Feb 2, 2010

Al Grey - Night Song

barabara sounds sez:
Actually I don't know a whole lot about trombonist Al Grey, barring what's out there on Wiki, which doesn't even mention this album on Argo from 1963. But this features some excellent early Bobby Hutcherson vibes, so that's good enough for me — plus Billy Mitchell on sax. Check out the great tribute to the man by Nancy Wilson on NPR (below), which includes some very nice sound clips.

Trombonist Al Grey was famous as "the last of the big time plungers," for his mastery at using a plumber's plunger to manipulate the color of his instrument. The result was a soulful quality that sounds as if he's singing the blues.

Personnel:
Al Grey (tb), Dave Burns (tp), Billy Mitchell (ts), Bobby Hutcherson (vib), Earl Washington (p), Herman Wright (b), Otis "Candy" Finch (dr), Philip Thomas (dr, cga)
recorded 1962/11/2,5 Chicago

Tracks:
Blues In The Night; Stella By Starlight; The Way You Look Tonight; Through For The Night; Stardust; Night And Day; Laughing Tonight



20 comments:

Anonymous said...

comments please, oh yes they do!

http://www.mediafire.com/?m1nyjinzmmk

E-mile said...

aaaaah, TN, another version of Stella here [:-)
peace, E-mile

roberto t. said...

With Billy Mitchell and Bobby Hutcherson it must be excellent. Thank you!!!

taro nombei said...

@ E-mile
yes, time for you to start preparing another stellar Stella mixtape!

taro nombei said...

@ roberto t.
you're very welcome and thanks for dropping by!

Anonymous said...

thanks for another rare one..bobby hutch always makes the music better

Anonymous said...

interesting players. I'm scouring the internet for jazz downloads. without bloggers like you I'd never ever hear this. thanks from an anonymous lurker. I recently learned about the anon option on comments. that makes me less paranoid,

Bhowani said...

al Grey

Thank You !

taro nombei said...

@bhowani
you're very welcome!

@anonymous
Like the rest of us! Me too — the music blogosphere has turned me on to so many great musicians and sounds I never knew existed (or had never checked out properly).
And that in turn has impelled me to share some of the sounds I have that aren't known well enough, so others can get to know them too.
It's also led to me buying more new music again :–)

sea slug said...

Thank you for this! Thanks to blogs like yours I am learning more about the lesser-acknowledged jazz artists than I could have ever come across with my meager duckets in a record store.

taro nombei said...

@ James

Isn't that what it's all about? Same for me. Such a lot of great music I would never have found without the blogosphere (a lot of my mentors are in my blog roll on the right)...

Thanks for dropping by!

tommythomaso said...

The tunes, Hutcherson's presence, and a recommend from Barbara: that does it! Thanx, Barbara!

Anonymous said...

Nice, tasteful music. Arrangements are splendid. I must dig deeper into Grey's oeuvre. He seems worth the effort. Thanks!
Bartek

taro nombei said...

Damn right you should...
Glad you like it — and thanks for the comment!

Anonymous said...

Mr. Grey was one of the best, and a kind, thoughtful man. Thanks for making this LP available.

taro nombei said...

@ anon
thanks for taking the time to drop a comment :-)

Baron said...

Thanks for the Grey lp Argo 711 ... Baron

Anonymous said...

It's terribly late for this one, I
know, but is it possible to repost?
I would really love to pick it up,
please!
Arvin

taro nombei said...

@ Arvin
I wasn't planning to repost all the links that went down, but I'll see what I can do when I've got some time :-)
...though that probably won't be till the holidays now!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Taro for your kind reply!
I'll be waiting confidently.
In the meantime let me wish you
happy holidays
Arvin