Bobby Timmons

Bobby Timmons - Sweet And Soulful Sounds + Born To Be Blue (1962-1963) {2012 Riverside Remaster, Jazzplus Series}
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© 1962-63, 2012 Riverside / Universal | 06007 5340499
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Piano

Pure piano magic from Bobby Timmons – a pair of great albums from his years at Riverside Records! First up is Sweet & Soulful Sounds – a wonderful mellow trio session from Bobby – done with a spare, relaxed approach that's a nice contrast to the recordings he was making for Prestige around the same time – but which still has the same deep, soulful approach to the piano that makes those records so great! Half a dozen trio numbers with Sam Jones and Roy McCurdy are rounded out with two piano solos, "God Bless The Child" and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" – both of which present Bobby in an especially introspective mode, one you don't hear that often on record!

Bobby Timmons Trio - This Here Is Bobby Timmons (1960) {Riverside Japan, VDJ-1529, Early Press}
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© 1960, 1985 Riverside / Victor Japan | VDJ-1529
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Piano

Fantastic early work from pianist Bobby Timmons – a set that shows all the brilliant young genius that marked his playing at the time! Although only a trio session, the album grooves with the best sort of vibe that you'd find in Bobby's recordings with Art Blakey or Cannonball Adderley – probably because of the excellent rhythm accompaniment by Sam Jones and Jimmy Cobb, who really make the album cook with a tremendous amount of energy! The set list is virtually the Bobby Timmons songbook, and includes classics like "This Here", "Dat Dere", "Moanin", and others – all done in lively soul jazz trio versions different than the famous renditions you probably already know!

Bobby Timmons - Soul Time (1960) {Riverside OJCCD-820-2 rel 1994}
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© 1960, 1994 Riverside / Fantasy / OJC | OJCCD-820-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

Pianist Bobby Timmons did the bulk of his recording as a leader for Riverside in a trio setting. This album was the exception, as it adds the pungent lyricism of Blue Mitchell's trumpet to the deeply soulful rhythm section of Timmons, Sam Jones, and Art Blakey. Timmons had recently left Cannonball Adderley's quintet to return to Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and was clearly at a peak as both player and composer. The album features four of his characteristically sanctified tunes, including the classic "So Tired," which he also cut with Blakey for Blue Note in the midst of the sessions that produced this album.

Bobby Timmons - The Prestige Trio Sessions (1964) {Prestige PRCD-24277-2 rel 2003}
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© 1964, 2003 Prestige / Fantasy | PRCD-24277-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

This CD reissue combines two long-available Prestige LPs by Bobby Timmons, Little Barefoot Soul and Chun-King. The first date was actually the pianist's debut for the label, and it nearly didn't take place at all. A quintet session suddenly turned into a trio with bassist Sam Jones and Ray Lucas, the latter a last minute substitution on drums. Although Timmons' jazz immortality was assured with his earlier hit "Moanin'," most of the originals sound as if they were written shortly beforehand and were still evolving. The standout among them is easily.

Bobby Timmons Trio - Easy Does It (1961) {Riverside OJCCD-722-2 rel 1992}
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© 1961, 1992 Riverside / Fantasy | OJCCD-722-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

Pianist Bobby Timmons, who became famous for his funky originals and soulful playing, mostly sticks to more bop-oriented jazz on this trio set with bassist Sam Jones and drummer Jimmy Cobb. He provides three originals (none of which really caught on) and is in excellent form on five standards, with highlights including "Old Devil Moon," "I Thought About You," and "Groovin' High." The Riverside CD reissue shows that Timmons was a bit more versatile than his stereotype; in any case, the music is excellent.

The Soul Man! is beautiful, elegant music and, contrary to what one might expect from a straightforward Prestige session, it's made up entirely of compelling, memorable originals. When the album was recorded, both Wayne Shorter and Ron Carter were in the second Miles Davis quintet, and it appears from this record that they were willing to contribute original compositions for a smaller unit under someone else's leadership, even someone as modest as Bobby Timmons, who was essentially just a reliable, bluesy pianist, while Miles was a giant. The result actually is a small gem. Shorter is at the height of his maturity as a player, delivering eloquent, lyrical statements in that rich, confident tone, while Timmons lays down solos as witty as he ever played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the "school" that gave him (and Shorter, incidentally) an assured place in the business.

Bobby Timmons Trio - In Person (1961) {Riverside Japan, VDJ-1658, Early Press}
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© 1961, 1988 Riverside / Victor Japan | VDJ-1658
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

This enjoyable LP presents a relaxed, agreeable live date, but not one that generates sparks. Pianist Bobby Timmons, who made his name as a writer and invaluable part of the rhythm section in the Art Blakey and Cannonball Adderley bands of the late '50s and early '60s, is a different proposition in his role here as a leader. Although able and energetic, Timmons demonstrates little taste for adventure and, consequently, can sustain himself in the spotlight only intermittently. Still, with Timmons in the company of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Albert Heath, both in their early twenties at the time of this 1961 recording, there would seem to have been potential for great things – something beyond the sum of the parts.