Complete Savoy Sessions
Wilbur Harden was an enigma, a promising trumpet and flügelhorn player who never lived up to his potential. When these sessions were originally issued in 1958, they were released under his name; Coltrane was paid only the nominal session fee of $41.25.So it was in the late 1950s for the man who was soon to become the undisputed chieftain of the tenor sax. But Trane was just one of the many hired guns assembled by Harden to augment him on this set of mostly original compositions. Joining him here on the sessions--issued here in their entirety for the first time--are also, at one time or another,Curtis Fulleron trombone, Howard Williams on piano,Tommy Flanaganon piano, Ali Jackson on bass, Louis Haynes on drums, Arthur Taylor also on drums, and Doug Watkins on bass. The musicians stampede through the sessions with finesse and vigor and nary a hint of chafe. This is classic, '50s postbop in all its frothing glory. Coltrane's work, in particular, is exemplary; this was just prior to the time he achieved supernova status, and one can sense the near-mythic vibes building, not only in the swooping breadth of his soloing on "Wells Fargo--(Take 1)" but on the complex wrangling in "E.F.F.P.H" as well. The other true luminary is Tommy Flanagan, whose Monk-derived work is a gift throughout. Actually, Flanagan bookends the sessions, having been temporarily replaced by Howard Williams in the midst of the recordings; because the tracks are programmed in the exact order they were recorded, a good lump of Williams is spread over both discs. As for Harden, despite the promise he showed as both a bandleader and soloist, he died in obscurity. He never rendered much else, but these sides did show amazing promise. Their reissue is an invaluable addition to the legacy of jazz.--Joe S. Harrington