4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Only a Tadd Left, March 26, 2009
This review is from: Fontainebleau (Audio CD)
It is a real shame that so many Original Jazz Classics CDs have been deleted in the past year, with Tadd Dameron's "Fontainebleau" one of the numerous victims. This octet recording from March 9, 1956 basically features arrangements for jazz orchestra, with Dameron as the featured soloist. While Tadd's a good pianist (and a better composer), this format somewhat disappoints because solid improvisors like Kenny Dorham, Cecil Payne and Sahib Shihab are left to play only charts and the occasional brief alternating solo (though trombonist Henry Coker's on "Flossie-Lou" particularly stands out). Things stretch out more on the 11-minute plus "Bula-Beige," with all players getting a chance to say something, and more extended numbers like this would have made for a better album in my opinion. Regardless, with only a handful of Tadd Dameron discs available -- check out his collaborations with Fats Navarro, Miles Davis and John Coltrane -- snatch this one up before there are only a Tadd left.
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