CD Review Bert Thompson
KEN COLYER’S ALL STARS—"STUDIO 51 CLUB SESSIONS WITH COLYER" (Upbeat URCD 217). Playing time: 71 mins. 49 secs. Blue Skies; Sweet Fields; Ain’t Misbehavin’*; Deep Bayou Blues; My Blue Heaven*; Wolverine Blues; Don’t Go ‘Way Nobody; Everywhere You Go (Sunshine Follows You)º; Maria Elenaº; Sugar Bluesº; Should I Reveal?º; Bogalusa Strutº†.
Recorded at Studio 51, London, Jan. 1 and Feb. 12, 1972.
Personnel: Ken Colyer, trumpet, vocal*; Pete Dyer, trombone; Sammy Rimington, clarinet; Peter Morecombe, tenor banjo; Alan “Jinx” Jones, string bass; Colin Bowden, drums. ºRay Smith, piano, replaces Morecombe, tenor banjo. †Barry Palser replaces Dyer, trombone; Rimington plays alto.
When the traditional jazz revival began in the U.K back in the late1940’ s, one of its leading lights was trumpet player Ken Colyer. Along with other youthful enthusiasts—one of whom was Monty Sunshine, another the late John R. T. Davies (who went on to become a world- renowned remastering engineer of classic jazz records)—he formed the Crane River Jazz Band, which took its inspiration from King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band. Wanting more knowledge of the New Orleans style of jazz, he decided to go to the source, New Orleans itself, and, having been in the Merchant Marine (Merchant Navy in the U.K.) after leaving school, he rejoined and managed to get on a cargo ship operating out of Mobile, Alabama. Once there, he jumped ship and headed for New Orleans. There he played with many of the pioneers who were still alive at the time, including George Lewis, who wanted Colyer to join him in traveling to play some concerts. When Colyer’s visa expired before he requested an extension, he was deported back to the U.K. There he was hailed by the jazz community as a kind of hero, a jazz band having been formed by Chris Barber waiting for him to join it. This he did, but after a year or so, he was dissatisfied with the style they were developing and went on to form his own band, known as the Ken Colyer Jazzmen, with musicians he felt were more congenial.
In the 1960’s Colyer’s health began to fail, and on the advice of his doctor, given his deteriorating health following surgery and radiation therapy in the early 1960’s, he disbanded his Jazzmen in 1971 in order to be free of all of the stress that goes with band leading. However, he did not stop playing; rather than leading his own group, he “guested” with various groups, organized under another leader or ad hoc, many of the latter frequently being titled his All Stars. Such a group is what we find on this CD, several of the musicians actually having been members of former Jazzmen groups. And, as always, when Colyer played with some organized band or appeared with an ad hoc group, invariably he became de facto the musical director, and most of these bands proceeded to have a “Colyer” sound, as is the case here.
These sessions were recorded at Studio 51, which was located in the West End of London, in the first two months of 1972. That venue had been “home” to the Colyer band for a decade and a half or so until the Ken Colyer Jazzmen disbanded in 1971. Thus for some of the musicians this was a kind of “reunion” at an old stomping ground, several having played in various editions of the Ken Colyer Jazzmen, including Rimington, Smith, Bowden, and, of course, Colyer himself.
Over the last several years there has been a steady spate of Colyer recordings released, some of varying sound quality, but there is no such problem here. Also, as one might expect given the musicians and Colyer’s musical direction, the music on offer is of a high standard, Colyer’s playing not greatly affected by his state of health at the time. Ensemble playing, as was always true of Colyer groups, is given the spotlight here.
Some of the titles, such as Sweet Fields and Bogalusa Strut, can be found on a number of Colyer recordings, but no two renditions are alike. Superior musicians do not have to repeat themselves, do not have to memorize licks that they fall back on each time a particular tune is called. And as lagniappe, there is Ain’t Misbehavin’ which has not, to my knowledge, appeared on any previous Colyer release.
There are a few awkward moments here and there, such as the touch of tentativeness in the opening to Blue Skies and in the intro to Deep Bayou Blues with its breaks, everyone not appearing to be together, but it soon settles down once everyone has his teeth firmly into it. (This latter tune is one which is not often heard; the only other Colyer recording of it I am aware of is on the Black Lion recording some seven years later of the Colyer band at the North Sea Festival in Holland on July 14, 1979.) But this is a live recording, and one must expect a few blips here and there.
I was particularly struck by the easy-going, laid-back tempo and feeling of Everywhere You Go (Sunshine Follows You) with its sensitive drumming backing from Bowden, not to forget the support given to soloists by the rest of the front line. On a 1967 recording of the Jazzmen in concert in Germany (Summer CD 9216), Colyer kicked it off at a much brighter tempo than that on this rendition, which I believe is better. Also on that Summer CD is the only other recorded version I know of the Jazzmen playing Maria Elena, where it began somewhat restrained in tempo but, by the end, was racing full speed ahead. Here, however, it begins and ends at a moderate tempo with sympathetic backing from the rhythm section.
So I would give this CD a “thumbs up.” It can probably be purchased in the U.S. at Jazzbymail, which stocks Upbeat releases, at www. jazzbymail.com, or at the Upbeat website, www.upbeat.co.uk, which provides for ordering by mail if one clicks on New Releases.
|
|