Roamin With Jerome Richardson

Jerome Richardson Sextet | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 25, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ojc
• ASIN: B000000Z9N
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #484,720 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Friar Tuck

2. Up at Teddy's Hill

3. Warm Valley

4. Poinciana

5. I Never Knew

6. Candied Sweets

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A rare chance to hear Richardson as a leader !, December 21, 2010

By 

Eddie Landsberg "My 10th year as a reviewer !... (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Roamin With Jerome Richardson (Audio CD)

On this album, you get to hear an under-recorded multi-reed player... on this case on bari, flute and tenor... I really like Richardson's flute, but I guess back then the flute didn't quite have the save front man image as the sax - - he only plays it on two tunes. Better known as a sideman, I've always considered a mark of "good luck" when selecting albums and seeing him on them... so finding a rare recording of him as a leader is a rare treat for me.

I like the tight rhythm section on this album... and Richardson's playing is interesting, though I have to admit that although the album is really good, it probably isn't best described as the most inspired album of the era... still, it swings -- in the end, I'd probably go more for young Roland Kirk on flute and Pepper Adam's bari playing as leaders, but this album still is a great listen, even if not an all time classic. Charlie Persip's drumming and George Tucker's bass work definitely helps it... Richard Wyands also gets in some great words on piano.

One interesting thing about the album is the order of tunes... CANDIED SWEETS would probably have made a much stronger opener...Friar Tuck finds Jerome Richardson struggling for ideas at first, whereas he comes in much stronger on Candied Sweets though really its a Wyands composition and features some really strong playing him by him too. Although last, it probably has his most venturous playing on the album...

All in all, I'd say that if your collection of "the classics" is pretty much complete and you want to augment it with a great late '50s hard bop session, get it... otherwise, look for some of the great albums he recorded on as a sideman...

P.S. It was recorded by RVG and released on Prestige's NEW JAZZ LABEL in 1959.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not So Free to "Roam", June 1, 2010

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Roamin With Jerome Richardson (Audio CD)

In the past couple of years, I have purchased hundreds of Fantasy/OJC CDs at bargain closeout prices, but there are a few for which I had to pay top dollar. "Roamin' with Richardson" was one of those titles, and based on the strength of Midnight Oil (see my review), I thought it would be well worth the investment. This October 21, 1959 session, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, does have some nice moments, but unfortunately it's only an average album. The rhythm trio of Richard Wyands, George Tucker and Charlie Persip is excellent, but the lack of another frontline player exposes Richardson's shortcomings, largely that he is not the most inspired soloist. While he does rotate between three instruments, flute and both tenor and baritone saxophones (though not a la Roland Kirk, only one at a time), he plays only two of them well. I'm not much for him on tenor, and the flute which so dominated "Midnight Oil" only features on one track here. His baritone sound is refreshing and reminiscent of Leo Parker, whose Blue Notes have recently been reissued in the RVG series by the way. Overall, if you can find this disc inexpensively, then go for it, otherwise you may want to pass on goin' "Roamin'."