Here Comes The Swingin' Mr. Wilkins! - Ernie Wilkins

 

Gone With The Wind

Here Comes The Swingin' Mr. Wilkins!

Ernie Wilkins and His Orchestra

Everest Records STEREO SDBR 1077

1960

From the back cover: This is the first album for Everest by one of the most consistently rewarding arranger-writers in jazz. The clarity of Ernie Wilkins' scoring; the brisk interplay between sections; the buoyant riffs and counter-lines behind each soloist – are all projected with unique presence and impact as a result of Everest's wide-ranged, full-bodied, exactly balanced sound.

Ernie intends this to be "a jazz dance band" set; and the relaxed, flowing arrangements make it easy for even novices to navigate while the pungent solos by several first-rate jazzmen, including a number from the Count Basie band, should sustain the interest of those who prefer to concentrate on listening.

In the trumpet section are Ernie Royal, Richard Williams, and from the Basie regiment, Joe Newman and Snookie Young. On Baubles, Bangles and Beads, Somebody Loves Me, Gone With the Wind and It Don't Mean a Thing, Thad Jones, another Basicite, replaces Williams. On trombones are Jack Rains, Mickey Graume, Paul Felice on bass trombone, and Al Grey of the Basie band. The reeds are led by Marshall Royal on alto and clarinet; Frank Wess, alto, tenor, flute; Zoot Sims and Paul Gonsalves, tenors with Benny Golson in for Gonsalves in the same four numbers on which Thad Jones replaces Richard Williams. The firmly swinging rhythm section consists of Jimmy Jones, piano; Freddie Greene, guitar; Eddie Jones, bass; Eddie Costa, vibes; and Charlie Persip, drums. Greene, Eddie Jones, Mar- shall Royal, and Frank Wess are all Basiemen while Paul Gonsalves is with Duke Ellington.

Al Grey handles all the trombone solos. Joe Newman has the majority of trumpet solos except for Thad Jones on It Don't Mean a Thing and Richard Williams on The Continental and Stompin' at the Savoy. Flute solos are by Frank Wess who is also heard on tenor in The Continental. Paul Gonsalves solos in All of You and the remainder of the tenor solos are by Zoot Sims. The excellent clarinet solo on Baubles, Bangles and Beads is by Marshall Royal. "He should," notes Ernie, "play clarinet more often. Hardly anybody knows he can play that well with that full a tone."

Ernie selected all the members of the band, and was justifiably pleased at how quickly and completely the band fell into an integrated, thoroughly swinging groove. As a result, the sessions were unusually smooth and several times, the first take of a number proved to be the one that was finally selected. Much of the credit for the lack of tension on this and almost all other Ernie Wilkins' dates is due to his thoroughly idiomatic writing for jazz players. His scores are never cluttered, and invariably make it easy for a man, if he can swing at all, to start swinging from the first note.

The brass section is satisfyingly crisp and assertive, playing with biting precision and yet without a trace of stiffness. Wilkins' voicings for the reed section result in a full, mellow blend that reminds me, to some extent, of the round, flowing substance of Benny Carter's reed section writing for his big bands in the thirties and forties. The rhythm section keeps the beat alive without juggling with it.

Ernie Wilkins had considerable sideman experience as a saxophonist before he decided to concentrate on writing. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, July 7, 1922, Ernie's first instrument was piano. He studied at Wilberforce University, and then gained valuable experience in the Navy Band at the Great Lakes Training Station. After being discharged, he worked with George Hudson and Earl Hines, and became part of Count Basie's reed section from May, 1951, to February, 1955. It was while with Basie that Ernie established his reputation as a skillful, unpretentious arranger with a particularly strong feeling for the blues. Since leaving Basie, Wilkins has continued to write for the Count as well as for Harry James, Ted Heath and Dizzy Gillespie. He is exceptionally active as a scorer for recording dates, and among the many vocalists for whom he's written backgrounds have been Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Dinah Washington, Morgana King, and Lurlean Hunter.

Wilkins hopes that this album will help reintroduce young dancers to that vigorous big band sound -with modern overtones – that used to be so pervasively popular with teenagers in the thirties and early forties. "I think," says Ernie, "that the climate is changing and that there's a growing opportunity for swinging big bands that can play for dancing as easily as for listening, and simultaneously for both purposes.

"I tried," Ernie continues, "to make these standards swing, but with a certain amount of charm as well so that they'd catch the average listener's ear. The quality I was after was effervescence." The band communicates that feeling of joyful, unstraining zest and the result is, I feel, one of the best dance albums in recent months as well as a resilient display of mainstream big band jazz. Jazz, after all, started as music for dancing, and there's no reason why a dance band oughtn't to also have a fully pulsating rhythm foundation and imaginative soloists as this one does. Ernie Wilkins may be on the road again yet-as a leader – Nat Hentoff

Broadway

Surrey With The Fringe On Top

Falling In Love With Love

The Continental

Makin' Whoopee

Stompin' At The Savoy

You're Driving Me Crazy (What Did I Do)

Baubles, Bangles And Beads

Somebody Loves Me

All Of You

Gone With The Wind

It Don't Mean A Thing (If You Ain't Got That Swing