St. Paul recorder., 1963-01-04
THE WEEK IN
RECORDS
BY ALBERT ANDERSON
Ellis, Jackson Provide Musical
Treata

sence Of really first class seasonal
Christmas music, record fans can
gain no finer reward for time
spent at their stereo sets during
the yuletide holiday than by samp-
ling two fine new releases by
trumpetist Don Ellis and Hbes
king Milt Jackson. These LIPS are
big musical treats and this re-
viewer suggests they be given a
whirl on the turntable.
Starting with Ellis waxing,
here is the weeks fare:
"ESSENCE": - Pacific Jazz
LIP 1861 featuring the Don Ellis
quartet. Tunes: Johnny Come
Lately; SLOW Space; "Ostin-
ato"; Donkey; Form; Angel
Eyes; Irony" Lover" Person
mel: Ellis, trumpet; Paul Bley,
piano; Gary Peacock, bass; Gene
Stone or Nick Martins, drums.
Except for the ballads, Lover"
and Angel Eyes" this set feat
ures a number of artful and i'm
aginative tunes, masterfully inter-
preted and improvised upon by the
talented Ellis and his able side
men, the most outstanding of
which, by way of his unselfish
support to Don's solo flights, is
Peacock The two standards
tunes are easily the top numbers
on the recording, but the others
are also delightful for the special
treatment they receive While
this recording ds essentially a
showcasing of Ellis talent, 1t Is
also a tribute to the cohesiveness
of the quartet, which is never out
of cast with the leader Ellis
most slillful Interpretation Is on
Irony" a slow-paced number, but
he also improvises cleverly on
"Ostinato," and shows his ability
to roam without getting lost" on
the original, Form" He is also
outstanding on the Duke Elling-
toms composition, Johnny Come
Lately" Peacock's greatest con-
tribution here is his fine back
ground playing. while Bley's clever
piano chordings and Stones in
telligent brush work, on drums,
add considerably to the fare t.
Because Of the varied fare and in
terpretations, this set provides
music that Is both lively and in
teresting, and which lacks the US
ual repedtions heard on most Of
recent recordings This is an
outstanding set in every way.
BIG BAGS: - Riverside LIP
(429). Milt Jackson with special
big band. Tunes: "Old Devil
Noon; Round Midnight; THE
Dream Is YOU; You'd Be So
Nice to Come Home To-;
Echoes" IF You Could See Me
Now; "Star Eyes; "Namesake" !;
IF I Should Lose You; Later
Than You Think" Personnel:
Jackson, Virbraphone; Clark Terry,
Ernie Royal, and Nat Adderley or
Doc Severinsen or Smoky Young
Bernie Glow, trumpets; Melba Lis
ton and Jimmy Cleveland or Paul
Faulise or Tom Mcintosh, from
bones; Willie Ruff, French horn,
Jerome Richardson, James Moody,
Jimmy Heath, and George Dorsey
Earl Warren, Arthur Clarke or
Tate Houston, saxophones; Hank
Jones, piano; Ron Carter, bass;
Philly Joe Jones or Connie Kay,
drums.
Milt is not only in big band set
ting on this set but he Is In fast
company, with such outstanding
musicians as Terry, Royal, Ad-
derley, Moody, Warren and Philly
Joe Jones Actually, though
the band is heard at full strength
only on 'Namesake," when II
really takes off, swinwise
Otherwise, the band settles down
to providing the vehicle for Jack
sons musical outpouring Milt
plays medium to slow ballads in q
most delightful manner He
uses the pedals constantly to en-
rich his renditions with the golden
tones that Is always a feature Of
his playing My choice Of the
top tune Is "Star Eyes, but there
are several other pleasant moments
in the repertoire, as such ever.
greens as The Dream" $50 Nice
" and "Old Devil Moon," are
given wonderful treatment.
From the bands emphasis or
the horns, particularly the trum'
pets, one would think this woult
resolve into a brassy session
But nothing Is further from the
truth The power of the bant
is completely harnessed and made
complimentary to Jaclson'S finC
solos II you like music playet