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Even If Somebody WAS Gonna Get Killed, It Wasn't Gonna Be Jimmy Rowles


JSngry

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Five strings, too, I believe.

P.S. Sorry -- I ment that in 1966 he began tuning his bass in fifths.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifths_tuning

FWIW, although I admired Mitchell's early work, his latter-day playing pretty much drove me nuts -- horn-like "accompaniments" often played obtrusively in the same register as the horn soloist and solos full of what seemed to me to be self-regarding gestures (swoops, slides, and phrases swaddled in vibrato).

Edited by Larry Kart
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A few more SUPERB Rowles records (in a sideman role):

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Ben Webster - At the Renaissance (Contemporary)
This is the record that made me a Jimmy Rowles fan. Listen to his solo on "Georgia on My Mind." Yowee.

 

71NhXwB2uYL._SY300_.jpg  81GEN1eQs1L._SX300_.jpg

Zoot Sims - If I'm Lucky and For Lady Day (both Pablo)
In the 70's and early 80s, Rowles made a series of records with Zoot Sims for Pablo and Choice. All of them are worth hearing. But these two are the ones that I've enjoyed the most. For Lady Day wasn't released until 1991, more than a decade after it had been recorded. I'm not sure why it was delayed. The music is magnificent. Rowles is in superlative form. In some ways, it feels like he was the leader of the date, rather than Zoot. (Was that why it didn't get released sooner?) If I'm Lucky is equally grand -- if a bit more rambunctious and a bit less reflective. One other thing: The bassist on both of these dates is George Mraz. His contributions to this music shouldn't be overlooked. In my book, no bassist meshes more perfectly with Jimmy Rowles than George Mraz. He sings right along with Jimmy and Zoot!

 

Edited by HutchFan
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I never was disappointed by any album with Rowles that I bought, and there are still so many more I will not run out of new discoveries until I die. To these ears, one of the greatest jazz pianists in history.

That Columbia Ellington Strayhorn LP was reissued on CD in French CBS' I Love Jazz series.

Edited by mikeweil
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I never was disappointed by any album with Rowles that I bought, and there are still so many more I will not run out of new discoveries until I die. To these ears, one of the greatest jazz pianists in history.

That Columbia Ellington Strayhorn LP was reissued on CD in French CBS' I Love Jazz series.

Ah, didn't know that, mike. Thanks for the heads up.  

EDIT: I deleted the note in my entry above. :)

Edited by HutchFan
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Jimmie Rowles deserves all this and then some, but geez louise - Jaws jamming with Lee Konitz, notice how  that took place outdoors in France, and not inside a jazz bar in America.

I could come across a radio broadcast of Lee Konitz with Sammy Price on piano.  That happened on a Saturday afternoon in Toronto, not inside a jazz bar in America.

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I interviewed Jimmy and asked about The Peacocks...he said it was meant to be just a solo record, but (producer) Stan Getz couldn't keep himself in the control room so there were duets, then full rhythm sections to aid the tenorman.

Fine record though, by my measure...

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Absolutely. A classic IMO.

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  • 3 weeks later...
 

One other thing: The bassist on both of these dates is George Mraz. His contributions to this music shouldn't be overlooked. In my book, no bassist meshes more perfectly with Jimmy Rowles than George Mraz. He sings right along with Jimmy and Zoot!

Rowles called Mraz "Bounce" -- because George was one bad Czech.

I'd also add to the (already fine) recommendations the SUBTLE LEGEND Vols. 1 and 2:

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