BST 84285

The Three Sounds - Coldwater Flat

Released - September 1968

Recording and Session Information

Liberty Studios, Hollywood, CA, April 10, 1968
Gene Harris, piano; Andrew Simpkins, bass; Donald Bailey, drums; with Bobby Bryant, Buddy Childers, Freddy Hill, Melvin Moore, trumpet; Lou Blackburn, Billy Byers, Pete Myers, trombone; Ernie Tack, bass trombone; Anthony Ortega, Frank Strozier, alto sax; Plas Johnson, tenor sax; Bill Green, baritone sax; Ken Watson, percussion; Roger Hutchinson, unknown instruments; Oliver Nelson, arranger.

The Look Of Love (From "Casino Royal")
Georgia (On My Mind)
The Grass Is Greener
I Remember Bird

Liberty Studios, Hollywood, CA, April 11, 1968
with Jay Migliori, tenor sax; Lou Singer, timpani; replaces Johnson, Hutchinson.

My Romance
Lonely Bottles
Do Do Do (What Now Is Next)
Coldwater Flat
Last Train To Clarksville

Liberty Studios, Hollywood, CA, April 12, 1968
Gene Harris, piano; Andrew Simpkins, bass; Donald Bailey, drums; with Conte Candoli, Buddy Childers, Freddy Hill, Melvin Moore, trumpet; Milt Bernhart, Lou Blackburn, Billy Byers, trombone; Ernie Tack, bass trombone; Anthony Ortega, Frank Strozier, alto sax; Plas Johnson, Tom Scott, tenor sax; Bill Green, baritone sax; Lou Singer, timpani; Ken Watson, percussion; Roger Hutchinson, unknown instruments; Oliver Nelson, arranger.

Star Trek

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Lonely Bottles	Quincy Jones	April 11 1968
The Look of Love	Burt Bacharach, Hal David	April 10 1968
Georgia	Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell	April 10 1968
Grass Is Greener	Howlett Smith, Spence Maxwell	April 10 1968
Coldwater Flat	Phil Moore	April 11 1968
Side Two
Last Train to Clarksville	Boyce and Hart	April 11 1968
My Romance	Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers	April 11 1968
I Remember Bird	Leonard Feather	April 11 1968
Do Do Do (What Now Is Next)	Gail Fisher Levy, Nat Adderley	April 11 1968
Star Trek	Gene Harris	April 12 1968

Liner Notes

No matter what jazz persuasion you may prevailingly subscribe to, you should be warmly snug to be in the jazz aura of the meld of The Three Sounds and the big band conducted by Oliver Nelson. This value judgment is made in response to the current examination of the gross lack of communication between what composer-musicologist George Rochberg terms the performance culture — which continues to dominate the classical music world of our society — and the creative culture which is trying to modify and extend the range of musical consciousness. Rochberg is disenchanted with the unhealthy way in which the curators of the performance culture and Musical Establishment invest only in a repertoire marked with past success. This condition is relevant to one of the several directions jazz has been moving in. Specifically, the vital experience of contemporary culture representing what occurs on the screen, on the stage, in art galleries, in books, and the music of the younger generation does, indeed, contribute to the jazz repertoire. But the repertoire is just one of many components of concern in the world of jazz. Another basic difference is that jazzmanship in its natural set of behavioral relationships fuses both performance and creativeness into a single system. And it is this blending process which the team of The Three Sounds and Oliver Nelson achieve so beautifully on this album.

By reputation and in fact, The Three Sounds is a tight swinging trio. Have you ever shared the music of The Three Sounds in person? Unless one is anesthesized or completely out of it in some other way(s), it is literally inconceivable that the driving, buoyant swing and tenacity does not imprison your attention. Overt enjoyment in performing for its audiences reflect the trio's desire to share the music; this expectancy is a consistent and happy one wherein there are dividends for consumer and producer. Leader-pianist Gene Harris holds high respect for his bassist of twelve years, Andy Simpkins and drummer Donald Bailey whose attributes triggers Gene into praise. Gene has said, "This is the trio I've been waiting for." This inspired, open attitude prompts this remark, "I never hold the trio back. I let the guys go wherever the feelings direct them. I believe that music should be shared."

On this LP the performing and creating act is shared by Oliver Nelson whose ace-high services for big band scoring assignments is sought by more people than he can probably accommodate. This gifted craftsman is highly regarded for his unconventional, challenging and fresh approaches to arranging and composing. He is a natural complement to the philosophy of the trio because Oliver's music swings up front and swings big. The symbiotic process on this album began with the trio recording precisely what they wanted to sound like as a unit without orchestral embellishment. Then Oliver auditioned the tapes — obviously with a keen sense of understanding — for he decided to arrange the big band score on the rationale of remaining unobtrusive and providing a supportive backdrop. Therefore, working around the trio's original arrangements meant that the integrity of its concepts was judiciously preserved. Following these phases, the recording was ultimately produced together it the studio.

Regarding Oliver's ability to capture the feeling, essence, and flavor of the trio, Gene Harris was enthusiastic, "Oliver felt everything I was doing, utilizing the trio's chord progressions. He basic approach was fitting the reeds and trombones to my left hand and the trumpets to my right. Oliver was stimulated by the fullness of our sound and he was elated with the session. And it's a rare thing today in the studios when the musicians in the whole band around to big the replays!" And about big bands, Gene commented, "I dig big bands! You know I play with all ten fingers, but I wish I had fifteen.'

"Lonely Bottles" is from Truman Capote's celebrated tale, "In Cold Blood." This segment from the film score by Quincy Jones opens the LP. Bassist Andy Simpkins coincidentally was the bassist on the original sound track giving him a beneficial frame of reference. Gene mused, "I wouldn't be surprised if Quincy was thinking about me when he wrote it... he A & R'd a lot of our records before and knows us well. I want to surprise him with our rendition."

Another tune from a flick, Burt Bacharach's "The Look Of Love" is from "Casino Royale." Catch the brass section — with guys like Conte Candoli, Bobby Bryant and on those scream trumpet bits... Buddy Childers. Wow! Dig the close harmony of the band on the intro.

Oliver's work on "Georgia" is magnificent. The rich, warm textural drapery of brass and reeds clothe the trio with such beautiful voicing and character that it is difficult to provide proper amplification in regards to its allure... you just have to sit back and soak it in. Gene reacts succinctly, "Man, it's beautiful!"

Two catchy tunes wind up the first side. "Grass is Greener," written in five flats and in 3/4 time was a challenge to Oliver as he had arranged it for Nancy Wilson prior to this version. The title selection, "Coldwater Flat," was part of Phil Moore, Jr.'s "New York Sweet," an extended suite about Manhattan's sounds and music. Jack Tracy who produced the album six years ago thought The Three Sounds could come out with a funky treatment of the tune. As Phil Moore annotated originally, "Ever try to take off a shoe while doing the Twist? You work hard all day and you come home to this four story 'walk up.' After you 'pull' those stairs you're ready to sit... but somehow you can't, 'cause there's seven other flats full of music and people, all swingin'! The atmosphere's warm, but the water's always cold."

Side Two extends the diversity of the repertoire. Comin' on like a funky train, "Last Train to Clarksville" is out The Monkees' bag. Gene mentioned his revelation about this tune's possibilities in retrospect, "When Jack asked me to listen to the tune, I thought he must be kidding, but man, it's a gas!"

The ballad, "My Romance," fulfills a desire Gene has waited for a long time. He's been playing it for years but somehow he has never had it recorded; his love for ballads has been mentioned many times in the past years. Like "Georgia," this tune is lovely.

Written by Leonard Feather, "I Remember Bird" will surprise you. Gene feels that it flows nicely and that it is written more for a pianist, "It lays very well for chord progressions; it is definitely a piano line. Oliver has previously scored it for altoists — one featuring Phil Woods and another, Frank Strozier. Vi Redd and Cannonball have their own versions, too. This, however, is the first focus on a pianist. Nat Adderley's "Do Do Do" receives a change in tempo from the faster original version by the Adderley Quintet. A funkier beat is used here. Note Childers' high trumpet toppers and Simpkins' bass work. Finally, Gene's own "Star Trek" exemplifies the varied moods The Three Sounds play in. Unless you experience the trio in person, it is a little hard to appreciate its many bags. This bag is a contemporary one, too. The tune builds and builds and builds by developing minor modes with extensions upon extensions.

After a single audition of this album, its broad purview will be transparent. In a return to Rochberg's deep concern of the performance culture and its discrepant view as compared with the creative culture in classical music, there is in this jazz album no differential between the performance and creative aspects. So let's just dig the big beautiful groove here.

—HERB WONG
KJAZ, San Francisco and Jazz Editor, Urban West and FM & the Fine Arts

75th Anniversary Reissue Notes

This is a curious album. It pairs the Three Sounds with the Oliver Nelson Orchestra. Nelson has settled in Los Angeles only a year earlier and already assembled a top-notch band with players like Conte Candoli, Freddy Hill, Lou Blackburn, Frank Strozier, Anthony Ortega and Plas Johnson. That same year, The Three Sounds with newly hired Donald Bailey on drums had made the wonderful, free-wheeling "Live At The Lighthouse" album which on CD has tons of extra material.

The collaboration of the trio and Nelson tends to obscure the heart and soul of the trio with a big band that tends to overpower them with Nelson's ambitious writing. What is most interesting about this album is the material chosen for the project. There are a couple of cover versions of pop tunes of the day like "The Look Of Love" and "Last Train To Clarksville" but most of the material is either classic standards like "Georgia On My Mind" and "My Romance" or jazz compositions by the likes of Quincy Jones, Phil Moore, Nat Adderley and Leonard Feather.

Michael Cuscuna