25 / 08 / 2006 Ciao Maynard Ferguson, great Jazz musician
Jazzcat | Genoa, Italy Italy | 08/25/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Today the news report on TV said that Maynard Ferguson has left this world. I'm really really sad, another fantastic musician, another brother cat who gave me a lot of pleasure with his music has left us. I cried a little tear for him, then I took my motorbike and went to the music store to find some music from Maynard that I haven't already in my collection. I found this album, which I didn't recognize because the cover is not the original, a cd that repackage a couple of historical Maynard recordings from the fifties. Hollywood Party and Jam session. Inside you can find the original beautiful Emarcy covers well reprinted. These albums are great I can say. They contain two tunes each and at first it seemed strange to me, but looking better I saw these tunes are more or less 15 minutes each, so ok. The price is even fair, but the music is top notch so don't be intimidated by the non original esterior artwork and by the cheap price. The album once you open it is very well done, there's an interesting booklett with the original liner notes plus some more comments, some picture and as I already told you, the original covers well reprinted. I say this because there are a lot of cats out there who loves the original covers and may have been stopped by the fact that here the cd seems not to have them. Inside the gatefold packaging you'll find them. Now the music.
HOLLYWOOD PARTY Curtis Counce (upright), Bob Cooper (tenor), Bob Gordon (baritone), Bud Shank (alto), Shelly Manne (drums), Russ Freeman (piano), plus Maynard of course, here at the trumpet (he was ggod with the trombone too). An all star west coast jazz line up. This one is fantastic, two tune strechted out as in a live jazz session, but recorded very well in the studio. Somebody loves me here is reported to be the lovely bebop blues taken up tempo but I think there's an error in the sequence of the tunes...
JAM SESSION Herb Geller (alto), Bob Cooper (tenor), Bob Gordon (baritone), John Simmons (upright), Claude Williamson (piano), Max Roach (drums). The sound is a little different not worst, different. Anyway, the program continues with another blues up tempo (a little slower than the first one). The second tune is a medium tempo standard tune. I have to say that probably there are strange inversions in the program versus the titles on these two sessions and on the cd cover. The first tune of this second album (the blues) should be probably Air conditioned ... and the last tune is the Gershwin standard Our love is here to stay. The cd says the opposite. Anyway .. if there are some errors in the package work I can't exactly tell, but it's not a serious problem. The music has no problems at all. Fantastic jazz of the highest grade from the beginning to the end. Four tunes strechted out with full rooms for the musicians to explore. Maynard was a fantastic Jazz musician (here is accompanied by very talented and rightly famous pals). Here you have very good sides from Maynard to buy to honour him in this very sad day."
The best !!!!!
Derric A. Turner | Oklahoma | 07/01/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a loyal Ferguson Devotee, so there is no such thing as a bad Ferguson product. So on to my review; this material is rare and has not been available. So I was very pleased to get it. This music is a lot closer to what authentic Jazz music ought to be. This music is about the artists and their skills. While this is a Maynard Ferguson band, the album is very unlike a lot of his other masterpieces. There is a lot less focus on the boss, and more focus on the musicians and their abilities.
There are only four titles on this disc but don't let that fool you, One attribute of truly authentic Jazz is time allocation to the players. The musicians have to be allowed to present their improvisation skills and talents. The recording is over an hour long, so you will get some value for your dollars.
The last two titles are crisscrossed; the order is #3 Air Conditioned and #4 Our Love is Here To Stay. That's the strongest criticism I can give this recording. The music was recorded in 1954, but it's crisp, it's clean, it sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday - it's timeless. Maynard Ferguson is the most under-rated Jazz musician, he has been criticized because he kept his music alive and current, he took chances when everyone seemed to want stagnation. The world has lost a true artisan. It's unfortunate, but a lot of his music is likely to be gone sooner than you think it will be. Get what you can as quick as you can get it. A true treasure to the world is gone.
"
This is the same as the CD titled "Hollywood Jam Sessions,"
a movie lover | Colorado USA | 03/20/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"a 2005 compilation by Fresh Sound Records, manufactured and distributed by Blue Moon Producciones (Spain)."
Track Listings (4) - Disc #1