#tenorsax

Bud Shank – Bud Shank Plays Tenor

Booker Ervin With Dexter Gordon – Setting The Pace

Setting the Pace is an album by saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Booker Ervin recorded in Munich in 1965 and released on the Prestige label.

Reception

AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4.5 stars stating “…With very stimulating playing by pianist Jaki Byard, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Alan Dawson, tenors Booker Ervin and Dexter Gordon battle it out on marathon (19 and 22 1/2 minute) versions of “Setting the Pace” and “Dexter’s Deck.” Although Gordon is in good form, Ervin (who sometimes takes the music outside) wins honors…”

Wayne Shorter – JuJu

JuJu is the fifth album by American jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter. It was released in July 1965 by Blue Note Records. It features a rhythm section of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Elvin Jones, all of whom had worked extensively with Shorter’s fellow tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.

Reception

AllMusic review by Stacia Proefrock awarded the album 5 stars and stated:”Fulfilling the potential promised on his Blue Note debut, Night Dreamer, Wayne Shorter’s JuJu was the first great showcase for both his performance and compositional gifts.”

John Coltrane – Dakar

Dakaris an album credited to jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1963 on Prestige Records.

Budd Johnson – Blues A La Mode

Blues a la Mode is an album by saxophonist Budd Johnson which was recorded in 1958 and released on the Felsted label.

Reception

AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated:”Originally released on the Felsted label and reissued by Master Jazz, this LP features underrated tenor and arranger Budd Johnson with two overlapping groups. Three selections feature Budd with the great trumpeter Charlie Shavers, trombonist Vic Dickenson, Al Sears on baritone, Bert Keyes doubling on piano and organ, bassist Joe Benjamin, and drummer Jo Jones, while three other pieces have Johnson, Shavers, Benjamin, Jones and pianist Ray Bryant. The leader contributed all six numbers and stars in prime form throughout; Shavers and Bryant also fare quite well. This album awaits reissue on CD and is an excellent example of 1950s mainstream jazz.”

Bill Perkins & Richie Kamuca – Tenors Head-On

Reception

AllMusic review awarded the album 4.5 stars stated:”The Lester Young-influenced tenors of Bill Perkins (who later developed a more Coltrane-oriented style) and Richie Kamuca are matched on this 1956 set. The music comprises hard-swinging but light-toned run-throughs on standards with the two complementary tenors both in excellent form. The material is taken from two former LPs and feature a pair of all-star rhythm sections (pianist Pete Jolly, bassist Red Mitchell, drummer Stan Levey, or pianist Hampton Hawes, Mitchell, and drummer Mel Lewis). Lovers of bebop and solidly swinging music will find much to enjoy on the set including some rare (if conventional) bass clarinet and flute from Perkins on a colorful version of “Sweet and Lovely.””

Personnel

Albert Ayler – Spirits Rejoice 

Spirits Rejoice is a live album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City in 1965 and first released on the ESP-Disk label. The recording session took place without an audience at Judson Hall, which had been rented solely for recording purposes.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4½ stars, calling it “one of Albert Ayler’s wildest, noisiest albums”, and stating: “For all its apparent chaos, Spirits Rejoice is often surprisingly pre-arranged – witness all the careening harmony passages that accompany the theme statements, and the seamless transitions of the title track. Spirits Rejoice is proof that there was an underlying logic even to Ayler’s most extreme moments, and that’s why it remains a tremendously inspiring recording”.

HOUSTON PERSON – THE NEARNESS OF YOU

The Nearness of You’is an album by saxophonist Houston Person recorded in 1977 and released on the Muse label.

Reception

AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated:”The soulful and always-swinging tenor Houston Person is in typically fine form on this enjoyable LP (not yet reissued on CD). Joined by trumpeter Virgil Jones, guitarist Melvin Sparks, organist Charles Earland, Sonny Phillips on electric piano, bassist Mervyn Bronson, drummer Grady Tate and percussionist Lawrence Killian, Person explores such numbers as “Freddie the Freeloader” and “Mean to Me.” Singer Etta Jones pops by for one song, the blues “Please Mr. Person” (based on “Please Mr. Johnson” by the Buddy Johnson band of the 1940s). A fun date.”