The Bobby Hammack Quintet

 

The Bobby Hammack Quintette

The Bobby Hammack Quintet

ABC-Paramount ABC-130

1956

From the back cover: The Bobby Hammack Quintette, as an organized group, came into being by happy accident in 1952. Four of the staff musicians of the ABC network in Hollywood were assigned to provide a "music fill." Usually a "music fill" is a program hurriedly thrown together to fill an open network period when the program traffic director has gone to lunch and forgotten to schedule a soap opera. It's a standing joke in the broadcast studios that "our program is heard as far away as the telephone company." Which means that it's transmitted only as far as the A. T. & T. relay point and that probably no stations are broadcasting it. Which is probably one reason why you never heard of a lot of these fine musicians.

This group is currently working exclusively television shows in Hollywood-daytime television shows at that which is another reason why a lot of great musicians never come to the attention of record- listening "night people."

For a little background on Bobby: There's a place called Brookston, ten miles west of a place called Paris, in a place called Texas. Which is pertinent, because if it hadn't been for six-year-old Bob's taking up the piano in Brookston back in 1928, there'd be no album. Young Hammack stuck diligently to piano until a pert high-school cheer-leader caught his fancy. This led him to take up the trombone. That was because the only way he could court the cheerleader was to go to the football games on Saturdays. And the only way to do that without incurring expense was to get in free as a member of the band.

Bob considers himself primarily an arranger, which amazes a lot of his friends who feel that a guy who plays as much piano as Hammack does ought to appreciate it a little more. However, he has done a lot of arranging, for the ABC staff band as well as for the Air Force band, his own college band, and others. Some of his recent work includes "Bugler's Lament" (his own composition) for the full Red Nichols band of 26 instruments and five voices, "Gobelues," "Wail of the Winds," and "Glory Glory," all for the enlarged Nichols band.

Bob thinks there are greater possibilities for dynamic variety than we hear in most small combo music, and in this album he gives us an example of what he's talking about. Interestingly, there are no "horns" in this group... just guitar, piano, bass, a little celeste, and the whole scope of mallet instruments, plus bongos and other percussion. Yet, through Hammack's arranging and the imaginative use of his "full band dynamics applied to the small combo," we get some wonderfully effective results.

And whimsy... like the music box effect that opens and closes "You Are My Lucky Star." There's some fine Jerry Friedman mallet virtuosity on that one, and you get a fine taste of Wes Nellermoe's guitar inventiveness.

Then there's "One Morning In May," a beautiful old Hoagy Carmichael tune that serves primarily as a piano solo for Hammack. A few of Bob's subtle refinements on Hoagy's original chord progressions enhance the original rather than detract from it.

In a slow bounce version of "Love Me Or Leave Me" there's a flash of Bobby's delightful sense of honky-tonk piano in a few bars. And some fine Nellermoe full chord improvisation, with an ending that reveals Hammack, the arranger's splendid sense of continuity.

"Elisa" is a delicate original of Bob's, with some dexterous and subtle bongo work by Holland and some underplayed guitar solo. The understatement of this entire arrangement is a delight.

For contrast and by design, Bobby whams into a barrel-house four bars of intro on "Fine and Dandy" which dissolves into a lovely version taken at an unusually slow tempo. The result is a moody one... a happy song turned beautifully and by tempo and tasteful simplicity. Incidentally, this was one of the two numbers (the other is "I Cover the Waterfront") which were one-take "extras." The boys had fifteen minutes left in the session, so they recorded one take on each. They turned out so good that they replaced two tunes originally meant to be in the album.

On "Swamp Fire" you hear some exceptional minor solo improvisation by Bobby, Wes, and Jerry. And the ensemble portions are typical examples of the unusual quality of organization this group has.

Listen to an arranger's intro on "I Want To Be Happy," the chord changes going into the second chorus, Wes' brilliant solo, then Hammack's rollick- ing Fats Waller-like piano solo. This one is a particularly good example of Bob's sense of dynamic con-

trast. Then get the whimsy in the last couple of notes. "Earl's Tune," another Hammack original, might have been subtitled "Melody Around a Poignant Riff." Here the boys borrow some tonal characteris- tics from Shearing. But Bobby would be the first to say "Is that bad?"

The sad little melody of "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" gets a distinctive intro, a touch of the exotic, then it flows into a beautiful legato piano solo by Bobby. Again, magnificent change of pace as the piano goes abruptly into a ride tempo. But gently ... and it builds... builds through some of Wes Nellermoe's best work, to a final eight by Hammack again, classical, delicate, and trailing to a close in the faraway mood of the intro.

The whacky dissonance and back-beat rhythm of the intro on "Don't Get Around Much Any More" suggest Bob's admiration of Ellington. Hammack takes the first, Jerry a half, Wes some interesting octave work on the second half, a change of key to Bobby on the bridge and out we go.

Then "I Cover the Waterfront." Never the obvious, never the trite. Originality and taste at Hammack's impeccable best on this first chorus. A fine chorded improvisation on this one demonstrates Wes Nellermoe's superb musicianship.

Then comes "Brazilian Hobo," a Hammack original that laughs and dances with Latin sparkle. For five guys to convey this feeling with the authenticity the Hammack group does is a real tribute to their musicianship. Which leads into the need for a special accolade to bassist Irving Edelman and drummer Milt Holland. The cohesion and force of the whole group is complete only if these two are "in there" to make it so. And they're like Gibraltar throughout.

Finally, a tribute has to go to John Neal, one of the west coast's most conscientious, as well as most talented, recording engineers, especially for music. John's taste and good sense of musical sound are a fitting complement to the natural product of the Hammack combo. And the end result, in this album, is one out of which you should get hours and hours of enjoyment. – TED TOLL Hollywood

I Want To Be Happy

Earl's Tune

Baubles, Bangles And Beads

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

I Cover The Waterfront

Brazilian Hobo

You Are My Lucky Star

One Morning In May

Love Me Or Leave Me

Elisa

Fine And Dandy

Swamp Fire