Billy Taylor • Taylor Made Jazz

Review by John Uhl
Duke Ellington had an uncanny knack for assembling smaller groups of bandmates (say, seven or eight) and scoring music for them that retained all the oomph of his full orchestra. And though this isn't one of those small Ellingtonian unit sessions, it's just about the next best thing. Having assembled several members of Duke's band and written eight definitely Duke-influenced tunes, pianist/composer Billy Taylor's Taylor Made Jazz would probably have been marketed as a "tribute album" if it had been released recently. But given the recording's vintage (1957), there are two types of people who would be most interested in it: historical completists who want their collections to include a majority of the recording catalog pertinent to a certain musician (i.e., Taylor or Ellington), or Johnny Hodges fans. "Biddy's Beat" swings; "Daddy-O"'s got a little spunk; "Cu-Bu" is (what else?) a cool blues. Clark Taylor is as mellow as ever and there's even some solo room for Harry Carney. On one hand, Taylor Made Jazz is a great example of the standard mid-'50s studio sessions highlighted by clean solos, tight ensembles, and tasteful accompaniment work from a bunch of veteran players. On the other hand, this session really seems like an opportunity Taylor had to try out some of his pretty ballad material with Hodges, Ellington's alto sax balladeer extraordinaire. Half of Taylor Made Jazz consists of slow n' syrupy solo tunes for Hodges, and despite the rest of the record's strong swinging, this gushier material becomes the center of attention. Check out the versatility of his rigid vibrato on "Day Dreaming" (different from the Billy Strayhorn-penned "Daydream," even though it sounds a lot like the work of Duke's alter ego) to hear how nearly classically perfect Hodges could be. Heck, he puts Marcel Mule to shame.

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Revisión por John Uhl
Duke Ellington tenía una extraña habilidad para reunir grupos más pequeños de compañeros de banda (por ejemplo, siete u ocho) y componer música para ellos que conservaba todo el empuje de su orquesta completa. Y aunque esta no es una de esas pequeñas sesiones de unidades de Ellington, es casi la mejor opción. Tras haber reunido a varios miembros de la banda de Duke y escrito ocho canciones definitivamente influenciadas por Duke, el Taylor Made Jazz del pianista y compositor Billy Taylor probablemente se habría comercializado como un "álbum tributo" si hubiera sido lanzado recientemente. Pero dada la antigüedad de la grabación (1957), hay dos tipos de personas que estarían más interesadas en ella: completistas históricos que desean que sus colecciones incluyan la mayoría del catálogo de grabación pertinente para un cierto músico (es decir, Taylor o Ellington), o los fanáticos de Johnny Hodges. Cambios de "Biddy's Beat"; "Daddy-O" tiene un poco de esperma; "Cu-Bu" es (¿qué más?) Un blues genial. Clark Taylor es tan melodioso como siempre y hay incluso una habitación individual para Harry Carney. Por un lado, Taylor Made Jazz es un gran ejemplo de las sesiones de estudio estándar de mediados de los '50, destacadas por solos limpios, conjuntos ajustados y un trabajo de acompañamiento de un buen número de veteranos. Por otro lado, esta sesión realmente parece una oportunidad para Taylor de probar algo de su bonito material de balada con Hodges, el bailaor de saxo alto de Ellington. La mitad de Taylor Made Jazz se compone de melodías lentas y nudistas para Hodges, y a pesar del fuerte balanceo del resto de la grabación, este material más gofrado se convierte en el centro de atención. Echa un vistazo a la versatilidad de su vibrato rígido en "Day Dreaming" (diferente de "Daydream", escrito por Billy Strayhorn, aunque suena muy parecido al trabajo del alter ego de Duke) para escuchar lo casi clásico que Hodges podría ser. Diablos, él avergüenza a Marcel Mule.


1 Biddy's Beat
2 Theodora   
3 Mood for Mendes
4 Daddy-O
5 Cu-Blu
6 Day Dreaming
7 Can You Tell by Looking at Me
8 Tune Up!

Personnel:
Billy Taylor - piano
Willie Cook, Clark Terry - trumpet
Britt Woodman - trombone
Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone
Paul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone
Harry Carney - baritone saxophone
Earl May - bass
Ed Thigpen - drums

Recorded: November, 1959.

Label: Argo ‎– LP 650
Released: 1959
Genre: Jazz


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