Albums That All Humans Should Own #10

Jim and Sonny

I’ve been thinking about Sonny Rollins lately and wanted to put out there again that despite saying I can’t bear to hear “St. Thomas,” I’m a big fan. 

It got me thinking about his music and what album of his I would pick as my all-time favourite. Yes, you know how I like lists and rankings when it comes to jazz.

My first thought was The Bridge (RCA Victor, 1962), which is one of his most famous albums and has all sorts of mythology around it. 

The story goes that Sonny was tired of the music biz and was feeling like his playing wasn’t developing like he wanted it to, so he walked away from recording and performing. 

Instead, he’d take his sax out to the Brooklyn Bridge and play for the pigeons, trash barges and passing cars. After a certain amount of time, Sonny felt ready and he returned to the studio and recorded one of the great jazz albums, The Bridge.

Now as much as I love The Bridge, this isn’t my recommendation of Albums That All Humans Should Own. It might come later, but I’m going a different direction today.

The reason The Bridge came to mind last night as a potential Favourite Sonny Rollins Album is due to Jim Hall’s appearance on that album.

I've written before about how much I love Jim’s playing. He’s one of the top few jazz guitarists of all time. I love his playing on The Bridge. He is unobtrusive and gives Sonny a perfect place to lay down his tenor sound. Jim played with just about everyone during his long career. If some evil genie said that you could only listen to albums that had Jim Hall on them, your jazz collection would still be fantastic.

If I were to list all of the Giants he played with, this post would be far too long, so here's a brief highlight of some of my favourite Jim collaborations: Bob Brookmeyer, Paul Desmond, Art Farmer, Jimmy Giuffre, Chico Hamilton and Hampton Hawes. 

So enough beating around the bush. 

ok, not the greatest cover, but the music is tops

Jim Hall Live! (Horizon, 1975) is my tenth pick of Albums That All Humans Should Own.

It’s a gorgeous record that shows the master at the apex of his powers. Maybe I also like the fact that it was recorded at a Toronto jazz club. By the time I moved to Toronto, the Bourbon Street club was closed, but there were still a few great places open back then.

I’ve said it many times: a trio sinks or swims on the strength of the group. The greatest trios have three players working together, it’s not just the leader’s show. Jim Hall’s trio on this date is fantastic.

Jim Hall-guitar

Don Thompson-bass

Terry Clarke-drums

Don Thompson on bass

It’s no secret I’m a fan of the bass, and even have a couple of them in my basement (or bassment? No, that’s a terrible pun, ignore that). Don Thompson is one of the best, though he won’t make many best-of lists. That’s okay. He doesn’t need a list. He’s got the talent. He sounds great backing Jim, but Don really shines when it’s time for his to take the spotlight. His solos are beautiful and perfectly suited for Jim’s sound. Don has a long list of credits and it’s no surprise that he was a sought after bassist.

He’s Canadian too, which is nice. Canada has a decent number of Jazz Greats, but we’ll save that topic for another time. Perhaps tonight over a stout?

Have a listen to 'Angel Eyes' and see for yourself why I love this album so much.

The Sermon has been found

The Sermon. It didn't move me to religious ecstasy.

not terribly inspired

It took some digging but I found the album deep in my collection and it’s been spinning this afternoon. The trio is top-notch: Hampton Hawes – piano, Leroy Vinnegar – bass and Stan Levey – drums. You’d think that trio would be killer and on another date they would have been. On this night however, it just doesn’t come together. There isn’t that magic that appears when a band and the material is right. 

Maybe that’s the problem: the material.

I get that Hampton was looking ahead to years in prison and that may have left him thinking of the beyond but the choice to do an all spirituals album didn’t work, at least not to my ears. The music isn’t bad, it just isn’t as great as you’d expect from these three.

So let me give a recommendation since I know I piqued your interest about Hampton Hawes these past few days. What album should you buy?

I’ll give you options.

1. I spoke about the ‘All Night Sessions’ album and that’s a classic.

2. If that’s not enough, you could pick up ‘The Trio: Complete Sessions with Red Mitchell and Chuck Thompson'. 35 tracks of goodness that you could pick up cheap.

3. If you want to hear him in different context with a horn player, which you don’t get to hear often with him, how about ‘For Real!’ Harold Land plays some fantastic sax on this album. It’s also one of the few recordings made with Scott LeFaro who would join Bill Evans in June 1961 for his seminal Live at the Village Vanguard recordings (and die tragically in July).

If you want a taste, have a listen to the title track. It starts with Scott LeFaro walking us in and then comes the band. It's a swinging 11 minutes that I know you'll enjoy.

False Story About Hampton Hawes

a pity we lost 5 years of him in his prime

It's easy to hear a good story and take it as true just because...well...just because it's a great story.

This was brought to mind as I started writing about Hampton Hawes yesterday. I thought I had a great story to share about that album but it turned out that the story wasn't true.

Here's the untrue story: Hampton Hawes was charged with crimes related to his heroin use and was due to be shipped off to prison. The night before he was to go, he went into the studio and recorded a ton of music that was to become the "All Night Session" albums.

I liked that story.

The idea that he knew he was going to be silenced (musically silenced) because he was due to spend five years in the pen so he put all of that fear and anger and apprehension into that recording session. I thought that would make for great fiction and I even debated making a play about it.

But...it's not true. That's not the way it went down. That album was recorded November 12-13, 1956 and he wasn't arrested until his 30th birthday in 1958.

Now I can't even recall where I heard this false tale.

The true story is that there was indeed a period of tens days where Hampton had been convicted and had not yet been sentenced and he was free during that period. It was during that time that he recorded "The Sermon," an album of spirituals which wasn't released until 1987 and is still hard to find. I'll do my best to track it down and I'll report back, maybe over a strong coffee.

I write this since a lot of people, you and I included, are thinking about 'truth' these days and this story has me thinking that things I held as true could be completely incorrect and instead are just good stories masquerading as truth.

It happened the night of November 12-13, 1956.

I’ve written elsewhere about the scourge of heroin in jazz. (I should immediately add that it was the policing and criminal sentences handed down to jazz drug users that hurt the music during its height, not just death or illness from using.)

Surely we’ve all wondered what musical landscapes Charlie Parker may have discovered had he reached the age of 35. I know you and I have discussed it at a party once, years ago.

Hampton was so cool and so busted

I’m listening to one of the great jazz quartets and one you may not be familiar with.

Hampton Hawes was one of the great pianists of the West Coast scene in the 1950s. It’s easy to focus on the legendary horn players: Art Pepper, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Bud Shank, Jimmy Guiffre; but the keys had no shortage of heavyweights: Claire Fischer, Russ Freeman, Jimmy Rowles; and Hampton Hawes was right there with them.

I’m listening to Hawes’ All Night Sessions album (Contemporary, 1956).  

It was originally released as three albums. The title is accurate. All of the music, seventeen tracks, almost two hours of top-notch jazz, was recorded in a single night session in Los Angeles November 12-13, 1956. It’s not unusual for jazz groups to make maximum use of studio time and get as much onto tape as possible and maybe the fast pace led to the recordings a vibrancy that lifts each track. You need to get your hands on these recordings.

Jim could play that thing

Jim Hall had a large role to play in the greatness. To me, he’s one of the top 3 or 4 guitarists in jazz and I’ve written before about what a fan I am of his playing. (I remember having you over for coffee and going on about his trio recorded in Toronto). He’s masterful in his accompaniment and during his moments to shine.

Here’s the band:

Hampton Hawes - piano

Jim Hall - guitar

Red Mitchell - bass

Eldridge Freeman – drums

Red Mitchell's no slouch on the bass and as for Eldridge Freeman...I don't know him. Lays downs some nice brush strokes.

Why did I mention drugs? The jazz world lost Hampton for five years beginning in 1958 after he was convicted for heroin charges. He was later pardoned by John F. Kennedy, but that’s another story. What song to offer? Toss a coin really but how about Hampton’s Pulpit. You'll see what I mean about the fantastic interplay between Hampton and Jim.

Let’s talk soon. Rodney called me and you won’t believe what he told me.