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Budd Johnson


Leeway

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I picked up an LP- "Linger Awhile," featuring Budd Johnson on tenor and soprano sax, pianist Earl Hines, bassist James P. Leary, and Panama Francis on drums.

I really enjoyed Budd's playing. I had never heard him before. Are there any Budd fans (nah, not the beer)? Any recommendations? Comments on his playing. He reminded me of Ben Webster.

I was also pleasantly surprised by Hines' piano playing. For some reason, maybe because I had only heard him at the end of his career, I didn't expect such hip playing.

AMG cites a CD (apparently OOP) of the same title, which lists Budd, but also Ray Nance, who does not appear on the LP version. A good album. I wonder if Budd is worthy of the Mosaic treatment?

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Maybe the Ben Webster and Associates on verve would be interesting to you

Ben, wirh Budd and Bean plus Little Jazz form the front line.

There's plenty other Budd, and he did record with Hines a number of times.. Hines was generally the leader though.

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Maybe the Ben Webster and Associates on verve would be interesting to you

Ben, wirh Budd and Bean plus Little Jazz form the front line.

There's plenty other Budd, and he did record with Hines a number of times.. Hines was generally the leader though.

I definitely will check that out. I love Ben Webster, so that should be a great matchup.

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His Riverside dates are quite fine, especially "Budd Johnson and Four Brass Giants."

He adds spice to Gil Evans' "Out of the Cool."

Look for "The Old Dude and the Fundance Kid" on Uptown, a co-leader date with Phil Woods. His last recording, I think. Never been on CD, AFAIK. Contains a Budd composition in 7/4. Not bad for a guy who was playing with Louis in 1933!

Budd was one of the baddest of the bad. Quite an amazing career if you look at the totality.

He died suddenly in Kansas City in '84, just hours after playing a gig with Jay McShann and Carmell Jones at the old Signboard Bar. I wasn't there, but people who were say that he was playing beautifully that night.

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Another great tenor who did a ton of recordings, again, I never heard this guy play a bad note!

Ira Gitler's book "Swing To Bop" is a good introduction on his career - he was one of the key figures in that transition of styles. (That book was dedicated to his memory.)

He was a member of the Earl Hines quartet late in the Fatha's career, these I recommend, and his own group with Bill Pemberton and Oliver Jackson, the JPJ quartet - actually the fathaless Hines quartet - if you can find any of their LPs, which are all OOP. (Watch out to not confuse him with R&B bandleader Buddy Johnson.)

The JPJ Quartet definitely would deserve the Mosaic (Select?) treatment!

For starters, the titles avialable on OJC CDs are very nice:

Budd Johnson CDs on the Fantasy website

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Some more:

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Edited by mikeweil
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Budd Johnson recorded marvelous sessions for the French Black and Blue label. In addition to the Mr. Bechet record that has been mentioned there was another 'Ya Ya' album (different from the Argo one). The Black and Blue Ya Ya had Budd Johnson playing alongside Charlie Shavers with Andre Persiany on piano. The same group recorded another album for Black and Blue under Shaver's name.

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Leeway -- I'm a bit bewildered by your "I was also pleasantly surprised by Hines' piano playing. For some reason, maybe because I had only heard him at the end of his career, I didn't expect such hip playing." A strong case could be made that Hines was at a peak of inventiveness from his "rediscovery" in 1963 on to almost the very end in '83 -- particularly on the vast number of solo recordings he made during that period (though his working band in person was too close to a lounge act for my tastes).

Also, if it's not too late, I'd avoid "Ben Webster and Associates." The lineup is great on paper, but it didn't work out that way IMO. The rhythm section is DOA for some reason (the pianist's comping as I recall was a sore spot -- either Oscar Peterson or Jimmy Jones [i like

Jones better that Peterson by and large, but his feline obliqueness rubs some players the wrong way] -- and the none of the tenormen is at his best. For Budd of that era I'd go with the Swingville date for starters. It's also nice for Budd's trombonist brother Keg.

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Well, I'd take Larry's opinion with a large grain of salt-a lot of people here definitely do not think Ben Webster & Associates is a dud.

Speaking of Hines though, and following up on Larry's comment about solo recordings, one to track down is "Concert in Argentina", a two LP set, one side each of solo piano from Hines, Marian McPartland, Ellis Larkins and Teddy Wilson.

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I'd second Larry's recommendations on Earl Hines. I find his latter playing more appealing and his solo recordings more so than his group work although his Once Upon a Time on Impulse! that came out last year as part of the Verve LPR series is first rate.

Regarding Budd Johnson, I have French Cooking as well as Off the Wall that was released in Japan earlier this year. In fact I liked Off the Wall so much that I'm thinking about putting a song from there in my BFT when it's my turn.

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Jim -- Don't have the album anymore (bought when it came out and eventually dumped it) so I can't check memory against reality, but as I recall, in addition to my feelings about the uncomfortable mood of the date, the rather airless recording job did no favor to the tenormen. Is the CD sound better?

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I think Brad is #30 on the BFT, my memory of this will be shot by then.  B)

Catesta said it all. If your memory is anything like mine, you won't even know that you bought a new house by then :g

You don't realize that my mind is a steel-trap for minutia of all sorts. :D

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I think I saw a remark attributed to Dizzy, to the effect that Budd was among the most under-rated or under-recorded of the very best horn players.

Listen to Budd on Diz's 1951 recording of " The Champ" where Budd at the end of his solo heads for Jacquet territory... :blink:

never heard him do that anywhere else.

Edited by P.D.
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Leeway -- I'm a bit bewildered by your "I was also pleasantly surprised by Hines' piano playing. For some reason, maybe because I had only heard him at the end of his career, I didn't expect such hip playing." A strong case could be made that Hines was at a peak of inventiveness from his "rediscovery" in 1963 on to almost the very end in '83 -- particularly on the vast number of solo recordings he made during that period (though his working band in person was too close to a lounge act for my tastes).

Also, if it's not too late, I'd avoid "Ben Webster and Associates." The lineup is great on paper, but it didn't work out that way IMO. The rhythm section is DOA for some reason (the pianist's comping as I recall was a sore spot -- either Oscar Peterson or Jimmy Jones [i like

Jones better that Peterson by and large, but his feline obliqueness rubs some players the wrong way] -- and the none of the tenormen is at his best. For Budd of that era I'd go with the Swingville date for starters. It's also nice for Budd's trombonist brother Keg.

I freely admit that my knowledge of Hines' work is regrettably very limited, especially for an artist who had such a long career. However, I just had this sense of a "showbizzy," even somewhat cheesy style of performance, at that time-- maybe it was just the material? . As I said, I'm probably all wet on this. I have read that he had a career renascence in his old age. I like Hines' playing enough on the LP I have to want to hear more.

Thanks for all the good album suggestions. I'm looking forward to hearing more Budd.

Still wondering if and how much influence Budd Johnson had on Ben Webster, or even vice versa? AMG notes that "Budd Johnson showed him [Webster] some basics on the saxophone..." Interesting...

Edited by Leeway
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