BLP 4093

Ike Quebec - Heavy Soul

Released - February 1962

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 26, 1961
Ike Quebec, tenor sax; Freddie Roach, organ #1-7; Milt Hinton, bass; Al Harewood, drums #1-7.

tk.4 Acquitted
tk.13 Heavy Soul
tk.14 Just One More Chance
tk.20 Que's Dilemma
tk.24 I Want A Little Girl
tk.30 Brother Can You Spare A Dime
tk.32 The Man I Love
tk.34 Nature Boy

Session Photos

Photos: Francis Wolff

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Acquitted	Ike Quebec	26 November 1961
Just One More Chance	Sam Coslow, Arthur Johnston	26 November 1961
Que's Dilemma	Ike Quebec	26 November 1961
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?	Jay Gorney, Yip Harburg	26 November 1961
Side Two
The Man I Love	George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin	26 November 1961
Heavy Soul	Ike Quebec	26 November 1961
I Want a Little Girl	Murray Mencher, Billy Moll	26 November 1961
Nature Boy	Eden Ahbez	26 November 1961

Liner Notes

ON receiving this album for annotation, I checked through the principal jazz history books for references to Ike Quebec. I was appalled by what I found or rather, by what I failed to find. This incontestably superior musician has been almost totally ignored in the chronicling of the musical form to which he has contributed so much.

I was about as guilty as the rest, for in The Book of Jazz he is referred to only in a footnote, along with a dozen other tenor saxophonists. This inexcusable lapse was at least partly compensated for in The New Encyclopedia of Jazz, which includes the following biographical entry:

QUEBEC, IKE ABRAMS, tenor sax; b. Newark, N.J., 8/17/18; formerly a dancer and pianist, he started on tenor in 1940 with Barons of Rhythm; later worked with Frankie Newton, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins. Worked for Cab Calloway off and on from to 1944 to '51. Only sporadically active during the '50s. Quebec was a superior tenor man of the Hawkins school with a big tone and firm, vigorous style. Favorites: Hawkins, Webster, Getz. Recorded for Blue Note 1959, released on 45 r.p.m.

This elliptical summation of Ike's career tells less than the whole story, of course. Like many musicians of his generation, he had frustrations and disappointments. Basically trained as an orchestral musician as well as a featured soloist, he found himself less in demand as the big band era began to fade. Although the economic problems were considerable toward the end of the Cab Calloway years and afterward, my reference to Ike in the past tense, as if his career had folded up altogether, was out of order. Though he has been in comparative obscurity, he was never forced to turn to house-painting, carpentry, or cab-driving as a livelihood. Music was, and still is, his profession and his life; the 45s cut and released on Blue Note a little while back were a significant reminder. (To mention only a few: 45x 1803 "If I Could Be with You"; 45x1804 "Everything Happens to Me.")

Ike had always kept in touch with Alfred Lion through the lean years, and Lion had always had in mind the possibility of launching a full-scale comeback for this remarkable artist. As he says, "The 45 singles were a sort of trial balloon, and I was delighted to find not only that many people still remembered Ike, but also that those who didn't know about him were amazed and excited by what they heard. So recently I decided to jump into a Full album session with new material, to give Ike a complete new start."

The 45 singles were by no means Ike's first recordings for Blue Note. Back in the 1940s there had been a series of 10-inch 78s (including an album) and a couple of 12-inch 78s, all of them featuring hand-picked swing-style groups with Ike as leader. Loyal Blue Noters from those days will surely recall such sides as "She's Funny That Way," "Cup Mute Clayton" (for Buck, of course), and "Blue Harlem." There was even a 78 r.p.m. album of six of the best numbers, such as "If I Had You," "Dolores," "Topsy," etc.

Although these sides belong to a pre-LP era and are unknown to the young record collector of the 1960s, they were among the most warmly received performances of their day, and constituted the most important factor in establishing Ike among the more discerning connoisseurs at that time as a tenor man with something of his own to say. Though it is true that he is, in a general sense, a member of the Coleman Hawkins school, it is no less evident that the leading students of the pioneer Hawkins style and sound all developed firm personalities Of their own. As Hawk himself has pointed out, Chu Berry's sound was easily distinguishable from his own, even though at the time of Chu's emergence, his image was virtually that of a Hawkins twin.

The same evaluation applies, of course, in the case of Ike and several other major tenor men who came up in the 1930s. This was a period when, unless you happened to be a Bud Freeman man, there was no path to follow but Hawkins's. He set the pace rhythmically, tonally, and melodically; he was even responsible for the very concept of playing a ballad on tenor sax, for before Hawk's time, ballad jazz was a rarity. Ike's slow-tempo items in this set, particularly "Just One More Chance" and "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" are a direct outgrowth of that trend.

Hugues Panassié once observed that, "Unlike most of Hawkins's followers, Quebec's tone is not so much smooth as trenchant, with a firmness and clarity that's most pleasant to hear. He is a direct and vigorous musician, playing with great power and swing; he excels in blues." All these truths are self-evident in the present sides, in which Ike has the support of Freddie Roach, one of those rare organists whose taste and techniques are capable of keeping pace with one another; Milt Hinton, a longtime friend and associate of Ike's from the Cab Calloway band days, when they worked together extensively; and Al Harewood, whose familiarity to Blue Note followers eliminates the necessity for an introduction.

"Acquitted," a minor-mode 32-bar original by Ike, has a suspenseful and hard-swinging second chorus in which Roach lays out while Milt and Al share the less-than-arduous job of supporting Ike's confident, free-swinging improvisation on the simple changes.

The art of "milking the melody," often associated in jazz with tenor sax performances of ballads, is admirably demonstrated in "Just One More Chance" as Ike pursues a smooth course along the milky way. Having always had a weakness for this tune (I once selected it as a solo vehicle for Lucky Thompson on what turned out to be a memorable session for him), I was particularly impressed by Ike's large and lovely sounds as applied to this 30-year-old standard.

"Que's Dilemma," another minor-key original, is Ike all the way, and the best track on the album in terms of construction, rhythmic drive, and dynamic variety. Roach's camping kicks the rhythm section along with unobtrusive strength.

"Brother Can You Spare a Dime" is of course the ballad that became the unofficial theme song of the Depression years; yet there is a personal sense of hard times and Far-from-easy living as Ike pours his heart and soul into this eloquent musical plea.

"The Man I Love" shows both main facets of Ike's personality, switching from a pensive ballad opening to a long-meter sequel in which Al Harewood's cymbal drive and Milt Hinton's firm-as-Gibraltar Foundation provides a compelling undercurrent.

"Heavy Soul" opens with a figure established by Milt Hinton — actually a series of eighth notes but with the third of each group of eight missing, to lend a slightly Latin touch. Ike enters next, playing minor blues in a deeply involved, passionate manner; then Al's beat is added, and finally Roach completes the group sound with sustained chords that complement the mood established by the others. Roach has an admirable solo and Milt, too, gets to stretch out for a 12-bar interlude. The track has a neat sense of symmetry, closing with Ike up front as Milt returns to the original rhythmic riff.

"l Want a Little Girl," perhaps more than any other item in this set, is a mood-establishing performance; 3 a.m. uptown bar music of the kind that is almost invariably played by tenor sax with organ and rhythm. Roach has an interlude reminiscent of some of Jimmy Smith's more restrained ballad moments.

Finally, the remarkable "Nature Boy" is played simply by a duo composed of Ike and Milt. This is not a novelty for novelty's sake, but an instrumental departure to a moody and convincing end that justifies the unusual means.

Perhaps Ike was thinking of the last line of the lyric: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return." In fact, there may be in several of the titles he selected for this date a hint of autobiographical reminiscence, just as there is in his music the taste of lonely days, of inner solitude, of a yearning for understanding and acceptance. The heavy dues Ike has paid are reflected poignantly in the heavy soul that gave this album not only its title but its raison d'éire. I hope this new perspective of the contribution Ike Quebec has made to jazz will help to bring a little lightness to his soul and much more recognition to his name.

— LEONARD FEATHER

Cover Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER

RVG CD Reissue Liner Notes

A NEW LOOK AT HEAVY SOUL

F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous remark notwithstanding, second acts in American jazz lives are fairly commonplace. Public tastes are too volatile, the business too erratic, and the inner strength of many performers too resilient to foreclose all options once a musician has faded from initial prominence. In 1961, when Heavy Soul was recorded, Blue Note was actively recording three important saxophonists who had been prominent in the '40s before dropping from sight. One, Dexter Gordon, went on to a long and distinguished (if still episodic) career. Baritone saxophonist Leo Parker and Ike Quebec, in contrast, had barely relaunched their careers when they succumbed to a heart attack and lung cancer, respectively.

Quebec's loss was particularly hard-felt at Blue Note, where he had been a significant presence as both performer and artist liaison/talent scout during significant stretches of the label's first quarter-century. As Leonard notes indicate, Quebec had been a successful leader on five sessions taped between 1944 and '46, generally in the company of such associates from the Calloway band Jonah Jones, Tyree Glenn, Keg Johnson, Milt Hinton, and J. C. Heard, plus other stars Of the era including Buck Clayton and Tiny Grimes. In addition, Quebec was responsible for introducing Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff to such emerging modernists as Tadd Dameron, Thelonious Monk, and Bud Powell, all of whom would record important early sessions for the label. (Quebec even contributed two compositions to Monk's first Blue Note session, which featured his nephew Danny Quebec West on alto.) But his newfound A&R role, compounded by a growing scarcity of work and a heroin habit all too common among musicians during the period, took Quebec out of the public eye. Between 1946, when he cut the last of his five swing-to-bop sessions, and the 1959 "45s" date that the Encyclopedia of Jazz Cites, Quebec's name appears as leader on only one obscure 1952 recording for the Hi-Lo label.

The undiminished skills that Quebec displayed after reuniting With Lion and Wolff led to a second 45s session in 1960, as well as sideman appearances with Jimmy Smith and Duke Pearson. The 1961 signings Of Dexter Gordon and Leo Parker were also the result of Quebec renewing his A&R duties for the label. By the time Heavy Soul was recorded, he seemed poised for a full-force reentry, at least to judge from his studio activity. Two weeks before the present session, he had contributed a memorable guest appearance on the track "Deep in a Dream" for Sonny Clark's Leapin' and Lopin' album. The beautiful playing heard on the present disc was even more encouraging, and led Blue Note to record two follow-up quartet dates in December — It Might as Well Be Spring, with the same personnel heard here, and Blue and Sentimental with Grant Green, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones (plus "Count Every Star" from a Green session held later that month with Clark on piano). Early 1962 was also busy, with five more studio visits under his own name (one of which included Stanley Turrentine and Art Blakey and finally surfaced as Easy Living in 1979), as well as sideman appearances with Green, the Three Sounds (unissued) and vocalist Dodo Greene. Yet the cancer that would claim his life took its toll as the year wore on. By October, when Quebec's final album, Soul Samba, was recorded, he was visibly weak and in great pain, yet still playing with his customary eloquence. His condition continued to deteriorate, however, and he entered the in December, where he died on January 16, 1963 at the age of 44.

Much great music was produced at the end of Quebec's career, perhaps none greater than that heard on this album. "The Man I Love," "Just One More Chance," "Nature Boy, " and the other titles are timeless examples of his deep feeling and strong personality, and the supporting group is as sympathetic as one could wish. Freddie Roach (1931—1980), with a more subdued (detractors would say roller-rink) sound than most organists of the period, may be an acquired taste, but for this listener it is a taste worth acquiring; check out the way he supports the leader, then moves into his own solo on "Chance" for a prime example. Roach was the last of Quebec's Blue Note discoveries, and would go on to make five albums of his own for the label, and he is well featured on his own composition, the bonus track "Blues for Ike."

Had Quebec lived, the excellence of his music alone would not have guaranteed a thriving career. The examples Of such other mainstream tenor giants as Don Byas and Ben Webster, not to mention modernist Dexter Gordon, suggest that European expatriation might have been in his future, We do know that the quality of playing on this and his other final Blue Note recordings ultimately ensured his place in jazz history.

— Bob Blumenthal, 2004