Eddie Bert

[Larry Kart]

Was listening today to Bert's 1954 or '55  Savoy album "Musician of the Year," which makes up the first seven tracks of the two-CD compilation below; on the compilation's remaining tracks, which I haven't heard, Joe Puma and JR Monterose are added, and how bad can that be. In any case, "Musician of the Year" is a gem. Bert is one of the best somewhat Lester Young-influenced trombonists who came up in the late '30s/early '40s -- some others might be Earl Swope, Jimmy Knepper, and Willie Dennis -- and I've never heard Bert in better form. Rhythm section is Hank Jones, Wendell Marshall and Kenny Clarke, fine RVG sound. A nice, albeit tricky touch is that on most tracks Bert is multi-tracked on the "in" and "out" choruses for a Jay & Kai-like effect, which he handles with ease; and he usually solos twice on most tracks, e,g, once on open horn, once muted, to further the two-trombone effect. What a fine lyrical, swinging player Bert was, and an individual one too -- I can usually tell it's a Bert solo in just a few notes.

 

[Peter Friedman]

I originally had the Bert material on a couple of Savoy LPs back when they were first issued in the 50's.

My strong interest in tenor player J.R. Monterose was a motivating factor. Always enjoyed them. I was especially pleased when Fresh Sound reissued the Savoy Bert material on CD a few years ago.

[clifford_thornton]

yeah, I have one of those Savoys and enjoy it very much.

[jazzbo]

I have them both on separate discs. Bert was a great player. And Kenny Clarke!

[Big Beat Steve]

I agree. I bought the "Musician of the Year" LP a long time ago some time after it had been reissued by French RCA in the mid-80s. It's been a while since I listened closely to it but remember I was very impressed by the effortless fluency and swing of the proceedings. I have "Encore" (feat. Monterose and Puma et al.) on the Savoy-Denon reissue CD of the early 2000s. TIme to pull out that one again too.
So I guess, owning 2 out of 3 of the contents of this FS reissue I will have to make do without "Montage" (until that one comes along somewhere else if it turns out to be a must).