Larry Kart Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Always respected and kind of enjoyed the Williams-Basie material, while feeling, based on some latter-day club experiences, that his heart really was in singing standards in a cool-warm hip manner. Recently picked up "Together/Have A good Time," which combines two fine albums he did with Harry Edison for Roulette in 1961, and that feeling was very much confirmed. BTW, I said cool-warm because even though his voice is a warm baritone, his laid-back more or less cool phrasing reminds me very much of the late lamented Buddy Stewart (b. 1922 -- he was a tenor), who sang with the Krupa and Barnet bands and died in a car crash at age 27. Stewart's hipness, as I think is the case with Williams, is all in the near-horn like phrasing, relaxed and quite saxophone-ish. I think that '60s Williams -- Roulette, RCA -- may be the place for me. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Try the early 70s live album he did w/Cannonball.on Fantasy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcello Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) This is the one. Real nice! JOE WILLIAMS With JULIAN "CANNONBALL" ADDERLEY- alto sax NAT ADDERLEY- cornet GEORGE DUKE-piano WALTER BOOKER-bass ROY Mac CURDY- drums Plus CAROL KAYE- electric bass KING ERRISON -congas drums SIDE ONE Who She Do (Joe Williams) 4:35 Green Dolphin Street (Kaper & Washington) 4:59 Heritage (Duke Ellington) 3:22 Sad Song ( Will Tilghman) 4:40 SIDE TWO Goin to Chicago Blues (Basie & Rushing) 6:45 A Beautiful Friendship (Kahn & Styne) 3:20 Yesterday , Today and Tomorrow (Tom Mac Intosh) 3:39 Tell me Where To Scratch (Joe Willians) 3:53 Produced by Nat Adderley & David Axelrod for Junat Production Recorded before a live audience at Fantasy Studio "A" , Berkeley , Californie ,August 7,1973 Edited June 11, 2012 by marcello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Weiss Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Couldn't say I'm an expert on his whole output but I always loved his inspired work on the Thad Jones Mel Lewis date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 This may be heresy but I really like him when he's not singing the blues. Heard him sing "Georgia Rose"once and was knocked ou by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 What's the word on his Blue Note album,Worth Waiting For? Can't say I've ever heard it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 This is the one that made me realize how good he actually was - he fits into the vocalese concept of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross like hand in glove, and at the same time swings and grooves like he always did with the Basie Band. I need more of him - was that Fantasy with Cannonbal on CD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Yeah, recently got the LHR & Williams from Japan - it's amazing! The album with Jones/Lewis is another very fine one. I'm not too fond of that twofer though - got to dig it out, it's been a while, might be time to refresh.That album with Cannonball sure looks interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golfcrazy1984 Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 The album with Cannonball is a studio album with a "live" audience. It's a loose and fun recording. Joe sounds great, as does the rest of the band. I think, Cannons working band at the time. Cannonball is on FIRE. I listen to it from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Storer Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 There's so much good Joe Williams. There's one from 1985 I'm partial to, called "I Just Want To Sing." Another great one from his later years was "Every Night: Live at Vine St.", where he does "Everyday I Have the Blues" to the tune of "All Blues." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted June 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 This may be heresy but I really like him when he's not singing the blues. I agree. That's among the reasons why he reminded me of that hip band singer Buddy Stewart, who might in fact have been an influence on the young Williams, given their ages and the era in which Stewart was popular before he died and was pretty much forgotten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tapscott Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 This may be heresy but I really like him when he's not singing the blues. Heard him sing "Georgia Rose"once and was knocked ou by it. Yes, that's a lovely tune and one of my favorite Joe Williams performances. I am familiar with it from this CD: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Did anybody ever notice what sounds like a major blooper in Joe Williams' recording of "ALright, OK, you Win" with the Basie band waxed for Clef on May 17, 1955? First he sings the line "I'll do anything you say - It's just got to be that way" and in the next stanza "Anything you say I'll do - Long as its's me and you" But then, when that line comes up again the next time he goes "Anything you'll do I'll say ... (which does not really make sense ) and there seems to be a split second of some snickering audible in his voice but then he catches up fast enough without losing his meter and finishes the line with "Just got to be that way" Intentional? If so, a strange kind of put-on IMO. I dunno ... I have this version on a 70s U.K. Verve LP ("Swiingin' With THe count" - Verve Select 231711) but according to the Bruyninckx discography this is the master take. Bizarre ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Bizarre ... Naw, I wouldn't say 'bizarre'. Remember, it's not about perfection with Basie et alia, it's feeling. And that felt good, so why bother doing the whole thing again for a teeny tiny fluff? I wouldn't call it 'a major blooper'. Remember, in 1955 recording was done right to mono -- no separate tracks, overdubs or punch-ins used for something like this. Even later, with multi-track recording, I'm guessing Basie (and other leaders of his generation) wouldn't bother to scrap a good whole take for something small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeCity Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Carol Kaye on electric bass? In addition to Walter Booker? Separate sessions? What's the deal there? 1339383276' post='1202068'] This is the one. Real nice! JOE WILLIAMS With JULIAN "CANNONBALL" ADDERLEY- alto sax NAT ADDERLEY- cornet GEORGE DUKE-piano WALTER BOOKER-bass ROY Mac CURDY- drums Plus CAROL KAYE- electric bass KING ERRISON -congas drums SIDE ONE Who She Do (Joe Williams) 4:35 Green Dolphin Street (Kaper & Washington) 4:59 Heritage (Duke Ellington) 3:22 Sad Song ( Will Tilghman) 4:40 SIDE TWO Goin to Chicago Blues (Basie & Rushing) 6:45 A Beautiful Friendship (Kahn & Styne) 3:20 Yesterday , Today and Tomorrow (Tom Mac Intosh) 3:39 Tell me Where To Scratch (Joe Willians) 3:53 Produced by Nat Adderley & David Axelrod for Junat Production Recorded before a live audience at Fantasy Studio "A" , Berkeley , Californie ,August 7,1973 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted June 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Given the fact that Williams was four years older than Buddy Stewart (b. 1918 vs. 1922) and was working as a pro in his teens, it's very unlikely that he was influenced by Stewart, as I suggested above. But their approach to standards was somewhat similar and hip (no finger-popping shtick, just flowing horn-like phrasing) -- similar IMO even though Williams was a baritone and Stewart a tenor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swinging Swede Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 I'm sorry to say that I have never really liked Joe Williams. He sounds more like a cabaret singer than a jazz singer to me. I think Jimmy Rushing was an infinitely better fit for the Basie band than Williams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 That is beyond mind-boggling to me but to each his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Friedman Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Some other CD's by Joe Williams that I enjoy include these: Prez & Joe - Prez Conference - GNP Ballad and Blues Master -- Verve Every Night - Verve The Overwhelming Joe Williams - RCA includes Ben Webster, Zoot,Coleman Hawkins, Clark Terry, Howard McGhee, Junior Mance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stryker Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) On 6/11/2012 at 10:22 PM, Larry Kart said: Always respected and kind of enjoyed the Williams-Basie material, while feeling, based on some latter-day club experiences, that his heart really was in singing standards in a cool-warm hip manner. Recently picked up "Together/Have A good Time," which combines two fine albums he did with Harry Edison for Roulette in 1961, and that feeling was very much confirmed. BTW, I said cool-warm because even though his voice is a warm baritone, his laid-back more or less cool phrasing reminds me very much of the late lamented Buddy Stewart (b. 1922 -- he was a tenor), who sang with the Krupa and Barnet bands and died in a car crash at age 27. Stewart's hipness, as I think is the case with Williams, is all in the near-horn like phrasing, relaxed and quite saxophone-ish. I think that '60s Williams -- Roulette, RCA -- may be the place for me. Any suggestions? I'm literally taking a break from writing a column about Joe Williams (ok, I'm procrastinating) to say that '60s Williams is absolutely the best. Leaving aside the record with Thad and Mel, which is in a category of one, the most rewarding chunk of his discography consists of the generally overlooked RCA records -- particularly Jump for Joy and Me and the Blues and, though I think the arrangements are uneven, The Exciting Joe Williams. His best ballad singing is here and the blues numbers represent a definite advance from his Basie tenure. Try this. Oliver Nelson arrangement. All the top NY studio cats. Edited October 6, 2022 by Mark Stryker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 Anything you do, I'll say it's just got to be that way. 43 minutes ago, Mark Stryker said: I'm literally taking a break from writing a column about Joe Williams (ok, I'm procrastinating) to say that '60s Williams is absolutely the best. Leaving aside the record with Thad and Mel, which is in a category of one, the most rewarding of chunk of his discography are the generally overlooked RCA records -- particularly Jump for Joy and Me and the Blues and, though I think the arrangements are uneven, The Exciting Joe Williams. His best ballad singing is here and the blues numbers represent a definite advance from his Basie tenure. Try this. Oliver Nelson arrangement. All the top NY studio cats. RCA mid-60s was on a very quiet roll...JW, JJ, Lockjaw, Wild Bill...and of course, Duke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Dryden Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 I’ve enjoyed Joe Williams in any setting. I think that I have two or three live concert broadcasts as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Dryden Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 I have these live shows from broadcasts: Chicago Jazz Festival 8/27/1986 Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, circa 1989 Playboy Jazz Festival 6/19/1994 Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center circa 1994-1995 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted October 5, 2022 Report Share Posted October 5, 2022 1 hour ago, Ken Dryden said: I have these live shows from broadcasts: Chicago Jazz Festival 8/27/1986 Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, circa 1989 Playboy Jazz Festival 6/19/1994 Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center circa 1994-1995 The CJF event was with the Jazz Members Big Band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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