5.0 out of 5 stars
Mostly swinging, from nice to brilliant, December 5, 2010
This review is from: El Rojo: The Complete Keynote Recordings And More (Audio CD)
Yes, this is a very interesting swing compilation;
Red Norvo plays fluid and swinging lines on the vibraphone and xylophone (the latter has more wooden sound).
If your records/CD collection is swarming with Benny Goodman and/or Lionel Hampton recordings, I must warn you that part of this music
(labeled as "The Complete Keynote/Capitol Small Group Recordings & more) is similar to their stuff, but some of the recordings are
more distinctive, not only thanks to Red, but also thanks to the company he keeps; check out, for instance, tracks 8 and 9:
"Hollyridge Drive" (B. Carter) and "Under a Blanket of Blue"(Livingston-Symes-Neiburg), uplifted by the presence of Benny Carter.
Johnny Thompson fares out pretty well here as well, with more than third of recordings being his arrangements,
with some nice solos throughout, not only by Red, but also by Teddy Wilson, Vic Dickenson, Joe Thomas, Barney kessel,
Dodo Marmarosa, Arnold Ross and others, including a nice short duet by Jimmy Giuffre (as) and Dexter Gordon (ts) on
"I'll Follow You". You can also recognise distinctive contributions by two great bass players -
you can often hear them even when they don't solo: Slam Stewart (1-7) and Red Callender (10-22)
The tracks from 12-16 find Norvo's outfit in the service of likeable but hardly unforgettable vocal of Kay Starr (she actually does sound blueish on "Steady Daddy" and even scatts a little), otherwise Norvo is the star, often leaving plenty of space for his "sidemen".
Yes, this is mostly for the swing fans, in spite of the likeable "Bop" (Norvo-Rogers) - track number 11 and the quite unusal sound of tracks 17-22 (check out the personell list)
If you're into ethno-jazz experiments, there's "Russian Lullaby" (I. Berlin) and Latin flavored "El Rojo" (R. Norvo)
Here comes complete personell of this CD compilation:
Red Norvo with
1-4 Aaron Sachs (cl) Teddy Wilson (p), Remo Palmieri (g), Slam Stewart (b), Eddie Dell (dm)
5-7 Joe Thomas (tp), Vic Dickenson (tb), Hank D'Amico (cl), T. Wilson (p), S. Stewart (b),
Specs Powell (dm), arr. Johnny Thompson
8-9 Bobbby Sherwood (co), Benny Carter (as), Dave Cavanaugh, Eddie Miller (ts), Arnold Ross (p),
Dave Barbour (g), Billy Hadnott (b), Jesse Price (dm)
10-11 Ray Linn (tp), Jimmy Giuffre (as or ts), Dexter Gordon (ts), Dodo Marmarosa (p), Barney Kessel (g),
Red Callender (b), Jackie Mills (dm)
12-16 Kay Star (vocal), Dick Anderson (cl), D. Cavanaugh (ts), A. Ross (p), Jack Marshall (g), R. Callender (b),
Jack Turner (dm)
17-18 Don Bonnie (cl), Lloyd Rathburn (oboe), Al Gershoff (fl), Jimmy Rowles (p), R. Callender (b),
Irv(ing) Cotter (dm), arr. J. Thompson
19-22 Manny Klein (tp), John Cave, Al Berlich (frh), Don Bonnie (cl), Jules Kinsler, Bob Lawson (b-cl),
L. Rathburn (oboe), Vic Poscella (fl), Art Fleming (bassoon), A. Ross (p), B. Kessel (g),
R. Callender (b), I. Cottler (dm), arr. J. Thompson
Tracks are from
1-7 : 1944.
8-22 : 1947.
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