Clark Terry, James Moody, Zoot Sims, and Dizzy Gillespie lead off a full-length BBC presentation of JATP, back in the day when jazz musicians still wore tuxes to a gig. The first 40 minutes are the best. Then R&B vocalist T-bone Walker shows up, which was not really a good idea. Pianist Teddy Wilson is then featured for two numbers, both of which run long, to my impatient ears. Then we hear from sax legends Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter. Benny’s great from the get go, but Hawk sounds a bit tired for the first two numbers before catching fire on the third. Drummer Louie Bellson has a very long solo, after which the closer, “The Real BBC Blues,” is unfortunately truncated. A young Bob Cranshaw handles the bass.
Posted by jomojojazz
