AOTW December 8-14. Tina Brooks Minor Move

[JohnS]

Tina Brooks - Minor Move (click here to buy)

In the absence of anything else King Ubu's persuaded me to nominate.

TINA BROOKS MINOR MOVE

This is one of my all time favourite records and features an all star line up that is hard to beat.

Edited March 31, 2006 by Jim Alfredson

[king ubu]

Good choice (to say it again )

I will dig it out! (or get that Mosaic out of my shelf...)

ubu

[Soulstation1]

[Clunky]

I had the TOCJ of this then appeared to lose it when I moved house, so I rebought at great expense. Only to find my original copy followed by its domestic release. So good I bought it twice. Still it's not as good as True Blue but it's an A rank BN session IMO

Edited December 8, 2003 by Clunky

[Big Al]

Great choice!

[catesta]

This is a great choice.

I'm always glad to give a for a Tina Brooks leader date. Minor Move has a very solid lineup that does not disappoint.

It's been awhile since I've played this one, so I'm looking forward to spinning it tonight.

Edited December 8, 2003 by catesta

[danasgoodstuff]

Thsi is a fine album, but I still think it's the least interesting of Tee-Nah's leader dates, largely because it's the most generically Blue Note. (If Alfred had chosen to spell Harold Floyd Brook's nickname phonetically, would it have helped his career?) Not that that's a bad thing, it's just that the other three show a more distinctive musical personality at work. This is good, v. good even, but the other three are GREAT!

[couw]

my first Brooks album. In this incarnation:

Love that cat. Always wondered whether it is the same one that leapt off of the lady's behind on the cover of Poppa Lou's Midnight Creeper.

Edited December 9, 2003 by couw

[king ubu]

danas, aren't you a little bit unfair? I mean, it's been some time since I listened to the Brooks albums now, but as I heard them first when I got the Mosaic (I was one lucky bastard finding this one for around 70 or 80$ worth three or four years ago), I started with track one from Minor Move, and that one is a highlight of Brooks' whole output, in my humble opinion. Blakey & Watkins of course are a great team, then I AM an avid Clark admirer, and Mogie turns in such a great solo... that must have been a very frightening moment for Tina, having to play his first solo on his first leader date after Morgan's and Clark's homeruns, no?

ubu

[catesta]

I did the ceremonial spinning lastnight.

It's still good stuff.

The Way You Look Tonight, may be my favorite track.

[Soulstation1]

morgan rips it up on nutville.

this song sounds like a tune off of bluetrane, i think, especially how it ends.

ss1

[BruceH]

This is a great album. Sure, True Blue and Back To the Tracks are even better, but that shouldn't detract from the accomplishment here. "Nutville" is a classic Brooks original, and I love the cover of "Star Eyes." There's not a weak track on the album, really. A good start to what should have been a long career.

[connoisseur series500]

Thsi is a fine album, but I still think it's the least interesting of Tee-Nah's leader dates, largely because it's the most generically Blue Note. (If Alfred had chosen to spell Harold Floyd Brook's nickname phonetically, would it have helped his career?) Not that that's a bad thing, it's just that the other three show a more distinctive musical personality at work. This is good, v. good even, but the other three are GREAT!

I agree.

This is the weakest of Tina's sessions as a leader, in my opinion.

I'll spin it again and comment.

[BruceH]

Personally, I think Waiting Game is the weakest, but that's just me.

[Leeway]

"Minor Move" doesn't wear out after repeated listening. It doesn't hit your over the head, it doesn't announce "masterpiece" on first listen. But it's a fine album, with some terrific playing, and I never tire of listening to it.

The fact that some of this terrific playing is by Lee Morgan complicates things. Lee plays such a strong role on the date that it's hard to keep in mind that Tina is the leader. (Check out Lee's solo halfway through "The Way You Look Tonight. I think Lee is in excellent form throughout). I think that is perhaps Tina's weakness as a leader and maybe limited his career. He doesn't dominate the spotlight, but that is also rather the endearing thing about him. He let's the music itself dominate. The music swings but also has a lyrical quality. I think Tina does a gorgeous job on the oft-recorded "Everything Happens to Me."

BTW, does anyone else have reservations about Blakey as Tina's drummer? I feel there is a certain mismatch of styles or approaches.

[Big Al]

(Self-edit: I typed all of the following BEFORE reading Leeway's post, which means I've ended up repeating a lot of what he said. But I'm too tired to edit it all over again, and IMHO, I think I've made some points (or repeated some) that deserve some debate. If nothing else, I hope I've given y'all some good flame-bait! )

****************

"Ambivalence" is the word that comes to my mind whenever I listen to Tina Brooks.

Y'know, I like Tina's playing; he has a very nice sound. But as a leader, the only one of his sessions that has ever grabbed me is the one that was actually released in the man's lifetime, True Blue. In fact, I have to wonder if the reason Lion couldn't remember if Back to the Tracks was released or not was because he didn't think the session was all that memorable to begin with?

This is not a knock against Brooks, BTW. There's lots of players who are good sidemen but don't have the necessary personality to push and draw the best out of their sidemen. And I have to wonder if that's not the case here as well. Some of my favorite players are on this session: Morgan and Blakey, especially. (And I guess as long as I'm blaspheming, I'll say this: I've never cared for Sonny Clark. His playing is just too plain for me. I can't think of any record he's on where anything he's played has reached out and grabbed me, or touched me in some way that makes me wanna go back and listen to it repeatedly. Flames may be sent to my e-mail, or you may bash me here publicly!) I'm sure there are many who will disagree with me here, but I find Blakey's and Morgan's playing on this record particularly uninspired, and I have to wonder if they weren't just holding back, not wanting to completely steal the show from their leader, who was making his debut as a leader?

I guess the thing that saddens me the most about Brooks is that he never got the chance (or perhaps never gave himself the chance) to develop as a leader. Like Mobley, f'rinstance. None of his leader dates in the 50's hold that much interest for me; but man, what incendiary work he did in the 60's! In fact, as that decade went on, the further and better he developed! And I wonder, if given the chance, would Brooks have developed in much the same way?

Having said all that, I find his work as a sideman particularly inspiring! Especially on Hubbard's Open Sesame. I mean, all you have to do is play this back-to-back with its companion True Blue to hear what I'm talking about. On TB, Brooks sounds a little more inspired than usual, perhaps because he's trying to put aside his uncomfortable feelings as a leader and is slowly trying to challenge himself; but on OS, Brooks lets loose and almost succeeds in stealing the fire & thunder away from Hubbard!

Take, as another example, "Street Singer" from Back to the Tracks. This is my favorite track on that whole album, and it's not even a Brooks-led song! It was culled from a Jackie McLean date (note to self: get Jackie's Bag PRONTO!). Once again, the sideman status seems to inspire Brooks to higher levels than what is found on the rest of his album, IMHO. Once again, I wonder if Brooks felt that, as a leader there was more to prove and he got nervous as a result; whereas when he was a sideman, he felt like he had nothing to lose and could allow himself to cut loose and blaze more trails?

In the end, it truly is a shame that Brooks never got that chance (or gave himself that chance) to cut loose like that on one of his own records. I think that he had so much more to offer than what he let himself give.

[mikeweil]

BTW, does anyone else have reservations about Blakey as Tina's drummer? I feel there is a certain mismatch of styles or approaches.

Yes, I agree. I too think this is Tina Brooks' weakest Blue Note album, for several interconnected reasons:

He was the ringer on this date and as shy a person as he reportedly was, even less assured.

The others must have sensed this and sound to me as though they wanted to show the youngster where the hammer hangs - they do some powerplay that a little overbears Tina's more subtle approach, and Blakey plays a major role in this.

With more simpatico players Tina was better - just as everybody is! The notes to this session in the Mosaic Box made a similar statement.

[JohnS]

Well I've had this in most of its incarnations. The King lp. the Mosaic set and the Conn. I loved it from the off and it's still my favourite Brooks album. Maybe Tina is the shy one here but his playing sound assured to me. Morgan is a great partner and for me this is his best period. Lots of audacious playing. Clark is his usual elegant self and Blakey, taking a bit of a back seat drives it all along without being overpowering.

One thing I particularly like about this date is the inclusion of "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Star Eyes". Both work very well here as they had done in the past for others. Unusual too for a BN album to feature standards so heavily.

This is one of those albums which illustrates what's meant by the the Blue Note sound.

When I sold the lp to a Boston jazzer years ago it started a fine friendship which continues even now. Quite a bonus.

[BruceH]

Having said all that, I find his work as a sideman particularly inspiring! Especially on Hubbard's Open Sesame. I mean, all you have to do is play this back-to-back with its companion True Blue to hear what I'm talking about. On TB, Brooks sounds a little more inspired than usual, perhaps because he's trying to put aside his uncomfortable feelings as a leader and is slowly trying to challenge himself; but on OS, Brooks lets loose and almost succeeds in stealing the fire & thunder away from Hubbard!

Take, as another example, "Street Singer" from Back to the Tracks. This is my favorite track on that whole album, and it's not even a Brooks-led song! It was culled from a Jackie McLean date (note to self: get Jackie's Bag PRONTO!). Once again, the sideman status seems to inspire Brooks to higher levels than what is found on the rest of his album, IMHO. Once again, I wonder if Brooks felt that, as a leader there was more to prove and he got nervous as a result; whereas when he was a sideman, he felt like he had nothing to lose and could allow himself to cut loose and blaze more trails?

Very, very good points, Al. Your entire post gives plenty of food for thought, but I particularly agree with the above quotes. I've long considered Open Sesame to be a kind of "extra" Tina Brooks album, his work on that is so outstanding! Perhaps that's one reason I've always sought out Brooks's sideman dates; that his work with the likes of Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith and Hubbard sounds so good because his lack of nervousness due to being out of the leader spotlight allowed him to be more totally himself. This makes one speculate what might have been had his recording career (and life) lasted much longer. Perhaps he would have eventually gained self-assurance and maturity as a leader... At this point, who can say?

Edited December 11, 2003 by BruceH

[Jazzmoose]

I know I'm in definite disagreement with many here, but this is without a doubt my favorite Brooks disc. Perhaps the fact that it was the first of his discs that I heard, but I don't think so. Every track stands out as a classic, led by Nutville, one of the best opening tracks on any CD I've heard. Minor Move is it's near equal, leading me to feel a loss not only because of Brooks' relatively low output as a performer, but also as a writer. Not that the three covers are anything less than stellar! All in all, I'd put any of Brooks' CDs on a list of great discs, but this is the one that makes the short list of "must have CDs" for me.

[sidewinder]

Whenever I bring out the Brooks Mosaic set (and what a very fine set this is) there are two sessions which inevitably get the play - 'True Blue' and 'Minor Move'. Both very different in their individual ways - 'True Blue' full of minor key atmospherics, almost film-noirish. 'Minor Move' to me has a much more optimistic, even carefree sound. As JohnS mentions above, very much a classic Blue Note sound.

The track that always gets my ears raised is 'Star Eyes' - a wonderful performance of a fine standard where everything in this group comes together superbly. Brooks introduces the theme with superb lyricism, with real empathy and taste from Sonny Clark (yes, elegance indeed..) Morgan was at his fiery, arrogant and brassy early best during this session. His work here reminds me very much of his playing on the near-contemporary 'Blue Train' session.

The work of Doug Watkins throughout is also a real standout. Watkins is a rock of stability and doesn't put a foot wrong. He recorded some great stuff around this period, not least the sessions done with Donald Byrd for Transition. Blakey by contrast is quite subdued for him - a few more fireworks in places would have been nice but the session does hold up well enough without them, at least to my ears.

Maybe the one possible minor quiblle that I do have is the lack of, for me, a real standout, killer tune as lead-off track. 'Nutville' is nice enough but as a tune it never really grips me, unlike the corresponding track from 'True Blue' which grips you right from the start.

Still, a lovely album ..

Edited December 12, 2003 by sidewinder

[Larry Kart]

I'm a bit surprised at how many of these posts on "Minor Move" have been about how it ranks compared to other Brooks recordings. What are we here, a bunch of stamp or coin collectors? Isn't the thing that's most worth talking about here the kind of music that Tina Brooks actually made and how it worked, to the degree that those things can be talked about. I had my say in the liner notes -- how about somebody else (a la Sidewinders' on-target IMO remarks about Doug Watkins)?

[Soul Stream]

I'm a bit surprised at how many of these posts on "Minor Move" have been about how it ranks compared to other Brooks recordings. What are we here, a bunch of stamp or coin collectors? Isn't the thing that's most worth talking about here the kind of music that Tina Brooks actually made and how it worked, to the degree that those things can be talked about. I had my say in the liner notes -- how about somebody else (a la Sidewinders' on-target IMO remarks about Doug Watkins)?

Doug Watkins. Lee Morgan. Art Blakey. Sonny Clark. AND Tina Brooks. That's my dream team. My Hardbop heros. I wish I could learn every note played by everybody on this recording. THAT would be time well spent.

And I love the song selection here. The blues shuffle Nutville, nice cookers in The Way You Look Tonight and Star Eyes. Two of my favorite tunes that have masterful readings here.

Minor move has some nice harmonic movement that reminds me what I love so much about this era's hardbop songwriting. A nice easy swing here by Art.

Everything happens to me...Tina's bringing you his LIFE on this song.... Check out Lee on this and what Doug and Art are doing behind him, super-hip and slick. Then Sonny...he's singing on this one...very little flourish. Which is one of the reasons I love Sonny so much on ballads.

Classic

Edited January 29, 2005 by Soul Stream

[Jazz Kat]

Was this "the only" album released when it first came out? (by Tina) Or was that record True Blue?

Edited January 29, 2005 by Jazz Kat

[Big Al]

(And I guess as long as I'm blaspheming, I'll say this: I've never cared for Sonny Clark. His playing is just too plain for me. I can't think of any record he's on where anything he's played has reached out and grabbed me, or touched me in some way that makes me wanna go back and listen to it repeatedly. Flames may be sent to my e-mail, or you may bash me here publicly!)

I can't believe I actually said that!!! Oh the shame of it! Especially when you consider I started a thread looking for Sonny recs sometime after this!