Customer Reviews

Memorial 1

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are actually only 8 songs on this CD. "Twisted" is a masterpiece; the three other takes are non-essential, but it's interesting to hear how Gray worked out the tune. There are six alternates of "Southside," which is overkill. I would have preferred placing all of the alternates after "Lavonne," instead of grouped with the master takes.

Gray was on his way to being a giant. Like so many other jazz musicians, an early death cut short a career that left a few recordings and a lot of questions.

I first heard about Wardell Gray as a small child because my mother said he was her favorite jazz musician. I bought the Memorial 2 record set in the sixties when I started a life long interest in jazz. Wardell Gray and Dexter Gordon were the bridge between the Pres & Hawk influences and later Sonny and Trane. You can really hear hear the impact of Bird on the tenor players in Wardell. I love listening to Wardell; no one was hipper or swung more in their playing. I highly recommend this album to anyone who really wants to understand the best music of the early fifties. The only negatives are the alternate takes which makes it a put off for those not so inclined.