Personnel:
Jonah Jones (tp, vcl), Teddy Brannon (p), John Brown (b), 'Pops' Foster (d), Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra, Dick Hyman (org, p), Bob Bain, Howard Roberts, Jack Marshall (g), The Jubilee Four, June Christy (vcl)
Reference: BMCD 851
Bar code: 8427328008518
JONAH JONES MASTERWORKS
The Capitol Years
· Collectors Edition
· Issued in Digipack
· 2 LPs on 1 CD + Bonus Tracks
· 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.
This is a powerful joining of forces, with trumpet man Jonah Jones taking the lead in front of the Casa Loma styled Benny Carter arrangements for big band. The tunes are all closely associated with other famous horn men James, Armstrong, Stewart, Eldridge, Berigan, etc while the impeccable studio band radiates a goodly fire of its own behind Jones. On That Righteous Feelin the voices of the Jubilee Four keep in a handclapping mood the fresh, sanctifying gospel sounds of Jonah Jones with Dick Hyman and the New Disciples of Rhythm. Everything about it sounds rightor righteous!
"Jonah Jones was an accomplished, versatile; Armstrong inspired trumpet-player, commercially successful in the early 1960s with a series of easy-listening albums for the Capitol label. This well presented CD has two of these albums plus a couple of bonus June Christy tracks. Jonah Jones/Glen Gray and The Casa Loma Orchestra finds him playing Benny Carter arrangements of tunes made famous by Swingdom's brightest trumpet stars.
That Righteous Feelin is a commercial take on gospel music. Jones is backed by two studio groups: The Jubilee Four vocal group (Oh, yes-indeed! Ah-ooh) and Dick Hyman and the New Disciples of Rhythm. Recorded with the wider non-jazz audience in mind, even with Benny Carter arrangements and good players the jazz content is minimal, solos are kept short. There are enjoyable moments on this CD, but - generally, nothing really takes off. As these commercial albums reveal, Jonah Jones is a good player, but not a great player."
Paul Lacey *
The Jazz Rag (October, 2014)
(*) A fine trumpeter, Paul Lacey is best known as the leader of the superb big band, Back to Basie, winner of the British Jazz Award most years since its formation in 2001.
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-Jonah Jones / Glen Gray
"Since trumpeter Jonah Jones and bandleader Glen Gray were two of Capitol's biggest jazz-oriented attractions of the late '50s/early '60s, a collaboration seemed logical. Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra (which at this point was really a big band filled with top West Coast studio players) performs a dozen Benny Carter arrangements; tenorman Plas Johnson gets in a few licks, and the swing-oriented repertoire suits Jones' playing just fine on this instrumental LP. Highlights include a remake of "Baubles, Bangles and Beads," "Two O'Clock Jump," "After You've Gone" and "West End Blues."
Scott Yanow -All Music Guide
