Development
John Graas!
Engrossing Experimental Music From The Foremost French Hornist In Jazz
Designed by Emmett McBain
Photo by Jerry White
Mercury Records MECURY SR 80020
1959
From the back cover: He is a lucky man indeed who can boast of the first and foremost identification with a specific instrument in jazz history. For several years John Graas could claim not only this distinction but the added one of being almost the only jazz soloist of any consequence on the instrument of his choice, the French horn.
Long known as one of the most mellow and sonorous tonal components of the symphony orchestra, it entered jazz by the back door, as an additional brass section sound making no solo contributions, and was embraced almost a decade later, in the early 1950s, as a vehicle for jazz ad libbing.
John Graas has been a figure in all these areas. Like the horn itself, he began in classical music, later becoming an unidentified section man in a dance band, and subsequently made his name as the first French horn jazz soloist. Born in Dubuque, Iowa, he started on the horn in high school and soon won a national solo contest. He won a scholarship to Tanglewood, where he played under Koussevitsky. After working as first horn with the Indianapolis Symphony 1941-42, he joined the Claude Thornhill orchestra, where leader in 1942 had embarked on the experiment, considered quite daring at the time, of including two French horns in his dance orchestra. Even in those days John had ideas about further expanding the possibilities of the horn, but the Army interfered with his plans, keeping him busy as leader of his own G.I. band from 1943-5. After his discharge he returned to classical work with the Cleveland Symphony in 1945-6, got his toe back in the pop-music door again with the Tex Beneke band of 1948, and finally emerged as an individual after his first tour with Stan Kenton 1940-50. During these years John had done extensive studying in every branch of music. His teachers included Dr. Wesley La Violett; Shorty Rogers, who himself was one of La Violette's most distinguished students; and Lennie Tristano. During the next few years John emerged as a composer, arranger and soloist, constantly active on the west coast scene.
In this release John has with him a gallery of California colleagues, all of whom have been associated with his earlier efforts at one time or another. All the music on these sides was arranged by Graas and all the tunes are also his with the exception of Dick Grove's Blues Street and Gerry Mulligan's Walkin' Shoes.
Van Nuys Indeed (the title is a clumsy pun on very nice indeed, for which I must take the blame – it was originally recorded on a session I made with John a few years ago) kicks the first side off with a swinging tempo and a full group sound that reflects what we have come to accept as the west coast flavor. The personnel comprises Graas; Conte Candoli on trumpet; Art Pepper on alto sax; Bob Cooper, tenor sax; Buddy Collette, baritone sax; Paul Mer, piano; Larry Bunker, drums; Buddy Clark, bass; Red Callender, tuba. Basically the theme is a 12-measure blues with solos by Graas, Candoli, Pepper and More. Additional color and body is lent to many of the ensemble passages by the tuba work of Red Callender. Long respected as a string bass man, Red has only been revealed recently on records to have this additional brass bass talent.
Development has the same personnel, except that Pete Candoli replaces his brother Conte, and Larry Bunker plays xylophone and tympani in addition to drums. One of the most complex items in the album, this makes ingenious use of a wide tonal palette in the opening passage, with xylophone and tuba featured; soon there are all kinds of cross currents and counterpoints before the soloists take over – Graas, Pepper, Candoli and Cooper. The wide voicings, wild dramatic upward "whips" and suspenseful tympani work are features of a dramatically impressive climax.
Land Of Broken Toys evokes the image of a little boy in a nightmare, all alone in an amorphous setting surrounded by the broken playthings of the title, Buddy Collette's flute and Bob Cooper's oboe are heard in the opening passages. The personnel is the same as that heard on Development.
Swing Nicely offers an interesting contrast, both in its ensemble tone color (the trumpet is omitted, otherwise, the personnel is the same) and in its theme, a simple swinging diatonic tune. Paul Mer has an energetic single-line solo in what might be called the Horace Silver style, followed by Graas, playing one of his warmest and most fluent jazz offerings. Pepper is heard on alto, Collette offers some of the jazz flute that has made him one of the west coasts most distinguished solo representatives on this instrument, and Bob Cooper has a chorus of well integrated tenor underlined by a swinging Bunker. The performance arrives at a characteristically abrupt and humorous Graas ending.
Walkin' Shoes, the Gerry Mulligan tune, that has come close to acceptance as a jazz standard, opens fittingly with Buddy Clark's bass walking, then offers the theme in unison, spreading into simple two-part voicing now and then. This is played by a small group, with Grass, Art Pepper (tenor), Mer, Clark and Bunker.
Blues Street has the same personnel as Van Nuys, with Collette doubling on baritone sax and flute. There is a lonesome, wailing feeling to the first movement; soon a rhumba beat underline is used, leading into John's solo, which begins with an unaccompanied eight measure interlude and is followed by Cooper's tenor. Collette's flute follows the pattern of Graas' solo, easing from an eighteenths-bar break into blues in the minor mode and giving away to a saxophone solo, in this case Pepper's alto.
Rogeresque is played by a small group, with the same personnel as Walkin' Shoes. Opening with eight bars of jumping piano leading into the theme it proceeds to some pleasantly casual jazz on the traditional I Got Rhythm changes by Pepper's tenor (two choruses), then offers 16 measures to More and returns to a brief ensemble to seal it off.
Block Sounds has the same personnel as Blues Street. Written in a modern jazz vein but with traditional roots, it is based on a 32-bar pattern, with solos by Pepper, Collette, Cooper, Moer and Clark. It goes out lightly, without any climatic pretension – a fittingly gentle coup de grace for this musical Coup de Graas. – Lenoard Feather, Author of The Book Of Jazz
Van Nuys Indeed
Development
Land Of Broken Toys
Swing Nicely
Walkin' Shoes
Blues Street
Rogereque
Blocksounds
