The Complete Pablo Group Masterpieces
The greatest jazz stars of the '40s and '50s era converged upon Los Angeles over a two-year period (1954-56), each beckoned by Norman Granz for the purpose of this series of ad hoc group recordings with pianist Art Tatum. Granz's penchant for the preservation of the most splendid jazz of the century was palpable in his call and the motive force behind the wide summons. Among those responding wereBen Webster,Buddy DeFranco,Coleman Hawkins,Roy Eldridge,Lionel Hampton,Harry Edison,Louie Bellson, and so many more that the full list is almost stupefying. Clearly Art Tatum was the magnet that drew these big stars together for Granz to cut recordings, a project that such an impresario could only have envisioned in some utopian flight. Each fellow jazz scion was drawn by the honor of being Tatum's accompaniment, preserving their turns at the helm with the keyboard's master. Like thePablo Solo Masterpieces, the selections here are all well known and therefore not just some trendy set of bop riffs made for this gig as a one-off occasion, never to be heard again. DeFranco's clarinet can only be described as seductive on the old Rudy Vallee number "Deep Night." Several cuts strip down to feature Tatum's piano with only Red Callender (bass) and Jo Jones (drums). This trio's take on "Some Other Spring" stands out, reviving for the moment the bestBillie Holidayballad ever reduced to wax. Then there are the other trim trios, with Benny Carter on alto sax and Bellson on drums for 14 tunes and Hampton on vibes and Buddy Rich on drums for almost 20 tunes. Never mind the quartets (Eldridge, John Simmons, and Alvin Stoller on one; Webster, Callender, and Bill Douglass on another), which feature dynamic interplay between the horns and Tatum. For the last chapter in Tatum's piano, the Pablo series cannot be passed by. This is the sine qua non of any serious jazz collection.--Daniel Bartlett Jr.