Jazz

Rex Stewart & Dickie Wells – Chatter Jazz (1959)

2021-03-23T09:26:37Z

Rex Stewart & Dickie Wells – Chatter Jazz (1959)


A1		Little Sir Echo	2:30
A2		Together	2:11
A3		Let's Call The Whole Thing Off	2:20
A4		Gimme A Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?	2:11
A5		Show Me The Way To Go Home	3:04
A6		Frankie And Johnny	2:17
B1		Let's Do It	2:50
B2		I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful)	3:07
B3		Thou Swell	2:02
B4		Side By Side	2:40
B5		Ain't We Got Fun	2:47
B6		Jeepers Creepers	2:27

Bass – Leonard Gaskin
Cornet – Rex Stewart
Drums – Charlie Masterpaolo
Piano – John Bunch
Trombone – Dickie Wells

These 1959 sessions paired two potent soloists, trumpeter Rex Stewart (an alum of Duke Ellington's band) and trombonist Dicky Wells (a veteran of Count Basie's orchestra). Backed by pianist John Bunch, bassist Leonard Gaskin, and drummer Charlie Masterpaolo, the two horn players exchange ideas through a series of "conversations" utilizing various mutes, never going for very long without giving time to the other. These friendly studio dates are somewhat low-key but consistently swinging; the only drawback is that the tracks are rather brief, with only two of the 12 songs exceeding three minutes. Highlights include their humorous exchanges in "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and "Show Me the Way to Go Home" (featuring some fine stride piano by Bunch). This long unavailable RCA Victor LP is extremely hard to find. ---Ken Dryden, allmusic.com

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Rex Stewart - Rex Stewart And The Ellingtonians (1940)

2018-10-04T11:26:07Z

Rex Stewart - Rex Stewart And The Ellingtonians (1940)


A1 	Solid Rock
A2 	Bugle Call Rag
A3 	Cherry
A4 	Diga Diga Doo
B1 	Flim-Flam
B2 	Blues Kicked The Bucket
B3 	Madeline
B4 	Loopin' Lobo
B5 	A Woman's Got A Right To Change Her Mind
B6 	Departure From Dixie

Alto Saxophone – Otto Hardwick (tracks: B5, B6)
Baritone Saxophone – Harry Carney (tracks: B5, B6)
Bass – Billy Taylor (tracks: B5, B6), John Levy (tracks: B1 to B4), Wellman Braud (tracks: A1 to A4)
Clarinet – Barney Bigard (tracks: A1 to A4)
Cornet – Rex Stewart (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Drums – Cozy Cole (tracks: B1 to B4), Dave Tough (tracks: A1 to A4), Shelley Manne (tracks: B5, B6)
Guitar – Brick Fleagle (tracks: A1 to A4)
Piano – Billy Kyle (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4), Jimmy Jones (tracks: B5, B6)
Tenor Saxophone – Ted Nash (tracks: B5, B6)
Trombone – Lawrence Brown (tracks: A1 to A4, B5, B6)
Trumpet – Joe Thomas (tracks: B5, B6)

This CD reissue has the music from three unrelated sessions. Most valuable are four titles from 1940 that clock in around four minutes (rather than three) apiece and match cornetist Rex Stewart with fellow Ellingtonians (trombonist Lawrence Brown, clarinetist Barney Bigard, and Duke's former bassist Wellman Braud) in addition to pianist Billy Kyle, guitarist Brick Fleagle, and drummer Dave Tough. Their versions of "Bugle Call Rag" and "Diga Diga Doo" are quite exciting. There are also four titles (all Stewart originals) from 1946 that showcase the cornetist in a quartet with pianist Kyle, bassist John Levy, and drummer Cozy Cole. Ironically, the last two songs (also from 1946) are from a session without Rex that was led by pianist Jimmy Jones and included some more of Duke's men (past and present): trombonist Brown, altoist Otto Hardwick, baritonist Harry Carney, and bassist Billy Taylor (in addition to trumpeter Joe Thomas, Ted Nash on tenor, and drummer Shelly Manne). Overall, the music (small-group swing) is quite enjoyable, and these underrated titles are well-worth picking up by mainstream collectors. ---Scott Yanow, AllMusic Review

Rex Stewart (1907–1967) was an American jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra.

After stints with Elmer Snowden, Fletcher Henderson, Horace Henderson, McKinney's Cotton Pickers, and Luis Russell, Stewart joined the Ellington band in 1934. Ellington arranged many of his pieces to showcase Stewart's half-valve effects, muted sound, and forceful style.

Stewart co-wrote "Boy Meets Horn" and "Morning Glory" while with Ellington, and frequently supervised outside recording sessions by members of the Ellington band. After eleven years Stewart left to lead his own groups. He also toured Europe and Australia with Jazz at the Philharmonic from 1947 to 1951. From the early 1950s on he worked in radio and television and published highly regarded jazz criticism. Jazz Masters of the Thirties is a selection of his criticism. ---jazzmusicarchives.com

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Rex Stewart - That's Rhythm (1944)

2019-08-20T13:14:24Z

Rex Stewart - That's Rhythm (1944)


1 	–Rex Stewart 	The Little Goose 	3:52
2 	–Rex Stewart 	I'm True To You 	3:45
3 	–Rex Stewart 	Zaza 	4:03
4 	–Rex Stewart 	Swamp Mist 	4:40
5 	–Rex Stewart 	Tain't Like That 	2:59
6 	–Rex Stewart 	Dutch Treat 	3:00
7 	–Rex Stewart 	Pawnee 	2:44
8 	–Rex Stewart 	Three-Horn Parlay 	2:40
9 	–Rex Stewart 	Dreamer's Blues 	2:55
10 	–Rex Stewart 	Shady Side Of The Street 	3:10
11 	–Rex Stewart 	Boy Meets Horn 	3:02
12 	–Rex Stewart 	Jug Blues 	2:51
13 	–Rex Stewart 	B. O. Blues 	2:46
14 	–Rex Stewart 	That's Rhythm 	2:48
15 	–Rex Stewart 	Rexercise 	2:55

Rex Stewart 	Cornet, Primary Artist, Vocals
Buster Bailey 	Clarinet
Danny Barker 	Guitar
Earl Bostic 	Sax (Alto)
Lawrence Brown 	Trombone
Harry Carney 	Clarinet, Reeds, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone)
Pete Clarke 	Bass, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor)
Cozy Cole 	Drums
Mike Colucchio 	Piano
Brick Fleagle 	Guitar
Al Gibson 	Clarinet
Tyree Glenn 	Trombone, Vibraphone
Johnny Guarnieri 	Piano
Buster Harding 	Piano
J.C. Heard 	Drums
Eddie Heywood 	Piano
Milt Hinton 	Bass
Johnny Hodges 	Reeds
Hilton Jefferson 	Clarinet, Sax (Alto)
Jonah Jones 	Trumpet
Ulysses Livingston 	Guitar
Wilson Myers 	Bass, Vocals
Bazeley Perry 	Drums
Keg Purnell 	Drums
William Purnell 	Drums
Ike Quebec 	Sax (Tenor)
Junior Raglin 	Bass
Dave Rivera 	Piano
Cecil Scott 	Baritone, Bass, Sax (Tenor)
Al Sears 	Sax (Tenor)
Stafford Simon 	Trumpet
Tab Smith 	Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Sid Weiss 	Bass
Sandy Williams 	Trombone

This release is part of a massive set of compilations of jazz from the past issued by the German History label. This two-CD set focuses on two pre-bop trumpet masters, Rex Stewart and Jonah Jones, compiling records they made from 1944 through 1946 for a variety of labels. Stewart liked to experiment with his cornet, creating different sounds. He popularized the half-valve technique and was quite adept at playing just his valve. Both are employed on "Jug Blues," backing the rough-and-ready vocalizing of bass player Wilson Myers. "I'm True to You" is where Stewart employs the melodic swinging that helped to propel such orchestras as Fletcher Henderson's, Lionel Hampton's, and especially Duke Ellington's. One of the tunes Stewart brought with him when he left Ellington, "Swamp Mist," is a premiere track. Otherwise forgettable novelty tunes, such as "B.O. Blues," are worthy of a listen due to Stewart's strong horn playing. Although Jones is shown as the leader of each of the three sessions on the CD, the July 1945 was Milt Hinton's. Jones is content to rely on a no-tricks swinging approach to a play list of primarily swing tunes, some head arrangements, some Jones originals, and familiar pieces. A treat is a rare alto sax soloing from one of the unsung sidemen of jazz, Hilton Jefferson. He and Jones combine on the lovely ballad "Just Like a Butterfly." "Rose of the Rio Grande" is given a going over. This tune was a favorite of several top performers during the '40s. It stayed in Duke Ellington's band book for more than 20 years. Jones arguably had the more highly charged group of musicians with him, and though they swing, the performances seem stiff and contrived compared to Stewart's, which stay nice and loose. While neither Stewart nor Jones were jazz pioneers as this album reveals, they made valuable contributions to the jazz musical literature. ---Dave Nathan, AllMusic Review

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