IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER…

Charlie Christian
Electric
Uptown Records
www.uptownrecords.net

Gigi Gryce
Doin’ The Gigi
Uptown Records
www.uptownrecords.net

Johnny Richards Orchestra
Kiss Her Goodbye
Uptown Records
www.uptownrecords.net
By George W. Harris

This tiny label puts out just a few things each year, but each is worth its weight in gold. Usually representing overlooked artists, or obscure recordings, or a percentage of both, Uptown gets the hat trick on this trio of releases.

1)If you’re among the uninitiated to guitarist Charlie Christian, who died in his early twenties before bebop took hold,what will probably happen to you upon first listen, is that you’ll think to yourself, “What’s the big deal about this guy? I’ve heard this kind of playing a million times by different players.” Well, THAT’S THE POINT!!! Essentially, no one played single notes on an electric guitar before this Oklahoma discovery from the King of Swing, Benny Goodman, and he influenced EVERYONE who’s ever played the six string axe since. He doesn’t have a lot of material out there, as he only recorded for a few years, so every piece of papyrus is noteworthy. This disc has him in three wonderful settings; a 1939 jam, and a pair of bradcasts from 1939-40 with Benny Goodman’s sextet.

Christian’s quartet sessions, with Jerry Jerome/ts (in a Lester Young mood), Frankie Hines/p and Oscar Pettiford/b is as casual and relaxed as you’d want. A couple takes of “I Got Rhythm, a lyrical “Tea For Two” and an intimate “Stardust” all feature Christian setting down prototypical solos that will be imitated for the next century. His stints with Goodman’s sextet (with Lionel Hampton/vibes, Nick Fatool/dr, Fletcher Henderson-Johnny Guarneri/p and Art Bernstein/b are definitive small group swing, with tunes like “Seven Come Eleven” and “AC DC Current” jumping off the speakers. Goodman and Christian on “Memories Of You” make each note weep, showing that it’s not what you say, but the way that you say it. The Rosetta Stone of guitar playing is on display here.

2) Alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce was a notable force on the hard bop scene in the 50s, playing with heavyweights like Clifford Brown, Thelonious Monk and Clifford Brown. There have always been stories floating around about him that he got the horses head treatment from the Mafia for trying to publish his own material back in the day when it was verboten to do so. This disc of radio/tv broadcasts and unissued recording sessions has him playing some of the best music you’ll ever wanna hear. If you’re a fan of 50s Blue Note and The Jazz Messengers, you’re gonna drool over this one.

Gryce’s most notable band included the intriguing mix of Richard Willians/tp, Eddie Costa/vibes, Julian Euell/b and Mickey Rocker/dr. They’re caught here on studio and concert settings in 1961, plaing a gorgeously mysterious “Blues In Bloom” as well as a version of “A Night In Tunisia” that is reminiscent of Hayden’s Surprise Symphony. Williams has got the Brown-Hubbard gene pool in his dna, as he crackles on “A Premionition Of You” and “Tunisia.” Gryce had a tone on his horn that was velvety, as he displays on the TV session with Cecil Payne/bs, Duke Jordan/p, Wendell Marshall/b and Art Taylor/dr when he sighs out a rhapsody on “There Will Never Be Another You.” Bop with a beat never got better than this. Oh Yeah!

3) Composer/Arranger Johnny Richards was part of the (notorious?) “progressive jazz” movement that reveled in music by Stan Kenton and Boyd Raeburn. He worked on classics like Kenton’s Cuban Fire and West Side Story as well as some beauts with Ben Webster, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt. This cd catches him leading his own orchestra for some sessions in 1958 for an obscure movie titled "Kiss Her Goodbye" that has some studio studs like Phil Woods/as, Charlie Persip/dr, Jimmy Cleveland/tb and Gene Quill/as. Except for a “Town Without Pity”styled vocal by David Allyn on the title track, the music here is driving, energetic, macho and excitingly experimental. Some of the pieces are fairly short, given it being a soundtrack for various moods. Nevertheless, Quill blisters on the mysterious "The Baby's Missing" while the slick "Juke Jumps" has Woods and Cleveland cruising like a couple of Chevy Bell Airs. A pair of Birdland broadcasts from 1959 have him even more mainstream and in the proverbial pocket, with takes of “Dimples” and “Laura” as full bodied as any Cabernet you’ll ever find. If you’re a big band fan, or a Kentonite, look no further.