The band on Bennie Green's "Walking Down"

[mjzee]

Listening to Walking Down, I'm struck by the quality of the band, especially the tenor and pianist.  Yet the musicians are so obscure!  Eric Dixon spent many years in Basie's band, but Lloyd Mayers and Sonny Wellesley?  Anyone have background on these excellent musicians?  And why wasn't Dixon recorded more often?

Bennie Green Quintet

Bennie Green (trombone) Eric Dixon (tenor saxophone) Lloyd Mayers (piano) Sonny Wellesley (bass) Bill English (drums)

Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, June 29, 1956

923	East Of The Little Big Horn	Prestige PRLP 7049
924	It's You Or No One	-
925	But Not For Me	-
926	The Things We Did Last Summer	-
927	Walkin' Down	Prestige PRLP 7049, PR 7776

* Prestige PRLP 7049; Original Jazz Classics OJC 1752, OJCCD 1752-2   Bennie Green - Walking Down
* Prestige PR 7776   The Best Of Bennie Green

 

Edited July 25, 2015 by mjzee

[JSngry]

This is a damn good record right here:

Mayers I know of, but not too much about, he's one of those guys who appears to have always had a gig somewhere, reliable, professional, etc, hade a career, jsut not a real "name" outside of the circles where he worked. Lots of guys like that, lots.

Dixon was featured fairly regularly with Basie, but the records Basie was making when Dixon was on the band were not necessarily the ones you would "want" to buy. But maybe you would...either way, if he's in the band, he almost always gets a solo or two, ofttimes on flute. When the section was Royal, Plater, Jaws, Dixon, and Fowlkes (which it was for quite a while), Dixon was the only real flute soloist, and Basie was always having flute solos. But he played excellent tenor as well. The first time I saw Basie live, 1970, Jaws was on the band, as was Dixon. Jaws got more tenor solos, but Dixon got a few as well, he was in his own way, as quirky as Jaws (no small feat), just not as extroverted about it (which would be damn near impossible). He also shows up on The Nifty Cat Strikes West on Master Jazz, and also led his own date on the label. Pretty prolific, actually, just very quiet about it.

Bill English, married to Dionne Warwick for a while, served as her Musical Director as well, this would ahve been in the 1960s. Led his own date on Vanguard, and, I think, showed up with Dave Burns on the label. Another guy who is there once you start looking for him.

Now, Sonny Wellesley, you got me on that one. But he's here with Dakota Staton: http://www.concertvault.com/dakota-staton/newport-jazz-festival-july-02-1960.html and Dakota Staton worked a lot, so I guess he did too.

[king ubu]

That Dixon album on Master Jazz is indeed pretty good - recently picked it up:

 

Since Jim forgot to mention it: Lloyd Mayers is on "Griff and Lock", one of the finest albums by the Johnny Griffin/Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis team. He also shows up on albums by Joe Newman (At Count Basie's), Etta Jones (From the Heart) and Lock's "Afro Jaws".

[mikeweil]

A look into the Lord Disco reveals that Bennie Green's Walking Down was both Dixon's and Mayers' recording debut. Dixon also plays plays on the Eldridge Master Jazz date mentioned above - both these LPs went straight to my want list - always liked Dixon whenever I heard him solo. But it seems that around 3/4 of his recordings were with Basie. 

Just listened to a great Dixon solo on Lester Leaps In from the Quincy Jones Big Band At Newport 1961 recording (Disc V of the Quincy Mosaic box). One of those reliable big band people who always were able to deliver an exciting solo when asked, which was not often enough.

Dixon is on Waldron's Mal 3, to great effect - his second record date.

Other of his rare small group dates are Ahmed Abdul-Malik's Jazz Sounds of Africa (New Jazz, reissued on a Prestige twofer), and the Count Basie Kansas City Seven on Impulse.

Oh, and there is a Jack McDuff date on Prestige, Something Slick, where Dixon plays alongside Harold Vick, which never was on CD in complete form ...

Frank Foster, Basie Is Our Boss, on Argo from 1963, another sextet date that never was on CD.

That's about all of Dixon's small group dates that I can identify.

[clifford_thornton]

Don't know Mayers' music - will have to seek out that UA recording. Seems like Dixon was on call for some New Jazz dates; I know him from Mal Waldron's Sounds LP and his work with Ahmed Abdul-Malik. Have heard English's name and recognize the Vanguard material, but I don't think I've actually listened to him much.

[Peter Friedman]

Eric Dixon plays and solos on - "The Count Basie Kansas City 7" on the Impulse label.

[Chuck Nessa]

Almost 40 years ago a musician who claimed to be in the studio said Lloyd Mayers played the Jimmy Smith part on the Walk on the Wild Side recording. Jimmy was either late, messed up or both.

[king ubu]

Seriously now? That's quite a story indeed!