. Whether leading, or partaking in, one of Prestige's jam sessions, immersing himself in the organ-dominated blues and gospel grooves that in the 1950s came to be called soul jazz, or digging deep for heart-rending ballads, Ammons was multiply masterful. And in 1960, leading a quintet featuring the impeccable pianist Tommy Flanagan, plus Ray Barretto's piquant congas, he produced the insuperable Boss Tenor.
From the blues that drips from Hittin' the Jug and Blue Ammons to the infectious medium bounce of the standards Close Your Eyes and Canadian Sunset, and from the sophisticated swing of Stompin' at the Savoy to the finger-poppin' bop of Confirmation and the after-hours balladry of My Romance, Boss Tenor has something for everyone claiming to be a fan of modern jazz.
I remember the sessions well, I remember how the musicians wanted to sound, and I remember their reactions to the playbacks. Today, I feel strongly that i am their messenger.
I WAS THE ENGINEER on the recording sessions and I also made the masters for the original LP issues of these albums. Since the advent of the CD, other people have been making the masters. Mastering is the final step in the process of creating the sound of the finished product. Now, thanks to the folks at the Concord Music Group who have given me the opportunity to remaster these albums, I can present my versions of the music on CD using modern technology. I remember the sessions well, I remember how the musicians wanted to sound, and I remember their reactions to the playbacks. Today, I feel strongly that I am their messenger.

BOB PORTER, June 2005

Tommy Flanagan had come to Prestige with Miles Davis and was on (Ailes's Collectors' items album. He was a favorite of all Prestige producers and prior to his appearance on Boss Tenor, he had played on such certified masterpieces as Sonny Rollins's Saxophone Colossus, Kenny Dorham's Quiet Kenny, and At Ease by Coleman Hawkins. Paul Chambers was Bob Weinstock's favorite bassist but with the increased touring schedule of Miles Davis, Doug Watkins became more of a factor. He played an important part on many Prestige dales until his untimely death, at age 27, in 1962. Art Taylor was virtually the Prestige house drummer. He was also in demand at Blue Note and Savoy to the extent that he kept a set of drums at Van Gelder's studio for many years. Ray Barretto was featured on many record dates under Esmond Edwards. After Blue Gene, he made several sessions with Red Garland and backed many of the tenor stars throughout the years. The program for Boss Tenor consisted of seven tunes. Hittin' the Jug is a reminder of just how well Gene played blues at this tempo. Tommy Flanagan's two choruses serve as an introduction and the two-note burst of tenor sets up a theme statement and solo that was later vocalesed by King Pleasure as Swan Blues. The standard Close Your Eyes and the blues Blue Ammons are conga walkers. The former has an introduction in 2/4 time, a common practice at the time. These medium-tempo swingers were Gene's way of letting the rhythm flow through and placing his notes in such a way that the groove is always prominent. My Romance is elegant balladry by a ballad master and ranks with Gene's finest performances. Canadian Sunset was a tune of recent vintage made popular by pianist Eddie Heywood. This was the big airplay item from the album and it was coupled with Hittin' the Jug for 45-RPM single release. Charlie Parker's Confirmation is cooked to perfection in this version with solo commentary by Flanagan and Watkins before a round of four-bar exchanges between Gene and Art Taylor. Stompin' at the Savoy is Edgar Sampson's 1935 classic, originally written for the Chick Webb band. For some reason, each previous edition of this album has misidentified it as Savoy, a 1941 Bill Doggett composition written for the Lucky Millinder band. The tempo here is comfortably medium-up and Ray Barretto gets a solo shot. Boss Tenor, the album, is the product of five great jazzmen playing together for this one and only time. It is a testament to the abilities of the musicians, the producer, and the engineer. It is also a testament to the jazz process itself for in no other musical style could something this great come together in this short a period of time.

Leroi Jones, linear notes

I suppose Gene Ammons is what you could call a real hybrid. His playing is a perfect (albeit weird) assimilation of two seemingly widely opposed ideas of playing the tenor saxophone. Gene somehow manages to sound like he comes right out of both Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, the two farthest poles in the business of playing the tenor saxophone. Hawk, with his big, big overpowering sound and head-on attack; Pres, seemingly in complete apposition, his sound almost an extension of his breathing, thin, wispy, evanescent, improvising even on the head of the tune, leaving the melody as the merest suggestion of what we know it to be. And both men, of course had and have huge schools devoted, to one degree or another, to sounding just like them (even now, after the tremendous Charlie Parker influence).
If, for instance, I name Chu Berry, Arnett Cobb, Herschel Evans, Lucky Thompson (Don Byas through Thompson), Ike Quebec, Illinois Jacquet, Ben Webster, and Buddy Tate as some people more or less directly influenced by Hawk (and that's not even beginning to mention all the people who these people have themselves influenced, or all the other more oblique influences Hawk has made) . . . and then, if I name all the people Pres has influenced, more or less directly, Charlie Parker, Wardell Gray, Allen Eager, Brew Moore, Stan Getz, James Moody, Warne Marsh, Zoot Sims (and with that add all the new Parker-Young-influenced modern hornmen), you see that we take in almost all saxophone players in jazz. To put it baldly, most people up until the time of Charlie Parker played the saxophone either like Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young. But to my mind, Gene Ammons is one of the few people to have completely assimilated both styles and not only evolved an entirely individual style of his own, but also became an important influence himself. I'd say Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, J.R. Monterose, Clifford Jordan, and to a lesser degree John Coltrane, have all benefited greatly by listening fo Gene. The weird distillation of Hawk within the easy solemn grace of Pres is the most readily discern-able feature of Ammons's style. That power, that relaxation, made into a separate voice. Ammons's wild rhythmic sense and peculiarly bluesy accents make him his own man.
I first heard Gene Ammons in Newark, New Jersey at a place called the Masonic Temple. He had a big band then, featuring Sonny Stitt on tenor. He and Stitt would have at least one battle, on their horns, during every set. This battle would invariably set everyone on his ear. I was about 14 or 15 at the time, and I remember, wistfully (no offense intended, Ge