JazzWax

Crown Sessions: Buddy Collette & Teddy Edwards

The West Coast produced a sizable number of gifted jazz tenor saxophonists in the late 1940s and '50s who either were born there or settled there. Among them were Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Bill Holman, Harold Land, Bill Perkins, Bob Cooper and Jack Montrose. Two other exceptional West Coasters were Buddy Collette and Teddy Edwards. A new album from Fresh Sound features both artists leading separate quartets for Crown Records.

Buddy was an accomplished and prolific multi-instrumentalist who recorded as a leader and a sideman and appeared on many Hollywood pop recording sessions, including those by Frank Sinatra. Teddy Edwards also worked steadily, composed and was the first saxophonist in the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet in 1954. [Photo above of Buddy Collette]

What gave these two their "jump" were gigs in the mid- and late 1940s in R&B bands and orchestras and Los Angeles bebop groups. Many of the clubs on L.A.'s Central Avenue sought out players who could solo for extended periods and thrill audiences. [Photo above of Teddy Edwards]

Crown Records was a subsidiary of the Modern label run by Saul, Jules and Joe Bihari. Why did two superb players wind up on a budget label? Probably because the Bihari brothers let them record what they wanted. By the late 1950s, other labels were either pop-minded or jazz specialists run by founders with a vision and under pressure to turn a profit.

This album features both Buddy and Edwards in a freewheeling jump-blues groove with a bop overlay. The music is superb all the way through. Uniting the musicians' Crown recordings on a single CD was very clever by Fresh Sound's Jordi Pujol.

The tracks:

1. What's Up?
2. Hideaway
3. Reunion
4. Joggin'
5. Evergreen
6. Bye Bye
7. The Groove
8. Lucky Me
9. Miss Beat
10. The Grind Part 1
11. The Grind Part 2
12. Across Town

(1-8) The Buddy Collette Quartet, with Buddy Collette (ts), Gerald Wiggins (p), Joe Comfort (b) and Bill Douglass (d)

(9-12) The Teddy Edwards Quartet, with Teddy Edwards (ts), Joe Castro (p), Leroy Vinnegar (b) and Billy Higgins (d)

As you listen, pay careful attention to the the pianists—Wiggins and Castro. Both are superb here.

Buddy Collette died in 2010 at age 89; Teddy Edwards died in 2003 at age 78.

Note: To read Part 1 of my five-part interview with Buddy Collette, go here (a link to additional parts can be found above the red date at the top).

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Buddy Collette and Teddy Edwards Quartets: The Crown Sessions (Fresh Sound) here.

If you buy, don't forget to use the code (JAZZWAX_DISCOUNT) to cut your price by 8%.

JazzWax clips: Here's the Buddy Collette Quartet playing Hideaway...

Hideaway

And here's the Teddy Edwards Quartet playing Miss Beat...

Miss Beat

John Fedchock: 'Justifiably J.J.' (2024)

Back in June, I reviewed trombonist Nick Finzer's tribute to trombonist J.J. Johnson, with Renee Rosnes on piano, Rufus Reid on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. Now John Fedchock, another terrific trombonist, has released his own salute to Johnson.

The album is Justifiably J.J., and features pianist Steve Allee, bassist Jeremy Allen and drummer Sean Dobbins. Recorded live at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, Ind., the album has a studio sound, with the audience in the distance.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, John joined Woody Herman's band in 1980 and was the band's featured soloist. He arranged and went on tour with Gerry Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band, the Louie Bellson Big Band, the Bob Belden Ensemble, the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra, the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. He also has performed at jazz festivals and concert halls around the world in small groups and his big band. [Photo of John Fedchock]

On his new album, John showcases Johnson's fat tone and pushy attack; Allee is spectacular on piano, gliding around effortlessly; Allen's bass is big and pronounced in the ensemble and on solos; and Dobbins' drums are crisp and alive. All of the album's songs are by Johnson except Lullaby of Jazzland, which was by Manny Albam.

The Tracks:

• Naptown USA
• Short Cake
• Lullaby of Jazzland
• Kenya
• Say When
• Lament
• Minor Mist
• Ten 85

A beautiful tribute from start to finish of a singular soloist who came up in the bebop era and always sounded like he was moving furniture around a room to create the most exquisite interior. Kudos to John for celebrating J.J. in his centenary year. [Photo above of J.J. Johnson by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]

JazzWax tracks: You'll find John Fedchock's Justifiably J.J. (Summit) here or on streaming platforms. 

JazzWax clips: Here's Say When...

Here's Lament...

Bonus: So you have the sound of Johnson's horn in your head, here's Lovely, from J.J.'s Broadway (1963)...

Gérard Gustin With Trio and Chet Baker

Gérard Gustin isn't very well known by American jazz fans. The French jazz pianist is best known for accompanying Chet Baker on the second Chet Baker Quartet album for the French Barclay album while Baker was in Paris in October of 1955. Now Fresh Sound records has combined that album with Trio Gérard Gustin for Barclay in 1956, on a remastered release.

Gustin wasn't as well known as many other French 1950s jazz pianists such as Martial Solal, René Urtreger, Antoine Hervé, Eddy Louiss and Henri Renaud, but that was largely due to his brief jazz career.

A student at the Nice Conservatory after World War II, Gustin fell in love with jazz after hearing records by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell. By 1949 and '50, he was gigging on the French Riviera. He went into the French Army in the early 1950s.

Stationed in Marseilles for 18 months, he performed in clubs nightly and became friendly with many French jazz musicians in the city. Throughout the early 1950s Gustin went where there was work in France. In March 1955, he settled in Paris, where he worked and met Chet Baker, who asked him to record with him on his second 12-inch Barclay LP.

The following year, Eddy Barclay decided to record Gustin with his trio on a 10-inch LP. The group featured Sacha Distel on guitar and Gilbert Gassin on bass. Nearly two years passed before the album was released, in the fall of 1957. By then, jazz was no longer a career path for Gustin. Instead, he leaned into French pop by playing piano for three years in Aimé Barelli's orchestra, which accompanied many marquee U.S. pop singers on tour in Paris.

From 1963 to 1971, Gustin collaborated with Sacha Distel, who by then had put down his guitar for a successful singing and hosting career. Gustin accompanied Distel on tours and was the musical director of Distel's weekly television program, Le Sacha Show. He also composed upward of 450 French songs.

Chet Baker Quartet featured Chet Baker (tp), Gérard Gustin (p), Jimmy Bond (b) and Bert Dahlander (d). The tracks are:

• Autumn in New York
• Lover Man
• There's a Small Hotel
• These Foolish Things
• I’ll Remember April 
• Summertime
• You Go to My Head
• Tenderly

The Trio Gérard Gustin album featured Gérard Gustin (p), Sacha Distel (g) and Gilbert Gassin (b). Note the originals by Gustin and his Horace Silver influence. The tracks are:

• Y'a qu'ça de Vraie (Gérard Gustin) 
• Equation (Gérard Gustin) 
• For You, for Me, for Evermore (George Gershwin) 
• “Greek” Gone Crazy (Gérard Gustin) 
• Lookin' for A Boy (George Gershwin) 
• Romano's Dilemma (Gérard Gustin) 
• Autumn Nocturne (Joseph Myrow) 
• Somebody Loves Me (George Gershwin) 

Gustin had an interesting way of opening many songs on his trio album with a classical baroque approach before springing into swing. He also had a nice touch with Baker.

Gérard Gustin died in May 1994.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Gérard Gustin With His Trio and the Chet Baker Quartet 1955-'56 (Fresh Sound) here.

If you buy, don't forget to use your code for the 8% JazzWax discount (JAZZWAX_DISCOUNT).

JazzWax tracks: Here's I'll Remember April from Chet Baker Quartet...

I'll Remember April

Here's Tenderly from the same album...

Tenderly

Here's Autumn Nocturne from Trio Gérard Gustin...

Autumn Nocturne

And here's Somebody Loves Me from the same album...

Somebody Loves Me