Tommy Flanagan

[Late]

Listening to the OJC of The Cats right now, and started thinking about Flanagan. In some ways, he reminds me of Roy Haynes: impeccable taste, a refined touch, and not always a prominent profile when it comes to discussing improvised music. He is certainly a master, however.

Sometimes I hear Flanagan's playing as a contemporaneous extension of Hank Jones's ideas. What do you think?

Any special affection? Any particular albums that are favorites? (I imagine there could be a lot to list.) I'm also interested in reading what you all think about his contributions on Giant Steps.

[Alexander Hawkins]

I don't happen to own any of his own dates.

I really enjoy listening to him as an accompanist for Rollins, though.

I remember hearing an interview with him on the BBC a few years back when he told quite a nice story about when Coltrane gave him the changes for 'Steps' a few days in advance of the session, and his assumption (soon to be rudely overturned at the session!) that (because of the changes) it was a ballad.

[tooter]

A lot! - you're not kidding!

one of my favorites but there are so many. He seems to me to share with Milt the ability to always play so well. I like very much the album "Booker Little" to choose just one more. Pianists - Tommy and Hank at the very pinnacle.

[AllenLowe]

interesting about Giant Steps - I interviewed him in the mid 1970s and I asked him about it - he said he wasn't particularly worried about the harmonic density or speed of the tune: "it was just chord changes."

[Joe Carter]

My favorite Tommy Flanagan recordings are the various trio dates with Elvin Jones on drums (mainly using brushes):

Overseas

Lonely Town

Eclypso

Confirmation

Supersession (with Elvin and Red Mitchell)

and there's a great duo album with Red Mitchell on the Phontastic label from Sweden, You're Me.

And there are the two japanese recordings of The Master Trio --- Tommy, Ron Carter and Tony Williams.

Joe C.

[SNWOLF]

I like Tommy Flanagan, but he strikes me as the ultimate sideman. He's light years ahead of journeyman status, but I just don't find the sessions he leads himself to be especially compelling, despite being well above average.

He reminds me of George Cables that way, another musician who will add that special something extra needed to raise a rhythm seection and soloists up to another level - they're the ones that feed the fire and provide empathetic support.

I've heard some of the work Flanagan has done with other artists and it's so beautiful and eloquent, and very deep, you'd think he would make a natural leader, but I haven't heard that, yet.

I haven't heard all of his output, so I was wondering Late if you could recommend something he's lead that might nullify, or at least modify, my impression.

[Victor Christensen]

One of my very favorites, I have several of his own recordings.

Here is my three most played.

Giants Steps (Enja)

Jazz Poet (Timeless)

Beyond The Bluebird (Timeless)

Great pianoplayer, him and Hank Jones are so great, but not very many talk about them today.

BTW, we just had an awfull general election today here in Denmark.

Vic

[king ubu]

I'm quite a fan of Flanagan's! Love his playing on Rollins' "Saxophone Colossus" (that's where I first heard him, soon thereafter, on a major Trane kick, got "The Cats").

Favourite albums of his include:

- Sea Changes

- Eclypso

- Giant Steps

Then he did a very fine duo album with Hank Jones for Galaxy (now on OJCCD).

His Blue Note album is fine, too.

Another recent recording I *love* is Bennie Wallace's self-titled AudioQuest album with Tommy Flanagan at the piano. Flanagan and Wallace make a great team!

ubu

[mjzee]

To add two really good ones:

Positive Intensity (on Japanese CBS), with Ron Carter and Roy Haynes

Let's (Play The Music of Thad Jones) (on Enja)

[John Tapscott]

Got to give for those Timeless Dates, "Jazz Poet" and "Beyond the Bluebird."

One of Tommy's last recordings: "Sunset and the Mockingbird" (Blue Note). Tommy was great right to the end.

And that recent Great Jazz Trio Cd "Autumn Leaves" with Hank Jones, Richard Davis, and Elvin Jones is especially fine. Haven't heard the second one they did, but I'm sure it's just as good.

[jazzbo]

Wonderful man. I have some live stuff not on records I really like. I really like him playing Monk. And I really love him with Elvin behind him as well.

[danasgoodstuff]

I may not always be able to fully hear what he's doing (my ear for harmony is pretty limited) BUT the other musicians can...I've found that there are no bad records with Tommy F. on them, and I probably own close to a hundred.

[king ubu]

One of Tommy's last recordings: "Sunset and the Mockingbird" (Blue Note). Tommy was great right to the end.

that's the Blue Note I meant, couldn't remember the title...

[brownie]

One of Tommy Flanagan's first recorded appearance was his contribution to Sonny Rollins' masterpiece 'Saxophone Colossus' shortly after he moved from Detroit to New York.

Not all the albums he took part in were THAT brilliant but I cannot recall having heard Flanagan playing less than superb!

[Stereojack]

Tommy is one of the few pianists I can recognize by his sound. He has a unique and very personal touch, not to mention his impeccable taste and imagination.

[Late]

I haven't heard all of his output, so I was wondering, Late, if you could recommend something he's led that might nullify, or at least modify, my impression.

To be honest, I haven't heard all that many Flanagan-led sessions. An excellent starting place (at least) I think would be Overseas, but I'm guessing you've already heard this one.

I think I hear what you're saying about Flanagan The Sideman. He's a brilliant accompanist. Some of his work for Coleman Hawkins ... well, without Flanagan aboard, those albums wouldn't be half as beautiful. I think it's actually an equal note of merit to be recognized as an excellent accompanist as compared to an excellent leader.

[Joe]

I would agree that Tommy Flanagan never stopped stretching, and that some of his later recordings like LET'S, SEA CHANGES and the Blue Note disc (already OOP, IIRC) are excellent. THELONICA, with George Mraz and Art Taylor, is also fine, but features all the production touches you would expect from a 1982 "straight-ahead jazz" recording (e.g., direct-miked bass).

Those Detroit cats... I love Hank Jones for his elegance and Barry Harris for his feeling for the tradition (not overly reverent), but to me Flanagan was the most full-bodied and gutsy of the three.

[AllenLowe]

Barry Harris told me that when Hawkins heard him play he said "oh you Detroits; you play the piano like a piano, not like it's some damn drum."

[neveronfriday]

I have quite a few Flanagan recordings. The one I return to most often is this one:

It was the one that got me hooked on Flanagan, albeit a bit late (last year? the year before?). I had heard him many times before but didn't start concentrating on his output until I had fallen in love with that recording.

Talking to my former drum teacher I also found out that I actually saw Flanagan live several times (he played with him countless times), I just couldn't remember until he told me. I think I went to too many live concerts at the time.

Cheers!

Edited February 9, 2005 by deus62

[jazzbo]

I'll have to check that one out, thanks for recommending it; that trio was a long and hard working one that really sounded great!

[MartyJazz]

I got this one as a review copy some time back when I did a few jazz reviews for an audiophile magazine. Anyway, it's a quartet session, with the added "horn" being guitarist Kenny Burrell. Highly recommended!

[Jim R]

Flanagan is one of my favorite pianists, and I have just about every title mentioned here, but one of my favorites (if not #1) was not mentioned (unless I missed it):

I also love JAZZ POET, and BEYOND THE BLUEBIRD is indeed a gem.

Speaking of quartets, I love this too:

[JamesJazz]

There will be some Flanagan from 1950 (six years before his first studio recs) on the upcoming "Detroit Jazz Before Motown" compilation on Uptown.

Tommy plays more in a Powell style - not quite so elegant.

[robviti]

Tommy Flanagan, Coleman Hawkins, Major Holley & Eddie Locke

[Late]

Those of you who receive Hiroshi Tanno's e-mails on Japanese reissues and releases already know this, but Flanagan's Overseas sessions are being reissued once again — this time with the most deluxe treatment I've ever seen from the Japanese market: not one, but three mini-LP covers to accompany the CD. The reason for three? To be faithful to the original release of these recordings as EPs on the Swedish Metronome label, DIW is manufacturing three separate jackets. Now, if they really wanted to be faithful, they could have reissued the music on three 3" CDs! The original covers are indeed classy:

The price tag is hefty — over 3900¥. If someone here decides to splurge, please tells us how all of this packaged! (Um, and you can tell us about the music too. It's one of my favorite Flanagan dates.)