JOE NEWMAN: FOUR CLASSIC ALBUMS (LOCKING HORNS / ALL I WANNA DO IS SWING / THE MIDGETS / SOFT SWINGIN’ JAZZ) (2CD) AVID

AVID Jazz here presents four classic Joe Newman albums including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD.
“Locking Horns”, “All I Wanna Do Is Swing”, “The Midgets” and “Soft Swingin’ Jazz”.
“Locking Horns” with the legendary Count Basie sideman Joe Newman for our first selection is Cool School saxophonist Zoot Sims who is joined by the one and only Oscar Pettiford on bass, Osie Johnson on drums and Adrian Acea on piano (who contributes 50% of the writing duties to this fine blowing album). Picture the scene …………it’s somewhere between midnight and 10 am and a group of musicians are gathered around a single mike in a recording studio…………engineer Dick Gardner is at the controls. The men are all seated in a circle, rising only to take a solo. Joe Newman could be taking the first solo, (after all it is his band!)….he’s ready to swing! Alongside he has a brace of fine saxophonists, Al Cohn on tenor and Ernie Wilkins on alto. Another horn man rises to take his solo, it’s Frank Rehack getting some remarkable sounds from his trombone. The rhythm section is flying, another Basie man Freddie Green takes a solo on guitar and Milt Hinton comes in on bass. The mysteriously named Shadow Wilson lays down a wavering beat on drums while Nat Pierce plays tasteful and intelligent piano. Whew! “All I Wanna Do Is Swing”……………..You gotta hear this album! Here come “The Midgets”……so named from a friendly fued started by Lester Young during his time with Count Basie…….the big guys (Bombers) versus the little guys (Midgets). “The Midgets”album sees the emergence of the flute as a fully blown jazz instrument (if you will pardon the pun!)……….. in the hands of Frank Wess. Ernie Wilkins turns up again as main writer and arranger for a more modern style of jazz where Joe plays mute throughout to stay tonally close to Wess’ flute. For “Soft Swingin’ Jazz” the music does what it says in the title……………for Joes second album on Coral he decided to do a “soft after hours type of album”. Helping him along are another Count Basie refugee, pianist and vocalist Shirley Scott with Eddie Jones on bass, Charlie Persip on drums and once again Ernie Wilkins arranging the whole thing.
All four albums have been digitally re-mastered for probably the finest ever sound quality!

CD1
1-10: ‘Locking Horns’
1. Corky
2. Mambo For Joe
3. Wolafunt’s Lament
4. Midnight Fantasy
5. ‘Tater Pie
6. Oh Shay
7. Bassing Around
8. Oh Joe
9. Susette
10. Similar Souls
11-22: ‘All I Wanna Do Is Swing’
11. Soon
12. Limehouse Blues
13. Dream A Little Dream Of Me
14. Corner Pocket
15. If I Could Be With You
16. It’s A Thing Of The Past
17. Pretty Skinny Bunny
18. Leonice
19. Jack’s Wax
20. Topsy
21. Captain Spaulding
22. I Could Have Told You

CD2
1-11: ‘The Midgets’
1. The Midgets
2. The Late Late Show
3. Really? Healy!
4. One Lamper
5. She Has Red Hair
6. Valerie
7. No Moon At All
8. Indeed The Blues
9. Living Dangerously
10. Scooter
11. My Dog Friday
12-22: ‘Soft Swingin’ Jazz’
12. Makin’ Whoopee
13. Three Little Words
14. Scotty
15. There’s A Small Hotel
16. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
17. Moonglow
18. Organ Grinder’s Swing
19. Rosetta
20. Too Marvelous For Words
21. The Farmer’s Daughter
22. Save Your Love For Me