Favorite trombonist

[connoisseur series500]

Now will someone else set up a favorite alto player? favorite tenor? favorite trumpet? I can only take so much criticism for leaving people out!...

[Brad]

A person you could have included but is often overlooked is Bill Harris. Way underrated. His work with Flip is very good and the first cd High Note put out with him and Charlie Ventura is also good (the second, not as good).

[Chuck Nessa]

Dickie Wells, Sam Nanton, JC Higginbotham, Bill Harris, Lawrance Brown - in that order.

[Ed S]

I dig JJ Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Steve Turre, Grachan Moncur. But I love Teagarden. He got my vote.

Edited May 19, 2003 by Ed Swinnich

[connoisseur series500]

So far mine is the lone vote for Bennie Green.

[Jazzmoose]

Guess the moose is running with the herd on this one; J.J.'s the man! But I must admit feeling some guilt over passing Teagarden...

Edited May 19, 2003 by Jazzmoose

[J Larsen]

Okay, I voted for JJ, and Teagarden obviously deserves votes as well, but so does Kai Winding! Where is the Kai contingency?

[Guest Mnytime]

This one is actually easy for me, J.J. No one else really comes close. IMHO of course.

[EKE BBB]

I voted THE EMINENT

[jazzbo]

Well I voted for Jack. He's my favorite on this list, and my followups would read a lot like Chuck's. And Grachan would not be on it!

[Jim R]

I voted for J.J., but might have chosen Frank Rosolino if he was on the list...

[JohnS]

I voted for JJ. But I love Bennie Green and I can't ignore Curtis Fuller and Frank Rosolino. Playing now Ray Anderson's the man. Jeb Bishop and Robin Eubanks can often do it for me too.

[Late]

I voted for Frank. In my book, Rosolino's the only trombonist who's the equal of Jay Jay's talent. I also enormously dig Roswell Rudd, but I've already gotten off the list.

Here's a Rosolino site with a sobering account by Gene Lees of Rosolino's last days. Good, albeit painful, reading.

[Soul Stream]

Curtis Fuller's the one for me. A soulful player with a great tone and superb musicianship. He's on some of my all-time favorite recordings. Check him out on Jimmy Smith playing "Blue Room." His statement of the melody is enough to make me want to know the words to the song....

[connoisseur series500]

J.J. is running away with it. No surprise I guess.

[BruceH]

I dig JJ Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Steve Turre, Grachan Moncur. But I love Teagarden. He got my vote.

I'm with you Ed. Bigtime. I hated to leave out Fuller and Johnson, but had to vote for Tea.

[John Tapscott]

I voted for JJ, Tea second, Fuller third. Had he been there, I would have voted for Rosolino. But the all-time underrated trombone great has got to be Carl Fontana. Nobody, but NOBODY of the post JJ players had the melodic flow at tempo that Carl had (and perhaps still has, though I understand he's quite ill).

We shouldn't overlook Bill Watrous, either. I heard him live in a club one night with a very hot rhythm section and he was phenomenal. Unfortunately, his recordings don't always do him justice.

[Jazzmoose]

From the looks of the poll and the comments I've heard, there may not be too many Steve Turre fans out there, but I for one like what I've heard. I couldn't vote for him over J.J., but then that's no knock on Steve.

[Late]

John (Tapscott), if you check out that Rosolino link on the first page, you'll find a link to a page on Carl Fontana. Apparently, he's in the later stages of Alzheimer's right now. Very sad. What I've heard of Fontana (which admittedly isn't much), I've liked quite a bit. That trombone page also has links to quite a few other (unheralded) masters of the slide instrument.

I don't suppose Bob Brookmeyer would fit into this category (as the valve trombone has no slide, unless it's the super-bone, which I guess has both valves and a slide), but I would have cast a vote for him too. Can't wait until the Mulligan CJB Mosaic comes out. There are going to be some tasty Brookmeyer solos in that set.

[catesta]

I voted Johnson, but probably would have voted Lawrence Brown if he was on the list.

[John Tapscott]

John (Tapscott), if you check out that Rosolino link on the first page, you'll find a link to a page on Carl Fontana. Apparently, he's in the later stages of Alzheimer's right now. Very sad. What I've heard of Fontana (which admittedly isn't much), I've liked quite a bit.

Late :Thanks for that. Carl has been woefully underrecorded in his career. I pulled out a few discs last night just to see what he's on.

Here's what I've found.

Bobby Knight and the Great American Trombone Company - Cream of the Crop (Jazz Mark) - Rosolino is on this, too.

The Great Fontana - a 1985 Quintet date on Uptown

Bobby Shew with Carl Fontana - Heavyweights (Mama)

Stan Kenton - Kenton in Hi-Fi

Cuban Fire

plus a couple of Kenton bootlegs from the '56 European tour which feature two Bill Holman arrangements written to feature Carl.

[shawn·m]

Favorites are such a flighty thing but I’d guess my favorite is Knepper –followed by Vic Dicknson, then JJ.

[Late]

I have none of those recordings that Fontana's on! I do have him on Bill Perkins' On Stage, which is quite a nice record (that I'm guessing you have already?)

[Green Dolphin]

Nobody's mentioned Roswell Rudd.

[randissimo]

I bet you guyz don't know it's B3er's birthday today!

go to organissimo, the band to post a birthday salute