Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

One of my favorite small-group jazz albums of the mid-1950s is Frank Wess's Trombones & Flute. The album, recorded for Savoy in July 1956, paired Wess on flute with four trombonists—Jimmy Cleveland, Henry Coker, Benny Powell and Bill Hughes. They were backed by Ronnell Bright (p), Freddie Green (g), Eddie Jones (b) and Kenny Clarke (d). The swinging, lyrical arrangements were by Frank Foster.

At the time, Wess, Foster, Coker, Powell, Hughes, Green and Jones were all members of Count Basie's New Testament band while Ronnell Bright would periodically sub for Basie into the 1980s. In 1956, to hold his band together at the dawn of the 12-inch LP era, Basie let his musicians make extra money recording as leaders during the band's down time. 

What we hear on this album is Foster setting Wess aloft on flute while unrolling a thick rubbery trombone cushion underneath. In effect, these are Basie arrangements in miniature. Two of the songs are Foster originals—Lo-Fi and You'll Do—while Wanting You and Don't Blame Me are standards, and Crackerjack is by Coker. 

If you decide to grab this one, you'll want the solo sequencing:

1. Lo-Fi—Hughes, Powell, Cleveland and Coker
2. Wanting You—Wess
3. Don't Blame Me—Hughes
4. Crackerjack—Hughes, Powell, Coker and Cleveland
5. You'll Do—Powell and Coker [Photo above of Ronnell Bright]

The creative album was conceived and produced by Ozzie Cadena (above) and recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, N.J., which happened to be his parents' house. Wess was one of the first musicians to play jazz flute, and his sense of swing on the instrument here is intoxicating. The addition of Green was a nice touch, since he not only adds dimensional time-keeping but also a Basie flavor. What's more, we get to hear sensational trombones as a section and as individual soloists. And Ronnell is flawless as an accompanist and soloist—providing tasteful chords and provocative punctuation.

Frank Foster and Frank Wess (above, left and right) remain unheralded visionaries of big-band and small-group recordings—as reed-section musicians, soloists, leaders and arrangers. Foster died in 2011 and Wess died in 2013.

JazzWax tracks: A great deal here. Frank Wess's Trombones & Flute is available as a download for $4.45 or as a CD for $5.95 here.

JazzWax clips: How good is this album? Dig for yourself:

Here's Lo-Fi...

And here's Wanting You (wait for it to kick in)...

Used with permission by Marc Myers