Nov
26
2008
Little Slam – Gene Ammons
Author: Rick• From “Gene Ammons Complete Jazz Series 1949-1950″ Itunes
There’s nothing spectacular about Little Slam. There are certainly a ton of better-known tracks by Gene Ammons, with more dramatic soloing and better use of his big tenor sound. But this one always makes me smile. It’s just so simply good.
As with most of the cuts on this 1949 album it sounds dated, and that’s part of its attraction. It really defines the post-war period in jazz that saw bebop, big band swing, blues and the Chicago sound all mixing delightfully together. This performance is by an octet with trumpet, bone, tenor and bari saxes, drums, bass, guitar and piano. The piano (Junior Mance) is way too busy and the guitar inaudible, but the bass and drums keep up a good solid swing at 200bpm.
The tune (wonder if it was written for bassist Slam Stewart?) is built on standard changes in an AABA form, and isn’t exactly memorable. So why do I like it? Because every time I hear it I imagine amateur jazz groups woodshedding to get as tight an ensemble sound. The melody throughout is doubled by the horns and reminds me of the great soli sections in Basie’s or Kenton’s band arrangements, just as exciting with only three or four horms. Shouldn’t be a surprise, as the tune was written and arranged by Jimmy Mundy, arranger for Basie (Jumpin at the Woodside and Sing Sing Sing) and Goodman (Airmail Special), amongst other. There’s some tricky turns in the arrangement; this tune would make a great exercise a for small group or big band wanting to tighten their horn sections. It’s ensemble playing at its best.
And there’s a great driving energy from the corny stripper triplet opening right to the end (did the drummer forget to stop or just want to drop one more bomb?). These guys are blowing! Ammon’s solo is good, and blessedly not swamped with the heavy reverb that was used on so many of his ballad recordings. There’s an 8-bar bone solo that serves more to provide a break in the ensemble work than to showcase the soloist. The last 16 bars has a nice sound with Ammon’s tenor clearly out front.
Gene Ammons, nicknamed Jug, was in many respects the stereotypical 1950’s jazz man – coming up through the big bands (taking Stan Getz’s chair in the Woody Herman band), leading his own small groups (most notably with Sonny Stitt) and getting hooked on narcotics. In prison for most of the 60’s, he kept recording until his death in 1974, never losing that big Chicago sound. His bio can be seen on the Hardbop web site.
