Harry "sweets" Edison The Swinger

Even for a label that likes to catch veteran jazz stars very late in their careers, Telarc nearly outdoes itself by rounding up Harry "Sweets" Edison (81), Clark Terry (76), Frank Wess (75) and Junior Mance (68) and recording them in a West Side New York nightclub a stone's throw from Lincoln Center. Though the flesh is a little weak at times in the trumpeters, the spirit is fortunately more than willing, and plenty of their inimitable trademarks - Edison's terse repeated notes and Terry's slippery phrases - come through in this swinging, blues-dominated mainstream session. Wess is in fine shape on flute and tenor, and pianist Mance contributes a lot of sturdy, stirring, two-fisted blues and a lovely, searching interpretation of "Emily." Edison wrote half of the eight songs on the disc - three blues (including his standard "Centerpiece") and a pleasing token bossa nova ("Sweets' Bossa")…

Trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison was 74 at the time of this live set, but he still sounds in pretty good form. He is teamed with fellow Basie veterans Buddy Tate (who splits his time almost evenly between tenor and his rarely heard clarinet) and tenor saxophonist Frank Wess, while the rhythm section (pianist Hugh Lawson, bassist Ray Drummond, and drummer Bobby Durham) swings in a Basie vein. The sextet plays five veteran standards and two original blues (Edison's familiar "Centerpiece" and Tate's "Blue Creek") and, although not quite essential, this is an excellent late-period recording by Edison, Tate, and Wess.

Harry "Sweets" Edison Quintet - Patented By Edison (1960) {Roulette-Jazz Collectors JC 424 rel 2008}
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© 1960, 2008 Roulette / Jazz Collectors | JC 424
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Trumpet

This album comprises two original LPs, now available together on CD for the first time. The first 12 tracks come from Patented by Edison, recorded in 1960, and the last 12 are from Sweetenings, recorded two years earlier. Despite the differing personnels on each album, the format is basically the same: mainly short tracks featuring Harry Edison himself, with the other players somewhat in the background. The results might threaten to be samey, except that Edison is always worth hearing, with his judicious choice of notes and his soft, unassertive tone. It is no surprise that Frank Sinatra wanted Harry to be on many of his recordings with Nelson Riddle's orchestra, because the trumpeter could always supply an inimitable touch of sophistication without overpowering the singer.