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Two Prestige albums recorded nearly one year apart have just been re-issued by Craft Recordings on 180-gram vinyl. Both were cut from the original stereo masters by Kevin Gray. Benny Golson's Gone With Golson was recorded in June 1959, and Ken McIntyre's Looking Ahead, with Eric Dolphy, was recording in June 1960. Both albums are superb for different reasons.
The close of the 1950s and dawn of the 1960s was singular in jazz. The year 1959 was a turning point in the music, as major works were released, including Kind of Blue, Mingus Ah Um, David Brubeck's Time Out, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' Moanin', Horace Silver's Finger Poppin' and Blowin' the Blues Away, and Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come.
Jazz then was brasher and looser, with the Civil Rights Movement in full tilt. Folk music was staging a strong revival, American Bandstand was broadcasting rock 'n' roll each afternoon and jazz was considered high culture by TV networks and the media, on par with classical.
Gone with Golson features Benny Golson (ts), Curtis Fuller (tb), Ray Bryant (p), Tommy Bryant (b) and Al Harewood (d). The tracks have a strong bounce, and Benny with Fuller is always a hard-bop treat. We also get to hear Bryant in top form on the keyboard.
Benny plays here with delightful smokiness and eel-like twists and turns. Only three of the tracks were Benny originals—Soul Me, Blues After Dark and Jam for Bobbie. The quintet's version of Autumn Leaves is one of my favorite jazz renditions. Bryant's Staccato Swing is a finger-snapper, and Fuller's A Bit of Heaven closes out the album.
Ken McIntyre was an exceptional musician, composer and educator. He played flute, bass clarinet, oboe, bassoon, double bass, drums and piano. Looking Ahead isn't a well-known album today but it should be, if only for pairing McIntyre with Dolphy, who were highly skilled on the same instruments. On the album, McIntyre plays alto saxophone and flute, and Dolphy plays alto saxophone, bass clarinet and flute.
Dolphy plays with more high-register notes and slippery execution while McIntyre was more staid. Five of the six songs are strong McIntyre originals. The exception is the standard They All Laughed. The pair were backed by a killer trio—Walter Bishop Jr. (p), Sam Jones (b) and Art Taylor (d).
By 1959 and '60, jazz had become more confident, and artists knew exactly how they wanted their music to sound. It also was an optimistic time for musicians, who felt for the first time that jazz was finally being thought of as exceptional. Though the future seemed bright, the truth was more grim. Within five years, jazz would begin to slide as electric rock and soul ascended and chewed into the marketplace, leaving acoustic jazz with a dwindling audience.
When these albums were recorded, jazz musicians were viewed as art nobility. All you have to do is give a listen to them to understand why. The music was pure magic.
Benny Golson died in 2024; Ken McIntyre died in 2001.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the new vinyl releases for these albums here and here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Gone With Golson...
And here's Looking Ahead...
The close of the 1950s and dawn of the 1960s was singular in jazz. The year 1959 was a turning point in the music, as major works were released, including Kind of Blue, Mingus Ah Um, David Brubeck's Time Out, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' Moanin', Horace Silver's Finger Poppin' and Blowin' the Blues Away, and Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come.
Jazz then was brasher and looser, with the Civil Rights Movement in full tilt. Folk music was staging a strong revival, American Bandstand was broadcasting rock 'n' roll each afternoon and jazz was considered high culture by TV networks and the media, on par with classical.
Gone with Golson features Benny Golson (ts), Curtis Fuller (tb), Ray Bryant (p), Tommy Bryant (b) and Al Harewood (d). The tracks have a strong bounce, and Benny with Fuller is always a hard-bop treat. We also get to hear Bryant in top form on the keyboard.
Benny plays here with delightful smokiness and eel-like twists and turns. Only three of the tracks were Benny originals—Soul Me, Blues After Dark and Jam for Bobbie. The quintet's version of Autumn Leaves is one of my favorite jazz renditions. Bryant's Staccato Swing is a finger-snapper, and Fuller's A Bit of Heaven closes out the album.
Ken McIntyre was an exceptional musician, composer and educator. He played flute, bass clarinet, oboe, bassoon, double bass, drums and piano. Looking Ahead isn't a well-known album today but it should be, if only for pairing McIntyre with Dolphy, who were highly skilled on the same instruments. On the album, McIntyre plays alto saxophone and flute, and Dolphy plays alto saxophone, bass clarinet and flute.
Dolphy plays with more high-register notes and slippery execution while McIntyre was more staid. Five of the six songs are strong McIntyre originals. The exception is the standard They All Laughed. The pair were backed by a killer trio—Walter Bishop Jr. (p), Sam Jones (b) and Art Taylor (d).
By 1959 and '60, jazz had become more confident, and artists knew exactly how they wanted their music to sound. It also was an optimistic time for musicians, who felt for the first time that jazz was finally being thought of as exceptional. Though the future seemed bright, the truth was more grim. Within five years, jazz would begin to slide as electric rock and soul ascended and chewed into the marketplace, leaving acoustic jazz with a dwindling audience.
When these albums were recorded, jazz musicians were viewed as art nobility. All you have to do is give a listen to them to understand why. The music was pure magic.
Benny Golson died in 2024; Ken McIntyre died in 2001.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the new vinyl releases for these albums here and here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Gone With Golson...
And here's Looking Ahead...
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This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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