My jazz tastes were always pretty narrow - Coltrane, Bird, Weather Report - big name almost exclusively until I took up tenor sax some years back and then started trawling through the sax players increasingly impressed by Fifties and Sixties Jazz especially. Discovering Lucky Thompson, Tubby Hayes and Hank Mobley were epecially welcome and the juxtaposition of trumpet and sax turned me on to a whole raft of trumpet players. So when I heard Freddie Hubard's Cd "Open Sesame" I was stunned by the lyrical tenor sax player jousting with him. Who was this Tina Brooks?
A search through ebay nabbed me three of the man's CDs and I managed to get the rarer "Minor Move" as well. The guy us a a revelation! No rush to the head here speedwise but long lyrical lines and a wonderful tunesmith to boot. Go listen to "Back to the Tracks". Just superb! "True Blue" too has some excellent stuff on it - and Freddie Hubbard too!
I'm now searching out his dates with Jackie McLean and Kenny Burrell - but what a waste. He only ever made four sessions as leader (though since Open Sesame was all penned by him this really should count as a Brooks session as well).
Go find!
Go enjoy!
Anyone else out there feel the way I do about this musical genius?
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