George Kelly Tenor Sax

[Dan Gould]

Been enjoying two Black & Blue discs that feature Mr. Kelly (Roy Milton Instant Groove and Carrie Smith, No One Knows You) and been enjoying his contributions immensely. Any reccos? He seems to have led a few dates in his later years though not a whole bunch.

[paul secor]

George Kelly is a part of Panama Francis' Savoy Sultans on this record, which I like:

 

 

 

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, paul secor said:

George Kelly is a part of Panama Francis' Savoy Sultans on this record, which I like:

 

 

 

Thanks Paul I actually have the "Definitive" reissue of that LP. Hoping for suggestions on his recordings that are more tenor or tenor/trumpet + rhythm.  There's a Live at the West End LP with Irv Stokes and Richard Wyands that I bet is very fine but it looks ridiculously pricey as a used LP on Amazon.

Edited May 12, 2017 by Dan Gould

[Dan Gould]

Nobody else knows this guy?

Looks like I got something for a BFT then ...

 

Specially with a modernist like Wyands on piano.

 

[Larry Kart]

"George Kelly Plays the Music of Don Redman" (Stash), rec. 1984, is excellent. Kelly had his own thing going for sure. In an interview he said something like "I think like Lester Young and play like Coleman Hawkins." My memory is that his phrasing has an attractively "talky"quality to it, a rhythmically compulsive "bounce" feel. Not as much so as altoist Pete Brown, maybe akin to Julian Dash. In any case, my sense was that this came from being a player who was formed in the late '20s/early '30s, though there's nothing about Kelly that was retro.

https://www.amazon.com/Plays-Music-Redman-George-Kelly/dp/B01LVUBWF3/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1494713417&sr=1-1&keywords=george+kelly+don+redman

[Dan Gould]

Thanks Larry that one caught my eye before. Also seems to be among the easiest to find too.

[AllenLowe]

I knew him a little in my NYC days when I practically lived at the West End and saw him regularly (as a matter of fact I was the one who got Richard Wyands on that gig that led to the live recording mentioned above, though I am sure that if you asked, Phil would take credit). Nice man, played beautifully, solid, gruff tone; also a good singer. I know he's not around here any more, but I believe Joel Fass worked with him a lot. Glad to see Kelly's name mentioned, had not thought of him in a long time.

Edited May 14, 2017 by AllenLowe

[Dan Gould]

5 hours ago, AllenLowe said:

I knew him a little in my NYC days when I practically lived at the West End and saw him regularly (as a matter of fact I was the one who got Richard Wyands on that gig that led to the live recording mentioned above, though I am sure that if you asked, Phil would take credit). Nice man, played beautifully, solid, gruff tone; also a good singer. I know he's not around here any more, but I believe Joel Fass worked with him a lot. Glad to see Kelly's name mentioned, had not thought of him in a long time.

Yes, before I posted I did a site search via google and much of the previous mentions of Kelly were remembrances by Joel.

[Dan Gould]

Just noticed on discogs that Mr. Kelly played the saxophonist Robin Williams' sits in with in Moscow on the Hudson and the IMDB confirms he was in the cast.  I bet the soundtrack is plenty cheap.

[JSngry]

On 5/13/2017 at 4:13 PM, Larry Kart said:

"George Kelly Plays the Music of Don Redman" (Stash), rec. 1984, is excellent. Kelly had his own thing going for sure. In an interview he said something like "I think like Lester Young and play like Coleman Hawkins." My memory is that his phrasing has an attractively "talky"quality to it, a rhythmically compulsive "bounce" feel. Not as much so as altoist Pete Brown, maybe akin to Julian Dash. In any case, my sense was that this came from being a player who was formed in the late '20s/early '30s, though there's nothing about Kelly that was retro.

https://www.amazon.com/Plays-Music-Redman-George-Kelly/dp/B01LVUBWF3/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1494713417&sr=1-1&keywords=george+kelly+don+redman

I picked this one up and am very well-pleased with it, but buyer beware - the Squatty Roo CDR(?) being sold here sounds like it was taken from a slightly off-center LP, and there's, like, zero seconds between tunes. I'm ok with Squatty Roo doing their live latest-Ellington bootlegs like this, but...are they getting this legit?

BUT - I'm not really bothered by that past as far as I am bothered by it. Iit's a totally groovy date, and Kelley's opening phrase of his "Chant Of The Weed" solo had me doing a momentary WTF? thinking that Bill Barron was sitting in!

And yes, this is a "type" of swing that you either get intuitively (probably through osmosis) or don't. If you try to fake it, it don't work, it just don't work. But this cat, it works for him just fine!

But the next time I reach for a non-live bootleg Squatty Roo release, I will think at least twice before proceeding, and definitely look for other options if applicable.

[Larry Kart]

3 hours ago, JSngry said:

I picked this one up and am very well-pleased with it, but buyer beware - the Squatty Roo CDR(?) being sold here sounds like it was taken from a slightly off-center LP, and there's, like, zero seconds between tunes. I'm ok with Squatty Roo doing their live latest-Ellington bootlegs like this, but...are they getting this legit?

BUT - I'm not really bothered by that past as far as I am bothered by it. Iit's a totally groovy date, and Kelley's opening phrase of his "Chant Of The Weed" solo had me doing a momentary WTF? thinking that Bill Barron was sitting in!

And yes, this is a "type" of swing that you either get intuitively (probably through osmosis) or don't. If you try to fake it, it don't work, it just don't work. But this cat, it works for him just fine!

But the next time I reach for a non-live bootleg Squatty Roo release, I will think at least twice before proceeding, and definitely look for other options if applicable.

Yes -- Bill Barron! There are/were many ways to skin a cat, and the living history of this music does not necessarily fit a "progressive" template. 

[Ted O'Reilly]

Am I misremembering that George Kelly also was a pianist, who spent a long time on the road as music director for one of the old vocal groups, like The Coasters, or the Platters, Flamingos, Drifters or one of those pop groups? 

[Dan Gould]

4 hours ago, Ted O'Reilly said:

Am I misremembering that George Kelly also was a pianist, who spent a long time on the road as music director for one of the old vocal groups, like The Coasters, or the Platters, Flamingos, Drifters or one of those pop groups? 

He started out playing piano but I don't think he played as a professional. Here's a google book excerpt from a chapter dedicated to him:

https://books.google.com/books?id=iE6NtkNu_yQC&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=george+kelly+and+the+jazz+sultans&source=bl&ots=sqP5cckcQ3&sig=S8B2ZD9TcaP76OJ8NgxsXHnAgvA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjkgu2YuIzUAhUoIpoKHTaOCJ4Q6AEIVDAJ#v=onepage&q=george%20kelly%20and%20the%20jazz%20sultans&f=false