Personnel:
Sidney Bechet (ss), Buck Clayton (tp), Vic Dickenson (tb), George Wein, Martial Solal (p), Arvell Shaw, Lloyd Thompson (b), Kansas Fields, Al Levitt (d), Sarah Vaughan (vcl)
Reference: LHJ10323
Bar code: 8436019583234
A long unavailable Brussels concert by Sidney Bechet - his last live recording and his only collaboration with trumpeter Buck Clayton. Trombonist Vic Dickenson also shines on this memorable performance.
This was also Bechets last but one studio session - just a few weeks later, before his departure to play a concert tour in the United States, he was struck by the illness from which he later died on May 14, 1959, on his 62nd birthday.
One of the greatest jazz creators of all time, Sidney Bechet was also along with Louis Armstrong one of the first jazz soloists to be recorded and widely recognized. He moved to Paris permanently in 1949 where he became a national institution.
Tracklisting:
01. INTRODUCTION (1:48)
02. INDIANA (6:09)
03. SOCIETY BLUES (7:52)
04. IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD (5:12)
05. SWANEE RIVER (3:12)
06. ALL OF ME (2:58)
07. ST. LOUIS BLUES (7:15)
08. WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHIN' IN (8:55)
09. BLUES AD-LIB (4:40)
10. I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU (3:00) (*) Bonus Track
11. THE MAN I LOVE (2:45) (*) Bonus Track
12. EXACTLY LIKE YOU (2:56) (*) Bonus Track
13. THESE FOOLISH THINGS (3:49) (*) Bonus Track
14. ONCE IN A WHILE (2:43) (*) Bonus Track
15. JEEPERS CREEPERS (3:06) (*) Bonus Track
16. I NEVER KNEW (3:00) (*) Bonus Track
17. PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (3:43) (*) Bonus Track
Total time: 73:10 min.
Tracks #1-9 from "Recorded in Concert at the Brussels Fair 1958" (Columbia CL 1410).
Tracks #10-17 taken from "Sidney Bechet avec Martial Solal" (Swing LDM 30 065).
Personnel on tracks #1-9: Sideney Bechet (ss), Buck Clayton (tp), Vic Dickenson (tb), George Wein (p), Arvell Shaw (b) and Kansas Fields (d). Recorded live at the World Fair, Brussells, Belgium, on July 29 & August 3, 1958.
On track #9: Add Sarah Vaughan (vcl) and the International Youth Band conducted by Marshall Brown.
Personnel on tracks #10-17: Sideney Bechet (ss), Martial Solal (p), Lloyd Thompson (b) and Al Levitt (d). Recorded in Paris, on March 12, 1957.
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Notes:
"After moving to Europe for good, Sidney Bechet was revered by jazz fans on the continent and remained active until shortly before his death in 1959. Thee excerpts from a 1958 concert in Brussels, Belgium find the soprano saxophonist still exhibiting the strong vibrato and vivid imagination that made him stand alone on the instrument. With trumpeter Buck Clayton and trombonist Vic Dickenson easily fitting into Bechet's New Orleans Jazz style, the sextet offers six swinging performances. Following the rousing rendition of "(Back Home Again In) Indiana," Bechet indulges in a gutbucket treatment of his original "Society Blues." But it is hard to top his extended workout of the traditional favorite, "When the Saints Go Marching In," which generously features the rhythm section (pianist George Wein, bassist Arvell Shaw and drummer Kansas Fields, though Bechet easily takes top solo honors for the concert."
Ken Dryden -All Music Guide
"As Sidney Bechet said, jazz keeps moving through the generations -its roots refreshed with more enlivening sounds of surprise."
-Nat Hentoff
