BLP 5063

Gil Melle - Five Impressions Of Color

Released - 1955

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, February 27, 1955
Don Butterfield, tuba; Gil Melle, baritone sax; Lou Mecca, guitar; Billy Phillips, bass; Vinnie Thomas, drums.

tk.1 Five Impressions Of Color: I. Spectrum Violet / II. Sea Green / III. Royal Blue / IV. Ebony / V. Spectrum Red
tk.5 Life Begins At Midnight
tk.7 Threadneedle Street
tk.9 Night Train To Wildwood

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Five Impressions of Color:	Gil Melle	February 27 1955
I. Spectrum Violet
II. Sea Green
III. Royal Blue
IV. Ebony
V. Spectrum Red
Side Two
Life Begins At Midnight	Gil Melle	February 27 1955
Night Train To Wildwood	Gil Melle	February 27 1955
Threadneedle Street	Gil Melle	February 27 1955

Liner Notes

Gil Melle, baritone sax; Don Butterfield, tuba; Lou Mecca, guitar; Billy Phillips, bass; Vinnie Thomas, drums.

THIS IS Gil Mellé's fourth LP. In the course of his remarkable series of enterprises for Blue Note he has previously presented a quintet and a sextet, both on BLP 5020; a second quintet with an altered personnel on 5033; and a carefully organized and rehearsed quartet with which, on 5054, he introduced a delightful sample of what (if we were given to slogans) we might describe as New Jersey Jazz.

It seems to us that Gil has progressed steadily in the course of these various excursions, and that with this new release he has found the most vivid and capacious format of all. Actually the group featured here is simply the quartet of 5054 with one man added; but that single addition is of such stature as to change the entire tonal impact of the unit.

The addition in question is the tuba player, Don Butterfield. Since Gil and his other sidemen were introduced in previous notes, we shall dwell at length on Mr. Butterfield in order to launch properly what may turn out to be an important jazz career.

Born April 1, 1923 in Centralia, Wash., Don had some informal teaching at high school, where he played the school band's string bass and tuba, mainly because his family could not afford to get him a trumpet. The charm of the string bass eluded him, but it might be said that he fell in love with the tuba at first sight, and by the time he entered the Army in late 1942 he had determined ultimately to turn the romance into a permanent affair.

Discharged early in 1946, he came to New York, obtaining his first formal training at Juilliard. Though highly apprehensive about his own ability, he soon made his professional debut with the Goldman band, and before long was jobbing at CBS and NBC and playing with various symphony orchestras. He completed his studies in 1951, and since then has been heard on records with Jackie Gleason, briefly with Claude Thornhill, and lately as a member of the orchestra at Radio City Music Hall.

As you might suspect, Don has had to live a double life in order to make a living while maintaining an interest in jazz. Having studied, as a child, records by the swing bands of Miller, Shaw, Dorsey and Herman, he often regretted that the instrument he had chosen seemed to be one not adaptable to the jazz medium. Then one day he found a record called Where's Pres? by Ray Linn's orchestra on a small, long-since defunct west coast label. It opened up a whole new jazz world to him, and after wearing it down to the last shred of the final groove, he found he knew something a40uf the chord structures of the new jazz.

Don has five different tubas. The one he used on this session is a contrabass or Double B Flat tuba with a range just two octaves below that of the trumpet.

Gil's confidence in the idea that a big ensemble was not essential for the inclusion of a tuba made it possible for Don to bring to light the full versatility of the instrument, and of his extraordinary talent in manipulating it, in this series of original Melle compositions.

The first side, a suite of five color impressions by Gil, was inspired by the fact that, as Gil says, "A number of things that I had written seemed to suggest certain colors to me, so I built them up and elaborated on several themes, using the guitar to play parts along with the baritone, and employing the tuba for both melodic and rhythmic purposes.

Spectrum Violet starts with ad lib guitar on a minor chord sequence before Gil comes in to play a unison passage with Mecca. Toward the end the tuba enters for some ultra-violet effects. There is great depth, too, in the writing of Sea Green, which makes use of parallel minor ninths.

Royal Blue, opening with some intriguing interplay between Melle, Mecca and Butterfield, with a guitar lead on some parallel fourths, proceeds to an improvised tuba passage that brings out to astonishing effect Don's ability to make a jazz vehicle out of this cumbersome horn. His articulation and sound are as perfect as the recording, in a unique and fascinating performance.

Ebony derives its compelling theme from a ten-bar chord pattern (reduced to eight for some of the solo passages) composed mainly of minor sixths and maior sevenths. A bass solo precedes the introduction of the theme. After solos by Gil and Lou and a short bass passage, the tuba contributes to a dark, almost brutal mood in the dramatic coda.

Spectrum Red is mainly a percussion solo. "The idea," Gil relates, "was to show Vinnie in breaks and figures of varying lengths." The result shows this versatile artist in a series of moods, as a photographer might present his subject from every angle.

The quintet strolls through more conventional harmonic gardens in the charming Life Begins at Midnight (titled for disc jockey Jack Walker of WOV, whose slogan this is). Gil's solo moves with the consummate ease that has been a striking feature of his big-toned, expertly controlled baritone work. Butterfield has a wild solo on this one, including an amazing gliss that seems to dip from a D down a tenth to a low B Flat. Guitar and bass also have solos that fit well into the overall mood.

Night Train To Wildwood (named for the New Jersey town where Gil was gigging) uses two themes, the second of which revolves with ingenious rhythmic manipulations around the tonic. Mecca's solo, like all his work in this set, shows that here is a guitarist gifted both with inspiration and the technical equipment to carry his ideas into action. Lou comps superbly, too, while Billy Phillips walks through a swinging bass solo; Vinnie's brushes and Don's horn contribute individual moments.

The set ends with Threadneedle Street, in which the basic melodic theme is the simplest and perhaps the catchiest of the whole LP. The rich texture of the guitar chord work backing up the baritone again shows the advantages of the group's instrumentation. Notice the melodic use of the flatted fifth in the fourth bar of the main line. And the creamy purity of those four Butterfield notes that seal this one off.

A few hearings of this set will convince you of three facts: that each Melle combo is more effective than its predecessor, that Mr. Butterfield is a force to be reckoned with in the jazz days to come, and that Gil has by now established himself in the forefront of the younger composers who have managed to blaze new and stimulating trails while never betraying a firm allegiance to the jazz idiom.

LEONARD FEATHER
Cover Design by GIL MELLE
Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF Technical Data: The greatest core has been given to every step in the manufacture of this record. The finest available recording equipment from the U. S. and Europe has been utilized. Ampex Series 300 tape recorders, Telefunken microphones, British Grampian cutter and Scully lathe. This album is recorded with a standard R.I.A.A. recording characteristic. The most modern factory methods and the purest yinylite material insure incomparable pressings.

Recording Engineer; Rudy Van Gelder.

Complete Fifties Sessions CD Notes

A PAPER TIME CAPSULE WHEN MICHAEL COSCUNA advised me that a compendium of these early recordings was due for reissue, I must confess that a crescendo of uneasiness filled my soul as I sat down and prepared to listen, after so many years, to each track. I am a musician who has never been content with any of yesterday's efforts, and these half-century old preludes to a lifetime spent in the creation of cutting edge music could only serve to illustrate how much I needed to know and was able to accomplish in those early years.

I sit and listen. The recollections begin.

I wrote my first ever composition, "The Gears," during the time that I worked as a messenger on the Lehigh Valley Railroad (hence the title) at the age of 14 while also struggling with a tenor sax, the boxcars at Washington Street serving as my sole practice "studios." It was virtually unheard of in those days to use the voice as an instrument (excepting "scat") as I did in this piece. Notable. "Mars," "Four Moons" and "Venus" were composed soon afterwards and interspersed with many drawings and paintings, one of which won first prize in a Red Cross competition. Working in my favor was an insatiable passion for jazz spawned by a reasonably complete collection of Ellington which I had amassed from used record shops with my school lunch money. I was eight when I started collecting them. Duke's inventiveness on the Brunswick label. .. "Tishomingo Blues," "Black and Tan Fantasy" and especially "East St. Louis Toodle-oo" became heady stuff for me. I also saw the band at the Paramount and Adams theatres and can still name all of the players. At 13, Monk's music became the main occupant of my skull. The notion that I could ever be a jazzman, however, was, in Oscar Wilde's, words "a dream that far exceeds reality," a calling as privileged as priesthood and so I entertained no delusions of grandeur except, perhaps, to think of how Thelonious might approach playing the saxophone as a basis for my style.

I soon discovered that the things I needed to know could not be learned through instruction...only experience! To this day, I have never had a single lesson but my associations, through the years, with the world's most gifted musicians and artists who have illuminated my thoughts and given substance to my efforts. The list would be endless. For me, intense personal observation surpassed academia. I played gigs with Freddie Roach and the supremely gifted Joe Manning (vibes/piano and a close friend and protégé of Bud Powell and Milt Jackson.) Freddie, years later, became a Blue Note recording artist and Joe, heard here, died at 22. A great loss. At 16, during the Korean emergency, I lied about my age and enlisted in the Marine Corps. Discharged at 18, I spent many nights playing jazz in countless gin joints. Two years later, I met Alfred Lion and was given the opportunity of my life. He signed me to a one year contract (the first of five) to record for the greatest jazz label that ever was...Blue Note. Just look at the names on my records... Max Roach who was a legend to me even as a small boy. Oscar Pettiford who played on so many of cherished Ellington records. 1 sure was scared, which is saying a lot after having been in the corps. The faces of Red Mitchell, George Wallington and Eddie, Bert (a lifetime close friend) flash through mind as I continue listening to these old sides. Like Alfred, the man who most influenced my life, I too gave opportunities to young musicians that I knew and held in high regard. The debuts of Urbie Green, Joe Morello, Tal Farlow, Ed Thigpen, Lou Mecca, Bill Phillips, Joe Cinderella and others took place within these records. The tuba (Don Butterfield) and French horn (Julius Watkins) saw the first light of day as solo improvisatory instruments with me but, historically, the most important innovation in these works is that it is the first time ever (1951) that a guitar was used to replace the piano in small group instrumentation (the very basis of rock music). I thought that it was a sound idea since both instruments were fully capable of comping but the guitar's potential as a front line instrument (as with horns) was unlimited. Tal and others understood and much of the results are here. He has recently died (1998) and I feel as though I have lost a brother as I hear his flawless, timeless guitar and picture, in my mind, those enormous hands working their magic. The compositions on my first album were meant to be performed as "The Interplanetary Suite" and half of my fourth album features another suite, "Five Impressions Of Color." These compositional forms for a group were totally unique at the time.

My heated discussions with Max concerning the "unheard-of-at-the-time" false ending on the binary composition "Mars," blood dripping from my fingers (an accident) and down my horn while playing chorus after chorus and on the Patterns in Jazz date and arguments with Oscar concerning the use of a flatted ninth in the bass against a major chord at the very end of "Long Ago And Far Away" stand out in my recollection of myriads of anecdotes and incidents connected with these records. The picture of Pettiford and I that graces that album was taken at the height of our. ..shall I say... disagreement.

From the aforementioned, you might say that 11m a sort of "Jazz Chemist," an incurable experimentalist. I've spent my life living in and for the future. What did it all lead to? Virtually every innovation in electronic music was made by me...an awesome statement yet true. I challenge anyone to disprove it. Beginning in late 1958, I have systematically altered the course of music at its very foundations with a soldering iron and my passions. The following "firsts" are mine...live performance of electronic music ('68 Monterey Jazz electronic film score (Michael Crichton's The Festival and earlier) Andromeda Strain), electronic television score (Rod Serling's Night Gallery and earlier) plus the earliest electronic jazz recordings (TOME VI on Verve). I led the first "synth" group (the Electronauts) for years and created many instruments including the worlds first electronic wind instrument and the drum machine (see photos and back cover). All of this because Alfred, the futurist, believed in me from the very beginning. It began with these sides and today, to the chagrin or joy of millions, synthesis is a part of nearly all music.

I stop the turntable and think a bit more about "The Gears."

I had the privelege of being Alfred's closest friend during that decade and his retirement to a distant land for many years did not diminish our comraderie. One memorable night he called me and asked, as a personal favor to him, to record a modern version of "The Gears. I was truly amazed and flattered, but declined. After my experiences in music it would seem to be a mega step backwards. He was, however, very enthusiastic about my Mindscape album (Blue Note 92168) prior to its release so his concept of an updated version of my first composition was not idle speculation. "Let me think about it" I said. Two days later CNN announced his passing and the new "Gears" was no longer conjecture. The great man's last request was fulfilled and he was, as always, right..." The Gears" is important.

I created many record jackets for Blue Note and clearly I remember the cover on this album set. It was based on a fine photograph taken by Bill Huges during a Christmas concert with my group at Town Hall in New York City (1954). This same unit performed at the worlds first jazz festival at Newport and was billed as the most promising new group of the year. Shortly thereafter, our little band was honored to be one of the very first to be featured at Carnegie Hall in a concert for the people of Israel.

The album Gil Mellé Quintet/Sextet 5020 marked the beginning of Dr. Rudy Van Gelder's career as a recording engineer with Blue Note. I brought Alfred and Rudy together, the beginning of a most celebrated association.

A little faith goes a long way!
—GIL MELLE
1998