A
great album with backing from legends…an all-star band…
all major figures in jazz… fascinating… fabulous…
ace band is clearly inspired… a treasure trove."
– J.R. TAYLOR - NEW YORK PRESS
About the sessions with Joe Albany: "A duet
in the classical sense of the word." – JOSÉ
FERRER
"…amazing work from the pioneering bop
pianist Albany. It's fascinating to hear the fabulous abandon that
got Albany fired by the likes of Charles Mingus and Billie Holiday…
'bop fans really need to hear this record… this has to be
heard.'" – NEW YORK PRESS - J.R. TAYLOR
read
the full review on NYPress.com
The
Musicians
Sid Eden - vocals & piano Joe Albany - piano Dave Schnitter - tenor sax Zoot Sims - tenor sax Clark Terry - trumpet Jimmy Raney - guitar Stosh McGlaughlin - piano & arrangements Richard Davis - bass Mel Lewis - drums
About the CD Then & Now:
Were
it not for the encouragement of Joe Derise, one of the greatest
singers of good songs, the 1968 session with Zoot, Clark Terry,
et. al., would never have happened. Derise, likewise, produced the
1984 dates with Joe Albany, the final recorded legacy of this oft-mentioned,
rarely-recorded pianist who died four years later and had the unfair
distinction of being fired by Billie, Bird, Prez and Mingus, the
probable reason being that he played "too much." Albany
was self-effacing, but it was only a mask. The subject of two documentary
films which focused on his drug addiction (films from which he received
bobkes), he quoted freely from Shakespeare, read Proust and knew
a zillion tunes
and who wrote them. When he died, newspapers on both Coasts and
in-between printed extensive obituaries. They should long ago have
given him $100,000 a year and the Presidential Medal of Honor for
he was the link between Nat Cole and the Teddy Wilson-style and
Bud Powell and Bebop and he died broke. Our goal was to form
a true classical duo, a 50-50 give-and-take which might sound foreign
to devotees of Doris Day (or, even, Ella) with Andre Previn.
DE GUSTIBAS NON EST DISPUTANDUM. Accompanying myself on the
21st Century NOW sessions, I'm joined on the final date by Dave
Schnitter, virtuoso tenor saxophonist. Schnitter began his career
with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and has since become an internationally-recognized
Master, with many CD's and records to his credit. MONACO,
played and sung superbly by Joe Derise, was developed from an idea
by Johnny Napton, who had a hit in the '40's with MY DEVOTION.
With the title and the first couple of measures, the composer, Alonzo
Levister and I wrote a new song. Anyone familiar with the real Prince
Albert, you know how to reach me. S.E.
The Songs
Some Fine Day
I'm Stepping Out With A Memory Tonight
What Do You Think I Am?
The Moon Looks Down & Laughs
Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good To You?
Slumming on Park Avenue
Everybody Knew But Me
Isn't This A Lovely Day?
When In Rome
Angel Eyes
Stompin' At The Savoy
Dreamsville
I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
Why Try To Change Me Now
You Turned The Tables On Me
Old, Old, Friends
Everything Happens To Me
I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco
Lush Life
(Our) Love !s Here To Stay
To play the music sample files Flash Player 7 is needed.
A
great album with backing from legends…an all-star band…
all major figures in jazz… fascinating… fabulous…
ace band is clearly inspired… a treasure trove."
– J.R. TAYLOR - NEW YORK PRESS
The
Musicians
Were
it not for the encouragement of Joe Derise, one of the greatest
singers of good songs, the 1968 session with Zoot, Clark Terry,
et. al., would never have happened. Derise, likewise, produced the
1984 dates with Joe Albany, the final recorded legacy of this oft-mentioned,
rarely-recorded pianist who died four years later and had the unfair
distinction of being fired by Billie, Bird, Prez and Mingus, the
probable reason being that he played "too much." Albany
was self-effacing, but it was only a mask. The subject of two documentary
films which focused on his drug addiction (films from which he received
bobkes), he quoted freely from Shakespeare, read Proust and knew
a zillion tunes
and who wrote them. When he died, newspapers on both Coasts and
in-between printed extensive obituaries. They should long ago have
given him $100,000 a year and the Presidential Medal of Honor for
he was the link between Nat Cole and the Teddy Wilson-style and
Bud Powell and Bebop and he died broke. Our goal was to form
a true classical duo, a 50-50 give-and-take which might sound foreign
to devotees of Doris Day (or, even, Ella) with Andre Previn.
DE GUSTIBAS NON EST DISPUTANDUM. Accompanying myself on the
21st Century NOW sessions, I'm joined on the final date by Dave
Schnitter, virtuoso tenor saxophonist. Schnitter began his career
with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and has since become an internationally-recognized
Master, with many CD's and records to his credit. MONACO,
played and sung superbly by Joe Derise, was developed from an idea
by Johnny Napton, who had a hit in the '40's with MY DEVOTION.
With the title and the first couple of measures, the composer, Alonzo
Levister and I wrote a new song. Anyone familiar with the real Prince
Albert, you know how to reach me. S.E.
