Janet Thurlow

[brownie]

Found this CD while in New York this week:

THE JIMMY CLEVELAND JAZZ OCTET FEATURING JANET THURLOW CLEVELAND

This seems to be a privately produced album. A short one: 7 tunes totalling 26'37 seconds.

Janet Thurlow Cleveland who is featured on what looks to me like a decades old photo on the cover sings on all seven tunes.

Tracks listing is:

- I've Got a Crush on You

- Don't Worry About Me

- I Can't Believe You're in Love With Me

- Here's That Rainy Day

- Eyes of Love

- If You Could See Me Now

- Eclipse

This is out on J.C. Recordings. No album number.

A google search proved vain.

The liner sheets include a short biography of Janet Thurlow Cleveland, some of her musical credits and the short list of recordings she appears on (with Lionel Hampton and Charles Mingus.

Even if her voice falters from time to time Janet Thurlow remains a very interesting singer.

The excellent octet that accompanies her remains unnamed. The arranger(s) remain(s) anonymous. No details about the album is given.

Anybody has info on this recording.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Could this be recently recorded? I know that Cleveland had an occasional group that he was working with - I thought it was four horns because he said he was using the Gigi Gryce arrangements from his Rhythm Crazy album.

What is the instrumentation - trombone, piano, bass, drums, vocals + what? trumpet, tenor, baritone maybe? Or is there one more horn to form the octet without the vocals?

Sounds VERY interesting.

There is no mention of this in the 1989 Cadence interview by Bob Rusch (pub. 1/91 & 2/91) other than a possible passing mention about the Mingus Town Hall concert: "And he [Mingus] had some other people writing, too. I believe Bob Hammer, who's going to be associated with our [Jimmy & Janet's] little band, he was writing I think some of that music."

So perhaps this is "our little band"?

Would love to know more on this. Nothing in Lord or Bruyninckx.

Mike

[brownie]

Michael, was hoping that YOU would be able to supply an answer.

The Janet Thurlow Cleveland date sounds like a recent enterprise.

Except for some trumpet and piano, there is no soloist. All ensemble playing.

Instrumentation sounds like: one trumpet, two trombones, tenorsaxophone, baritone saxophone, piano, bass and drums.

Found this at the Jazz Record Center. When I asked Fred Cohen for some background, he could not provide.

The CD is real short but also real good!

[MartyJazz]

I know that Jimmy Cleveland was, and perhaps still is (?), married to Ms. Thurlow.

[ListeningToPrestige]

Janet Thurlow appears to have made her debut on a Debut LP in 1953 - Aubobiography in Jazz. She appears on one track with a Charles Mingus octet featuring, among others, John Lewis, Kenny Clarke and Teo Macero.