Search - Adrian Rollini :: 1937-1938

Good chamber jazz

JJA Kiefte | Tegelen, Nederland | 01/28/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the thirties Adrian Rollini was the uncrowned king of two fairly unusual musical instruments: the bass sax (first attracting attention in Britain when he was a member of Fred Elizalde's Savoy Hotel Orchestra in the late twenties; his role then was mostly as a replacement of the brass or double bass) and the vibraphone. The first 13 sides on this second Retrieval cd dedicated to Rollini as a leader (March 1937- June 1938) showcase his aptness on that most unwieldy member of the saxophone family. The music is firmly rooted in a slightly older tradition and may sound a bit old fashioned in comparison to Teddy Wilson's or Lionel Hampton's small band recordings from the same period, but is nonetheless very pleasant and sports very good solo work by trumpeter Jonah Jones, the quirky Art Drelinger on tenorsax (sounding like the early Georgie Auld; he can also be heard to good advantage on a number of air shots with Paul Whiteman's orchestra), Dick McDonough (who died tragically early in 1938) on guitar and wonderfully crisp drumming by Al Sidell (later to go with Muggsy Spanier). The only letdown is Red McKenzie's lugubrious baritone spoiling his feature "I Cried for You". The small band is augmented with a trombone and strings for two theatrepit orchestra-style recordings; the strings are dropped again and this results in two completely different versions of "Slap that Bass". The pleasant unknown singer sounds like a cross between Dick Robertson and Fred Astaire and is a world of improvement on McKenzie.

The next session, introducing a very young Buddy Rich on drums, is somewhat unusual in that it includes violinist Al Duffy, one of very few jazz violinists in the USA in those days. The singer is a bit of a letdown again (I wonder if producers didn't care at all about the quality of the singers they engaged). The music swings along nicely with good solos (Babe Russin's bro Jack on piano deserves special mention) but overall is somewhat sedate.

A more modern lineup fills the remainder of the disc: Bobby Hackett on cornet, Rollini on vibes and Rich again on drums, together with bass and strong guitar (Frank Victor). Sonny Schuyler is a pleasantly voiced singer but not always sure in his intonation (esp. in "Josephine" and "I Hitched My Wagon"). The Tune Twisters vocal trio (including future Glenn Miller singer and guitarist Jack Lathrop; the Tune Twisters incidentally appear on a Glenn Miller 1937 Decca recording as well) provide some very nice harmonizing on the last six items (sometimes imitating a trombone section to good effect). Hackett is very good throughout, his greatest solo being the first take of "Small Fry" (in the knowledgable liner notes Richard M. Sudhalter waxes lyrical about it's harmonic audacity). Rollini's solo work is fine, less outgoing than Hampton's, perhaps harmonically less inventive than Red Norvo (who off and on played vibes as well) but still eminently listenable.

A fine tribute to the art of thirties' small band jazz."