LT-1052

Ike Quebec - With A Song In My Heart

Released - April 1980

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, February 5, 1962
Ike Quebec, tenor sax; Earl Van Dyke as Earl Vandyke, organ; Willie Jones, guitar; Wilbert Hogan, drums.

tk.28 Intermezzo
tk.32 But Not For Me
tk.34 All The Way
tk.37 All Of Me

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, February 13, 1962
Ike Quebec, tenor sax; Earl Van Dyke as Earl Vandyke, organ; Willie Jones, guitar; Sam Jones, bass; Wilbert Hogan, drums.

tk.3 How Long Has This Been Going On
tk.6 What Is There To Say
tk.15 Imagination
tk.24 With A Song In My Heart
tk.27 There Is No Greater Love

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
How Long Has This Been Going On	G. Gershwin-I. Gershwin	February 13 1962
With A Song In My Heart	L. Hart-R. Rodgers	February 13 1962
Imagination	J. Burke-J. Van Heusen	February 13 1962
What Is There To Say	E.Y. Harburg-V. Duke	February 13 1962
Side Two
There Is No Greater Love	I. Jones--M. Symes	February 13 1962
All Of Me	G. Marks-S. Simons	February 5 1962
Intermezzo	H. Provost-R. Henning	February 5 1962
But Not For Me	G. Gershwin-I. Gershwin	February 5 1962
All The Way	S. Cahn-J. Van Heusen	February 5 1962

Liner Notes

IKE QUEBEC

Ike Quebec came out of the Cab Calloway band in 1944 and quickly established himself as a major tenor sax voice. Quebec was another in a long line of super tenor soloists that Calloway featured during his heyday. The list begind with Ben Webster and continues with Chu Berry, Illinois Jacquet, Ike and finally, Sam Taylor. Oddly enough, his three-year stay with Calloway did not really benefit him in terms of recorded exposure. Calloway was a Columbia artist and that label was still at war with the A.F.M. when Ike really arrived. Oh, Ike had solos on Calloway items such as The Honeydripper and Hey Now, Hey Now, but for some months prior to that, he had been a Blue Note artist. (You have to hear air checks and broadcasts by the war-time Calloway band to hear how good it was.)

The five sessions which Ike recorded for Blue Note during 1944-1946 would be enough to establish his position as one of the best tenormen of the era if he never did anything else. They are that good! And if one concentrated only on discographical facts, it may appear as if he did little else for the next decade.

Apart from a rather lackluster date for HiLo in 1952, there were no Ike Quebec records between 1946 and 1958. What happened between those years was a combination of changing taste in jazz marketplaces and Ike's own personal hang- ups. Ike's style, emphasizing his big sound, might generally be classified with that of Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster. As an example of just what happened to that school of saxophonists during the late 1940s and early 1950s, consider the fact that Hawkins recorded less than two LPs worth of material from 1948-1954, and Webster less than half an LP's worth of performances between 1947-1953! In today's scene where respect for great jazzmen of all eras is a fact, the idea of an artist of such stature not recording for such a period would seem impossible, but the factionalism of the times most definitely took its toll. Fortunately for Ike (and for us), he stayed in touch with Blue Note.

In 1959 he recorded some 45s for Blue Note. Talking with Leonard Feather, Alfred Lion talked about Ike's return:

"The 45 singles were a sort of trial balloon, and I was delighted to find not only that many people still remembered Ike, but also that those who didn't know him were amazed and excited by what they heard. So recently I decided to jump into a full album session with new material to give Ike a complete new start."

The results were Heavy Soul (BN 4093) and in succession, several more LPs were made, including Blue And Sentimental (BN 4098), It Might As well Be Spring (BN 4105 — which contains Ike's masterpiece "Old Man River"), and Soul Samba (BN 4114). In addition, Ike began acting as an aide de camp to Blue Note and helped coordinate sessions and bring talent to the label. He occasionally appeared as a sideman with Jimmy Smith, Sonny Clark, Grant Green and singer Dodo Greene.

But wait a minute! What happened to those sessions originally recorded for 45s! One of them is right here and hopefully there will be more to follow! Actually of the songs in this album, only "All Of Me" and "Intermezzo" were issued on 45. Those two plus "All The Way" and "But Not For Me" were recorded February 5, 1962, with the rhythm section that had already served Fred Jackson for his Hootin' And Tootin' (BN 4094) album recorded the same day. Unfortunately that album does not give any biographical data on the other players, but they were obviously all right with Ike who returned with them (and Sam Jones) a few days later to record the remainder of the music heard here. Van Dyke is a sensitive organist without the bombast exhibited by many players on that instrument. His playing recalls Johnny Hammond from this time. Jones, on this evidence, was a guitarist of limited skills but good taste. Hogan, who worked most frequently with Lionel Hampton and Randy Weston is tasty and unobtrusive.

But there is little question that Ike Quebec is the stand-out here. Listen to "How Long Has This Been Going On" (or any of the other ballads) to hear true textbook examples of what good, strong, melodic tenor playing is all about. If you want an example of Ike with a little tempo, try "With A Song In My Heart," "All Of Me" or "But Not For Me'.' Either way you are hearing a master at work. Alfred Lion really told the whole story in that earlier quote: if you haven't heard Ike Quebec prior to this album, you will be properly thrilled by the discovery, while if you know his work from any of the previously mentioned sessions, you'll jump for joy after hearing this. They simply don't make tenor saxophonists like Ike Quebec any more!

It is quite likely that the cancer which would kill Ike Quebec less than a year after these recordings were made had already infected his body. Whether or not that accounts for the extraordinary passion in his playing is unknown, but one thing is certain: Ike Quebec was one of the very best tenor players who ever lived, and it doesn't matter whether you want to cite 78s from the 1940s, or LPs from the 1960s. The evidence is on Blue Note.

—Bob Porter

Notes for the 2012 CD Edition

After playing such an important role at Blue Note in the '40s as a recording artist and as the man who introduced Alfred Lion to Tadd Dameron, Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey, Ike Quebec dropped off the scene for some ten years.  

He re-emerged on Blue Note with two sessions in 1959 and 1960 that featured standards and blues with an organ-based group geared for the jukebox market and released only as 45s. In late 1961, he began making one superb album after another for the label. Ike Quebec was back in full force.  

But the 45 sessions must have done well in the jukebox market because Ike and Alfred Lion went into the studio once more in February 1962 for a final singles session. As always, Quebec applies his heartfelt, expressive big tone to well-known melodies and makes them his own. This final singles session is also distinguished by the appearance of organist Earl Van Dyke, who would soon move to Detroit and lead Motown's Funk Brothers studio band for the next ten years.  
 
- Michael Cuscuna