BLP 4022

Duke Pearson - Profile

Released - February 1960

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 25, 1959
Duke Pearson, piano; Gene Taylor, bass; Lex Humphries, drums.

tk.9 Witchcraft
tk.14 Two Mile Run
tk.18 Gate City Blues
tk.19 Taboo
tk.27 Black Coffee
tk.28 I'm Glad There Is You
tk.30 Like Someone In Love

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Like Someone In Love	Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen	25/10/1959
Black Coffee	Sonny Burke, Paul Francis Webster	25/10/1959
Taboo	Margarita Lecuona, Bob Russell	25/10/1959
I'm Glad There Is You	Jimmy Dorsey, Paul Madeira	25/10/1959
Side Two
Gate City Blues	Duke Pearson	25/10/1959
Two Mile Run	Duke Pearson	25/10/1959
Witchcraft	Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh	25/10/1959

Liner Notes

THIS IS a story about a jazz baby. Not one of those "jazz babies" of the '20s that are always being recalled in the memories of your parents. This jazz baby originated in the '30s and he grew up to be a jazz musician.

On August 17, 1932, Emily Pearson gave birth to a son. The father, Columbus Calvin Pearson, was so proud that he wanted to give the baby his own name. However, the baby also had an uncle. Uncle, a iazz fan and ardent admirer of Duke Ellington, was of the opinion that the boy should be named after that illustrious royal personage of jazz.

Columbus Calvin Pearson stood fast and carried out his original plan but unk was not to be denied. At his instigation, Columbus Calvin Pearson Jr. was called Duke before he was old enough to understand what names were for. The nickname stuck and grew with young Pearson to the point where it was a nickname no longer, and as he grew, a foundation in music was started.

Before Duke was six, his mother, an accomplished pianist, began giving him lessons. He studied the piano until he was twelve and then added mellophone and baritone horn to his curriculum. Finally, it was the trumpet which captured his interest. Duke became so taken with that instrument that through high school and college he played only that horn, neglecting the piano completely.

While in the Army (1953-4), he continued to play trumpet. After fourteen months in an Army bond at Ft. Jackson he was transferred to Ft. McPherson. There, playing trumpet and bass with the 3rd Army Special Services show, he found himself in the excellent musical company of Wynton Kelly, Phineas Newborn, George Joyner and Louis Smith. Out of this experience came a decision reached when he was returned to the civilian life of his native Atlanta, Georgia in November of 1954. Duke explains it, this way: "After the Army, I was so 'spoiled' by Kelly's good piano, that I decided to switch to piano again."

It was simply a matter of having no one in Atlanta who could play piano of that high caliber and deciding to do the job himself. But after eleven years away from the keyboard, a lot of work was needed before Duke could get himself back into playing shape. The advantage of learning something when still young was a definite asset and soon he was playing in the house band of Atlanta's Waluhaje Ballroom. The leader, trumpet player John Peck, encouraged him to keep at it and he remained with the band until 1957. Then he was ready to form his own group. First with a trio and then a quintet featuring Louis Smith (Blue Note listeners are familiar with this fiery trumpeter's playing) he worked at the local Club Sorrento from November 1957 to November 1958. After doing a duo in Florida for a few months, he returned to Atlanta in January of 1959. So great was the urging of his fellow musicians for Duke to try it in the New York arena that he was practically forced to leave Atlanta by well wishers. They were aware of his talent and he had sufficient confidence in himself to take the chance.

It is no easy decision to leave steady employment and go to a place where the competition for jobs is fierce, knowing that before you can even enter into that competition, you must wait three months for the temporary union card which allows you to work musical jobs on a limited basis. But Duke Pearson came at the end of January and from February to April supported himself by working in a religious book store. His first gig was with trombonist Steve Pulliam. While with Pulliam, he was heard by Donald Byrd, Lou Donaldson and Cannonball Adderley among others and was offered several good jobs but because his six months waiting period was not over, he couldn't accept. When he finally got his permanent card, the piano bench With Byrd was still open to him. In October of 1959, Duke recorded with Donald for Blue Note and played an engagement in Toronto With the Byrd band. What Alfred Lion heard on the recording date convinced him that the musicians in Atlanta had been right when they advised Duke to "go North young man". As he has successfully done many times in the past, Lion decided to give wider exposure to a deserving talent.

Duke Pearson is a lyrical pianist. He does not spew forth ideas in a chain connected merely to link notes together. He develops his ideas, ideas of clarity and brightness, in a precise yet unregimented manner. That he is equipped with a fine sense of time and dynamics is equally evident in the fast as well as the slower numbers. Duke pays attention to the way he states an opening melody. There is always enough of an arrangement to take it out of the class of "just another trio" rendition while never falling into the slick, pat format that has become prevalent lately. And that fine sense of time, coupled to the ability to communicate his inner feelings, results in a flowing, effortless swing.

Duke's associates in the rhythm section are also to be commended. Gene Taylor, the workhorse of the Horace Silver Quintet, has proven himself a sensitive trio bassist at those times when Horace pares down for performances with the basic rhythm unit. Over the route of a whole LP in this context, he is no less valuable. Gene's preferred bass men are Ray Brown and Oscar Pettiford; two of his original inspirations were Slam Stewart and Johnny Miller of the Old "King" Cole Trio.

Drummer Lex Humphries' favorite is Philly Joe Jones. Lex, a 23-year old, was heard in Dizzy Gillespie's Quintet during part of 1959. Whenever you go to "school" with a master like Diz, you are bound to learn. Lex shows the results of his seminar with Gillespie here in the demanding trio setting.

Notes on the tunes:

Like Someone In Love — Duke's bell-like clarity is reflected here.

Black Coffee — Nice delays here; Duke spaces well. He knows how to sustain a mood. This is an early morning one.

Taboo — His fine rhythmic sense and economy stand out. Lex sets up a 6/8 beat but goes into 4/4 for the "blowing" choruses.

I'm Glad There Is You — Dreamy; a harp-like strumming of the keyboard.

Gate City Blues — Named for Atlanta, the gateway to the South. It has the grace of old blues. Duke's funk is never self-conscious. Even when he plays a time-honored phrase, he shouts it out in a way that erases the stigma of cliché. A shining upper register.

Two Mile Run — Like Gate City. a composition by Duke. A 32-bar pattern With an 8. bar tag. Lex comes on like Art Blakey to kick it off. Minor-keyed. A walking solo by Gene. "Fours" between Duke and Lex.

Witchcraft — The good pop tunes are eventually picked up by jazz men. A few years ago it was Too Close For Comfort, now Witchcraft. Duke introduced it to Donald Byrd, who liked it so much he recorded it himself for Blue Note.

Duke dedicates this first album to his mother. "She's the one responsible for my coming this far. She started me playing, kept after me to keep practicing even in those years when I was away from the piano, and is still my best critic."

I think mother, father, uncle and Blue Note can be proud of this performance. Columbus Calvin Duke Pearson Jr. has grown up worthy of all his names!

— IRA GITLER

Cover Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF
Cover Design by REID MILES
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER