David "Bubba" Brooks

[Joe]

I'm not sure how I missed noticing this, but Tina Brooks older (?) brother recorded two albums for the TCB label before his passing in 2002.

SMOOTH SAILING (1998), with Kenny Drew, Jr., Peter Bernstein, Peter washington, and Kenny Washington

1. Cotton Tail (Ellington) - 5:00

2. Stella by Starlight (Washington/Young) - 6:27

3. Pennies from Heaven (Burke/Johnston) - 5:59

4. Old Folks (Hill/Robison) - 5:06

5. Prelude to a Kiss (Ellington/Gordon/Mills) - 5:28

6. In a Mellow Tone (Ellington/Gabler) - 7:33

7. Billie's Bounce (Parker) - 5:37

8. Stardust (Carmichael/Parish) - 4:15

9. Smooth Sailing (Cobb) - 4:55

POLKA DOTS AND MOONBEAMS (2002), with Jack Walrath, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Charli[e] Persip

1. Blue and Sentimental (Basie/David/Livingston) - 4:56

2. Perpetual Motion (Garner) - 10:49

3. Just Squeeze Me (But Don't Tease Me) (Ellington/Gaines) - 8:37

4. Dutch Kitchen Bounce (Cobb/Woods) - 9:25

5. Polka Dots and Moonbeams (Burke/VanHeusen) - 7:30

6. Lonnie's Blues (Smith) - 7:14

7. A Ghost of a Chance (Young) - 5:53

8. Things Ain't What They Used to Be (Ellington/Persons) - 4:08

9. Don't Blame Me (Fields/McHugh) - 8:04

Worth hearing at all? I would not want Bubba to really sound at all like his baby brother, but I would love to think that his playing might shine a little more light on Tina's.

Thanks in advance.

Edited May 26, 2004 by Joe

[Dan Gould]

Joe,

I cannot recommend this man's playing more highly, but not in any manner of shining light on his brother's playing. The elder brother comes from an older style of playing, very soulful but oriented more toward swing or swing-to-bop. Think Gene Ammons. Not technically assured-he's an ear player who I don't believe reads music. But deeply, deeply soulful playing.

We are fortunate that TCB gave him an opportunity to have his music recorded.

But hold up for a second. David Brooks died in 2002??? I was not aware of that at all.

[Dmitry]

I didn't know he died.

Heard him many times at the now defunct Smalls. He was a regular there.

Imo, not a great musician by any means, but better than most I heard at that place.

[JSngry]

A good friend was kind enough to share those two TCB dates, and I found them to be most enjoiyable. Bubba definitely comes out of an earlier school than Tina, at least on these recordings, so any "influence" on Tina would probably be more in the realm of the "environmental".

[Joe]

Thanks all.

Mr. Brooks' obituary, from AllAboutJazz:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=1302

[Dan Gould]

Thanks for the link, Joe. No wonder Jim Dye wasn't having any luck trying to line up an interview with him.

Now there's more Bubba Brooks to hunt down!

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Pretty sure that's Jack Wilkins (guitarist) pictured, not Jack Walrath (trumpeter).

Mike

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I just got this,

courtesy of Dan who pointed out that it wasn’t so hard to get as I had found it a few years ago. I’m so pleased that I want to celebrate Bubba, the last of the big sound tenor players; a man whose style seemed to be compounded of the influence of Ben Webster and Ike Quebec with a significant dash of the honking tenor tradition.

Bubba was born in 1922 and his first brush with fame was when he joined Sonny Thompson’s band in 1949; he stayed with him until 1956. He also got Tina a brief job with the band. Thompson was THE blues pianist of the Midwest in those days and Bubba appeared on recordings by Lula Reed, Wynonie “Mr Blues” Harris and Paul Tate, as well as making many fine instrumentals with Sonny.

After leaving Sonny, Bubba worked for a couple of years with R&B/Soul singer Dee Clark, then joined Phil Upchurch’s combo. I credit that Upchurch combo with making the first modern Soul Jazz organ hit single – “You can’t sit down” parts 1 & 2 was recorded in December 1960, shortly before Ray Charles’ “One mint julep”. When I got that single home in 1961 and heard it for the first time, I really didn’t know what I was listening to. You really CAN’T sit down to this!

After a year or so with Upchurch, Bubba joined the band of bluesman Jimmy McCracklin, with whom he stayed another couple of years.

In 1966, he helped form a band called the Four Souls, with Charles Williams on alto; Don Pullen on organ; and Bill Curtis (who left the band in 1972 to form the Fatback Band) on drums. But did they make some cracking records!!! These were all made in the early 70s and issued under Charles’ name on Mainstream. When Bill left, the band broke up.

In the meantime, Bubba had had a break from the band and visited England, where he worked with Bob Downes’ Open Music (the range of stuff this man got into is amazing! But he didn’t play trumpet with the Skatalites in the mid-sixties – that was another Bubba Brooks). But gigs were few in the 70s until Bubba joined Jimmy McGriff, then Bill Doggett, with whom he remained for twenty years (he appeared on Bill’s “Midnight slows vol 9” LP for Black & Blue in 1978). During that period, he also played with the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band (and recorded with them in 2001). And he made many more trips to Europe and began to make records under his own name.

In 1995, after 45 years as a sideman, made two albums as a leader for Swiss labels: “The big sound of Bubba Brooks” on Claves Jazz, with Michael Howell and Bross Townsend; and “Smooth Sailing” on TCB, with Kenny Drew Jr on piano. Now, here’s a bit of a mystery. I now find these two albums were recorded on the same day - 22 May 1995 – in the same studios – East Side Sound Studio, NY – produced by the same man – Aleardo G Buzzi – with the same engineer – Lou Holtzman – but with different personnel, for different labels - both located in Switzerland. What’s the story behind this, I wonder? (Answers on a postcard, please. No prizes.)

The following year, he recorded “Polka dots and moonbeams” for TCB, this time with Dr Lonnie Smith on organ. Now I’ve heard the Claves I can say that all three albums are splendid examples of the hot small group tradition.

Soon after, Bubba hooked up with organist Bobby Forrester and drummer Tootsie Bean and gigged regularly around New York. It was with Forrester that Bubba made his final recording, early in 2002, “Organic chemistry” (Lolliop) was recorded a few weeks before Bubba died (and not long before Forrester died).

MG

[Dan Gould]

Thanks for that summary, Allan, I didn't know much of what had gone on between Sonny Thompson - Jimmy McCracklin and the Four Souls (Pullen gave Bubba and Williams credit for teaching him to play blues, iirc). One late-stage date you didn't mention is Bross Townsend's I Like Jump Jazz, also on Claves.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Thanks for that summary, Allan, I didn't know much of what had gone on between Sonny Thompson - Jimmy McCracklin and the Four Souls (Pullen gave Bubba and Williams credit for teaching him to play blues, iirc). One late-stage date you didn't mention is Bross Townsend's I Like Jump Jazz, also on Claves.

Not another one I haven't got!

I quite like Bross Townsend on the showing in the Brooks album and on Bernard Purdie's CD "The 3 B's".

MG

[Dan Gould]

Its available at Amazon in the U.S.

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Jump-Jazz-Bross...5058&sr=8-1

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Its available at Amazon in the U.S.

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Jump-Jazz-Bross...5058&sr=8-1

I'm not even going to look until NEXT MONTH!!!!!

Thanks Dan

MG