Duke Pearson, arranger

[Big Al]

The recent batch of Blue Note RVGs have turned me on to the fine arranging skills of Duke Pearson. So now that I've got THE SPOILER, LUSH LIFE, and THE RIGHT TOUCH, what are some other good Pearson-arranged albums?

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

a slice of the top

[Free For All]

[marcello]

1.Disapproachment

2.I'm Tired Cryin' Over You

3.Tones For Joan's Bones

4.Amanda

5.Dad Digs Mom(And Mom Digs Dad)

6.Minor League

7.Here's That Rainy Day

8.Make It Good

9.The Days Of Wine And Roses

Jerry Dadgion,sax; Al Gibbons,sax;

Frank Foster,sax; Lew Tabakin,sax; Pepper Adams,sax;

Jim Bossy,trumpet; Randy Brecker,trumpet;

Bur Collins,trumpet; Joe Shepley,trumpet; Marvin Stamm,trumpet;

Garnett Brown,trombone; Jimmy Cleveland,trombone;

Benny Powell,trombone; Kenny Rupp,trombone;

Duke Pearson,piano; Bob Cranshaw,bass; Mickey Roker,drums;

Dec.1968

[Big Al]

a slice of the top

Pearson didn't do that one; that was all Hank!

[Shrdlu]

Pretty much all Duke is good. Never heard a bad one.

For a sextet, try "Little Johnny C" (Johnny Coles). That goes down smooth.

If you can find the LPs, there's a superb Turrentine session from 1967:

Donald Byrd (tp) Julian Priester (tb) Jerry Dodgion (as, fl) Stanley Turrentine (ts) Joe Farrell (ts, fl) Pepper Adams (bars, cl) Kenny Barron (p) Bucky Pizzarelli (g) Ron Carter (b) Mickey Roker (d) Duke Pearson (arr)

Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, February 17, 1967

She's A Carioca BN-LA 394-H2

Samba Do Aviao -

Manha De Carnaval LT 993

What Now, My Love? -

Night Song BN-LA 394-H2

Here's That Rainy Day LT 993

Blues For Del -

* "Stanley Turrentine" (Blue Note BN-LA 394-H2)

* Stanley Turrentine "New Time Shuffle" (Blue Note LT 993)

That's a very tight, intimate session, with a lot of good blowing by Stanley. I think it's my favorite Pearson now, and it's certainly one of Stanley's best. The LPs are easy to find on eBay. I transferred the tracks to put them in order. (They are mixed with tracks from a later session.) This would make a great CD.

[Kyo]

If you can find the LPs, there's a superb Turrentine session from 1967:

Donald Byrd (tp) Julian Priester (tb) Jerry Dodgion (as, fl) Stanley Turrentine (ts) Joe Farrell (ts, fl) Pepper Adams (bars, cl) Kenny Barron (p) Bucky Pizzarelli (g) Ron Carter (b) Mickey Roker (d) Duke Pearson (arr)

Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, February 17, 1967

She's A Carioca BN-LA 394-H2

Samba Do Aviao -

Manha De Carnaval LT 993

What Now, My Love? -

Night Song BN-LA 394-H2

Here's That Rainy Day LT 993

Blues For Del -

* "Stanley Turrentine" (Blue Note BN-LA 394-H2)

* Stanley Turrentine "New Time Shuffle" (Blue Note LT 993)

That's a very tight, intimate session, with a lot of good blowing by Stanley. I think it's my favorite Pearson now, and it's certainly one of Stanley's best. The LPs are easy to find on eBay. I transferred the tracks to put them in order. (They are mixed with tracks from a later session.) This would make a great CD.

Seeing how the upcoming Stanley Turrentine Connoisseur release is

titled Blues for Del it seems probable that this session will be included.

[Peter Friedman]

The recent batch of Blue Note RVGs have turned me on to the fine arranging skills of Duke Pearson. So now that I've got THE SPOILER, LUSH LIFE, and THE RIGHT TOUCH, what are some other good Pearson-arranged albums?

Duke Pearson did the arrangements on Donald Byrd's album - A New Perspective - on Blue Note.

Pearson's album - Wahoo - on Blue Note is another good one.

[jazzbo]

I keep digging the writing on "The Right Touch". . . the new RVG really resparked my liking of that one.

[Chuck Nessa]

All of his stuff is "by the numbers". Nothing to surprise, but much comfort.

OK but not really my cup of tea.

[Shrdlu]

Vielen Dank, Kyo! I didn't know about that upcoming release. I hope they get the sound right. It's excellent on the LPs, which are the later BN LPs with the dark blue label.

This is a wonderful session and is certain to be enjoyed. I wouldn't have picked that title, though. The session has a lot of Brasilian stuff, and the blues is not the most important track. (One thing is clear, from this and other Pearson sessions: Duke had a copy of the Warner Bros LP "The Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim".)

After making my post, I put this session on again in the car. Boy, Bucky Pizzarelli really gets that Jobim feel on the guitar. Mwah! Love that kind of guitar playing! All the guys were really on top of the bossa that day!

"Night Song" would make a good album title. That's a stunning performance.

Chuck, have you heard this session? Duke's arranging isn't always stunning, I agree, but he really does a fine job here, and with a fairly small number of instruments.

[JSngry]

I'll agree that Pearson offered no real "surprises" when it came to lines or chord choices, but his voicings are actually very interesting. He had a real knack for voicings small-ish horn sections in such a way that they sounded fuller & richer than most writers. And his big band writing, although again not containing anything particularly "forward thinking" (at least not relative to the really forward thinkers of his time) still spoke in a unique and personal voice. Again, it was in his voicings. He had his own thing happening in that regard.

As an "artist", hey, that's an individual call all the way. But as a "craftsman", he was definitely one of the very best.

[sal]

All of his stuff is "by the numbers". Nothing to surprise, but much comfort.

OK but not really my cup of tea.

I'm in agreement here.

[Kyo]

This is a wonderful session and is certain to be enjoyed. I wouldn't have picked that title, though. The session has a lot of Brasilian stuff, and the blues is not the most important track.

I'm guessing that they changed the title for a reason, that reason probably being

the fact that they will include more of the Pearson-scored Turrentine sessions

from that time - who knows, it might even be a two-disc set with all of their

collaborations that haven't yet been released on CD. We'll find out soon enough.

[Shrdlu]

Well there never was a title for this 2/17/67 session, as half of it was on one LP, and half on another, both mixed with tracks from the session on 6/23/67. The forthcoming CD will be the first issue gathering the entire Febuary session together in one place.

Obviously, the June 23 session would make another CD (or could be included with the Feb session as a 2 CD set, as you say).

Of the Pearson-arranged Turrentine sessions, these two are the only ones left that have been issued before and are not yet out on CDs. So this may be the end of the road. There are other sessions (1967, I think) that have never been issued at all. Maybe they didn't jell, and so maybe they will never be released. I know Duke was very fussy about the quality of the performances he produced. The discography shows many sessions that were abandoned, and the tunes re-made at later sessions. And look at some of the take numbers! They seem to have made a huge number of attempts at some of the selections.

[Big Al]

I'll agree that Pearson offered no real "surprises" when it came to lines or chord choices, but his voicings are actually very interesting. He had a real knack for voicings small-ish horn sections in such a way that they sounded fuller & richer than most writers. And his big band writing, although again not containing anything particularly "forward thinking" (at least not relative to the really forward thinkers of his time) still spoke in a unique and personal voice. Again, it was in his voicings. He had his own thing happening in that regard.

As an "artist", hey, that's an individual call all the way. But as a "craftsman", he was definitely one of the very best.

In one of the liner notes for the recent RVGs (Lush Life I think; too lazy to look it up), Blumenthal calls Pearson's arranging "fine and functional." Sounds like he's in agreement with Chuck.

I agree there's nothing earth-shaking, but they sure are nice listening!

[marcello]

I'll agree that Pearson offered no real "surprises" when it came to lines or chord choices, but his voicings are actually very interesting. He had a real knack for voicings small-ish horn sections in such a way that they sounded fuller & richer than most writers.

Disaproachment from Now Hear This , is a good example of the above.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

and whose idea was it to only reissue 1/2 of that album on the duke big band cd? what does were issued, and which are not on the cd again?

and I KNOW WHY THEY CHANGED THE NAME OF "NEW TIME SHUFFLE!" HAVEN'T YOU HEARD, THERES A CITY IN IRAQ, CALLED: "NEW TIME SHUFFLE"!!!!!! lol

[JSngry]

In one of the liner notes for the recent RVGs (Lush Life I think; too lazy to look it up), Blumenthal calls Pearson's arranging "fine and functional."

Another Captain Obvious moment from Captain Obvious himself. Thanks, Bob Blumenthal, you're one of the reasons I no longer make reading liner notes a priority...

Look, I know it's strictly a "technical" thing, but Duke Pearson was a very skillful & resourceful arranger, especially for smaller groups. Not everybody could write a chart for, say, 5 horns and have it "speak" the way he did. AFAIC, that skill bumps him up past being merely "functional", no matter how "fine" the results are.

Pearson's arrangements may not be "innovative" or anything like that. But believe me when I tell you that they're not simply "by the books" either. Anybody studying arranging who wants/needs to learn how to make a small-ish group sound like a bigger one can benefit greatly from taking his shit apart, just as they can with Ray Charles'. It's not quite "art", but it's more than mere "craft".

The only problem I have with this "fine and functional" business is that it seems to convey the sentiment that Pearson was somebody who simply "followed the rules" in a tasteful manner. Well, no. There was more to it than that.

[Kyo]

Well there never was a title for this 2/17/67 session, as half of it was on one LP, and half on another, both mixed with tracks from the session on 6/23/67. The forthcoming CD will be the first issue gathering the entire Febuary session together in one place.

Obviously, the June 23 session would make another CD (or could be included with the Feb session as a 2 CD set, as you say).

That's what I expect at least - I can't imagine them not including the whole New Time

Shuffle LP and it seems logical to include both complete sessions on one disc (they'd fit).

This would be a good chance to release the June 9th and July 28th material as well,

which would make this a double disc release. If they were going to do that, there

might be enough space left to include all of The Look of Love and thus have all the

remaining Turrentine/Pearson material compiled on one 2CD set. I can dream, eh?

Edited March 16, 2007 by Kyo

[Kyo]

and whose idea was it to only reissue 1/2 of that album on the duke big band cd? what does were issued, and which are not on the cd again?

The CD "Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band" includes 6 of the 9 tracks from Now Hear This.

They omitted Amanda, Dad Digs Mom and I'm Tired of Cryin' Over You, about 10 minutes

of material. I don't have the Duke Pearson Mosaic Select (yet), but wouldn't there have

been enough space left on those three discs to include those omitted tracks?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I'll agree that Pearson offered no real "surprises" when it came to lines or chord choices, but his voicings are actually very interesting. He had a real knack for voicings small-ish horn sections in such a way that they sounded fuller & richer than most writers. And his big band writing, although again not containing anything particularly "forward thinking" (at least not relative to the really forward thinkers of his time) still spoke in a unique and personal voice. Again, it was in his voicings. He had his own thing happening in that regard.

As an "artist", hey, that's an individual call all the way. But as a "craftsman", he was definitely one of the very best.

Absolutely - there are three heroes of doing that kind of arranging: Duke Pearson; Ray Charles; and Hank Crawford.

Take a listen to "Hornful soul" by Ray Charles

"Baby won't you please come home" by Hank Crawford

"Baptismal" by Stanley Turrentine.

Stanley's "Rough n tumble" is definitely my favourite Pearson job.

MG

[Shrdlu]

Well said, JS! We can get too academic and too technical, and too demanding. The guy's charts sound great, to me. We are not talking Gil Evans, but it's still terrific stuff. (And I also switched off Blumenthal many RVGs ago.)

I wouldn't issue the 2/17/67 and 6/23/67 sessions together. They aren't related, and the sessions have different vibes. Why be tied down now by the rather arbitrary mixing of parts of these sessions on the original double LP? That LP had items from several sessions, and samples of these 1967 sessions were included as a way of getting them out for the first time. Then, the later single LP was put out in order to release the balance of the two 67 sessions. Now, years later, there is no longer a need to do that, and it makes sense to me to issue the sessions separately. Also, there are some rather dull tracks on the 6/23 session that were done as part of the "Sidewinder syndrome" - you know, let's do some things with a pop beat. Those get real tedious, for me. The 2/17 session has nothing like that.

[Kyo]

I wouldn't issue the 2/17/67 and 6/23/67 sessions together. [...] it makes sense to me to issue the sessions separately.

I don't see the advantage. If you truly can't stand hearing those two sessions back

to back you could just buy two CD-Rs and split them up. I wouldn't want to wait

even longer for the other session to be released and pay twice as much.

Edited March 16, 2007 by Kyo

[Shrdlu]

I see your point, but most sessions are released on their own.

I think the 2/17 session deserves special focus, as it is so beautiful.

Just joking here, but when I unraveled the sessions from the LPs, I just put them onto a humble audio cassette, as I didn't want to go to all the hassle of transferring them to digital with Musicmatch. (I have to drag my turntable to the computer to do that.) I have both sessions on the same cassette. But on opposite sides! Yes, I am inconsistent!

Stay cool!