Jazz
Recorded: December 10 & 12, 1959, Hall Studios, Chicago, Illinois
Jimmy Forrest - Sax (Tenor)
Grant Green - Guitar
Harold Mabern - Piano
Gene Ramey - Bass
Elvin Jones - Drums
Although Jimmy Forrest is well known for composing and playing the huge R&B hit "Night Train" his bebop tenor sax playing ranks among the best. This 1959 session features the very first recording of guitarist GRANT GREEN who later went on to Blue Note records. These were also early recordings of drummer Elvin Jones who was yet to join the legendary John Coltrane Quartet. The less than gentle title of this album should give you a gleaming insight to the hearty type of offering enclosed; uninhibited mainstream bebop.
* Al Brandtner - Design
* Jeff Lowenthal - Photography
* Joe Segal - Liner Notes, Supervisor
* Robert G. Koester - Producer
* Stu Black - Engineer
This was the first album that tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest made after his R&B phase ended. Particularly notable is that the set served as the recording debut of guitarist Grant Green; completing the band are pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Gene Ramey and drummer Elvin Jones. The top-notch group performs two ballads, "Caravan" and three basic Forrest originals, including the title cut. The music is essentially melodic and blues-based hard bop that looks toward soul-jazz. Everyone sounds in fine form.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
* Previously unissued
Jimmy Forrest
Active Decades: '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s
Born: Jan 24, 1920 in St. Louis, MO
Died: Aug 26, 1980 in Grand Rapids, MI
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Swing, Soul-Jazz, Jump Blues, Hard Bop, Jazz Blues, Mainstream Jazz
A fine all-round tenor player, Jimmy Forrest is best-known for recording "Night Train," a song that he "borrowed" from the last part of Duke Ellington's "Happy Go Lucky Local." While in high school in St. Louis, Forrest worked with pianist Eddie Johnson, the legendary Fate Marable, and the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra. In 1938, he went on the road with Don Albert and then was with Jay McShann's Orchestra (1940-1942). In New York, Forrest played with Andy Kirk (1942-1948) and Duke Ellington (1949) before returning to St. Louis. After recording "Night Train," Forrest became a popular attraction and recorded a series of jazz-oriented R&B singles. Among his most important later associations were with Harry "Sweets" Edison (1958-1963), Count Basie's Orchestra (1972-1977), and Al Grey, with whom he co-led a quintet until his death. Forrest recorded for United (reissued by Delmark), PrestigeNew Jazz (1960-1962), and Palo Alto (1978).
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
