Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band
Released - 1968
Recording and Session Information
Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, December 15, 1967
Randy Brecker, Burt Collins, Joe Shepley, Marvin Stamm, trumpet; Garnett Brown, Benny Powell, Julian Priester, trombone; Kenny Rupp, bass trombone; Jerry Dodgion, alto sax, flute, piccolo; Al Gibbons, alto sax, flute, bass clarinet; Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin, tenor sax; Pepper Adams, baritone sax, clarinet; Duke Pearson, piano, arranger; Bob Cranshaw, bass; Mickey Roker, drums.
2000 tk.6 Ready When You Are C.B.
2001 tk.11 Ground Hog
2002 tk.19 Mississippi Dip
2005 tk.30 Bedouin
2003 tk.24 A Taste Of Honey
2004 tk.37 New Time Shuffle
2006 tk.40 Straight Up And Down
2007 tk.47 New Girl
2008 tk.54 Time After Time
Track Listing
| Side One | ||
| Title | Author | Recording Date |
| Ground Hog | Duke Pearson | December 15 1967 |
| New Girl | Duke Pearson | December 15 1967 |
| Bedouin | Duke Pearson | December 15 1967 |
| Straight Up and Down | Chick Corea | December 15 1967 |
| Side Two | ||
| Ready When You Are C.B. | Duke Pearson | December 15 1967 |
| New Time Shuffle | Joe Sample | December 15 1967 |
| Mississippi Dip | Duke Pearson | December 15 1967 |
| A Taste of Honey | Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow | December 15 1967 |
| Time After Time | Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne | December 15 1967 |
Liner Notes
Will big bands ever come back? After a number of conversations with many of my listeners, along with my own personal observations, I would say that big bands will never come back, at least not in the concept of the 1940's and early 50's. Most of the audience for bands in those years liked to dance, the rest listened. Today latin, rock, and commercial bands keep the dancers happy. People who really want to listen and appreciate the excitement of a big band jelling are people more musically matured.
Both musicianship and the listening public have advanced in the last twenty years. We who love jazz appreciate a musical challenge. From the perfect execution of section work to exciting individual solos the musical material must never bore.
Duke Pearson's band has these qualities. There isn't a weak link in the chain of musicians that make up Duke's band. Every musician is a strong reader, every musician an exciting soloist. This band has become a close organization with each musician having the utmost respect for one another, a beautiful big band rapport, and the reason...Duke Pearson...
Duke Pearson, born in Atlanta, Georgia on August 17, 1932, to a very musical family. His entire environment filled with music. Mother played the piano; sisters all musically inclined; an uncle, saxophonist, Duke had excellent formal training in music. His basic instrument is the piano, although he can get some pretty interesting sounds out of a trumpet. Attended Clark College in Atlanta, and after having attained a certain musical maturity Duke decided to try to carve a way into show business with New York as his base of operations.
Duke arrived in the Big City on January 20, 1959; gigged with Donald Byrd, Pepper Adams, and a number of other jazz musicians. In March, 1963 he became affiliated with Blue Note Records as assistant to Alfred Lion.
Blue Note Records is currently one of the oldest jazz labels around, I believe close to thirty years at this writing, and no one deserves more credit than Alfred Lion. Alfred Lion was instrumental in Duke Pearson's development. As a producer Duke looks for an artist that has strong musical convictions, taste, and a definite style.
The birth of Duke Pearson's band happened in February of 1967. Duke looked for musicians that could do justice to his interesting charts, would understand his music.
Duke approached alto saxophonist, Jerry Dodgion; trombonist, Garnett Brown; trumpeter Burt Collins; and assigned them the task of section leaders. They in turn worked with Duke choosing the men necessary to complete the sax, trombone, and trumpet sections. Added to the sax section was Pepper Adams on baritone, Al Gibbons on alto, and on tenors, Count Basie alumnus Frank Foster and newcomer Lew Tabackin.
Garnett Brown selected Benny Powell, another ex-Basie-ite, plus exciting Julian Priester and Kenny Rupp (formerly with Maynard Ferguson) for the trombone section. Trumpeter Burt Collins added Marvin Stamm, Joe Shepley, and another newcomer, Randy Brecker, to the section. (Randy played with the Indiana U. band. A band that won the Notre Dame jazz festival competitions and toured for the State Department to the Far East. Randy was also awarded second prize at the International JazzFestival in Vienna.)
The rhythm section was picked by Duke himself. The versatile Bob Cranshaw on bass and Mickey Roker, one of the most exciting drummers around in jazz today. One should understand that drumming for a big band is a lot different than working with a small group. Carrying the pulse of a big band is quite an exacting job; working your accents with each section, driving the soloists. Keeping the band together is a wonderful feeling only a drummer can experience. Mickey was developed for big band drumming by Duke. After having asked Duke for a try he captured not only the feeling of big band drumming, but became the "heart of the band."
I've been instrumental in getting the band some engagements. They've played the Half Note, La Martinique, and at this writing have appeared for the third time at the regular Sunday afternoon sessions I'm producing at the Dom, a jazz club in the East Village. They have also appeared at Club Ruby in Jamaica, Queens.
Ground Hog...
Ground Hog has the feel of today's young sound. Duke should put some lyrics to the tune, it's an easy to take sound. You can feel a bit of Atlanta, Duke's home town.
New Girl...
Listen carefully to what New Girl has to say. This composition builds around a number of beautiful choruses on trumpet by Burt Collins. Catch Mickey Roker's accents alongside the wonderful ensemble work of the exciting brass and sax figures. They lead into the tenor work of Lew Tabackin, Duke's fine piano flow, the out choruses of Burt Collins, and finally the backbone of the entire band, Mickey Roker's support. This composition does musically what a new girl would do-bring out the excitement in your musical genes.
Bedouin...
This composition is a musical portrait. Originally recorded by a small group on "Wahoo" (Blue Note BLP4191), this big band interpretation enables Duke to present a fuller picture with the help of the flute work of Jerry Dodgion and Randy Brecker's eastern flavored trumpet sound Picture the lonely desert traveler, the camel gait, the Bedouin.
Straight Up and Down...
The album's fire tune. Here is where you get the chance to appreciate Mickey Roker's big band drumming, and the excellent capabilities of the brass section. Marvin Stamm's opening statement with a bit of Sweet Georgia Brown, then off to the races. Thoroughbreds Marvin Stamm on trumpet, Pepper Adams on baritone, Mickey Roker's drums leading the band down the home stretch, then taking the band into half time over the finish line.
Ready When You Are C.B
Listen to Duke feed the first tacet (just say, Count Basie...Count Basie). Ready When You Are brings to mind the closeness of a Neil Hefti feeling which has always been prevalent with Basie. Funny thing though, in all the gigs I've given Duke with the big band, he rarely plays the piano. Duke claims listening to the soloists takes a lot of awareness. The pulse of the band comes first, not at the piano. In other words he tells the musicians, I'm Ready When You Are.
New Time Shuffle...
Written by Joe Sample of the Jazz Crusaders. Listen to Mickey Roker's accents, Benny Powell's shufflin' along trombone choruses, Garnett Brown's staccato trombone licks, Al Gibbon's alto work and Julian Priester's easy flowing sound. Catch Joe Shepley's high Double D at the end of this tune.
Mississippi Dip...
Shades of Watermelon Man. Randy Brecker on trumpet. A tempo that's been infiltrating the world of jazz for the past five years, inviting listeners to dance and enjoy this tune.
Taste of Honey...
Quite an interesting arrangement. The initial time changes, the wonderful tenor sound of Frank Foster. Frank to me is the veteran musician that never stopped listening to the changes in jazz. He completely covers the entire range of his horn, in fact he usually takes the tenor way out of its natural range. In listening to Frank you can feel the impression the late John Coltrane made on his musical thinking.
Time After Time...
O.K. You want to dance? Garnett Brown is featured, then it's all Joe Shepley. Joe has a remarkably fine, clear tone and beautiful range. He knows how to treat a ballad, he should record an entire ballad album.
Big band work is very important for the development of fine musicians. Precision reading, blending, self discipline, playing the part of a chord structure...it's the lack of these basics that keep many talented musicians from making a decent living. You would never believe how many musicians there are playing in small groups that couldn't cut a chart. The cats in Duke's band don't have that problem, they've paid their dues. Their rewards can be heard in this fine big band album.
—ALAN GRANT
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