#budd johnson

[soundgrammar]

American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist Budd Johnson (December 14, 1910 – October 20, 1984)

[jazzplusplus]

June 20, 1981 - A Song of Love for Mary Lou Williams - Town Hall - New York

Melba Liston (dir), Hazel Scott, Rose Murphy (p), Buddy Tate, Budd Johnson, Charlie Rouse (saxes), Al Grey, Britt Woodman, Jack Jeffers (tb), Ernie Royal, Jon Faddis (tp), Jaki Byard (p), Buster Williams (b), Mickey Roker (dr), ...

Tribute to Mary Lou Williams (May 8, 1910 - May 28, 1981)

[jazzdailyblog]

Ben Webster: The Warm Sound of the Tenor Saxophone

Introduction: Ben Webster, a great jazz tenor saxophonist recognized for his rich, warm tone and soulful playing style, was born one hundred and fifteen years ago today, March 27, 1909, in Kansas City, Missouri. During his five-decade career, he established himself as one of jazz’s most famous and influential saxophonists. Early Life and Musical Beginnings: Benjamin Francis Webster was raised…

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[rjt4]

BILLY ECKSTINE’s BADASSS BAND

(l-r) Art Blakey, Tommy Potter, Budd Johnson, Junior Williams, Fats Navarro, Chips Outcalt, Billy Eckstine and Gene Ammons.

[mosaicrecords]

Quincy Jones Big Band: Paris, 1960

This is a swingin’ half hour program by the 1960 Quincy Jones Big Band (which was the subject of an earlier Mosaic set) at the Alhambra in Paris. The all-star band includes Budd Johnson, Phil Woods, Melba Liston and Clark Terry among others.

-Michael Cuscuna

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[soulmusicsongs]

Ya! Ya! - Budd Johnson (Ya! Ya!, 1964)

[vinylspinning]

Count Basie & His Orchestra: Basie at Birdland (1961)

Encouraged by my budding appreciation for classic era jazz LPs recorded in front intimate audiences at small clubs, I plunged ahead and made my first foray into Count Basie’s voluminous discography with 1961’s Basie at Birdland. 

So imagine my surprise (not least since the flip side liner notes tout precisely the sort of exciting interaction between artist and audience) when the Basie orchestra actually sounded flat, maybe even mixed and edited with overdubs! 

Was that even a technological possibility back then? I don’t think it was ...

So maybe I’m the one lacking faith in the seemingly impossible synchronicity shown by these crack musicians, as a flurry of horns and other instruments zip in remarkably regimented formation across big band be-bop blitzes like “Little Pony,” “Blee Blop Blues” and “One O’Clock Jump.”

Moreover, there’s a suspicious serendipity about the polite audience chatter, and even the perfectly timed bursts of laughter peppering quieter numbers like “Backstage Blues,” the nine-minute “Segue in ‘C’,” and the “One O’Clock Jump” reprise.

All this being said, the 16-piece ensemble definitely rocks the so-called “Jazz Corner of the World” with the statement number “Discommotion” (later renamed simply “Basie,” don’t ask me why), and I also really dig the laid-back Kansas City-style swing of “Good Time Blues.”

Mind you, in my youth, this kind of music made me want to claw my eyes out, and any form of scat singing still does (see “Whirly-Bird”), so I guess I’ve come a long way.

But I still can’t say whether I’ll manage to connect with Basie at Birdland on the same visceral level as I did Thelonious Monk’s Misterioso and Nina Simone’s Nina at the Village Gate.

Time will tell.

More Count Basie: “Cherokee.”

[jazzplusplus]

Arnett Cobb & Budd Johnson sur scène pendant la Grande Parade du Jazz de Nice en 1983.

Photo Pascal Savelon.