LT-1076

Leo Parker - Rollin' With Leo

Released - 1980

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 12, 1961
Dave Burns, trumpet; Bill Swindell, tenor sax; Leo Parker, baritone sax; John Acea, piano; Stan Conover, bass; Purnell Rice, drums.

tk.1 Rollin' With Leo
tk.8 Music Hall Beat

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 20, 1961
Dave Burns, trumpet; Bill Swindell, tenor sax; Leo Parker, baritone sax; John Acea, piano; Al Lucas, bass; Wilbert Hogan, drums.

tk.22 Bad Girl
tk.27 Mad Lad Returns
tk.30 Stuffy
tk.32 Jumpin' Leo
tk.37 Talkin' The Blues
tk.38 The Lion's Roar

See Also: BLP 4095

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
The Lion's Roar	Leo Parker	20 October 1961
Bad Girl	Stan Conover	20 October 1961
Rollin' with Leo	Leo Parker	12 October 1961
Music Hall Beat	Illinois Jacquet	12 October 1961
Side Two
Jumpin' Leo	Leo Parker	20 October 1961
Talkin' the Blues	Leo Parker	20 October 1961
Stuffy	Coleman Hawkins	20 October 1961
Mad Lad Returns	Leo Parker	20 October 1961

Liner Notes

If you talk Basie or Ellington or Kenton musicians and they mention "The Band" in passing, you know instinctively what band is under discussion. Yet, if you talk to bebop survivors and they talk about "The Band", there is only one band to consider. Dizzy may talk about "my band," but "The Band" is always the Billy Eckstine Orchestra. Almost thirty-five years after its demise, it is still a major topic of discussion. There is good reason. Consider the fact that Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Mules Davis, Doug Mettome, Kenny Dorham, Iommy Turrentine. King Kolax, Leonard Hawkins, and Gail Brockman were in the trumpet section at different times. Sarah Vaughan was Eckstine's girl vocalist, and Art Blakey was the drummer. Yet, inevitably, discussions focus on the reed section.

Bird was there briefly. Wardell Gray recorded with different editions, but never toured with Eckstine. Budd Johnson played with the band, but was more important as an arranger. Norris Turney, Flaps Dungee, Lucky Thompson, Cecil Payne, Frank Wess, and Tate Houston were also in the band at various times, but the key section was the one with Sonny Stitt, John Jackson, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, and Leo Parker. It was a band filled with "tempestuous youth" (in Gordon's phrase). Dexter was known as the "Vice President" in that band (a nick-name that didn't stick)' Ammons was known as "Jug" (a nick-name that did stick): and Leo Porker was "The Kid."

"I remember him when he played alto," Sonny Stitt recalled. "But 'B' needed a baritone player, so he bought The Kid a horn, and that's how he came on the band. He never did go back to alto." Stitt also remembers him in the '40s sessions in Washington, D.C. jamming with Buck Hill, Leo Wllliams, and other local hotshots.

Jimmy Heath remembered seeing Parker at Minton's in a group with Lockjaw Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Max Roach in 1944. Coleman Hawkins grabbed many of those players for his Apollo Records session of February 16, 1944. This gig produced Dizzy's Woody 'n You, and is generally considered the first modern jazz record date. Leo played alto but didn't solo. (His first important solo was with Sarah Vaughan on My Kinda' Love in 1946.)

Porker didn't solo with Eckstine either, but he was a charter member of "The Unholy Four" with Gordon, Stitt, and Jackson. (See Ira Gitler's Jazz Masters of the '40s for a full discussion of this period.) In mid-1945, "The Unholy Four" split the Eckstine band and for the next year-and-a-half, Leo alternated between gigs on 52nd Street (including several with Dizzy) and work around Washington.

1947 was the year Leo really arrived with some impact. His first featured appearance as a soloist was with Fats Navarro on the famous Ice Freezes Red date for Savoy in January. He then joined Illinois Jacquet and remained with that band for over a year. To put things in perspective, one must remember that Illinois's group was the hottest jazz combo in the country at that time. The Jacquet band played The Ed Sullivan Show in 1948!

Illinois's influence as a player was enormous, and Leo definitely absorbed some of it. Jacquet, when asked whether or not his style had any effect on Leo, answered, '"Yes, I think so; but remember that Leo was one of the leaders of the bop school, so he had that going, too." Illinois, who has always named Leo as one of his personal favorites, also remembers him as a generous person who had "big ears." "You couldn't play anything that would get past him!" Leo's recorded solos with Jacquet are: "Jumpin' at The Woodside," "Music Hall Beat, "and "Diggin' the Count" (Apollo); "Embryo," "Mutton Leg," and "Symphony in Sid" (RCA); "Jivin' with Jack the Bellboy" and "For Truly" (Alladin); and "Saph" (Clef).

As one might expect, given the popularity of Illinois's group, the small jazz labels of the time began to record as much of the Jacquet band (sans Illinois) as they could. That, plus the fact that the second A.F.M. recording ban was on the horizon, insured a great deal of recording for the remainder of 1947.

There were dates with Russell Jacquet for Sensation, with Sir Charles Thompson for Apollo, and with J. J. Johnson for Savoy. Parker's first record under his own name came about while Illinois went off for a couple of weeks to play some key engagements with Jazz at the Philharmonic. Leo did a week in Chicago, with Gene Ammons, where the group recorded for Alladin under Ammons's leadership, and then a date in Detroit, where Parker's first sides for Savoy were cut.

The first release on Savoy (El Sino/Wild Leo) sold well, but the label was no' very big on promotion. However, they did feature Leo's records on their 78 r.p.m, sleeves, and even issued a 78 r.p.m. album, coupling Leo's sides with those of Charlie Parker (no relation). Leo's second Savoy session was in December (1947) and featured, essentially, the Illinois Jacquet band, with Dexter Gordon on tenor (a week or so earlier, Leo was in on the famous Gordon date that included "Settin' the Pace"). This session produced a pair of classics, in J. J. Johnson's "Wee Dot" and Leo's version of "Solitude" (his finest ballad). Leo's final sides for Savoy were cut in March 1948. But, by that time, he had acquired a second nickname, "Mad Lad."

The name came about because of Sir Charles Thompson's record of the same name, which featured Leo at his wildest. In fact, it was a big enough hit to make Parker a leader, and for most of the next six years, Leo led his own groups, but mostly outside of New York. Along the way there were record dates for Gotham, Prestige, United, Alladin, Chess (two fine sessions), and King. And then, abruptly, in 1954, it stopped.

Little is known about Leo Parker's activities during the remainder of the Fifties. Pianist John Malachi, a lifelong friend, recalled a period of hospitalization for lung problems, but didn't think that Leo ever gave up playing. In 1961, Parker came to the attention of Blue Note and an LP, Let Me Tell You About It BLP4087), was issued. A second album, Rollin' with Leo was recorded (about a month later), but was not released. That music is what we have here.

Of Leo's sidemen for Rollin' with Leo, Bill Swindell, Stan Conover, and Purnell Rice are holdovers from Parker's first Blue Note session. Al Lucas and Johnny Acea were one-time members of Illinois Jacquet's band. Dave Burns has appeared on several Blue Note albums through the years, including dates with James Moody (1948), George Wallington (1954), and Dexter Gordon (1962); and Wilbert Hogan has worked with Lionel Hampton, Randy Weston, and Ike Quebec.

The music here is typical of what one would expect from Leo Parker: "Stuffy" is Coleman Hawkins's tune, previously recorded for King; "Music Hall Beat" is Illinois's; "Mad Lad Returns" was originally recorded for Prestige; while "The Lion's Roar" was cut with Russell Jacquet for Sensation and also on Leo's own second date for Savoy; "Rollin' with Leo" had been waxed for Gotham.

As to the new material: Stan Conover's "Bad Girl" is a strutting minor line (it's a shame that the composer didn't get a chance to play on it); "Jumpin' Leo" is a hard-swinging, straight-ahead blues with equally driving solos by Parker, Burns, Swindell, Acea, and Lucas, before a return to the theme and a tag by the leader; "Talkin' Blues" is down, in the traditional manner, with Leo singing on his horn, separated by two choruses of Acea's fine piano. A beautiful performance!

But then almost everything Leo plays here is as good as anything he ever played. The excesses of his forties style had been replaced by a relaxation and mellowness which is especially attractive. The sidemen are all excellent, with a special nod in the direction of the underrated tenor of Bill Swindell.

It would be futile to speculate as to what would have happened to Leo Parker's music had he lived. Certainly, the albums he made for Blue Note were excellent. Leo came to New York For more recording in February 1962. Parker had completed one session with Illinois Jacquet (no solos), and was scheduled for a reunion with Dexter Gordon for Blue Note. On February 11, Leo died of a heart attack.

For Leo Parker (born on April 18, 1925), this album serves as a final chapter in a book of what was. Oh, there are still some sides for Alladin, Apollo (with Sir Charles), and United that remain unissued. Perhaps they'll be released someday. But, as good as they may be, it's unlikely that they'll add more than a note to what has already been written. What we do know is that Leo Parker, baritone saxophonist, a hard swinger, equally at home in bebop or swing-jump combos, who could also play beautiful ballads with a big sound rivaled only by Harry Carney.

Dexter Gordon was Leo's roommate in "The Band." Let's let the "Vice President" have the last word: "The Kid could play — lots of bottoms."

— BOB PORTER

BLP 4095 (NR)

Leo Parker - Rollin' With Leo

Released - 1980 / 1986

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 12, 1961
Dave Burns, trumpet; Bill Swindell, tenor sax; Leo Parker, baritone sax; John Acea, piano; Stan Conover, bass; Purnell Rice, drums.

tk.1 Rollin' With Leo
tk.8 Music Hall Beat

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 20, 1961
Dave Burns, trumpet; Bill Swindell, tenor sax; Leo Parker, baritone sax; John Acea, piano; Al Lucas, bass; Wilbert Hogan, drums.

tk.22 Bad Girl
tk.27 Mad Lad Returns
tk.30 Stuffy
tk.32 Jumpin' Leo
tk.37 Talkin' The Blues
tk.38 The Lion's Roar

See Also: LT-1076

Session Photos

Photos: © Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images 
https://www.mosaicrecordsimages.com/

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
The Lion's Roar	Leo Parker	20 October 1961
Bad Girl	Stan Conover	20 October 1961
Rollin' with Leo	Leo Parker	12 October 1961
Music Hall Beat	Illinois Jacquet	12 October 1961
Side Two
Jumpin' Leo	Leo Parker	20 October 1961
Talkin' the Blues	Leo Parker	20 October 1961
Stuffy	Coleman Hawkins	20 October 1961
Mad Lad Returns	Leo Parker	20 October 1961

Liner Notes

If you talk Basie or Ellington or Kenton musicians and they mention "The Band" in passing, you know instinctively what band is under discussion. Yet, if you talk to bebop survivors and they talk about "The Band", there is only one band to consider. Dizzy may talk about "my band," but "The Band" is always the Billy Eckstine Orchestra. Almost thirty-five years after its demise, it is still a major topic of discussion. There is good reason. Consider the fact that Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Mules Davis, Doug Mettome, Kenny Dorham, Tommy Turrentine. King Kolax, Leonard Hawkins, and Gail Brockman were in the trumpet section at different times. Sarah Vaughan was Eckstine's girl vocalist, and Art Blakey was the drummer. Yet, inevitably, discussions focus on the reed section.

Bird was there briefly. Wardell Gray recorded with different editions, but never toured with Eckstine. Budd Johnson played with the band, but was more important as an arranger. Norris Turney, Flaps Dungee, Lucky Thompson, Cecil Payne, Frank Wess, and Tate Houston were also in the band at various times, but the key section was the one with Sonny Stitt, John Jackson, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, and Leo Parker. It was a band filled with "tempestuous youth" (in Gordon's phrase). Dexter was known as the "Vice President" in that band (a nick-name that didn't stick)' Ammons was known as "Jug" (a nick-name that did stick): and Leo Porker was "The Kid."

"I remember him when he played alto," Sonny Stitt recalled. "But 'B' needed a baritone player, so he bought The Kid a horn, and that's how he came on the band. He never did go back to alto." Stitt also remembers him in the '40s sessions in Washington, D.C. jamming with Buck Hill, Leo Wllliams, and other local hotshots.

Jimmy Heath remembered seeing Parker at Minton's in a group with Lockjaw Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Max Roach in 1944. Coleman Hawkins grabbed many of those players for his Apollo Records session of February 16, 1944. This gig produced Dizzy's Woody 'n You, and is generally considered the first modern jazz record date. Leo played alto but didn't solo. (His first important solo was with Sarah Vaughan on My Kinda' Love in 1946.)

Porker didn't solo with Eckstine either, but he was a charter member of "The Unholy Four" with Gordon, Stitt, and Jackson. (See Ira Gitler's Jazz Masters of the '40s for a full discussion of this period.) In mid-1945, "The Unholy Four" split the Eckstine band and for the next year-and-a-half, Leo alternated between gigs on 52nd Street (including several with Dizzy) and work around Washington.

1947 was the year Leo really arrived with some impact. His first featured appearance as a soloist was with Fats Navarro on the famous Ice Freezes Red date for Savoy in January. He then joined Illinois Jacquet and remained with that band for over a year. To put things in perspective, one must remember that Illinois's group was the hottest jazz combo in the country at that time. The Jacquet band played The Ed Sullivan Show in 1948!

Illinois's influence as a player was enormous, and Leo definitely absorbed some of it. Jacquet, when asked whether or not his style had any effect on Leo, answered, '"Yes, I think so; but remember that Leo was one of the leaders of the bop school, so he had that going, too." Illinois, who has always named Leo as one of his personal favorites, also remembers him as a generous person who had "big ears." "You couldn't play anything that would get past him!" Leo's recorded solos with Jacquet are: "Jumpin' at The Woodside," "Music Hall Beat, "and "Diggin' the Count" (Apollo); "Embryo," "Mutton Leg," and "Symphony in Sid" (RCA); "Jivin' with Jack the Bellboy" and "For Truly" (Alladin); and "Saph" (Clef).

As one might expect, given the popularity of Illinois's group, the small jazz labels of the time began to record as much of the Jacquet band (sans Illinois) as they could. That, plus the fact that the second A.F.M. recording ban was on the horizon, insured a great deal of recording for the remainder of 1947.

There were dates with Russell Jacquet for Sensation, with Sir Charles Thompson for Apollo, and with J. J. Johnson for Savoy. Parker's first record under his own name came about while Illinois went off for a couple of weeks to play some key engagements with Jazz at the Philharmonic. Leo did a week in Chicago, with Gene Ammons, where the group recorded for Alladin under Ammons's leadership, and then a date in Detroit, where Parker's first sides for Savoy were cut.

The first release on Savoy (El Sino/Wild Leo) sold well, but the label was no' very big on promotion. However, they did feature Leo's records on their 78 r.p.m, sleeves, and even issued a 78 r.p.m. album, coupling Leo's sides with those of Charlie Parker (no relation). Leo's second Savoy session was in December (1947) and featured, essentially, the Illinois Jacquet band, with Dexter Gordon on tenor (a week or so earlier, Leo was in on the famous Gordon date that included "Settin' the Pace"). This session produced a pair of classics, in J. J. Johnson's "Wee Dot" and Leo's version of "Solitude" (his finest ballad). Leo's final sides for Savoy were cut in March 1948. But, by that time, he had acquired a second nickname, "Mad Lad."

The name came about because of Sir Charles Thompson's record of the same name, which featured Leo at his wildest. In fact, it was a big enough hit to make Parker a leader, and for most of the next six years, Leo led his own groups, but mostly outside of New York. Along the way there were record dates for Gotham, Prestige, United, Alladin, Chess (two fine sessions), and King. And then, abruptly, in 1954, it stopped.

Little is known about Leo Parker's activities during the remainder of the Fifties. Pianist John Malachi, a lifelong friend, recalled a period of hospitalization for lung problems, but didn't think that Leo ever gave up playing. In 1961, Parker came to the attention of Blue Note and an LP, Let Me Tell You About It 4087), was issued. A second album, Rollin' with Leo was recorded (about a month later), but was not released. That music is what we have here.

Of Leo's sidemen for Rollin' with Leo, Bill Swindell, Stan Conover, and Purnell Rice are holdovers from Parker's first Blue Note session. Al Lucas and Johnny Acea were one-time members of Illinois Jacquet's band. Dave Burns has appeared on several Blue Note albums through the years, including dates with James Moody (1948), George Wallington (1954), and Dexter Gordon (1962); and Wilbert Hogan has worked with Lionel Hampton, Randy Weston, and Ike Quebec.

The music here is typical of what one would expect from Leo Parker: "Stuffy" is Coleman Hawkins's tune, previously recorded for King; "Music Hall Beat" is Illinois's; "Mad Lad Returns" was originally recorded for Prestige; while "The Lion's Roar" was cut with Russell Jacquet for Sensation and also on Leo's own second date for Savoy; "Rollin' with Leo" had been waxed for Gotham.

As to the new material: Stan Conover's "Bad Girl" is a strutting minor line (it's a shame that the composer didn't get a chance to play on it); "Jumpin' Leo" is a hard-swinging, straight-ahead blues with equally driving solos by Parker, Burns, Swindell, Acea, and Lucas, before a return to the theme and a tag by the leader; "Talkin' Blues" is down, in the traditional manner, with Leo singing on his horn, separated by two choruses of Acea's fine piano. A beautiful performance!

But then almost everything Leo plays here is as good as anything he ever played. The excesses of his forties style had been replaced by a relaxation and mellowness which is especially attractive. The sidemen are all excellent, with a special nod in the direction of the underrated tenor of Bill Swindell.

It would be futile to speculate as to what would have happened to Leo Parker's music had he lived. Certainly, the albums he made for Blue Note were excellent. Leo came to New York For more recording in February 1962. Parker had completed one session with Illinois Jacquet (no solos), and was scheduled for a reunion with Dexter Gordon for Blue Note. On February 11, Leo died of a heart attack.

For Leo Parker (born on April 18, 1925), this album serves as a final chapter in a book of what was. Oh, there are still some sides for Alladin, Apollo (with Sir Charles), and United that remain unissued. Perhaps they'll be released someday. But, as good as they may be, it's unlikely that they'll add more than a note to what has already been written. What we do know is that Leo Parker, baritone saxophonist, a hard swinger, equally at home in bebop or swing-jump combos, who could also play beautiful ballads with a big sound rivaled only by Harry Carney.

Dexter Gordon was Leo's roommate in "The Band." Let's let the "Vice President" have the last word: "The Kid could play — lots of bottoms."

— BOB PORTER

RVG CD Reissue Liner Notes[edit]

A NEW LOOK AT ROLLIN' WITH LEO

Little has changed regarding the posthumous reputation of Leo Parker in the 28 years since Porter penned what remains the definitive summary of Parker's career. The belated appearance of this music in 1980, eighteen years after the LP had been announced, did not augur public recognition of his status among jazz's great baritone saxophonists; and while much of the discography which Porter alludes has also resurfaced in the ensuing decades, the deep and nimble Parker sound remains peripheral to even many of the most devoted fans of the jazz era he helped create. It is never too late, though, and the inclusion of both Parker's Blue Note albums in Rudy Van Gelder editions provides one more opportunity to lionize this most deserving player.

Blue Note certainly felt that Parker was entitled to the attention when he reappeared after nearly a seven-year absence from recorded activity. After cutting his comeback disc, Let Me Tell You 'Bout It, on September 9, 1961, Parker returned to Van Gelder's studio little more than a month later with a sextet identical in instrumentation and similar in personnel. In addition to the two tracks ultimately used on Rollin' with Leo, four additional titles were also attempted. These four, plus "The Lion's Roar" (also taped in September in a take now included as a bonus track on Let Me Tell...) and "Talkin' the Blues" were revisited on October 20, with further changes in the sextet's rhythm section. Had Parker survived to keep his scheduled reunion with Dexter Gordon, he would have recorded three albums in five months.

What we hear of the October 12 session reveals a band that, at least when the day's work began, had struck a most convincing groove. It gives the title track a more mellow reading than the 1950 original, where Kenny Drew's piano imparted a distinct boogie-woogie feel. "Music Hall Beat" is closer to the 1947 original (named by composer Illinois Jacquet for a nightclub in Parker's home town Washington, D.C.), and allows all four primary soloists to work out over the "Lady Be Good" chord sequence.

The ensemble was in synch once again eight days later, with the new but more familiar faces of bassist Al Lucas and drummer Wilbert Hogan now aboard, and the titles attempted the previous week were revisited first. "Bad Girl," written by the now absent Stan Conover, is a stealthy blues owing a lot to Horace Silver's example, with space for what would have been a chorus by the composer and Parker taking the final solo spot. "Jumpin' Leo," another blues, again makes room for all but drummer Hogan. "Stuffy" is the rare jazz standard penned by Coleman Hawkins, who employed Parker on two seminal 1944 sessions that some have called the first bebop records. "Mad Lad Returns," just as fast as the 1950 original, is "Rhythm" changes in a Jacquetian atmosphere, with Parker blowing on the first bridge, before (with some horn support) and after Acea's piano solo, and at the coda.

When the six titles attempted on October 12 were completed and it became apparent that more space was available, Parker came up with the themeless "Talkin' the Blues," an after-hours vignette that features baritone sax and piano, with Burns and Swindell only entering to riff behind the leader's second solo. The date concluded with what would be the fourth version of the blues initially known as "Lion Roars" when Parker first recorded it with several of his Jacquet associates and Dexter Gordon in 1947. Hogan gets his one bit of spotlight here, in a chorus of fours with the leader.

Porter gave special mention to tenor saxophonist Swindell, who indeed impresses here and on Let Me Tell ...; but Dave Burns deserves kudos for his contributions as well. A confrere of Parker's in the 1946 Dizzy Gillespie band with a peripatetic recording career typified by his Blue Note discography (James Moody, 1948; George Wallington, 1954; Art Taylor, 1960; and Dexter Gordon, 1962; in addition to these tracks), Burns was always tart, direct, and convincing. Among his best work here are his opening solo on "Bad Girl" and muted chorus on "Stuffy." Pianist Johnny Acea, another Gillespie and Jacquet alum, also delivers in both solo and support.

Like Ike Quebec, the man who found him for Blue Note, and like Sonny Clark, Leo Parker had an all-too-brief second act on the label cut short when years of drug abuse finally caught up with him. At least Quebec and Clark survived long enough to create a substantial body of later work, whereas Parker's sudden demise confined his final album and his reputation to a kind of purgatory. Fame has eluded Leo Parker for too long. As his more famous namesake put it, perhaps now's the time.

— Bob Blumenthal, 2008

BLP 4087

Leo Parker - Let Me Tell You 'Bout It

Released - November 1961

Recording and Session Information

Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, September 9, 1961
John Burks, trumpet #1-6; Bill Swindell, tenor sax #1-6; Leo Parker, baritone sax; Yusef Salim, piano; Stan Conover, bass; Purnell Rice, drums.

tk.4 Glad Lad
tk.6 Low Brown
tk.9 Parker's Pals
tk.11 TCTB
tk.25 Vi
tk.28 Let Me Tell You 'Bout It
tk.31 Blue Leo

Session Photos

Photos: © Francis Wolff/Mosaic Images 
https://www.mosaicrecordsimages.com/

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Glad Lad	Leo Parker	09 September 1961
Blue Leo	Leo Parker, Ike Quebec	09 September 1961
Let Me Tell You 'Bout It	Robert Lewis	09 September 1961
Vi	Robert Lewis	09 September 1961
Side Two
Parker's Pals	Leo Parker	09 September 1961
Low Brown	Yusef Salim	09 September 1961
TCTB	Leo Parker, Bill Swindell	09 September 1961

Liner Notes

THAT the jazz scene has changed since the days of Minton's and the early Bop Period is reflected in almost every facet of present-day jazz, as well as the men that create it and the atmosphere in which they perform. Some of these changes have been fundamental, and have resulted in establishing a solidification of the elements of good jazz, as well as demanding more proficiency and responsibility on the part of the performer to his art and to his listening public. Changes in the jazz personnel have given us a wealth of fresh, invigorating ideas, and in other instances have left us regretting the loss to the jazz world of such greats as Bird, Navarro, etc. Nevertheless, even with change, we always find there are certain essential ingredients that are inherently constant and basic to the virility and character of any type of systematic expression. Insofar as jazz is concerned, these constants would be swing, soul, and rhythm. The means that are employed to effect these ends and the variety of musical patterns that serve as vehicle for their expression ma be ever so simple or complex, but if it does not result in a swinging experience for the listener, then it is just not jazz. There has been a strong tendency on the part of most writers to attempt to epithetize jazz into categories such as "the funk school", "the cool school," "the hot school," "east coast," or "west coast," and what have you. To me there is only one school of jazz, that being the "swinging school." If the music does not enter and graduate from this school, then it just plain flunks out. The ability to swing has been a characteristic possession of most great jazz artists. Bird used to swing like a whole orchestra, and if he established nothing else in his successors' minds, through his playing he kept them ever mindful of the need to swing.

The album that you are about to hear will demonstrate, I think, the meaningfulness of this basic ingredient in jazz. The tunes are of a nice variety, ranging from a good funky blues through some real cute, swinging melodic things. They are all originals, coming from the pens of the members in the band and two by yours truly. They are very ably handled by the leader, Leo Parker, who is an old hand at jazz, and the newcomers with whom he has chosen to surround himself.

This album represents Leo's debut on Blue Note, and I think it is quite fitting. Leo is an example of the scene changing. During the Forties he was very much a part of the innovating crowd; then as a result of the interplay of various forces he was absented from the scene for a while. But he is back now, belting out with a real big sound. Leo hails from Washington, D.C., the home of many Fine jazz musicians. As previously stated, during the Forties, he was one of the dominant influences on baritonists, and one of the pace setters in the evolution of jazz concepts. Leo holds the distinction of occupying the first baritone chair in the ill-fated, most hip bop band of the era, that of Billy Eckstine. That band claimed such notables as Bird, Dizz, Navarro, Dexter Gordon, and Art Blakey to name a few. It was just too much. Leo was originally an alto player, but Bird was playing the lead, and Billy needed a baritonist, so he asked Leo to try blowing baritone. Well, needless to say, he liked what he heard and he bought Leo his First baritone horn. The Lad, as he was most commonly called at that time, and still is in select circles, was on his way. Unfortunately, that band boasted too much advanced talent, and lack of general enthusiasm and support brought about its premature disruption. Nevertheless, Leo as well as most of its members went on to carve their names in the jazz hall of fame. Leo formed his own groups and recorded with such notables as Tadd Dameron, J. J. Johnson, Fats Navarro, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Rouse, Stitt, Ammons, and a host of others. Some of Leo's most memorable performances were recorded in a dual type of session with Dex, "Settin' the Pace" by Leo and Dex was a standard by word among jazz listeners during the late Forties, as well as things like "Wild Leo," "Mad Lad," and "El Cino."

Leo's sidemen on this date consist of:

BILL SWINDELL on tenor saxophone, who also hails from D, C. Swinny is a fine musician. His tone is very clear and crisp and he is a hard-blowing swinger. Swindell has played in the bands of Lionel Hampton, Lucky Millinder, and Trummy Young. He turns in a fine performance on this session.

ALFRED STANLEY CONOVER, more commonly Stan hails From Chattanooga. His family moved to Chicago when he was twelve, and Stan now calls that home. Stan is a fine bassist. He and Wilbur Ware were stablemates in Chicago and they woodshedding together. Stan has worked with Arnett Cobb, Gene Ammons, and Eddie Harris of Exodus fame.

JOHN BURKE, the trumpet player, no relation to Dizz, comes from Oceala, AK, but now makes Baltimore his home. Johnny has played in the bands of Johnny Hodges, Louis Bellson, and Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson, among others. He plays a clean. controlled horn.

PURNELL RICE, the drummer, hails from Baltimore and has played in the Hal Singer, Red Prysock, and most recently with Dakota Staton. Purnell is a fine drummer, very fiery, and swinging. He turns in an enthusiastic performance.

YUSEF SALIM, the piano player and youngest member of the group, comes from Baltimore also. He has worked in the bands of Red Prysock and Frank Culley. Yusef is a fine composer as well as a pianist. He has a real "greasy" tune on this date, "Low Brown," which definitely gets the message over. I don't doubt that the jazz world will be hearing a lot more from this talented young man. His conception is very hip.

Side one opens up with an original by Leo called "Glad Lad." It's an up-tempo thing with a cute melodic line. Leo has the opening solo. Johnny then takes a chorus, followed by Swinny, who blows real crisp-like. Yusef's chorus follows in a Horace-like fashion. Leo returns for the final chorus and then they go out. Purnell does not solo on this number, but he turns in a real driving, fiery account of himself.

"Blue Leo" is the next tune, with Leo playing in real K. C. tradition. It is one of those early in the morning grooves, and it calls to mind Bird's "Parker's Mood." Leo maintains a nice blues line throughout, Yusef comes in for a tenderly played chorus to keep things going. Stan drops a few low-down notes, then Leo returns for the final say.

"Let Me Tell You 'Bout It" is a real churchy type tune done in 3/4 time. The tune opens up with a largoish statement by the deacons on the date. The mood of the sermon is set, then they go into a gospel type figure. Leo has the solo spotlight all to himself and he builds up a nice fire and brimstone sermon. They return to the figure and the final "Amen" is spoken. Church lets out.

The fourth tune is a little thing called "Vi," a dedication to my wife. It is a minor type thing, but the fellows give it a major, swinging treatment. Leo opens up with a really driving, free-wheeling solo. Johnny, Swinny and Yusef follow in like manner. All turn in swinging performances. Purnell keeps a steady pulse behind them, accenting effectively on his very lively drums.

"Parker's Pals" is the opener On side 2. It is an original by Leo and it has a very happy feeling. One of those feet shuffling kind. Swinny and Leo are twin-billed on this one, with Bill getting the show on the road and Leo keeping it going. The rhythm establishes a fine groove for the soloists.

"Low Brown" is an original by the pianist, Yusef Salim, It is one of those real greasy numbers that makes you want to loosen up. The solo order has Leo out front, with Johnny, Swinny, and Yusef following. The Lad returns for one more chorus and they go out. Yusef takes an especially earthy solo on this tune.

"ICTB (Taking care of the Business)" is the closer on side two. It is a bright-tempoed thing, in a dual type of frame work, with the fellows leaping right into their solos. Leo gets things going, and he and Swinny exchange choruses. They then move into eights and fours, sharing some fours with Purnell who turns in some real crackling stick work. The tune goes out in a Jazz at the Philharmonic style, with the horns playing in harmony.

It is nice to have Leo back on the scene again making things happen. I am sure that we will be hearing more from the Lad in the future.

— BOB LEWIS

Cover Photo by FRANCIS WOLFF
Recording by RUDY VAN GELDER

RVG CD Reissue Liner Notes

A NEW LOOK AT LET ME TELL YOU 'BOUT IT

These recordings represent the beginning of the end for Leo Parker, rather than a new beginning. A heart attack claimed his life four months after Let Me Tell You 'Bout It was taped, ending what promised to be a notable revival for this significant yet neglected early modernist.

Bob Lewis's original liner notes neatly summarize the heady company that Parker kept in his early years, and allude to the heroin habit that sidelined him for the better part of a decade. As Lewis indicates, Parker began his career as an alto saxophonist, and was heard as such on his first recordings With Trummy Young and Coleman Hawkins. By the end of 1944, when he recorded with Billy Eckstine's big band, he had made the switch to baritone; and while he would occasionally return to the smaller horn, it is as a baritone saxophonist that he made his impact. Parker was heard on record with the various luminaries Lewis mentions. plus Sarah Vaughan and Illinois Jacquet, his most frequent employer throughout the '40s; and between 1947 and '54 he cut a handful of sessions under his own name for Savoy, Prestige, Gotham, Chess, United, and King. Parker had been unheard seven years when his old friend Ike Quebec brought him to the attention of Blue Note in 1961.

A talented though virtually unknown band is featured on Parker's Blue Note debut. (Save a few by Bill Swindell on alto Sax with Lucky Millinder and a like number by drummer Purnell Rice in the small group of saxophonist Red Prysock, the sidemen are otherwise unaccredited on jazz recordings.) The format that Parker chose, however, was a well-established small-group blend of jazz and rhythm and blues that had served his former employer well at the peak of the latter's success, and that had also underpinned the subsequent commercial triumphs of Gene Amrnons/Sonny Stitt, James Moody, and (before superstardom allowed the expansion of his ensemble) Ray Charles. These bands operated with at least one brass instrument, two saxophones, and rhythm, put their allegiance to the blues front and center, and swung ferociously. Parker's sextet does all of that, minus the frequent novelty numbers that the others found a necessary part of working life.

Blue Note had rarely ventured into this territory before, with the exception of its late-'50s Bennie Green dates and the Swinget sessions of Quebec and John Hardee more than a decade earlier. This music has the quintessential Blue Note sound, however, thanks to the straightforward drive and muscularity of the players, and the absence of gimmickry in the music. "Glad Lad," a fresh variant on "Exactly Like You" chord changes, and "TCTB," based on "Sweet Georgia Brown," underscore Parker's roots in bebop, while "Parker's Pals" is a relaxed rift with swing-era echoes. The title track and Yusef Salim's "Low Brown" mine the then-current soul vein without sounding hackneyed; "Vi" (the second of two contributions by annotator Lewis) introduces the minor mode for variety, and the remaining titles capture Parker and company deeply into the blues. While Parker receives the majority of the solo space, Burks, Swindell, and Salim all acquit themselves well when the opportunity presents itself.

Regarding the bonus tracks, the longer version of "Low Brown" was the preferred take according to the original session notes. When it was deemed too long for the album, producer Alfred Lion considered releasing it as a two- part single — a plan that was shelved when Parker died. The composition was recorded again in 1962 on Nat Adderley's Jazzland album In the Bag. Space limitations also prohibited inclusion of "The Lion's Roar" on the original release. While the tune may appear to be one of many tributes to the label's owner/producer, it actually is a reference to its composer (he of the leonine given name), and had previously been recorded twice by Parker, under his own name on Savoy (as "The Lion Roars") and with trumpeter Russell Jacquet on Sensation.

Parker would record "Roar" yet again when he returned to Rudy Van Gelder's studio a month after the present session to tape Rollin' with Leo, an album that Blue Note announced yet kept in its archives for over two decades. There would be a final studio appearance six days before Parker's death, in the section of a date led by Illinois Jacquet for Epic. Today, few know Leo Parker for the superior musician he was — a musician who never sounded better than on this unjustly neglected recording.

— Bob Blumenthal, 2005