Nov 112016
 

wardell-gray-jams-1951-52-front-covergoing back a good way now.  i think this has been floating around the internet for awhile, and with good reason.  as ‘doinker’ said in the seed on dime… “an absolute must-have gem w/chet baker, count basie and others’.  it really was a great loss when wardell gray died at just 34 years old.  rip.

there’s a great website on mr. gray, that’s worth a visit also:
wardellgray.org

[update 29 nov 2016:  see comments for improved setlist details.  updates to this posting & to the covers to follow.]


wardell gray – jams 1951-52

count basie orchestra
featuring wardell gray on saxaphone
birdland, new york city
broadcast 28 april 1951

01 jumping at the woodside 2:50
02 how high the moon 8:24
03 lady be good 3:04
04 golden bullet 4:56
05 one o’clock jump 3:55
06 good bait 2:28
07 the king 3:36
08 spasmodic 2:29
09 far cry 3:29

jam session
trade winds
inglewood, california
24 march 1952

10 out of nowhere 16:23
11 strike up the band 8:40 *
12 pennies from heaven 8:41 *

* not featuring wardell gray

lineup:
tracks 1-9: count basie’s band, lineup unknown.
track 10: tenor: wardell gray; tenor: dave pell; alto: sonny criss; trumpet: chet baker; bass: bobby whitlock; piano: jerry mandell; drums: lawrence marable; cello: harry babison
tracks 11 & 12: valve trombone: bob enevoldson; trombone: milt bernhart; piano: marty paich; tenor: jack montrose; drums: larry bunker; bass: unknown

lineage birdland: boot lp “featuring wardell gray” (ozone 6) ->technics sl1200mkii ->echo layla 3g ->sound forge 6.0 ->click and crackle reduction ->audio restoration suite (no nr). left and right channels were combined at 50% each into a single track, then the track was split at 100% for two channels. this is a mono, two-channel recording.

lineage trade winds: boot lp “jam session record no. 103” (js-103-a/b) ->technics sl1200mkii ->echo layla 3g ->sound forge 6.0 ->click and crackle reduction ->audio restoration suite (no nr). left and right channels were combined at 50% each into a single track, then the track was split at 100% for two channels. this is a mono, two-channel recording.
assuming there’s no phase shift or other issue between the two channels, combining then splitting them again can produce a much cleaner sound. i’d recommend you test it first to see if it works on your particular set.

enjoy! a doinkertape

seeder’s comments:

wardell gray was one of the rising stars of post-war jazz, until his life was cut short at 34 under mysterious circumstances in las vegas. he would be much better known today had more recordings existed of him. he was a featured player with earl hines, count basie, and benny goodman and was a friend and frequent player with dexter gordon. his style was strong, powerful, and most importantly it was relaxed. this is not big-band music, but it does derive from it.

the early 1950’s was a wonderful time for jazz, particularly if you lived in a big city. it was a time when you could walk into a small club and hear the likes of miles davis, charlie parker, chet baker, dizzy gillespie and others. in one respect it paralled the very early days of the modern rock movement, circa 1967. none of these people were stars to the extent that they are today and you could see them in small group settings in an intimate atmosphere. although 52nd street in new york was the epicenter of the small-group movement, you could find it in many other large cities.

this torrent consists of two completely different sets of circumstances, which somehow fit together perfectly. the first part is a radio broadcast from april 28, 1951 at birdland. it’s of count basie’s group in a small setting, featuring mr. gray blowing on the following tracks [tracks 1-9]. the second part is a jam session at “trade winds” in inglewood, california on march 24, 1952 [tracks 10-12].


sample: 10 out of nowhere.mp3
download: WardellGray_Jams_1951-52.zip


  9 Responses to “wardell gray – jams 1948-52”

  1. Hi Pete, Always love Wardell – and what catholic tastes you have!!! I think that the last few entries have been super, showing what a range one is talking about when one talks about jazz…however, on this, just need the password to be able to download and listen to those jams please! Best, MonkSphere

  2. doh!

    yWCXxyFQvueQGHz

    thanks charlied

    pete

  3. Thanks Pete for these great jams

  4. Thanks for this. The title should read 1948-1952. The excellent Gray discography that you noted above lists the personnel for the Basie sides. Tracks 1-5 were recorded on 28 April 1948 with Clayton, Terry, Marshall Royal, Green, Jimmy Lewis & Gus Johnson.
    Tracks 6-9 date from 14 September 1948 with a much larger orchestra.

    • thanks terry! you’re right.

      i’ve gone through the discography again looking for the dates you gave, and looks as if you’re right 1948-1951. but for tracks 1-5, did you mean 28 april 1951? so i think the setlist should look something like this. (in the discography, search for the text in [ ] brackets below.) i’ve updated the header & will re-do the posting, the info file and the covers later (probably this weekend).
      _____________

      8 april 1951 – ozone 6
      [wnew radio broadcast, birdland, new york, ny, april 28, 1951]

      clark terry, buck clayton (tp); marshall royal (cl); wardell gray (ts); count basie (p); freddie green (g); jimmy lewis (b); gus johnson (d); “symphony” sid torin (mc).

      01 jumping at the woodside 2:50
      02 how high the moon 8:24
      03 lady be good 3:04
      04 golden bullet 4:56
      05 one o’clock jump 3:55

      14 september 1948 – spotlight sjp134
      [mbs radio broadcast, royal roost, new york, ny, september 14, 1948]

      william “count” basie (p, dir); clark terry, jimmy nottingham, harry edison, emmett berry (tp); bill johnson, george matthews, ted donnelly, dickie wells (tb); bernard “bernie”/“burnie” peacock (as); earle warren (as, voc); wardell gray (ts); paul gonsalves (ts, poss. el-g); ronald “jack” washington (bar); freddie green (g); singleton palmer (b); rossiere “shadow” wilson (d); dinah washington, jimmy rushing (voc); unidentified (mc).

      06 good bait 2:28
      07 the king 3:36
      08 spasmodic 2:29
      09 far cry 3:29

      24 march 1952 – jam session no. 103
      jam session
      [private recording, “the trade winds”, inglewood, ca, march 24, 1952]

      chet baker (tp); sonny criss (as); wardell gray, dave pell (ts); jerry mandell (p); harry babasin (cello); bobby whitlock (b); lawrence “larance” marable (d).

      10 out of nowhere 16:23

      bob enevoldson (v-tb); milt bernhart (tb); jack montrose (ts); marty paich (p); unknown (b); larry bunker (d).

      11 strike up the band 8:40 *
      12 pennies from heaven 8:41 *

      * not featuring wardell gray
      _____________

      thanks again!

      pete

      • Sorry, I got that date wrong. I’ve been trying to D/L the Edmond Hall Stuttgart concert but failed. What could I be doing wrong ?

      • hi terry, i’ve updated the encryption key in the edmond hall posting. see if that works. if not, i’ll try to remove the need for a key or move it elsewhere.

        pete

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