VSOP #46 Motif/Tampa  MAX ALBRIGHT: MOOD FOR MAX 

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As a general rule drummers' albums turn out to be little more than showcase items for the leaders' percussive talents.  Indeed, it's reached a point where the record buyer-unless he's an aspiring percussionist himself-picks up an LP bearing the name of a well known drummer and groans. "Oh, no! Not another collection of long drum solos!" Well, Max Albright puts himself on record as being unable to abide long drum solos.

"Far as I'm concerned," he asserts, "drummers should concentrate on playing time, that's their function.  Dave Tough was a great drummer for that reason – and I try to model my playing after his."  Coming from so widely recognized a percussionist as Albright this is certainly refreshing.

In MOTIF's first album, featuring a select group of established jazz musicians, you'll find none of the dramatic exhibitionism.  Accent for the most part is on the writing talents of multi-instrumentalist Buddy Collette and trumpeter John Anderson.  Writing is evenly divided between the two: Collette and Anderson each contributed three originals and three arrangements of standard tunes.  There is ample room for blowing too, none of the constriction of too-tight scoring which ties the natural soloist to his manuscript and results in a tension among the musicians that manifests itself in the finished product.

HIGH FIDELITY ENTHUSIASTS will derive particular enjoyment from the recording quality of this MOTIF album, thanks to the engineering skill of Allan Emig.  Mood for Max is an ideal case in point, as the bass passages of Joe Comfort contrast brilliantly with Albright's finger cymbal work.

Relating some background to MUSIC'S MY BEAT, Max recalls the idea was conceived some six months prior to the date in the form of a phone call from MOTIF music director Andre Brummer.  "I wanted the best musicians around," says Max, "but they had to be more than expert studio men.  Guess you could say they had to have a combination of all-around band experience plus the talent of jazz blowers.  Then, too, the men I wanted had to regard this album as something more than just a gig.  You've got to have all the men with you if you're to produce a good record.  From the way they approached the date, I couldn't be surer they were with me."

CROW'S NEST, a blues theme by Anderson, showcases the composer's precise, biting trumpet; Bill Green's funky alto with its Parkerish overtones' a swinging tenor chorus by Collette; and a couple of lush choruses from Wells' trombone before the subdued ensemble takes it out.

REMEMBER, that sentimental old standard, is rejuvenated by an easy, loping tempo under Anderson's pen.  This is really Wiggins' tune, although Collette on tenor and Wells make some trenchant comments.  "Wigg" struts a sassy Garner-like left hand, quite in character for the versatile pianist, and strikes home.

SUNSET DRIVE is a boppish Collette creation which takes off with Wells' bass trumpet leading the gang.  Buddy's the man on alto this take and it's interesting to contrast his alto with Green's.  John Anderson is in top form in his 16 bars, and bassist Curtis Counce has a bouncing bridge passage with Albright's light cymbal work in back.

YOU'RE DEVASTATING pays tribute to the intimate Claude Thornhill approach to arranging as Buddy Collette puts pen to work on this serene Jerome Kern opus.  Written around Joe Comfort's eloquent bass figures, it is notable also for Dave Wells' lyrical entrance to 16 superbly controlled bars of bass trumpet.

MOOD FOR MAX  was written overnight by Collette, with both Albright and Joe Comfort in mind.  Below Gene Cipriano's oboe line, replete with Oriental touch, Comfort maintains a sensuous bass figure which blossoms into a lyrical solo passage on the release.  Pyramidal writing with tonal points passing from one horn to the next highlight the close.

SOME FOLKS LIKE THE BLUES, a rather diffident title belied by the performance, is another Anderson original.  Taken at a medium ride with choruses by Anderson; Collette on flute; Wiggins; and Green on alto, this emerges a rather unpretentious, small band blues number with some tidy modern writing that spices the solo work from chorus to chorus.

TOP HAT, WHITE TIE AND TAILS, another Collette arrangement opening Side Two, finds Anderson's harmon-muted trumpet leading the reeds in a straight statement.  Gerry Wiggins' 32 bar chorus; 16 bars each from Collette and Anderson; and that great walking bass of Comfort help make this take a sparkler.

I HEAR BELLS is one of those delightfully tongue-in-cheek numbers that brighten any record date.  The light, airy Collette tune (Can't you hear Mother say, "Now there's a tune a body can dance to.") has 16 bars of Buddy's liquid clarinet leading into Wells' humorous entrance and happy break on bass trumpet.  Appropriately, Max takes to the bells as the boys trip gaily out.

BUZZIN' COOL seems to capture a lazier mood reminiscent of the late 'thirties, with composer Anderson's muted trumpet meandering languorously across the theme.  There's a spot for Collette's low-keyed rather rhapsodic tenor; then John again with Wiggins' pretty chords in the background.

ONE MORNING IN MAY finds the tempo up and reeds bouncing as John Anderson takes the old Mitch Parrish-Hoagy Carmichael song for a modern Herman-type ride.  Precise Wiggins, crisp Anderson, Swinging Collette and wailin' Wells follow one another through Maytime to a rousing ensemble closer.

THAT'S ALL points up Dave Wells' fine grasp of ballad form as he opens Collette's arrangement on bass trumpet.  Albright's vibes show an appreciation for Milt Jackson's wide vibrato in a short, straight statement.  Especially notable is Bill Green's singing alto as he hits high F in the closing six bars of this tenderly done tune.

HEAT WAVE emerges the flagwaver, ideal winder-upper for the album, in an arrangement by John Anderson.  It's question-and-answer between Max's tom-toms and John's horn before Dave's bass trumpet keynotes the happy tenor of remaining solos from Green's hard-toned, fleet alto, Anderson's booting break, and a tricky Counce bass figure.  Then back to the dialogue between tom-toms and trumpet before coda.

John Tynan,

West Coast representative for Down Beat Magazine

MAX ALBRIGHT HAS BEEN IN AND AROUND  MUSIC SINCE HIS BIRTH IN Kokomo, Indiana, June 10, 1923.  His mother and father worked together in theater pits for silent movies, and his uncle Fred Albright, is the renowned New York teacher of vibists  Terry Gibbs, Teddy Chares and numerous other start of the modern music world.  Albright is a top flight percussionist.  Worked with David Rose and Jerry Gray while in the Army during World War II; after discharge did stints with Boyd Raeburn and Charlie Barnet before joining the NBC staff orchestra.  Has recorded with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jeri Southern, Billy Ekstine, and Dinah Shore.  He's heard on recent albums with Billy May, Jerry Fielding, Gordon Jenkins, Nelson Riddle and Murray McEachern.

JOHN ANDERSON is one of the most respected of contemporary trumpeters on the West Coast.  Presently heading his own jazz group, Anderson has occupied trumpet chairs with Flip Phillips, Benny Carter and Perez Prado.  He's studied arranging with Russ Garcia and Dr. Alfred Sendrey.

GENE CIPRIANO graduated to Hollywood studio work after terms with the late Tommy Dorsey and Tex Beneke.  A woodwind player of the first rank, he's currently with the Danny Thomas and Ozzie and Harriet television shows.

BUDDY COLLETTE's versatile reed and flute work has been captivating jazz fans for some time now.  His playing with the Chico Hamilton Quintet and with groups of his own won him the "New Star On Clarinet" award in DownBeat magazine's 1956 Jazz Critics Poll. No less compelling is his performance on tenor, alto and flute in this album.

JOE COMFORT one of those sturdy satraps of jazz bass who has made the scene for years with top names including Nat Cole, Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich and Billy May.  Note his superb bassing here on Your'e Devastating and Mood for Max.

CURTIS COUNCE has gained additional recognition during the past year as bassist with the Stan Kenton Orchestra.  Before that he'd laid down the beat for all-star groups like Shorty Rogers' Giants and the Buddy De Franco Quartet.  He now heads his own quintet

CHUCK GENTRY has been key reedman with practically every name band in the country, before signing up with 20^th Century Fox as a studio musician.  His name is synonymous with the swinging big bands of the 1930's.  One of his more recent jaz album appearances was on Lyle "Spud" Murphy's 12-Tone Compositions And Arrangements.  Here his big toned baritone helps boot along section work.

WILLIAM GREEN devotes most of his time to teaching at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music.  Between classes, however, he's one of the most accomplished jazz reedmen in the country.  Besides recording (Red Callender and Buddy Collette albums), Bill has worked with jazz groups in practically every L.A. nightspot.

DAVE WELLS is a young man of steadily growing reputation among musicians and laymen alike.  As trombonist he can hold his own with the best of them, but it is as bass trumpeter that he really shines, a fact to which his work here will readily attest.  He has previously recorded with Collette and Tommy Alexander's big band and has played with Charlie Barnett, Harry James and other name aggregations.

GERALD WIGGINS is known as a musician's piano player because of his versatility, consummate taste, rich ideas and swinging conception.  A young veteran of jazz, he's held down the piano chair with the bands of Louis Armstrong, Benny Carter and Jerry Fielding and, for several years, was accompanist to Lena Horne.  He currently works with his own trio (which includes bassist Comfort) in Los Angeles. 

A Swinging Gig

Cover for Tampa 2 Buddy Collete: "A Swinging Gig"

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