Herb Geller in Concert with Charlie Mariano
Halle Opera House 2002
Hep Jazz 2096
www.hepjazz.com

Jim Galloway
Bojangles
Hep Jazz 2008
www.hepjazz.com

The Frank Griffith Big Band
Holland Park Non-Stop
Hep Jazz 2095
www.hepjazz.com
By George W. Harris

This small UK-based label carries its load like the proverbial ant-up to 50 times its weight, as it releases some of the most interesting music out there. These three most recent discs each have something that have an allure.

The first one should be in everyone’s library. 50’s West Coast giants Herb Geller and Charlie Mariano reunite for a one-off in Germany with simple and supple support by the Spartan and drummerless team of Burkhard Braune/p and Thoms Biller/b. They go back and forth on choruses on tunes like “Night and Day” and a luminous “Stella By Starlight” that are textbook lessons on style, substance, swing and class. These two gents have lost none of their melodious sound, as can be the habit of older sax players (who shall remain nameless), but still exude the warmth of Johnny Hodges on the gliding “I Love You.” Each “alto-cacker” gets a chance to spotlight,with Geller gliding along a snazzy “Tickle Toe” and Mariano going bel canto on “Spring Is Here.” This disc should be de rigueur listening for any aspiring student of the alto sax. All but forgotten these days, they should be at the top of your “go to” list.

Known mostly in his native Scotland and adopted Canada, Galloway has a double life on his saxes. On soprano, he’s a sweet and pungent as Kenny Davern, and on tenor, he goes the macho Texas Tenor route of Illinois Jacquet. This collection of late 70s sessions from Glasgow have him in the contemporary mood, with electric piano supplied by Ed Richmond or Dave Pringle, Alex Moore’s electric bass, and Murray Smith on drums. The electric keyboards make the music just a tad dated, but this was what everyone was doing at the time, so get over it. Galloway’s soprano is timeless, as he floats on tunes like “Do You Know What It Means” and “Come Sunday” with a tone that is as sweet as a Café Du Monde. His high cholesterol tenor is as sweaty as a sauna on the smoking “Moten Swing” and is as thick as sorghum on the lip smacking “These Foolish Things.” This guys still alive and well, and if he’s within 100 miles of your town, go see him. So old school, that it’s brand new!

UK based bandleader/tenor saxist Frank Griffith leads a modern big band on this brand new recording. You won’t know any of the names here, but you should get to know the leader, as he’s got a growl in his sax that will grab your attention. Horace Silver’s “Strollin’” has a macho solo by a trumpeter named Fraddy Gavit, while Griffith fills the room with a wondrous “These Foolish Things.” A throwback to the big band era of canaries, vocalist Tina May is effervescent on her trio of songs, most notably “Oh, You Crazy Moon,” which has some more soul searching tenor work by the leader. Clever charts on these standards keep this as a mix of a throwback and a look forward.