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The TNEK Jazz Quintet: Plays the Music of Sam Jones

By Jack Bowers
May 9, 2020
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The TNEK Jazz Quintet: Plays the Music of Sam Jones

The late

Sam Jones

bass, acoustic
1924 - 1981

" data-original-title="" title="">Sam Jones is mainly remembered as an earnest craftsman whose perceptive bass lines undergirded the likes of

Cannonball Adderley

saxophone
1928 - 1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Cannonball Adderley,

Oscar Peterson

piano
1925 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Oscar Peterson,

Cedar Walton

piano
1934 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Cedar Walton,

Barry Harris

piano
1929 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Barry Harris,

Kenny Dorham

trumpet
1924 - 1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Dorham,

Bobby Timmons

piano
1935 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Timmons,

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans and a host of other jazz masters. Jones, however, had another special albeit lesser-known talent, one that is addressed here, almost forty years after his passing in 1981, by the TNEK Jazz Quintet. Jones, as it happens, was a superb writer whose keen ear for a melody was equaled by an unflagging propensity to swing. In fact, had Jones written no more than the classic "Del Sasser" (based on "The Night We Called It a Day") he would deserve a place of honor in the Hall of Fame for jazz composers.

"Del Sasser" is here, along with five of Jones' other memorable themes and one (the closing "Tragic Magic") by pianist

Kenny Barron

piano
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Barron. The quintet dives right in on the sunny "Unit Seven," a textbook example of Jones' ability to provide a lively and colorful framework for the ensemble and keep things humming for the soloists who include front-liners

Benny Russell

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Russell (tenor sax) and

Antonio Parker

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Parker (alto) along with pianist

Darius Scott

piano
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Darius Scott. There's more of the same on "Bittersuite," with an added solo by bassist

Kent Miller

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Kent Miller, before the mood shifts to playful on "Some More of Dat" (perhaps inspired by Timmons' "Dat Dere"), on which Miller offers another sturdy solo. "Lillie," the session's lone ballad (nice intro by Scott), features Parker on alto, Russell on soprano and yet another handsome melody. The breezy "O.P." is next up, followed by any album's high point, "Del Sasser," whose irresistible line lingers in the memory even as Parker, Russell, Scott and drummer Greg Holloway drive it toward the finish line.

Barron's "Tragic Magic" is no less agreeable, lowering the curtain with a seductive melody and rhythmic drive that Jones would surely have endorsed. This is music the TNEK Quintet clearly enjoys playing, and the enthusiasm is evident throughout. The rhythm section (Scott, Miller, Holloway) is solid, the front line (Russell, Parker) capable if not singularly inventive. Although the source of the group's name isn't given, the name TNEK invariably spurs thoughts of a city in eastern New Jersey.

One drawback lies in the album's scant thirty-nine-minute running time. Setting that aside, what remains is a warm-hearted and well-designed (not to mention long-overdue) homage to a brilliant yet largely overlooked jazz composer.

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Track Listing

Unit Seven; Bittersweet; Some More of Dat; Lillie; O.P.; Del Sasser; Tragic Magic.

Personnel

Benny Russell

saxophone

Antonio Parker

saxophone

Darius Scott

piano

Kent Miller

bass, acoustic

Greg Holloway

drums

Album information

Title: Plays the Music of Sam Jones | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Self Produced

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