ghost of miles Posted February 11, 2004 Report Posted February 11, 2004 I recently picked up both Hep CDs of Joe Mooney's late-1940s quartet, DO YOU LONG FOR OOLONG? and JOE BREAKS THE ICE, after reading about Mooney in Gunther Schuller's THE SWING ERA. Wow! Imagine Nat King Cole meeting the early Jimmy Giuffre trio, except that Nat is playing the accordion. I would never have imagined accordion working so well within a jazz context--I would never have imagined accordion reflecting bop influence, but clearly I need to expand my imagination... The rest of the group included Andy Fitzgerald on clarinet, Jack Hotop on guitar, and John Gate Frega on bass. (Frega left the jazz scene in the late 1940s to become a priest.) Somehow they managed to blend a hip sensibility, a modern sound, and unison vocals into something that really projects a magical intimacy. I can't recommend these CDs highly enough! I know that Mooney was also part of a much earlier group, the Sunshine Boys, that had an influence on the Boswell Sisters--haven't been able to track down this material yet, though. (Evidently Venuti or Lang sometimes played with them, but a quick check of the Mosaic box does not reveal Mooney's presence.) Schuller devotes nine pages to Mooney near the end of THE SWING ERA--check it out if you're interested. Quote
JSngry Posted February 11, 2004 Report Posted February 11, 2004 Is this late 40s stuff different than the Mooney things from the 50s? I always found those kinda "loungey", but this sounds considerably more interesting. Quote
brownie Posted February 11, 2004 Report Posted February 11, 2004 I will have to check on those Mooney Hep releases. I got a couple of Joe Mooney albums after reading what Gunther Schuller wrote about him in 'The Swing Area' and was somehow disappointed with the two. They are the 'Lush Life' album on Atlantic (have the Koch CD reissue) and the Columbia LP 'The Greatness of Joe Mooney' and Jim's description of this kind of music as kinda 'loungey' is accurate - as usual - as far as I am concerned. Nice to listen to but that's not the music I go back to... Quote
ghost of miles Posted February 11, 2004 Author Report Posted February 11, 2004 Brownie & Jim, I have not heard the Atlantic or Columbia releases, which were done in the mid-1950s and early 1960s respectively, I believe. Therefore I can't compare, but Schuller was writing about the late-1940s quartet, which is why I sought out the Heps. They consist of the group's Decca recordings and a number of rehearsals and radio broadcasts. If you can find any way to sample them first, do so--I don't think you'll be disappointed! They had a unique sound that, as Schuller says, anticipates the MJQ in some ways. Quote
ghost of miles Posted February 12, 2004 Author Report Posted February 12, 2004 Looks like the Sunshine Boys recordings are available here. Quote
Joe Posted February 12, 2004 Report Posted February 12, 2004 The 50's stuff is indeed much more about the vocals. The material on the Hep discs, though, is wonderfully idiosyncratic. Quote
ghost of miles Posted April 27, 2004 Author Report Posted April 27, 2004 I'm doing a show today at WFIU from 3:30-5:00 p.m. that will feature both of the Joe Mooney Heps and the recent Fantasy MJQ box (THE COMPLETE PRESTIGE AND PABLO RECORDINGS. Quote
ghost of miles Posted January 13, 2005 Author Report Posted January 13, 2005 Looking up something else, I came across the info that RVG engineered some of the Joe Mooney organ trio dates. Quote
Brad Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 The use of the accordion reminds me of the use of the harpsichord on Artie Shaw's Grammercy Five disc. Strange but interesting. Quote
JohnS Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 I don't know Joe Mooney but the best jazz accordian I've come across is Tony Argo's Jazz Argosy on Savoy. All star band including Pepper Adams and Hal McKusick, arrangements by Joe Cinderella. Quote
Fran Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 Joe Mooney was excellent. And he made a few recordings I believe with the Sauter Finnegan Orchestra. But I can't understand the omission of the Art Van Damm Quartet from this discussion. I believe he was the only TRUE jazz accordianist. He really cooked. He recorded for Columbia records and later one of the German Jazz labels, (MPS?). Van Damm was no doubt head and shoulders above the other accordian squeezers Give him a listen Quote
garthsj Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 (edited) Joe Mooney was excellent. And he made a few recordings I believe with the Sauter Finnegan Orchestra. But I can't understand the omission of the Art Van Damm Quartet from this discussion. I believe he was the only TRUE jazz accordianist. He really cooked. He recorded for Columbia records and later one of the German Jazz labels, (MPS?). Van Damm was no doubt head and shoulders above the other accordian squeezers Give him a listen I just LOVE declaratory statements like this .. I have to wonder how many jazz accordionists you have listened to? .... Pete Jolly played a very fine jazz accordion, and we should not forget the great Tommy Gumina.. His work with Buddy DeFranco on a series of albums in the sixties and seventies, that deserve to be reissued on CD, shows what can be achieved ... By the way.. the word is spelled accordiOn, not accordiAn ... Edited January 14, 2005 by garthsj Quote
Joe Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 (edited) Richard Galliano? If so, yes, amazing musician. If not, I want to know more. Please. Edited January 13, 2005 by Joe Quote
Joe Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 Oh, yes, that Tony Argo date looks quite fascinating. Is it really available for download at MP3.com? Quote
Joe Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 Dino Saluzzi. Yep, he's a excellent player too. Kinda lost him in the ECM mists, though... Quote
Hank Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 Richard Galliano? If so, yes, amazing musician. If not, I want to know more. Please. That's Dino Saluzzi! He's great. Check out Responsorium. (Galliano is great too!) Quote
Fran Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 Joe Mooney was excellent. And he made a few recordings I believe with the Sauter Finnegan Orchestra. But I can't understand the omission of the Art Van Damm Quartet from this discussion. I believe he was the only TRUE jazz accordianist. He really cooked. He recorded for Columbia records and later one of the German Jazz labels, (MPS?). Van Damm was no doubt head and shoulders above the other accordian squeezers Give him a listen I just LOVE declaratory statements like this .. I have to wonder how many jazz acordionists you have listened to? .... Pete Jolly played a very fine jazz accordion, and we should not forget the great Tommy Gumina.. His work with Buddy DeFranco on a series of albums in the sixties and seventies, that deserve to be reissued on CD, shows what can be achieved ... By the way.. the word is spelled accordiOn, not accordiAn ... Oh my - such intensity of feeling ! Quote
garthsj Posted January 13, 2005 Report Posted January 13, 2005 Joe Mooney was excellent. And he made a few recordings I believe with the Sauter Finnegan Orchestra. But I can't understand the omission of the Art Van Damm Quartet from this discussion. I believe he was the only TRUE jazz accordianist. He really cooked. He recorded for Columbia records and later one of the German Jazz labels, (MPS?). Van Damm was no doubt head and shoulders above the other accordian squeezers Give him a listen I just LOVE declaratory statements like this .. I have to wonder how many jazz acordionists you have listened to? .... Pete Jolly played a very fine jazz accordion, and we should not forget the great Tommy Gumina.. His work with Buddy DeFranco on a series of albums in the sixties and seventies, that deserve to be reissued on CD, shows what can be achieved ... By the way.. the word is spelled accordiOn, not accordiAn ... Oh my - such intensity of feeling ! Gee! And I thought that I was being rather subdued ... for me! Quote
Larry Kart Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 I've always had a soft spot for Danish accordian player Mat Matthews, who made two albums for Dawn in the mid-1950s. The better of them has some very tasty tracks with a sextet than includes Art Farmer and Gigi Gryce and benefits throughout from the bass-drum duo of Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke. There's also one track with a Matthews-Pettiford (on cello) duo, "Now See How You Are," on which OP takes a near-heroic solo on his own groovy tune. As I recall, this piece later was arranged for and recorded by Pettiford's big band. Mathews swung, had a nice melodic imagination, one that sounded like it sprang from the instrument. On the other hand, he tended to downplay the squeeze-box side of the accordian without pretending that it didn't exist. Wonder what happened to him. Quote
Booker Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 I agree with your feelings about Mat Matthews. I've always enjoyed his work with the New York Jazz Quartet, which featured Herbie Mann, Mat, Whitey Mitchell and Joe Puma. His work on "Skylark" from their 1957 debut on Elektra displays a subtle, swinging approach to the instrument. Quote
ghost of miles Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Posted January 14, 2005 I've always had a soft spot for Danish accordian player Mat Matthews, who made two albums for Dawn in the mid-1950s. The better of them has some very tasty tracks with a sextet than includes Art Farmer and Gigi Gryce and benefits throughout from the bass-drum duo of Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke. There's also one track with a Matthews-Pettiford (on cello) duo, "Now See How You Are," on which OP takes a near-heroic solo on his own groovy tune. As I recall, this piece later was arranged for and recorded by Pettiford's big band. Mathews swung, had a nice melodic imagination, one that sounded like it sprang from the instrument. On the other hand, he tended to downplay the squeeze-box side of the accordian without pretending that it didn't exist. Wonder what happened to him. Larry, Jim Sangrey brought up Mat Mathews a year or so ago when I mentioned Mooney in another thread--he posted a link to Mathews' AMG bio: Mat Mathews Definitely someone I'll have to check out. Quote
Larry Kart Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 Oops -- Matthews was Dutch, not Danish. But tasty nonetheless. Quote
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