Tenor Hierarchy - Hawkins, Byas, Berry, Webster, Phillips & Wess

 

Candy

Tenor Hierarchy 

Coleman Hawkins - Don Byas - Chu Berry - Ben Webster - Flip Phillips - Frank Wess

Commodore Jazz Classics

Original Recording Series

Production Coordinator: Harry Ringler

Album Coordinator: Elena Festa

Re-Recording Engineer: John Cue

Mastering: Hal Diepold

Liner Notes: Peter Spargo

Typography: The Composing Room

Cover Art and Design: Jack Lonshein

Printing and Fabrication: Globe Albums, Inc.

Mainstream Records 56019

Personnel & Instrumentation

I Surrender Dear & Dedication

Colman Hawkins - Tenor

Benny Carter - Trumpet, Alto Sax & Piano

John Carter - Bass

Bernard Addison - Guitar

Sid Catlett - Drums

Body And Soul

Chu Berry - Tenor

Roy Eldridge - Trumpet

Clyde Hart - Piano

Danny Barker - Guitar

Artie Shapiro - Bass

Sid Catlett - Drums

Sleep - Ben Webster - Tenor

Sid Catlett - Drums

Marlowe Morris - Piano

John Simmons - Bass

On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Chu Berry - Tenor

Hot Lips Page - Trumpet

Clyde Hart - Piano

Al Casey - Guitar

Al Morgan - Bass

Harry Jaeger - Drums

Candy

Don Byas - Tenor

Teddy Wilson - Piano

Slam Stewart - Bass

I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me

Flip Phillips - Tenor

Teddy Wilson - Piano

Remo Palmieri - Guitar

Slam Wilson - Bass

Specs Powell - Drums

Some Other Spring & Wess Point

Falk Wess - Tenor

Henry Coker - Trombone

Jimmy Jones - Piano

Oscar Pettiford - Bass

Osie Johnson - Drums

From the back cover: The contributions that each one has made to the development and integrity of jazz are many, but I don't think it's going out on a limb when you place Coleman Hawkins at the head of the tenor hierarchy. Hawkins' career has spanned more than four decades, going back to his days with Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds in 1922 right up to the present. Hawkins has survived every transitional period that jazz has gone through. There is no need to go into a long dissertation about Coleman Hawkins for any individual who even has a cursory knowledge of jazz is well acquainted with Hawkins' contributions to jazz. He is recognized as the first musician to effectively employ the tenor saxophone as a jazz instrument. Hawkins made many fine recordings but among the best are those he mad for Commodore in 1946 with Roy Eldridge and Benny Carter. "I Surrender Dear" and "Dedication" were from that Commodore session. Both recordings are astute examples of Hawkins' warm, chest-like tone and his fluent, articulate improvisations.

It is almost a fact that if Leon "Chu" Berry had lived his career like Colman Hawkins' would have survived the transitional periods and he would have progressed with the times. Chu was primarily a self-taught musician who ranks right alongside Hawkins, Lester Young and Ben Webster as, not only an important tenor man, but he was recognized as one of the finest instrumentalists. Like Hawkins there has been quite a lot written about Chu's career that to rehash it again would be redundant. "Body And Soul" was recorded for Commodore in 1938 with Roy Eldridge and Sid Catlett, while on the "Sunny Side Of The Street" he recorded in 1941shortly before his death.

Continuing along with the tenor hierarchy we come to Ben Webster who belongs, not only in the same era as Hawkins and Chu, but Ben ranks with the above in jazz history. Possessing a violent temper which was offset by a gentle disposition, Webster was considered the best of all tenor saxophonists in the Coleman Hawkins tradition with the exception of Hawkins himself. Ben Webster recorded four sides with the Sid Catlett Quartet from which came his famous "Memories Of You" which was featured in an earlier album on Mainstream ("The Influence Of Five" 6002). "Sleep" was from that session and Webster takes it at an unusual fast tempo and being accustomed to Ben's husky tone and legato phrasing, his growl chorus at the end of the tune sounds as if he were losing his temper at somebody or something.

One of the most overworked phrases is picturing an artist as under-rated or the exclamation "That's right, gee I forgot about him." But I can't think of a better way to describe Don Byas. True he's been in Europe for quite a number of years, but discerning jazz critics still talk about the many fine recordings he made especially the famous Town Hall Concert of 1945 which was recorded and released on Commodore. His interpretation of pop hit "Candy" includes the verse and it proves without a doubt that Byas is one fo the great tenor men.

Joe "Flip" Phillips was probably best known as a standby of the jazz at the Philharmonic Troupe and the leading instrumentalist in the Herman Herd duding it Golden Era. Originally Flip played clarinet with the Frankie Newton Band. Flip then went on to become one of the finest reed men in the business. Flip was one of the outstanding soloists at the Town Hall Concert in 1945, as he divided his playing between the Red Norvo Band and the Teddy Wilson Quintet smacks with anticipation. Flip's tenacious, guttural sound was a style that was predominantly adopted by most tenor men during  the '40's. 

Frank Wess has been an important part of the Basie Band for quite a number of years. After he came back from a successful European tour with Basie in the early part of the year, Wess recorded some sides for Commodore in 1954 with a group that included Oscar Pettiford, Jimmy Jones and Osie Johnson. Frank's tenor tone is round and full in the Hawkins' tradition (although he doesn't have Hawk's beautifully controlled vibrato). His phrasing is even without startling nuances. It's brought out perfectly on the tune "Some Other Spring," a lovely song of the 1930's which was originally popularized by Teddy Wilson and Billie Holiday. On "Wess Point," which was a Frank Wess original, his tone becomes a little more frantic but the spirit, drive and superb control that he employs are the outstanding aspects of this tune.