Artist:Curtis Fuller
Song:Chantized
Album:Boss Of The Soul-Stream Trombone
Curtis Fuller is one of the all time greats of the jazz trombone. He's better known as a sideman than a leader, especially with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. He was born Dec. 15, 1934 in Detroit. He started out with Kenny Burrell and Yusef Lateef and moved to New York in 1955. Like a lot of musicians, he would record as a leader for Blue Note and other labels while touring as a sideman. He was part of The Jazztet with Benny Golson & Art Farmer in 1959 and was a member of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers from 1961-65. Boss Of The Soul-Stream Trombone was recorded in 1960 for Warwick Records. Warwick was a short lived label run by veteran A & R man Morty Craft. Their biggest act was Johnny & The Hurricanes but they went bankrupt in 1962. So obviously a jazz record on that label is obscure. But it's got Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and Yusef Lateef on tenor sax along with Walter Bishop on piano, Buddy Catlett on bass and Stu Martin on drums. Chantized is an excellent Hubbard song and listening to it I never would have known it was that obscure. The album has been released on CD by Collectibles, a label primarily known for rereleasing oldies. Collectibles has also misleadingly released this under Freddie Hubbard's name as Gettin' It Together because Hubbard is better known than Fuller. It's the same record but they have rearranged the songs and there are no liner notes on the Hubbard version. So you have to be careful you don't buy it twice but it's worth getting as Fuller & Hubbard are on their game. Curtis Fuller is still around. His latest CD is 2005's Keep It Simple. Here's Curtis Fuller with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers performing Children In The Night in San Remo, Italy.
No comments:
Post a Comment