Jump to content

George Kelly Tenor Sax


Dan Gould

Recommended Posts

Been enjoying two Black & Blue discs that feature Mr. Kelly (Roy Milton Instant Groove and Carrie Smith, No One Knows You) and been enjoying his contributions immensely. Any reccos? He seems to have led a few dates in his later years though not a whole bunch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, paul secor said:

George Kelly is a part of Panama Francis' Savoy Sultans on this record, which I like:

R-6019069-1410791686-5249.jpeg.jpg

 

 

 

Thanks Paul I actually have the "Definitive" reissue of that LP. Hoping for suggestions on his recordings that are more tenor or tenor/trumpet + rhythm.  There's a Live at the West End LP with Irv Stokes and Richard Wyands that I bet is very fine but it looks ridiculously pricey as a used LP on Amazon.

Edited by Dan Gould
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"George Kelly Plays the Music of Don Redman" (Stash), rec. 1984, is excellent. Kelly had his own thing going for sure. In an interview he said something like "I think like Lester Young and play like Coleman Hawkins." My memory is that his phrasing has an attractively "talky"quality to it, a rhythmically compulsive "bounce" feel. Not as much so as altoist Pete Brown, maybe akin to Julian Dash. In any case, my sense was that this came from being a player who was formed in the late '20s/early '30s, though there's nothing about Kelly that was retro.

https://www.amazon.com/Plays-Music-Redman-George-Kelly/dp/B01LVUBWF3/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1494713417&sr=1-1&keywords=george+kelly+don+redman

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I knew him a little in my NYC days when I practically lived at the West End and saw him regularly (as a matter of fact I was the one who got Richard Wyands on that gig that led to the live recording mentioned above, though I am sure that if you asked, Phil would take credit). Nice man, played beautifully, solid, gruff tone; also a good singer. I know he's not around here any more, but I believe Joel Fass worked with him a lot. Glad to see Kelly's name mentioned, had not thought of him in a long time.

Edited by AllenLowe
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, AllenLowe said:

I knew him a little in my NYC days when I practically lived at the West End and saw him regularly (as a matter of fact I was the one who got Richard Wyands on that gig that led to the live recording mentioned above, though I am sure that if you asked, Phil would take credit). Nice man, played beautifully, solid, gruff tone; also a good singer. I know he's not around here any more, but I believe Joel Fass worked with him a lot. Glad to see Kelly's name mentioned, had not thought of him in a long time.

Yes, before I posted I did a site search via google and much of the previous mentions of Kelly were remembrances by Joel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/13/2017 at 4:13 PM, Larry Kart said:

"George Kelly Plays the Music of Don Redman" (Stash), rec. 1984, is excellent. Kelly had his own thing going for sure. In an interview he said something like "I think like Lester Young and play like Coleman Hawkins." My memory is that his phrasing has an attractively "talky"quality to it, a rhythmically compulsive "bounce" feel. Not as much so as altoist Pete Brown, maybe akin to Julian Dash. In any case, my sense was that this came from being a player who was formed in the late '20s/early '30s, though there's nothing about Kelly that was retro.

https://www.amazon.com/Plays-Music-Redman-George-Kelly/dp/B01LVUBWF3/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1494713417&sr=1-1&keywords=george+kelly+don+redman

I picked this one up and am very well-pleased with it, but buyer beware - the Squatty Roo CDR(?) being sold here sounds like it was taken from a slightly off-center LP, and there's, like, zero seconds between tunes. I'm ok with Squatty Roo doing their live latest-Ellington bootlegs like this, but...are they getting this legit?

BUT - I'm not really bothered by that past as far as I am bothered by it. Iit's a totally groovy date, and Kelley's opening phrase of his "Chant Of The Weed" solo had me doing a momentary WTF? thinking that Bill Barron was sitting in!

And yes, this is a "type" of swing that you either get intuitively (probably through osmosis) or don't. If you try to fake it, it don't work, it just don't work. But this cat, it works for him just fine!

But the next time I reach for a non-live bootleg Squatty Roo release, I will think at least twice before proceeding, and definitely look for other options if applicable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, JSngry said:

I picked this one up and am very well-pleased with it, but buyer beware - the Squatty Roo CDR(?) being sold here sounds like it was taken from a slightly off-center LP, and there's, like, zero seconds between tunes. I'm ok with Squatty Roo doing their live latest-Ellington bootlegs like this, but...are they getting this legit?

BUT - I'm not really bothered by that past as far as I am bothered by it. Iit's a totally groovy date, and Kelley's opening phrase of his "Chant Of The Weed" solo had me doing a momentary WTF? thinking that Bill Barron was sitting in!

And yes, this is a "type" of swing that you either get intuitively (probably through osmosis) or don't. If you try to fake it, it don't work, it just don't work. But this cat, it works for him just fine!

But the next time I reach for a non-live bootleg Squatty Roo release, I will think at least twice before proceeding, and definitely look for other options if applicable.

Yes -- Bill Barron! There are/were many ways to skin a cat, and the living history of this music does not necessarily fit a "progressive" template. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Ted O'Reilly said:

Am I misremembering that George Kelly also was a pianist, who spent a long time on the road as music director for one of the old vocal groups, like The Coasters, or the Platters, Flamingos, Drifters or one of those pop groups? 

He started out playing piano but I don't think he played as a professional. Here's a google book excerpt from a chapter dedicated to him:

https://books.google.com/books?id=iE6NtkNu_yQC&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=george+kelly+and+the+jazz+sultans&source=bl&ots=sqP5cckcQ3&sig=S8B2ZD9TcaP76OJ8NgxsXHnAgvA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjkgu2YuIzUAhUoIpoKHTaOCJ4Q6AEIVDAJ#v=onepage&q=george%20kelly%20and%20the%20jazz%20sultans&f=false

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...