Gene "Mighty Flea" Conners - COMING HOME (Black & Blue)

[JSngry]

Conners himself is a decent enough trombone/vocal talent who stays in the "bluesjazz" bag with perhaps too much insistence, but GOOD GAWD what a supporting cast he has on these two 1976 sessions recorded in Paris. Besides Lockjaw, you got Wild Bill Davis, Billy Butler, and Oliver Jackson on one date, & Arnett Cobb, Eddie Chamblee, Milt Buckner, & Panama Francis on the other. Tommy Tune could sound convincing with backing like this.

Fortunately, Conners doesn't have to worry about bringing convincing to the table, even if he does, to my ears, sound as if he's maybe coming to this groove out of "commercial" ends as much as anything else. No matter, he's "close enough" to not cause any consternation. But again, the real action is in the bands assembled behind him. This is some of Lockjaw's nastiest playing on record, and those of you who know how I feel about Lockjaw ( x Infinity) know that I wouldn't say this lightly.

As for Cobb & Chamblee, hey - they sound freakin' great. Cobb's a known quantity, but I've found Chamblee to sometimes (sometimes...) be a little superficial in his earlier recordings. No such issues here - his playing is meaty, totally devoid of "devices", and soulful as it can be.

The drummers both keep it in that special pocket where you're reminded that at the root of all "swing" is the dance impulse (no matter what kind of dance it is). this stuff moves the feet as much as it does the rest of the body (including the mind and the soul). The organists, and Butler, are right in there with them too, which should really be no surprise, considering the people. The Lionel Hampton connection is strong here, and Conners himself (of whom I'd never heard before) seems to have come out of the Johnny Otis orb, so that should give you some sort of an idea of the vibe here - one of no-nonsense playing and equally no-nonsense rocking that soothes the mind by making the body feel good. And when those two are satisfied, how can the soul resist?

You can certainly find more "headier" music to listen to, and you can certainly find a more "dynamic" frontman for a session of this type, but if you can find better end results for this type of music, please let me know.

Edited April 1, 2006 by JSngry

[marcello]

Thanks Jim, I'll have to get this. It's the kind of music I play to get my spirits up.

It will give me a chance to use the CD Universe link.

Lately I've been listing to VERY SAXY and The Heavy Hitter.

I know that Gene The Mighty Flea did some touring with another favorite, T-Bone Walker.

[Dan Gould]

Doesn't look like this one is too easily available.

[Dan Gould]

Actually, looks like Doubletime has it, if CD Universe can't get in a timely fashion.

[Jim Alfredson]

Doesn't look like this one is too easily available.

Yeah, the CDU link is: Gene "Mighty Flea" Connors - Coming Home - but it doesn't look like it's in stock (or will be anytime soon).

Doesn't look like Amazon has it. But it sounds enticing!

[chris olivarez]

Saw him on a couple of occasions with Johnny Otis and enjoyed him. If this one pops up somewhere I'm going to have to snag it.