AprilCadence2013

4) JAMES MORRISON
SNAPPY TOO
MORRISON MR 020
ALEPH 046.
ALL OF ME / THE MASTER
PLAN / I’M GETTING
SENTIMENTAL OVER YOU
/ THE CALL / NO REGRET /
ZOG’S JOG / SAD BLUES / UP
A LAZY RIVER / SOMEDAY
MY PRINCE WILL COME /
GOING HOME (Parts One
and Two). 63:50.
James Morrison, t, tb, reeds,
p, g, bj, b; Jeff Hamilton,
d. Sydney, Australia; Los
Angeles, CA; recording
dates not given.
5) RAY PARKER
SWINGIN’ NEVER
HURT NOBODY
RAY PARKER (no #).
GUITAR SAMMICH – NOW’S
THE TIME / THE BEST THINGS
IN LIFE ARE FREE / MY
HEART BELONGS TO DADDY
/ ALWAYS / THE NEARNESS
OF YOU / TOO CLOSE FOR
COMFORT / ZINGARO / JUST
IN TIME / GOODBYE. 56:48.
Parker, b; John Hart, g;
Russell George, violin.
6) MAC GOLLEHON
LA FAMA
MAC GOLLEHON (no #)
New Issues
173 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013
Multi-instrumentalist James Morrison is photographed
on the cover of (4) peering through a
trumpet, which might lead one to expect the expected.
But no. As Morrison writes, twenty years ago he
recorded SNAPPY DOO with Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, and
Jeff Hamilton – an impressive credential in itself – but
Morrison overdubbed all the other horns and reeds
to create a nineteen-piece band (playing piano, four
trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones). SNAPPY
TOO is the next generation: a seventeen-piece band
where Morrison plays everything including banjo and
guitar, leaving drums to Hamilton.
A feat of this scope requires that a reviewer split him /
herself in two. I admire Morrison’s impeccable soloing
on his horns and reeds, and the “band” is remarkable
in its unified, rich sound – not like sixteen versions
of the same player in different registers and timbres.
That said, I wonder if this extraordinary technical
achievement was the finest musical showcase possible.
It is reminiscent of a television cooking program
where a contestant must make dinner using only six
ingredients. We admire the achievement, but does
the food taste good? At times the Morrison “band”
sounds like a glossy show band, a television orchestra
circa 1980, inspired by the Basie band. A listener can
decide whether the admiration one has for Morrison’s
daredevil feats is repaid by the music, beginning with
the faux-Dixieland opening (recorded with its sound
electronically limited before we move into “modern
high fidelity”) of ALL OF ME, the “traditional jazz”
mannerisms of SAD BLUES and UP A LAZY RIVER, or
the “train” effects at the start of ZOG’S JOG. Would
this CD still seem impressive if we knew nothing of
the wizardry behind it? The lovely unhackneyed NO
REGRET might convince anyone, so begin there.
Pure pleasure – swinging string bass, guitar, and
violin played by three casually eloquent masters
of the form. Readers might not know Parker as well
as they should, but he is a superb musician, arco or
pizzicato – a big tone, beautiful time, splendid intonation
– matched well by guitarist Hart (someone all the