The Gene Ammons Story: Gentle Jug [Original recording remastered]

Gene Ammons | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 25, 1994)
• Original Release Date: October 6, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Prestige
• ASIN: B000000ZDD
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,645 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Source, June 14, 2003

By 

A. K. L. "flamotte" (Steilacoom, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gene Ammons Story: Gentle Jug (Audio CD)

Most of these reviewers classify Gentle Jug as dinner music or smooth jazz. That's too bad. I'm a tenor player and a very serious jazz fan and I consider this to be one of the all-time great albums of the genre. Jug is the source of a tradition - the tenor balladeer. In opera, its Caruso before Pavoratti. In jazz tenor ballads, it's Ben Webster and Gene Ammons before all others. After Hawk's 'Body and Soul,' the tradition of the tenor ballad was fully defined by Gene Ammons and Ben Webster. Jug knew how to love and how to cry. Spent a lot of years in jail persecuted for his drug habit. His pain and his blues come through these classic ballads. He doesn't try to pretty them up with virtuosity: just straight story-telling, which is what a ballad is. If it hadn't been for this recording, there would never have been a Houston Person or Scott Hamilton: probably no Coltrane Ballad album either. This CD is the source of a tradition. One of the absolute necessities to any jazz collection.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gentle but not sappy, February 26, 2005

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gene Ammons Story: Gentle Jug (Audio CD)

This CD is made up of 2 Moodsville LPs, "Nice 'n' Cool" and "The Soulful Mood." Moodsville specialized in entire albums of ballad performances, and these 2 are no exceptions: all the tempos are slow. But Ammons can do wonders with a ballad, and most of these cuts are excellent. Ammons's approach usually consisted of slow tempo at first, then a middle section of double-time before going back to slow again for the ending. It's a formula, but it works well. The best-ever version of "Under a Blanket of Blue" is found here. If you like ballads you'll like this CD for sure.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gene Ammons Story, December 20, 1999

By 

James E Robinson Jr (Hillsboro, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gene Ammons Story: Gentle Jug (Audio CD)

Gene Ammons came upon my jazz scene when I was as a child during the late '50s, early '60s. I had the pleasure of listening to his music in New York City later as a young man interested in his music. He grabs you. He didn't get the recognition as, say, Coltrain, but he's in the same league. His clarity and harmonic tonality provides the listener with a honey tone expression that is uninterrupted by wastefulness or excessive motion. It's pure pleasure. This album is a classic!