Curtis Fuller Blue Notes

[undergroundagent]

Hey Folks,

I just got the three Japanese albums available ("Opener," "Bone & Bari," & "Vol. 3"). This is simply fantastic music. Fuller is a truly underrated jazz performer.

Any thoughts?

Edited March 10, 2004 by undergroundagent

[Gary]

I have the Fueller Mosaic - its great.

I especially love Hank Mobleys work on the 'The Opener'.

[king ubu]

Another lucky owner of the Mosaic!

What I like about these records is also the front-lines: tenor/trombone is by far the most conventional. The trombone/bari and two trombone frontlines are great!

And of course you get some Sonny Clark, which is always a good thing!

ubu

[jlhoots]

One of my favorite Mosaic sets.

[Soulstation1]

any favorite songs or solos?

ss1

[couw]

any favorite songs or solos?

ss1

Quantrale from Vol. 3

I only have a TOCJ of Vol. 3. Maybe one day, the others will come my way.

[Chrome]

My only set with him as a leader is also "Vol. 3" ... "Carvon" is a great cut from that disc. Although I never had anything against trombone jazz, it was this disc that made me an actual fan of it.

He's a sideman on a number of CDs that I really enjoy, too, including "Blue Train," "Indestructible," "Groovin' with Golson," etc.

[brownie]

The Curtis Fuller BNs are great but don't overlook the three albums he recorded for Prestige/New Jazz just before the BNs. Best one is 'New Trombone' with Sonny Red Kyner, Hank Jones, Doug Watkins and Louis Hayes. This and the other two are just as good as the Blue Note albums.

If the rumors of Fantasy being sold materialize, these may be hard to get very soon!

[Brad]

I like these but they don't overpower me. I like the ones Brownie referred to a lot better. I also find his work at BN better as a sideman than a lead.

[BruceH]

The Curtis Fuller BNs are great but don't overlook the three albums he recorded for Prestige/New Jazz just before the BNs. Best one is 'New Trombone' with Sonny Red Kyner, Hank Jones, Doug Watkins and Louis Hayes. This and the other two are just as good as the Blue Note albums.

If the rumors of Fantasy being sold materialize, these may be hard to get very soon!

Yes! He also did some nice albums for Savoy, such as Blues-ette and Imagination (can't remember the names of the others).

Underground---glad you got those albums. The Mosaic's OOP, but this stuff is great music, should be kept in print perennially somehow. Fuller is "THE MAN"---I don't think he ever made a bad album. And how about his work with the Jazz Messengers?

[AmirBagachelles]

Those sessions are absolutely great. And the Jazz Messengers records he made are wonderful as well. I remember playing that Mosaic set the first few times as well, I was really blown away.

[JohnT]

The Mosaic set is one of my favorites too!! Don't miss his latest CD "Up Jumped Spring" on Delmark with Brad Goode recorded in 2003. It smokes!!!

[BFrank]

I had picked up the Fuller Mosaic because it was going OOP and it was affordable. Glad I did. Quite a range of styles and tunes here - all of them entertaining.

[undergroundagent]

Thanks for the encouraging comments everyone.

I was thinking like the "Album of the Week" thread, we should also get an "Artsits of the Week" thread started up. There's so many under-appreciated jazz musicians, and even producers, that deserve their own threads.

What does everyone think?

[BruceH]

I think "YES!" Good idea. Fuller would be a good artist to highlight in such a way because a lot of people seem to like him, but he rarely gets talked about.

[Shrdlu]

He is outstanding! I have never heard him sound bad on any session.

As well as the fine albums mentioned so far, don't forget the Savoy albums. I have pretty well all, and they are superb, too. They are not as easy to find as the others.

Where is the thread about Fantasy being bought out? As soon as I heard that, I thought the same as you, Brownie: "Uh, oh, the constant availabilty of the Prestige, Riverside and other material may soon come to an end." We have relied on this for years, and bought BN and other CDs instead, but we may have to scramble to get those albums that "I can always pick up later ..."

[Brad]

Shrdlu,

See this link about the possible Fantasy sale.