Beegie Adair and Don Aliquo: Too Marvelous for Words

Adair Music Group
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Too Marvelous for Words

Those old enough to remember the jazz scene in the late 1940s and ’50s know what it was like to enjoy the music that was being played on the countless radio stations and clubs that operated in every big city across the United States. Quite a few of the artists who were part of that kind of jazz — or influenced by it — are still active today. Tenor/alto sax player Don Aliquo and pianist Beegie Adair are two examples, and they’ve gotten together for this album.

Adair is the senior member here. Born in 1937 in Kentucky, she began to play piano at age 5; after obtaining a college degree, she moved to Nashville and became a session musician. Not many can say they’ve played with a range of singers such as Peggy Lee, Cass Elliot, Dinah Shore and Dolly Parton.  

Adair and her husband anchored their own trio, and over the years produced scores of albums.

Aliquo, born in Pittsburgh in 1960, worked there until 1999, when he moved to Nashville. He soon met and performed with Beegie, but this is the first album they’ve made together; they’re joined by bassist Roger Spencer and drummer Chris Brown (Adair’s regular trio members).

Jazz fans who still love 1950s stylings will enjoy this release. Most of the 10 tracks hail from the Great American Songbook, and only one — “Isfahan” — was written later than 1952. You’ll certainly recognize all of them.

Aliquo is a smooth artist who plays in the style of Stan Getz and Ted Nash. Adair is another Marian McPartland, but swings more. As a team, Aliquo and Adair groove nicely.

This is a wonderful trip to the past: more than an hour of melodies you enjoyed then, and will want to hear again and again.

Don Aliquo/Clay Jenkins Quintet: New Ties and Binds

Self-produced
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: New Ties and Binds

As the title of this release implies, we’re not dealing with any standards on this session. All the charts are by members of the quintet: Tenor saxman Don Aliquo wrote four, while his colleagues — trumpeter Clay Jenkins, pianist Harold Danko, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Jim White — each contributed one. 

Each musician’s resume could fill an entire page. Jenkins has worked with Harry James, Buddy Rich, Count Basie and the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Danko has supported Woody Herman, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and myriad groups led by icons such as Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz and Chet Baker. Reid has been part of units fronted by Art Farmer, Stan Getz and Jack DeJohnette. With respect to Australian-born White, it’s easier to say, “You name an Aussie group; he played with them.” Aliquo, finally, is a well-known sideman and teacher in the Tennessee area.

This quintet’s style is complex straight-ahead: The melodic lines, chords and key-changes keep the artists and listeners on their toes. The various arrangements’ unison sections must have been written, as they’re too complicated to commit to memory.

Most of the charts are mid- to up-tempo, and they all swing nicely. Reid deserves much of the credit; some bassists may play more creative solos, but none is more steady. Additionally, Reid is a great “producer,” meaning that he has a great talent for getting the most out of any group with which he plays.

All in all, this is an intriguing and engaging album. Give it a shot.