Jumpin' At The Woodside - Buck Clayton

 

Broadway

Jumpin' At The Woodside

A Buck Clayton Jam Session

Jam Sessions on Count Basie Favorites

Photographer: Bill Huges

Columbia Records CL 701

1955

From the back cover: More jamming by Buck Clayton and his all-stars, and this time, appropriately enough, the repertoire comes from the books of the great Count Basie band of the late thirties and early forties, which was not only home for Buck but also several other sidemen on these improvised performances. Moreover, several members of Basie's present band are also on hand in these recordings.

The title piece of this collection is a rarity. Jumpin' At The Woodside was originally recorded at the end of the session in which Woody Herman sat in for kicks on the eve of his take-off for Europe in 1953, and contained some great blowing but fell apart at the finish. Everybody was rather beat, so the date was called off without another try at this number. On the next date, however, an ending was made for it, and finally four sections (two from each session) were spliced together for a complete performance. This kind of splicing is common enough in arranged popular music, but piecing together music from two jam sessions is probably unique. The rhythm section on the first part of the completed montage consists of Jimmy Jones (piano), Steve Jordan (guitar), Walter Page (bass), and Jo Jones (drums). At Buck Clayton's solo following Al Cohn's first two choruses, we switch to the later session, where Billy Kyle, Freddie Green, and Milton Hinton replace Jones, Jordan, and Page. Joe Newman solo closes this stretch and Al Cohn's second two-chorus solo marks a return to the first date. Then back again to the second session with the Clayton-Newman chase.

Broadway, recorded on still a third session, features some new faces to Clayton jam sessions: trombonist Benny Green (who leads his own band) and Dicky Harris (sideman with Arnett Cobb), trumpeter Ruby Braff, who was working at the time with Benny Goodman octet at Basin Street, and pianist Al Waslohn, whom Buck Clayton had heard out in Columbus, Ohio, and had last been around town with the Jimmy Dorsey band. This group also plays on Rock-A-Bye Basie, which has the extra added attraction of the recorded debut of tap dancer Jack Ackerman. Jack had broken it up in a surprise appearance with the Chet Baker quintet at the Charlie Parker benefit at Carnegie Hall a few nights earlier. It seemed like an interesting idea to ask him to come down to the studio for this session, and it turned out to be even more than that. Jack's career has included touring as the soloist in Morton Gould's Tap Dance Concerto (recorded by Danny Daniels and composer Gould with the Rochester Orchestra on Columbia ML 2215).

Blue And Sentimental, which was Herschel Evana' tenor sax showpiece with the Basie band just before he died in 1939, features Coleman Hawkins, who still stands as one of the great giants of jazz. In the thirties, Hawkins' only real rivals were Chu Berry, Herschel, and Lester Young; this is a kind of reverse tribute from the master. (Oddly enough, this recording took place on a session which did not include Buddy Tate, who not only replaced Herschel in the Basie bands but also came from his home town of Sherman, Texas.

From Billboard September 24, 1955: Trumpeter Clayton and a flock of good jazz men, including several Basie alumni and undergrads, give out in free fashion on four all-time Basie favorites including the title riffer. Three previous Clayton albums, all of a similar nature, have sold well, and this should also. Musically, the invention is uneven, but the spirit is unflagging. Good contributions from trumpeters Clayton, Joe Newman and Rudy Green: from tenorman Al Cohn, and a great trombone chase by Urbie Green and Trummie Young. George Avakian's usual schedule of choruses is a great help to the listener.

Schedule of Choruses

Rock-A-Bye Basie (12 choruses, time 8:10)

March 15, 1955

Intro

Ensemble (release: Tate)

Waslohn

Braff

Tate

Harris

Clayton

Hawkins

B. Green

Ackerman

2 choruses of 4-bar alternations with Ackerman (in this order: Braff, Hawkins, Clayton, Clayton, Tate, Green, Waslohn, Clayton)

Ensemble (release: Waslohn & Hinton)

Coda

Jumpin' At The Woodside (23 choruses, time 10:40)

March 31 and August 13, 1954

Intro

Ensemble (release: Davis)

2 Cohn

2 Clayton

2 Fowlkes

2 Kyle

2 Newman

2 Cohn

3. U. Green & Young (4-bar exchanges)

2 Herman

2 Clayton-Newman (4-bar exchanges)

2 Hawkins

Ensemble (release: Hawkins)

Coda

Blues And Sentimental (5 choruses, time 6:30)

August 13, 1954

Intro

Hawkins

Clayton/Fowlkes

U. Green/Davis

Newman/Young

Kyle/Hawkins

Broadway (14 choruses, time 9:25)

March 15, 1955

Ensemble (release: Clayton)

2 Tate

Waslohn

Hawkins

2 B. Green

Braff

Harris

Tate & Hawkins (4-12-8-8)

Tate & Hawkins (8-8-8-8)

Waslohn/Hinton/Waslohn/Jones (4's)

Clayton

Ensemble (release: Waslohn)

Rock-A-Bye Basie

Joe Newman

Ruby Braff

Trummy Young

Urbie Green

Benny Green

Jumpin' At The Woodside

Dicky Harris

Woody Herman

Coleman Hawkins

Al Cohn

Buddy Tate

Blue And Sentimental

Lem Davis

Charlie Fowlkes

Jo Jones

Billy Kyle

Al Waslohn

Broadway

Freddie Green

Steve Jordan

Walter Page

Milton Hinton