Sonny Stitt - Deuces Wild

Sonny Stitt's 1967 Atlantic LP Deuces Wild found him in the familiar company of organist Don Patterson and drummer Billy James.

For the most part this is a typical tenor sax/organ date, but the participation of alto saxophonist Robin Kenyatta on the two original tunes he contributed takes the album into hard bop territory. There's also one track with Rufus Harley on bagpipes, definitely an acquired taste.

Although this album is billed as "Introducing Robin Kenyatta" this may not be his first recorded work. His discography lists earlier appearances on Atlantic LPs by pianist Valerie Capers and trombonist Roswell Rudd.

One of the Kenyatta originals on Deuces Wild is In the Bag, which was paired with the title tune on a promotional single for jazz DJs. Both tunes were severely shortened from the album versions.

Here's the version of In the Bag from the single.



Deuces Wild was released on CD in 2001 by Collectables Jazz Classics. It's still in print and available from Oldies.com at a reasonable price. The album is also easily obtained as a download from many sources.

From YouTube here's the title tune from Deuces Wild.

Hank Mobley - Goin' Out of My Head (single)

This 45 was issued by Blue Note in 1968 to promote Hank Mobley's LP Reach Out. The album was the bop saxophonist's not altogether successful attempt to court a wider audience by covering a couple of R&B and pop tunes.

The LP took its name from a cover of the Four Tops hit Reach Out, I'll Be There, which was the "A" side of the Goin' Out of My Head single.

The two tracks on the single have been drastically shortened from the album cuts, so if jazz takes on R&B hits are your thing, buy the album, which is easily obtainable either on CD or via download. In the meantime, here's the shortened 45 version of Goin' Out of My Head.

Goin' Out of My Head



Although Reach Out was somewhat of a misfire musically, it's not the disaster painted by many jazz critics and others who view themselves as jazz purists. They would do well to remember that jazz was once popular music and to have a musician such as Mobley attempt to regain the genre's wider audience is no sin.

Finally, here's the full LP version of Reach Out, I'll Be There.

Duke Pearson - The Phantom

This 1968 Blue Note release by pianist and arranger Duke Pearson (1932-1980) is one of his best. Strangely, it's also one of his least known, perhaps partly because of its limited availability in the digital age.

This post-bop recording of Pearson's complex arrangements came after he led a big band for an extended period. The nine-member group, including the leader on piano, Jerry Dodgion on flute and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, packs quite a wallop.

Blues for Alvina is the shortest and most laid-back track on the album.

Blues for Alvina



The Phantom had a brief CD release in 2004 and the prices for the few remaining copies available will make your eyes pop. A 180-gram vinyl reissue is also available. Prices for that are north of $30. The album isn't offered as a download.

Since The Phantom is so difficult to obtain at an affordable price, here, from YouTube, is the 10-minute title track.

In the Beginning...Bebop

Three leaders -- trombonist Kai Winding, trumpeter Fats Navarro and tenor saxophonist Brew Moore -- contribute four tracks each to this compilation on the Savoy label that documents the early days of the jazz style known as bebop.

Some of the performances, recorded between 1946 and 1948, are a bit raw and the recording quality is not all that it might be, but there's no denying the excitement this music generated. For me saxophonist Moore, with the help of pianist Gene DiNovi, comes off best with his more laid-back performances.

Moore (1924-1973), who was heavily influenced by Lester Young, never changed his style of playing throughout his entire career. Unfortunately that cool style went out of favour and he spent the last dozen years of his life in Europe. Here, then, is a sampling of that style from 1948.

Blue Brew

In the Beginning...Bebop was first issued by Savoy on LP in 1957. There was a 1994 CD reissue that is now out of print. However, used copies are available at a reasonable price in the Amazon Marketplace. Individual tracks from this collection may be available as downloads, but the album itself is not.

To finish things off here's a recent YouTube posting of Five Planets in Leo, from a 1956 performance by the Brew Moore Quartet.