DIZZY REECE
Comin' On (Blue Note)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Dizzy Reece came up in the 50s with two strikes against him: he was a trumpet man in the age of Miles Davis and his name was already a household word in reference to Mr. Gillespie. Too bad, because his skills as a player and composer were considerable. The third strike, and the one which concerns his place in history, is the paucity of recordings of Reece as a leader. This Blue Note disc provides us with a pair of sessions that have never been released in any form before.

The first session was recorded in Rudy Van Gelder's famed studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on April 3rd, 1960, with a dream band consisting of Stanley Turrentine (tenor sax), Reece on trumpet and congas, and the Jazz Messengers' backfield of Bobby Timmons (piano), Jymie Merritt (bass) and the great Art Blakey (Drums). Typical of Reece's emphasis of "the good of the piece" over ego, "Ye Old Blues" begins not with Reece's trumpet but with Turrentine swinging his ass off, flooding the piece with his rough and tumble tones and pushing Reece, who bats number two. Again, Reece surprises with a short but impressive solo and then defers to Timmons. This was obviously a man who greatly admired his fellow players and knew exactly what they could do. Turrentine, Reece and Blakey take it home trading bars. Quite an impressive start to a session that, for some unknown reason, was deemed unworthy for release in 1960.

Reece's skills as a soloist are showcased best in the mid-tempo blues tune, "Tenderly," where his tone and technique are so impressive that even the formidable Turrentine can't scuff him. This is the only place where I found myself being more impressed with the player than the arrangement, and that says a lot about Mr. Reece's skills and priorities.

The second session took place just a few months later, on July 17th, 1960, this time with a larger ensemble, with Reece again on trumpet and congas, Turrentine (tenor sax), Musa Kaleem (tenor sax), Duke Jordan (piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Al Harewood (drums). These four tracks find Reece being pushed by the sax duo while somehow finding a workable calm between the storms. Kaleem's work here is very exciting and animated, a perfect counter to Turrentine's gut-level bursts of energy and Reece's increasingly confident soarings. He also turns in a brief flute solo in the early moments of "Goose Dance."

For the most part, the second session was much more about the blues than the first, which in this case translates to more accessible solos for jazz newbies to digest, whereas there are certainly some fireworks in the first session. But newbies aren't the likely audience for Comin' On. This is a point of discovery for those who thought of Reece as a pretty fine session man and nothing more, and a major archeological find for those who always knew he was something special.

TRACK LIST:

(First session:) Ye Old Blues * The Case Of The Frightened Lover * Tenderly * Achmet * The Story Of Love * (Second session:) Sands * Comin' On * Goose Dance * The Things We Did Last Summer

© 2000 - DJ Johnson