The View From Jazzbo's Head - The Six

 

Phweedan

The View From Jazzbo's Head

The Six

Cover: Burt Goldblatt

Rep Records REP-210

1956

Bob Wilber - Clarinet, Tenor Sax

John Glasel - Trumpet

Sonny Truitt - Trombone

Bob Hammer - Piano

Bill Britto - Bass

Jackie Moffitt - Drums

From the back cover: "It's nice to see such a clean-cut group so dedicated to their work." This comment was passed by a hard-boiled publicity man at New York's Club Bohemia during an engagement The Six had there during the winter. Coincidentally, he said in effect what many of us have known about this group for many months, i.e., that they are young and devoted students of their art, constantly striving for perfection of technique and expression.

Much has been written about the corporate nature of this distinctive unit so that we feel it unnecessary to elaborate the point save to say that the operation is controlled six ways. More important is the definite musical direction which the group has taken. The decision to bend to a left-of-center format was agreed to by each member of The Six in view of the fact that a "road" unit must have an identifiable trademark in order to interest club owners and customers.

In a more artistic sense, The Six found that adapting the group to the writing talents of such contemporaries as Washington, D.C., arranger Bill Potts gave a new flavor to the unit. Their original plan to fuse the best elements of two or more schools of jazz had reached a cross-road which demanded their ultimate decision.

Consider the wealth of talent amalgamated into this unit. In addition to his instrumental skill, each man makes an added contribution of specially written arrangements based upon his own interpretation of the group's sound and the instrumental technique displayed by each member. Certainly for unity of purpose within a small group there can be no more ideal union than this.

The discipline generated by the mutual efforts of The Six is not only musically gratifying but makes the task of recording an LP a far easier job. Rehearsals for the session started a full month prior to the date, and this extraordinary devotion to perfection resulted in the preparation of more tunes than the physical limits of a 12" platter will allow.

The tune analysis presented here was especially written for this liner by Bob Wilber. His attention to accuracy and detail reflects, in writing, the same dedicatory spirit which motivates The Six.

GIGGLES: Here is a Bill Potts arrangement of the familiar 12-bar blues theme with altered harmonic structure in the first four bars. Melody consists of four bars of even eighth notes, followed by a series of shorter, more conventional phrases. The arrangement achieves great unity through the use of interludes before each soloist and as background. (NB: The tenor-trombone background behind the second trumpet chorus is in reality the first phrase of Sonny Truitt's "Shifty" played in half time. The hard driving quality of the last chorus is suggestive of the type of writing Potts does for THE Orchestra in Washington, DC.

PHWEEDAH: This slightly exotic composition by Bob Wilber derives its title from a verbalization of the two note phrase which forms its base. The phrase is most closely as- sociated with Miles Davis and was first heard in "Venus de Milo" recorded by Miles in 1949. It's also heard in Bill Potts "Strange Diet" in the group's intial Bethlehem release. Dissonance of harmony is achieved through very close voicing of the three horns. The harmonic structure, which starts in B-flat major and ends in E-flat minor, gives the soloists something stimulatingly different upon which to improvise.

OVER THE RAINBOW: This one-chorus arrangement by Bill Britto is orchestrated for trombone, trumpet, tenor and bowed bass. This is obviously not jazz in the strict sense of the word but rather a contrapuntal four part arrangement of a familiar theme with a great deal of harmonic variation. Rhythmically the very straight melody in the trumpet is contrasted with a good deal of movement in the other three voices.

THE VIEW FROM JAZZBO'S HEAD: This sprightly num- ber, written by Bill Britto, is dedicated to our favorite disc jockey and any similarity in the title to a well known, best selling novel is completely uncoincidental. The tune illustrates Bill's most original use of form, quite a departure from the usual popular song type of construction, i.e., the improvised portions by trombone, trumpet and tenor are all of different length and different chord structure. This also gives our drummer, Jackie Moffitt, a chance to shine. His solo sustains the light, whimsical mood of the piece right through to its ensemble conclusion.

BLUE LOU: This is one of Sonny Truitt's few arrangements of a standard. He is much better known for his intriguing origi- nals. This particular arrangement has been played by various bands in the past few years, but this is the first time it has been recorded. While seemingly quite traditional in its close adherence. to the melodic line, it is nevertheless, unmistakably Truitt in its meticulous workmanship, logicality, and clever use of syncopation. The arrangement sets the mood for very relaxed soloing and close with some ensemble variations on the melody and a Kansas City-style tag.

OUR DELIGHT: Bob Hammer arranged this composition by Tad Dameron, the brilliant composer/arranger of the post- war jazz era. Although Dameron's compositions reflect the modern trend, they retain the directness and simplicity of the swing era. The tune is very conducive to extrovertish, uninhibited wailing and that's exactly what happens. After everyone's had their say, we modulate to a brighter key and romp to the finish.

MY OLD FLAME: This rather abstract arrangement by Bob Wilber features the clarinet throughout, opening with the three horns and bass. The five part writing is achieved by having the bass play double stops. This gives way to the clarinet's melodic variations over a line played by the bass. The piano doesn't enter until its solo, followed by clarinet in a new key bringing the piece to a close.

THE TROGLODYTE: The title of this Bill Britto original was suggested by a newspaper review of The Six while on tour in the mid-west in which the reviewer referred to our "Troglodytic Bass Player." The description fits Bill's retiring nature, not his playing as the tune will demonstrate. "The Troglodyte" is a tour-de-force in the tradition of "Jack the Bear," "One Bass Hit" etc,. and will serve to bring wider notice to Bill's superb musician- ship. – BOB WILBER

Giggles

Phweedah

Over The Rainbow

The View From Jazzbo's Head

Blue Lou

Our Delight

My Old Flame

The Troglodyte