Frank Wess: Magic 201

IPO Recordings
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Magic 201

I reviewed a wonderful IPO album a few months back: Frank Wess’ Magic 101. I stated that it was the best jazz record I’d heard that year. Well, thanks to splendid foresight, Magic 201 was recorded during that same session ... and it’s every bit as sensational as its predecessor. 

The cast of artists has changed slightly, but the result still is some of the best music you’ve ever heard. Wess plays both tenor sax and flute; Kenny Barron returns on piano, and Winard Harper repeats on drums. They’re joined by bassist Rufus Reid and guitarist Russell Malone. Once again, the selected menu includes some wonderful standards (“It Could Happen to You,” “After Paris” and others), and a couple of Wess originals (“Blues for Ruby” and “If You Can’t Call, Don’t Come”). It’s all danceable; two of the charts are mid-tempo, while the rest are ballads.

Wess demonstrates his chops as a flautist on Bergman and Legrand’s “The Summer Knows”; he uses his tenor sax on the rest of the tunes. In all cases, his gorgeous tone and marvelous timing are to die for. As for his forays into the blues, nothing could groove more intently. Barron’s piano is superior, as always; Reid’s bass is solid; and Harper’s drumming is just wonderful ... swinging, but never getting in the way of the other artists. 

The addition of Malone on guitar is brilliant; this “relative youngster” fits into the group splendidly, and more than holds his own during the solo passages.

Let’s hope IPO has additional Magic chapters to lay on us, in the near future.

Frank Wess: Magic 101

IPO Recordings
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Magic 101

Every true jazz fan, particularly those who were part of the big band years, is familiar with Frank Wess. This tenor sax master was born in Oklahoma, all the way back in 1922, and he’s still active ... as this wonderful album clearly demonstrates. 

Wess began his music career in high school, initially playing tenor sax and classical music; he turned to jazz after his family relocated to Washington, D.C. He was playing with big bands by the time he turned 19. After an interruption for World War II service, he joined Billy Eckstine’s band, returned to school at D.C.’s Modern School of Music, and earned a degree in flute. He was hired by Count Basie in 1953, an association lasted until 1964: an almost unprecedented period of time for a jazz musician.

Not many reed artists doubled on flute during those early years, and Wess won Downbeat’s critic poll for that instrument from 1959 through ’64. He also added the alto sax to his horn arsenal during that period.

It’s difficult to cite a band that Wess hasn’t played with. Clark Terry, Roland Hanna, Kenny Baron, Rufus Reid, Buck Clayton, Benny Carter, Billy Taylor and Louis Bellson are just a few leaders to benefit from his talents; he also was in backup groups for vocalists such as Ernestine Anderson and Mel Torme. Wess is and always has been, to borrow the familiar phrase, a “musician’s musician.”

From a talent standpoint, he’s ageless. Most artists get stuck in a time slot: They’re remembered for how great they were during a particular period. That’s not the case with Wess; as jazz has advanced over the years, so has he. Although still famous for his association with Basie, Wess also is noted for his contributions to modernists such as John Coltrane, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Thad Jones and John Pizzarelli.

This album mostly features Wess with a “small jazz” group: a quartet that features pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Kenny Davis, and drummer Winard Harper. The menu primarily comprises melodies from the Great American Songbook and elite composers: Irving Berlin, Ray Noble, Mercer & Arlen, Robin & Ranger, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. For good measure, Wess includes one of his own compositions, “Pretty Lady.” 

The opening standard, Berlin’s “Say It Isn’t So,” is done at a sinuous mid-tempo that showcases Wess’ masterful tenor sax work, and illustrates just what pure jazz really is. This album’s rendition of Noble’s “The Very Thought of You” is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard, and it perfectly sets the stage for the aforementioned “Pretty Lady.” These two ballads demand a few more “dance with me” melodies, and Wess obliges with “Come Rain or Come Shine” and “Easy Living.” By this time, you won’t want to let go of your significant other; Wess further amplifies that mood with the grooving “Blue Monk” and, finally, Ellington’s seldom-heard “All Too Soon.”

Wess is in his 90s, and one can only hope he lives forever. This is, simply, the best jazz album I’ve heard in years. Don’t miss it! 

The Paul Meyers Quartet: The Paul Meyers Quartet

Mile High Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 6.3.10
Buy CD: The Paul Meyers Quartet

Guitarist Paul Meyers is another “stealth” musician. He plays steadily in the New York area, and has supported a number of name artists, but isn't well known to the general public.

Tenor saxman/flutist Frank Wess is a polar opposite; he's 88 years old and has been a sideman with everybody. You name the band, and he played in it. (I first heard him with the Count Basie band in the 1950s.) Wess is another reed player who, as the years have passed, gained more fame as a flutist than as a tenor sax artist.

He plays both on this album, and in both cases he's another senior citizen who still swings. A lot.

This is a smooth, relaxing album. Meyers and Wess are joined by Martin Wind (acoustic bass) and Tony Jefferson (drums); vocalist Andy Bey pops up on one track. The album features three originals — two by Meyers, one by Wess — and the remaining tracks are covers of some wonderful old standards that aren't often performed: “I Cover the Waterfront,” “My One and Only Love,” “Lazy Afternoon,” “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” and a few others.

The track list also includes a Billy Strayhorn tune (“Snibor”) that I hadn't heard before.

And they're all performed beautifully.

This group would be great in a jazz lounge setting, or as background music while you're reading or working around the house.

Various Artists: One More — The Summary Music of Thad Jones, Vol. 2

IPO
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.3.07
Buy CD: One More: The Summary Music of Thad Jones, Vol. 2

Many famous jazz artists are named Jones, but one family stands out for having produced three brothers who became giants: Thad was the trumpet player, Hank was the pianist and Elvin was the drummer. 

This album, the second with this group released by IPO, features Hank's piano and Thad's compositions. 

Born in the mid- to late 1920s, they were key members of the group of musicians who created the "East Coast sound" that ruled jazz from the 1940s through the '70s. Although Dizzy Gillespie was the trumpet player whom everyone emulated, Thad Jones wasn't far behind, as far as popularity in the jazz fraternity was concerned. Aside from playing wonderfully, he was a prolific composer and arranger. 

Thad Jones was a key member of the Count Basie orchestra; after Basie's death, he took over the group and kept it active for a number of years. In later years, he was part of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. Jones lived in Denmark for several years and played a key role in the development of jazz in that country. 

The musicians featured on this CD are from the Who's Who list that made that period so great. The reed section consists of Eddie Davis, Benny Golson, James Moody and Frank Wess; the rhythm section features Hank Jones on piano, Kenny Washington on drums, and Richard Davis on bass; and the brass section includes Jimmy Owens on trumpet and John Mosca on trombone. 

This isn't modern jazz, but it is the best retro album to come along in years. Volume I, released a few years ago, was a smash hit; Volume II matches it. 

Because the tunes are Thad Jones originals, their titles won't ring any bells unless you're a "remember when" jazz fan. Suffice it to say, they all swing ... and I'd forgotten how great jazz flutist by Frank Wess was; his instrument really moves me. 

IPO is to congratulated for this album, and it's a handsome CD package, as well.