Complete 60s Big Band Recordings (Dynamic Sound Of/Goodies/Broadway Express/Total JJ Johnson)

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Beautiful work from the mid 60s big band of JJ Johnson – a very hip ensemble, heard here on 4 full albums from the time! First up is the RCA set known as JJ – a beautiful example of the mid-60s power of JJ Johnson – a big band session that features arrangements by JJ, Gary McFarland, and Oliver Nelson – all a very cooking mix of modernism, soul, and swing! The groups are large on all numbers, but there's plenty of room for Johnson to solo out in the lead – in a tightly-blown approach to trombone that almost comes across like a trumpet, given JJ's focus on the instrument. Other horn parts back him up lightly, but never overwhelm – and titles include "So What", "Stratusphunk", "Winter's Waif", "El Camino Real", "Stolen Moments", "Train Samba", and "Bemsha Swing". Next is another RCA date – Goodies, one of the lesser-known JJ Johnson albums of the mid 60s – and nice little session that's done with a fresh sort of style! The album's got JJ playing mostly with larger arrangements – penned by Dick Hyman, Slide Hampton, and Billy Byaers – in modes that range from upbeat, mod, and swinging – to mellow, lush, and soulful. A few cuts have vocalists – like the lovely Marlene Ver Planck, who sings wordlessly on the album's amazing groover "Pense A Moi" – a sweetly skipping jazz waltz that's almost worth the price of the record alone! Marlene returns on a great version of "Agua De Beber", and Osie Johnson sings on versions of "The Seventh Son" and "In The Name Of Love" – and other nice tracks include "008", "Feeling Good", and "G'Won Train". On CD 2, JJ takes a trip on the Broadway Express – serving up a host of great tunes pulled from shows, arranged with a very groovy flair by Mundell Lowe! Lowe makes the album sparkle with a bit more interest than the average session of this nature – adding in percussion, guitar, and other strong instrumental touches to support JJ's trombone solos. Titles include "The Joker", "Sunrise Sunset", "Goodbye Old Girl", "I Believe In You", "More Than One Way", "Night Song", and "Why Did I Choose You?". Last up is Total JJ Johnson – a further chapter in the big band years of JJ – heard here at a point when he was pushing his ensemble even more than before, with a fluid groove that almost matches the energy of similar groups on MPS at the time! There's a real undercurrent of hipness going on in the record – a quality that's not content to ape bigger band modes of earlier years, and instead finds a whole new space in sound – a relatively lean quality, but one that still uses the added players to create some magnificent qualities in sound – all to support the well-blown lead solo work by Johnson. There's a nice groove on most numbers, and the album features some especially nice reeds from Jerome Richardson and Frank Wess. Johnson handled arrangements, and titles include "Short Cake", "Space Walk", "Little Dave", and "Euro #1".  © 1996-2025, Dusty Groove, Inc.