Archie Bleyer owned Cadence Records, a pop music label that had a number of hits in the Fifties. He set up Candid Records as a subsidiary, hiring the well-known jazz writer and activist Nat Hentoff to run it. Starting with Otis Spann Is The Blues by the eminent Chicago blues pianist, Hentoff produced 34 albums before Bleyer threw in the towel, and sold Cadence and Candid in 1964. Hentoff had superb taste in jazz and blues, and he also knew that allowing musicians creative freedom in the studio was bound to resulting in some great music. He was right about that, and much of the original Candid catalog has remained in print for decades, under various owners. The current steward of Candid Records is Exceleration Music, which has been reissuing the catalog on vinyl, CD, and on streaming services. The latest batch of five jazz titles is illustrative of the quality and varied styles that the label offered. I’ve arranged these albums in order of recording dates, from Cecil Taylor in October 1960 to Booker Little in April 1961.
The World Of Cecil Taylor presents the iconoclastic pianist Cecil Taylor in trio and quartet formats. At the time this session was taped, bassist Buell Neidlinger and drummer Dennis Charles were performing with Taylor in Jack Gelber’s The Connection, and the rapport they established on the theater stage carried over into this studio recording. Saxophonist Archie Shepp, making his recording debut, appears on two tracks. It’s been over 6 decades since this session, but the music remains totally fresh and vibrant. While this reissue includes the original liner notes by Neidlinger and jazz critic Martin Williams, it somehow omits the recording dates and doesn’t add any of the alternate takes that have surfaced over the years. Still, this release is one of the gems of Taylor’s extensive discography. Candid CCD 30062; Archie Shepp (ts on *) Cecil Taylor (p) Buell Neidlinger (b) Dennis Charles (d); NYC, October 12-13, 1960; Air*/ This Nearly Was Mine/ Port of Call/ E.B./ Lazy Afternoon*; 48:41.
Trumpeter Clark Terry had a long and distinguished career, with nearly one thousand entries in the online Jazz Discography. It would take an herculean effort to absorb all the music, but I think it’s safe to say that Color Changes, his 1960 Candid album, constitutes one of his best albums. Leading a octet that features multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef, the album’s title perfectly captures the variety of sounds the band evinces over the course of 42 minutes. Four of the pieces are by Terry, and they’re joined by Bob Wilber’s Blue Waltz, Duke Jordan’s No Problem, and Lateef’s tribute to the bandleader, Brother Terry. Good material, with crisp arrangements by a variety of hands (including Al Cohn and Budd Johnson), and spirited playing by Terry, Lateef, trombonist Jimmy Knepper, and pianist Tommy Flanagan make this set worthy of revisiting again and again. Candid CCD 30092; Clark Terry (tpt, flgh) Jimmy Knepper (tbn) Julius Watkins (Fr hn) Seldon Powell (ts, fl) Yusef Lateef (ts, fl, Eng hn, oboe) Tommy Flanagan or Budd Johnson *(p) Joe Benjamin (b) Ed Shaughnessy (d); NYC, November 19, 1960; Blue Waltz (La Valse Bleue)/ Brother Terry/ Flutin’ and Fluglin’/ No Problem/ La Rive Gauche/ Nahstye Blues*/ Chat Qui Pèche (A Cat That Fishes); 42:03. .
Tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin has been a personal favorite since I first heard him as a member of Charles Mingus’ Jazz Workshop. That’s It! was his third album as a leader, with a hand-picked quartet featuring pianist Horace Parlan, bassist George Tucker, and drummer Al Harewood. They supply immaculately swinging support on four Ervin originals plus the ever-popular Poinciana and the even more frequently performed Speak Low by Kurt Weill. Ervin was totally serious about his music, and all of his recorded work is well worth hearing. As he told Nat Hentoff in the liner notes, “Music means so much to me that it wouldn’t figure to play like anyone but myself.” In addition to the Mingus connection, Ervin’s is often remembered for the superb series of albums he made for Prestige later in the Sixties. But don’t miss That’s It!, a wonderful session that presents one of the most distinctive tenormen of his era in full command of his instrument, his material, and his sidemen. Absolutely recommended. Candid CCD 30142; Booker Ervin (ts) Horace Parlan (p) George Tucker (b) Al Harewood (d); NYC, January 6, 1961; Mojo/ Uranus/ Poinciana/ Speak Low/ Booker’s Blues/ Boo; 43:13. www.candidrecords.com
Hentoff moved back to the swing era the month after the Ervin date with Jazz Reunion, a nearly perfect album with a septet helmed by Pee Wee Russell & Coleman Hawkins. Clarinetist Russell and tenor saxophone giant Hawkins were members of the Mound City Blue Blowers when the group recorded the famous and oft-anthologized Lola and If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) in November 1929. They played together with Henry “Red” Allen on the 1957 Sound Of Jazz broadcast on CBS, and again in 1958 on Art Ford’s Jazz Party, bootlegged on various issues. For this date, with pianist Nat Pierce supplying the arrangements, Milt Hinton on bass and the redoubtable Jo Jones on drums, and a brass section of Emmett Berry and valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, Russell and Hawkins were inspired to create a real classic. From the opening reprise of If I Could Be With You to the ultra-relaxed swing of the closing What Am I Here For?, there is no shortage of gorgeous moments. Hawkins is in top form, and his sound is finely captured by Bob D’Orleans at New York’s Nola Penthouse Studios (where all five of these Candid albums was made). The less-celebrated Russell fares very well indeed. His solo feature, Mariooch, performed just with the rhythm section, is a gem of bluesy clarinet playing, and one of the high points of his lengthy musical career. Recommended? You bet. Candid CCD 30202; Emmett Berry (tp) Bob Brookmeyer (v-tb) Pee Wee Russell (cl) Coleman Hawkins (ts) Nat Pierce (p, arr) Milt Hinton (b) Jo Jones (d); NYC, February 23, 1961; If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)/ Tin Tin Deo/Mariooch/ All Too Soon/ 28th and 8th/ What Am I Here For?; 45:42. www.candidrecords.com
Listening to trumpeter Booker Little’s Out Front for the first time in years, I’m startled anew at his gorgeous tone, boldly imaginative phrasing, and rich compositional style on this spring 1961 album. It’s a great record, with Little at the helm of an immensely creative and supportive sextet, and I think if it stayed in perpetual daily rotation around the house, the music would lose none of its stop-in-your-tracks-and-listen power. One source of the date’s success is the tight bond between Little and percussionist Max Roach. The trumpeter made his recording debut in 1958 as a member of Roach’s hard-working quintet. Multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy was a new collaborator with Little, and his soloing on alto saxophone seems as fresh and raw as it did at the time. Who knows what fine music might have resulted from an extended relationship between these two instrumental giants, but alas, it was not to be. Little died later in the year; he was just 23. His place in the trumpet pantheon is assured through superb albums like this one. Once again, the packaging omits recording dates and omits the alternate takes that have appeared on previous reissues. Candid CCD 30272; Booker Little (tpt) Julian Priester (tbn) Eric Dolphy (as, bcl, fl) Don Friedman (p) Ron Carter or Art Davis* (b) Max Roach (d, tympani, vib); NYC, March 17* or April 4, 1961; We Speak*/ Strength and Sanity/ Quiet, Please*/ Moods in Free Time/ Man of Words/ Hazy Blues/ A New Day*; 44:01. www.candidrecords.com
