BST 84278

Frank Foster - Manhattan Fever

Released - 1968

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, March 21, 1968
Marvin Stamm, trumpet #1-5; Garnett Brown, trombone #1-5; Frank Foster, tenor sax; Richard Wyands, piano; Bob Cranshaw, bass, electric bass; Mickey Roker, drums.

2075 tk.10 You Gotta Be Kiddin'
2076 tk.17 Stammpede
2077 tk.20 Manhattan Fever
2078 tk.26 Little Miss No Nose
2079 tk.27 Seventh Avenue Bill
2080 tk.29 Loneliness

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Little Miss No Nose	Frank Foster	March 21 1968
Manhattan Fever	Frank Foster	March 21 1968
Loneliness	Frank Foster	March 21 1968
Side Two
Stammpede	Frank Foster	March 21 1968
You Gotta Be Kiddin'	Frank Foster	March 21 1968
Seventh Avenue Bill	Bill English	March 21 1968

Liner Notes

Growth is without a doubt the most important aspect in any of our endeavors, and is most assuredly the key to continued success. Thus the emergence of Frank Foster as one of the most highly rated tenor saxophonists of today. (And also a not-too-long-ago yesterday.) This I'm sure was realized by Frank at an early age.

Foster was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 23, 1928, where he finished grade school. Later he went on to Central State College in Wilberforce, Ohio. While studying music at Central State he was offered a job with the band of trumpeter Eugene "Snooky" Young. He accepted, and left Wilberforce at the end of his third year. (The band was en route to Detroit.)

Frank stayed with "Snooky's" eight-piece group for a while, then left to join the Count Basie band. Foster really "got it together" with Basie, because he not only held down one of the tenor chairs, but did about a third of the writing for the band. He also penned one of his most successful compositions, "Shiny Stockings." "Stockings" has been recorded by such outstanding artists as Basie, Ella Fitzgerald (with Count Basie), Charlie Byrd, Billy May, Harry James, and Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross.

This brings to the fore Frank Foster, Tenor Saxophonist, Composer, Arranger. Among others he has arranged for Basie, Sarah Vaughan (with strings and Latin percussion), Irene Reid/ Woody Herman, Hines-Hines and Dad, and his own big band. (He has also written for the big band of yours truly.) Just recently he composed a jazz suite for the Ithaca College jazz band that featured jazz guitarist Jim Hall, conducted by student conductor Raymond Brown. The main theme of the third movement is the title tune of this album.

All of the tunes contained in this album are compositions by Foster with the exception of "Seventh Avenue Bill," which was written by drummer Bill English. The opening tune, "Little Miss No Nose," is a name affectionately given Frank's daughter Andrea Jardys by songstress Nancy Wilson. When Miss Wilson first saw little Andrea, she exclaimed: "She looks like she doesn't have a nose." Thus "Little Miss No Nose."

All of the tunes here offer a wide variety of the writing and playing of Foster. He is without a doubt the most unrestricted, untyped saxophonist in jazz today. Listening to him here I'm sure you'll be able to hear the consolidation of today's styles coupled with those of yesterday. This shows that Frank Foster has roots that are firmly imbedded in the movement of jazz over the past twenty years.

The group work here is also highly commendable. The individual solos are superbly played in whatever style the tunes demand. Marvin Stamm is sure to come into his own as one of the most exciting young trumpeters on the scene today. Listen in particular to "Stammpede," which was written especially for him. The aesthetic brilliance of Garnett Brown on "Seventh Avenue Bill," "Manhattan Fever," and "Little Miss No Nose" prove that Brown is both articulate and expressive.

Richard Wyands is another of those very underrated pianists who deserves to be heard more. His work here as both accompanist and soloist will surely verify that he has the tools of a master craftsman.

Cranshaw and Roker are a team whose support has been responsible for many successful Blue Note recordings. Though Cranshaw doesn't care much for the solo spotlight, it's evident that he's more than capable on "Bill." Also behold the opening melody of "Stammpede." Roker, on the other hand, is the happiest drummer around. He loves to play and he has often stated that "each time I play I feel that I'm learning something new, and if I can play more, then there's so much more I feel that I can learn." Any musician with an attitude like this is an invaluable asset to any group.

To meet the challenge of the ever-changing styles and times with dignity and grace has been the credo of Frank Foster from the beginning. His flexibility and command of his instrument is unique. His awareness is unparalleled, and his scope so vast, that in spite of his many functions he can always give you that little extra.

This marks his first Blue Note album in quite a few years, and there definitely will be more to follow, for Frank Foster's is a voice that Should be heard. LISTEN!

— DUKE PEARSON

Addendum

Dexter Gordon told me that he first met Frank Foster when the young soldier still in uniform (c. 1952) asked Dexter if he could sit in. Dexter asked him what he wanted to play and Frank selected "Cherokee," a suicidal choice for any young tenor player standing next to Dexter Gordon. Dexter's amusement turned to respect and awe as the young man tore into the tune.

So much of Frank's professional identity is tied to the Basie band, in which he was a prominent soloist and composer/arranger from 1953—64 and which he led after Basie's death for 9 years, that the vast body of work he has created outside that sphere is often given short shrift.

His first U. S. record as a leader came in May 1954 when he cut a 10" LP for Blue Note and participated in dates by Elmo Hope and George Wallington soon thereafter. Manhattan Fever was his return to the label, though he was a frequent contributor to Duke Pearson and, later, Elvin Jones dates.

The album didn't sell well and a second album recorded nine months later sat on the shelf until now. All but one tune from that session is added to Manhattan Fever as bonus material. A version of Dave Burns's "Buster Brown," which was to have led off the album as the obligatory funky first tune, is omitted because of time limitations. But the best music from the 1969 date is here and it is exceptional.

The instrumentation is the same as the first album with the addition of a second reedman in the form of Ed Pazant. Not exactly a household word in jazz, Pazant was a ten-year veteran of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and was a member of Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers at the time of this recording. Burt Collins and Jimmy Cleveland were ubiquitous in New York studios at the time but it is rare to hear Collins stretch out as much as he does here.

The rhythm section is motored by the equally ubiquitous Buster Williams and Mickey Roker, but this was only the second recording session for a-year-old George Cables.

The material and the performances are superb. Pianist Mickey Tucker's "Slug's Bag," probably named for Slug's Saloon on the Lower East Side of New York, is an intriguing original, which would have lent itself well to a big band treatment. The soloists are Cleveland, Collins, Pazant on flute, Foster, and Cables. 'What's New from the Monster Mill" is marvelously scored and performed with constant horn backgrounds behind the two soloists (Cleveland and Foster) and a haunting intro and outro. "Hip Shakin"' (recorded twice by Grover Mitchell's big band in the '80s) has that kind of groove that makes you grateful that Mickey Roker is the drummer. Cables, Foster, Collins, Pazant on alto, and Buster Williams are the soloists. This is the first version of "The House That Love Built," a beautiful ballad feature for Foster without any other horns. He subsequently recorded it as a sideman for Hilton Ruiz and Elvin Jones, and as the title tune of his 1982 Steeplechase album. Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "Fly By Night" made its debut on Kirk's brilliant 1967 album The Inflated Tear. Foster scores it for piccolo trumpet, trombone, alto clarinet, and oboe. Cleveland, Foster on alto clarinet, and all three members of the rhythm section solo.

It's gratifying to see that this music, imbued with such care and creativity, is released at last.

— MICHAEL CUSCUNA, 2007