Bobby Timmons • Sweet and Soulful Sounds

Review by Stewart Mason
Sweet and Soulful Sounds, from 1962, is a most atypical record for Bobby Timmons. Long thought of only as a funky piano player in the style that Ramsey Lewis would later make commercially successful, Timmons could also play prettily, as he does on this ballad-heavy set. There's a little funk here; the up-tempo "Another Live One" sounds like a potential Cannonball Adderley hit (Timmons, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Roy McCurdy were all once and future Adderley accompanists). But for the most part, Timmons keeps his cool, showing a very strong Bud Powell influence throughout. (Actually, the two solo tracks, "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" and a meditative "God Bless the Child," sound as if Timmons had been listening to Bill Evans' solo records, as the latter in particular has the same rhythmically loose, melodically free style.) The highlights are the three standards, Richard Rodgers' "The Sweetest Sounds," a relaxed and swinging take on Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," and a version of Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern's "Why Was I Born?" that turns it from a show tune into a despondent blues. This is an unusual record for Bobby Timmons, but a great one.

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Reseña por Stewart MasonSweet and Soulful Sounds, de 1962, es el registro más atípico de Bobby Timmons. Considerado por mucho tiempo solo como un pianista funky en el estilo que Ramsey Lewis más tarde haría comercialmente exitoso, Timmons también podría tocar muy bien, como lo hace en este conjunto de baladas pesadas. Hay un poco de miedo aquí; el up-tempo "Another Live One" suena como un posible éxito de Cannonball Adderley (Timmons, el bajista Sam Jones y el baterista Roy McCurdy fueron todos una vez y futuros acompañantes de Adderley). Pero en su mayor parte, Timmons mantiene la calma, mostrando una fuerte influencia de Bud Powell en todo. (En realidad, las dos canciones solistas, "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" y un meditativo "God Bless the Child" suenan como si Timmons hubiera estado escuchando los discos solos de Bill Evans, ya que este último en particular tiene el mismo estilo rítmicamente suelto, melódicamente libre.) Lo más destacado son los tres estándares, "The Sweetest Sounds" de Richard Rodgers, una versión relajada y oscilante de "You'd Be So Nice to Come to Home To" de Cole Porter y una versión de Oscar "¿Por qué nací?" De Hammerstein y Jerome Kern que lo convierte de una melodía de espectáculo en un blues abatido. Este es un registro inusual para Bobby Timmons, pero uno excelente.

Bobby Timmons

01. The Sweetest Sounds (Richard Rodgers) - 4:56
02. Turn Left - 5:26
03. God Bless the Child (Arthur Herzog, Jr. Billie Holiday) - 5:01
04. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (Cole Porter) - 4:35
05. Another Live One - 4:10
06. Alone Together (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) - 5:59
07. Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most (Fran Landesman, Tommy Wolf) - 3:38
08. Why Was I Born? (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) - 5:49

Personnel:

Bobby Timmons - piano
Sam Jones - bass
Roy McCurdy - drums

Recorded in New York City on June 18, 1962 (tracks 3, 4 & 7) and June 19, 1962 (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6 & 8).

 

 

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