Search - Philly Joe Jones :: Philly Joe's Beat / Philly Joe & Elvin Jones

Classic album; why so over-looked?

Mister Hip-Hop | The Land Where Hip-Hop And Jazz Live. | 09/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am sickened that I'm the first to review this gem. Philly Joe Jones is one of the jazz pioneers of drums. He is best known for his work with the first great Miles Davis Quintet, which was classic work, although his solo work is being severely slept on. Whenever he plays he strongly influences not only the rhythm section but the soloists playing in front of him as well. Also, Philly Joe is an amazing soloist on the drums, he creates melodies and everything. He makes a non-melodic instrument sound melodic. This set includes his classic LP Philly Joe's Beat and another album, Philly Joe Jones & Elvin Jones Together, all on one set. Paul Chambers plays bass on both sessions so of course the rhythm section is knocking all the time. He's also joined by confident soloists on this two-in-one album, like Bill Barron and Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Michael Downs on cornet (his solos are excellent and very nicely mixed in technique), Curtis Fuller on trombone, Wynton Kelly and Walter Davis on piano. Elvin and Philly Joe sound wonderful holding down the drums on the final three tracks. The take of the Dizzy Gillespie-Kenny Clarke classic "Salt Peanuts" is definitely one of the best versions of the song ever recorded. Walter Davis shines on his piano solo and Michael Downs has a speedy, muted trumpet solo. However, Philly Joe's lengthy solo near the end steals the show. The remake of "Salt Peanuts" is reason alone for any jazz fan to need this album. "Muse Rapture" is a laid-back, cool tune where Bill Barron shines on tenor, Michael Downs has a superb cornet solo and Paul Chambers puts in another one of his smooth bass solos. The fours on this tune are also perfect. "Dear Old Stockholm", the Swedish-flavored traditional was a tune Miles often played in his groups. This version of the track is more snappy and upbeat, but Paul Chambers takes another great bass solo on this tune, just like the one he did on the original the Miles Davis Quintet did. Downs impressed me again with an astounding cornet solo, with some Clifford Brown-esque moments. "Two Bass Hit" is another Dizzy Gillespie tune (co-wrote by John Lewis) that Miles Davis also recorded. The song was originally written as a tenor saxophone feature and this is exactly what we get here. Bill Barron takes a nice swinging solo backed up by some excellent ensemble playing. "Lori", a Jimmy Garrison tune, finally gives us a break from the hard-bop and has a more laid-back muted feel. However this tune still grooves. Michael's muted trumpet solo is cool, and Paul Chambers plays the bass part beautifully. Walter Davis also plays nice, intelligent additions to the song throughout and when he trades fours with Philly Joe it closes out the piece well. "Got To Take Another Chance" is just another example of the percussive sweetness this album has to offer, once again a great swinging solo from Walter Davis and Michael Downs plays using a cup-mute giving a different feel to this tune. "That's Earl Brotha" is a Dizzy Gillespie-Ray Brown-Gil Fuller tune with a weird, bouncy theme that we've come to expect from the bebop era. Everyone gets a piece here. "Le Roi" is the first of the Elvin-Philly Joe sessions and these two drummers cook relentlessly throughout. The tension-building theme is nice, almost a bit reminiscent of "Miles" except played a lot slower with a more blues-like feel. "Beaut-Y" is the only Philly Joe original on this set, and has a bouncy Latin feel. Trumpeter Blue Mitchell and trombonist Curtis Fuller shine on this lengthy piece. The rhythm section boosts this song. "Brown Sugar", a Walter Davis original, is the final track and lasts about fifteen minutes. The theme is a snappy yet strange riff which switches into a more straight ahead jazz tune. Every soloist shines on this piece and it actually has very good replay value especially considering it lasts so long. An under-rated album, if you're into drumming or loved the Miles Davis Quintet, then you might be missing out on this. The version of "Salt Peanuts", "Dear Old Stockholm" and "Brown Sugar" are reason alone to buy this. Painfully over-looked."