Tommy Flanagan Comu

Tommy Flanagan - The Tokyo Recital (1975) {Pablo Japan VICJ-60869 rel 2001, Paper Sleeve}
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© 1975, 2001 Pablo Records / Victor Japan | VICJ-60869 | 20bitK2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

When this set was recorded, pianist Tommy Flanagan had spent so much time as Ella Fitzgerald's accompanist (the past seven years, plus two before that) that many jazz followers had forgotten how strong a soloist he was. In a trio with bassist Keter Betts and drummer Bobby Durham on this straight CD reissue of a former LP, Flanagan is heard in superior form. He interprets a full set of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn-associated songs. Highlights include "U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)," "Main Stem," "Chelsea Bridge," and a particularly memorable rendition of "The Intimacy of the Blues." Highly recommended.

Tommy Flanagan - Giant Steps (1982) {Enja Records ‎R279646 rel 1988}
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© 1982, 1988 Enja Records ‎| R2 79646
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Piano

Pianist Tommy Flanagan's playing seems to be more direct, edited and stronger as he gets older; certainly his reemergence in the mid-'70s as a solo artist produced his strongest work. Giant Steps, was a Feb. '82 tribute to John Coltrane with super backing from bassist George Mraz and drummer Al Foster…This set was particularly inventive; it was Coltrane's music, but it drinks of its own spirit. You won't listen for the familiar Trane solos, but you will listen!

Tommy Flanagan - Overseas (1957) {Prestige OJCCD-1033-2 rel 1999}
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© 1957, 1999 Prestige Records / Fantasy | OJCCD-1033-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

This studio session represents one of Tommy Flanagan's earliest dates as a leader, recorded while he was in Stockholm, Sweden. Bassist Wilbur Little and a young Elvin Jones on drums provide strong support, but the focus is on Flanagan's brilliant piano. The brilliant opener is a potent brisk run through Charlie Parker's "Relaxin' at Camarillo," followed by a faster than typical "Chelsea Bridge," which the leader playfully detours into another Billy Strayhorn composition ("Raincheck") for a moment, while also featuring Jones' brushwork in a pair of breaks. Flanagan's approach to the venerable standard "Willow Weep for Me" is steeped in blues, backed by Little's imaginative accompaniment.

Art Ellefson was born in Canada in 1932 and took up the tenor sax at sixteen after trying several other instruments. He came to England in 1952 and had a spell with Carl Barriteau from 1952 to 1955 and then Harry Hayes, Roy Fox and Frank Weir before joining Vic Lewis from 1955 to 1957. In the late 1950s he was with the Allan Ganley Quartet and the Allan Ganley - Ronnie Ross Jazzmakers. He toured Britain with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd in April 1959. Rejoined Vic Lewis for tour of USA, then co-led a group with Johnny Scott before joining Johnny Dankworth in 1960 and was often in a quintet and sextet led by Ronnie Ross.