Personnel:
Jonah Jones (tp, vcl), George Rhodes, Teddy Brannon, Hank Jones (p), John Brown (b), Harold Austin, 'Pops' Foster (d)
Reference: BMCD 847
Bar code: 8427328008471
JONAH JONES MASTERWORKS
The Capitol Years
· Collectors Edition
· Issued in Digipack
· 2 LPs on 1 CD
· Original Cover Art and Liner Notes
· Hi-Fi and Stereo Recordings
· Newly Remastered
Jonah Jones zoomed to popularity in the late 50s. He found a successful formula and used it to brighten the hit charts with a succession of bouncy albums on Capitol Records. His quartet was one of the three newcomers in the Top 10 wide variety of small groups listed in the favorite Instrumental Billboard lists in 1958.
During 1958 Capitol was the record label that had more artists in the Top Three places on each chart. Two of them Frank Sinatra and Jonah Jones scored twice. The success of the Jonah Jones Quartet was due in large measure to the relaxed muted trumpet style of Mr. Jones. And his records were doubly good because they brought the sound and feeling of jazz to a mass market. This is a generous serving of solid, unpretentious trumpet playing with more than a dash of bubbly good humor.
"This CD simply compiles two original albums in one and what a joy they are. By the 40s Jonah Jones was sideman in various big bands, mainly the Cab Calloway Orchestra from which he used musicians to form his own outfit to record small band swing discs. Here he experimented with popular tunes in swing styles (Little Sir Echo 45) which led to this wealth of accessible and popular jazz records.
These two albums recorded in the same year (58) juxtapose well on one CD and are from the best of this genre not straying too far towards the cheese end of the spectrum and instead retaining integrity and quality. You can hear the solid melodic invention of Armstrong and the fiery excitement of Eldridge in his playing and refreshing, compact arrangements of mostly familiar tunes with a relaxed swinging rhythm section. The distinct Capitol recording techniques are immediately apparent as you hear crisp brushes on snare and a warm trumpet sound with natural separation of instruments."
Enrico Tomasso *
The Jazz Rag (October, 2014)
(*) Enrico Tomassos main early influence was Louis Armstrong. He has spent time with such popular bands as the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, Ray Gelato and (currently) Acker Bilk and is a British Jazz Award winner.
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-Jumpin with Jonah
"One of the few Jonah Jones Capitol records reissued on CD thus far (which is ironic because many of his albums from the late '50s were strong sellers), this disc has all of the music from his third Capitol release (Jumpin' With Jonah) plus four other songs originally released on other albums but actually from the same sessions. The trumpeter (who takes three good-humored vocals) is joined by guest pianist Hank Jones, bassist John Brown, and drummer Harold Austin for a mixture of Dixieland and swing standards, newer material, and jump tunes. None of these renditions resulted in any hits, but this is one of Jones' stronger jazz sets from the period despite the brevity of the selections. Highlights include "Bill Bailey," "It's a Good Day," "That's a Plenty," and "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans."
Scott Yanow -All Music Guide
