trombone ballad solos

[alocispepraluger102]

maybe it was because today was cloudy, rainy, and gloomy, but several trombone ballads hit me just right. the culprits, this time, were bill harris and paul brewer. i would like some more trombone ballad selections for that next gloomy day. into my mix, i also added 3 or 4 devastatingly depressing selections from kai and jjs israel.

i'm looking forward to your suggestions.

Edited October 24, 2009 by alocispepraluger102

[ep1str0phy]

Not necessarily "ballads," but slow and very contemplative--Grachan Moncur III on Evolution. Then again, Grachan's playing on Jackie McLean's Destination Out!--especially the sublime, unbelievably moody "Love and Hate," is probably up there with the best of them.

[kh1958]

Jimmy Knepper, Invisible Lady (on Charles Mingus, Tonight at Noon)

[Free For All]

maybe it was because today was cloudy, rainy, and gloomy, but several trombone ballads hit me just right. the culprits, this time, were bill harris and paul brewer. i would like some more trombone ballad selections for that next gloomy day. into my mix, i also added 3 or 4 devastatingly depressing selections from kai and jjs israel.

i'm looking forward to your suggestions.

So aloc, is "devastatingly depressing" what you get from the Israel selections? I might go with "hauntingly beautiful" or something like that. I find the beautiful trombone ballad to be a comfort on a gloomy day. Like JJ's Funny Valentine from Proof Positive (Impulse). Or Carl's Polkadots and Moonbeams from The Great Fontana. Or Teagarden's St. James Infirmary. Or Rosolino's Lover Man. Or Urbie's Ave Maria.

[Larry Kart]

Jack Jenney's "Stardust" with his own band:

not his later and more famous solo on the Artie Shaw recording, lovely though that is.

[Larry Kart]

Jimmy Cleveland, "If You Could See Me Now," with Gil Evans:

http://www.rhapsody.com/gil-evans/gil-evan...now/lyrics.html

Jimmy Cleveland, "Ballad of The Sad Young Men," with Gil Evans:

http://www.rhapsody.com/gil-evans/the-comp...c-jazz-sessions

[Free For All]

Jack Jenney's "Stardust" with his own band:

not his later and more famous solo on the Artie Shaw recording, lovely though that is.

This one?

[Larry Kart]

Jack Jenney's "Stardust" with his own band:

not his later and more famous solo on the Artie Shaw recording, lovely though that is.

This one?

Yes. As Dick Sudhalter writes of the two different takes by the Jenney band, "though his methods and the way he hears the song remain consistent, he never repeats an idea or construction in any but a general way."

[Free For All]

Jack Jenney's "Stardust" with his own band:

not his later and more famous solo on the Artie Shaw recording, lovely though that is.

This one?

Yes. As Dick Sudhalter writes of the two different takes by the Jenney band, "though his methods and the way he hears the song remain consistent, he never repeats an idea or construction in any but a general way."

I personally heard both J.J. and Carl Fontana sing the praises of Jack Jenney. That was enough to convince me to check him out, and I immediately became a fan.

[Chas]

That most lugubrious of ballads : Gloomy Sunday .

You mentioned Bill Harris , so you may well have already heard his version , but I'd also suggest Bob Brookmeyer's version from his Verve album , Gloomy Sunday And Other Bright Moments .

[alocispepraluger102]

Not necessarily "ballads," but slow and very contemplative--Grachan Moncur III on Evolution. Then again, Grachan's playing on Jackie McLean's Destination Out!--especially the sublime, unbelievably moody "Love and Hate," is probably up there with the best of them.

i'm familiar with that one--great choice.

[alocispepraluger102]

maybe it was because today was cloudy, rainy, and gloomy, but several trombone ballads hit me just right. the culprits, this time, were bill harris and paul brewer. i would like some more trombone ballad selections for that next gloomy day. into my mix, i also added 3 or 4 devastatingly depressing selections from kai and jjs israel.

i'm looking forward to your suggestions.

So aloc, is "devastatingly depressing" what you get from the Israel selections? I might go with "hauntingly beautiful" or something like that. I find the beautiful trombone ballad to be a comfort on a gloomy day. Like JJ's Funny Valentine from Proof Positive (Impulse). Or Carl's Polkadots and Moonbeams from The Great Fontana. Or Teagarden's St. James Infirmary. Or Rosolino's Lover Man. Or Urbie's Ave Maria.

hauntingly beautiful----------your absolutely right. i made a VERY poor choice of descriptors.

[alocispepraluger102]

That most lugubrious of ballads : Gloomy Sunday .

You mentioned Bill Harris , so you may well have already heard his version , but I'd also suggest Bob Brookmeyer's version from his Verve album , Gloomy Sunday And Other Bright Moments .

bob's titles, and the instrumentation of his small groups, belie his musicianship.

his playing and spacious arrangements on vocalist helen schneider's 'right as the rain' are most sumptuous, several of them swing quite hard. 'right as the rain' is a little known treasure.

[Chas]

Forgot to mention Curtis Fuller's The Magnificent Trombone Of Curtis Fuller on Epic , which is a whole album of trombone ballads .

[Free For All]

hauntingly beautiful----------your absolutely right. i made a VERY poor choice of descriptors.

Aloc, you are always very articulate. I just wanted to understand what you were saying (me being a trombonist and all).

[JSngry]

In the world of A&M-era CTI, "devastatingly depressing" & "hauntingly beautiful" can fairly be used interchangeably.

[save0904]

What about Curtis Fullers A Lovely Way To Spent An Evening from the album The Opener ?

Edited October 24, 2009 by save

[Royal Oak]

Marshall Brown playing "Angel Eyes" on the Pee Wee Russell "Ask Me Now" album is a good one.

J J doing "It Could Happen To You" on "The Eminent" is a killer.

[alocispepraluger102]

thanks for all the exquisite choices and reminders. i am embarrassed to say that a few of them are already in my collection.

the jenny stardust is a jewel, 70 years old and still remarkably fresh. thanks.

Edited October 24, 2009 by alocispepraluger102

[alocispepraluger102]

In the world of A&M-era CTI, "devastatingly depressing" & "hauntingly beautiful" can fairly be used interchangeably.

i used to try to avoid that a&m sound, repertoire, and label, with very few exceptions. it was barely, if even that, tolerable, and then, there was that dreadful overdubbing of strings to make the string sections bigger. did A&M start that junk?

[jeffcrom]

The ballad solo I play for my trombonist friends (and yes, I have some), is "You've Changed" from Quintergy: Live at the Village Vanguard by J. J. Johnson. It's just heartbreaking.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Somewhere or other, I've got a recording of "With malice towards none" featuring a solo by Tom McIntosh, the composer - but I can't track it down. He wasn't the leader.

MG

[paul secor]

Roswell Rudd: "Coming On the Hudson" from Broad Strokes - short but sweet

Jimmy Knepper: "Languid" from Cunningbird

Vic Dickenson: "Old Fashioned Love" from Nice Work

[Larry Kart]

Somewhere or other, I've got a recording of "With malice towards none" featuring a solo by Tom McIntosh, the composer - but I can't track it down. He wasn't the leader.

MG

It's not the version from James Moody's "Great Day" -- no trombone solo there.