Black Forrest

Jimmy Forrest | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 20, 1999)
• Original Release Date: April 20, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Delmark
• ASIN: B00000IJTT
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,064 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Black Forrest

2. Dog It

3. These Foolish Things

4. Sunkenfoal

5. You Go To My Head

6. Black Forrest

7. What's New?

8. But Beautiful

9. All The Gin Is Gone

10. These Foolish Things (Alternate)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Playing on the cusp of Kansas City swing and bebop, Jimmy Forrest fashioned his tone from St. Louis, a perfect spot to mix jazz languages, situated as it is between K.C. and the Big Apple. On this 1959 date, Forrest opens up standard jams like "These Foolish Things" and "What's New" and jumps inside with the help of a top-shelf unit: guitarist and fellow St. Louisan Grant Green (in his recording debut), drummer Elvin Jones, pianist Harold Mabern, and bassist Gene Ramey. Forrest's tenor tone alternates between punchingly tough and waveringly singsong (à la the great Lester Young, who cut his own swath through K.C.). The tunes are all festively loose, except when they're touching. As for the band, little more can be said than their very names to underscore their position in the jazz canon. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars killing tenor, February 21, 2005

By 

DANIEL Mc Brearty "Daniel McBrearty" (Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Forrest (Audio CD)

Just listening to this for the first time. Been sadly unaware of Mt Forrest up until now. This is hard swinging bop, with a healthy dollop of the blues. Jimmy's tone reminds me more of Hawk or Ben, but of course there is a heap of Prez in his phrasing - who was unaffected by Lester?

The ballads are fine too. Jimmy does great with "These Follish Things" and "You Go To My Head" ... the rest I'll tell you when I've finished listening!

Don't hesitate. Get it if you like hard swinging jazz.

4.0 out of 5 stars Wassenaar review, March 29, 2011

By 

Eva C. Vanderhoeven "Wassenaar Review" (Sammamish, Wa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black Forrest (Audio CD)

Grant Green and Elvin Jones are on this CD, how can you go wrong?

I just found out by coincidence about Jimmy Forrest and wondered how I could have missed him in my 30 years of listening to jazz.

Why is it that he was not played more often on the jazz station here?

Too mellow?

It's great evening or Sunday morning jazz.

Likewise with Ike Quebec. One rarely hears him either.

Jimmy Forrest played with Duke Ellington and with Miles Davis, and was considered a fine tenor-sax player.

Check out this other album of his too:' Out Of The Forrest'

5.0 out of 5 stars unknown classic, July 24, 2009

By 

Robert Wingfield (New Orleans) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Forrest (Audio CD)

This album comes from the same session as 'All the Gin is Gone' which also happens to be Grant Green's first studio session. I've had and enjoyed 'All the Gin is Gone' for years but never had this one until today; it turns out that this is the first cut from that session! Every single song here is a wonderful gem. Jimmy's tone has that deep Ben Webster growl but he also has a Johnny Hodges like vibrato that is sweet as honey. No wonder that Ellington hired Jimmy when Ben left the band. This is a true unique master of the tenor on one of his best dates.