Search - Red Garland :: When There Are Grey Skies

Red Garland(and Al Jolson and..)Revisited

Brian Schiff | Detroit Mi. USA | 05/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a sucker for anything by Red Garland-and I love 'Red Garland

Revisited';but on 'Grey Skies',he does the Al Jolson standard

'Sonny Boy'-which is the beautiful tune-beautifully played,that I measure everything else by.Red is accompanied here by Charlie Persip on drums and Wendell Marshall on bass,rather than Arthur Taylor (d) and Miles Davis rhythm section cohort Paul Chambers (b) and this trio does some great stuff with 'St. James Infirmary','My Honey's Lovin' Arms','I Ain't Got Nobody','Baby Won't You Please Come Home','Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen' and 'My Blue Heaven'.Regardless of tempo,Red is always beautiful

to listen to.Reportedly,he once went a few rounds with Sugar Ray

Robinson-and I believe Sugar Ray learned something about how to

deal with 'time and space'-from Red. When listening to him,you can "always" hear Al Jolson say,"You ain't heard nuthin' yet",before another encore performance of 'Sonny Boy' or one of his other masterpieces."

Typical Garland trio album

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 12/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"
One among dozens of albums Red Garland made for Prestige, this trio session was cut in October 1962, with Wendell Marshall (b) and Charlie Persip (d). The highlight here is Red's interpretation of MY HONEY'S LOVIN' ARMS, a tune usually associated with trad bands. Done up-tempo, Red swings it nicely with just the right modern touches added to it. On SONNY BOY, the old Al Jolson tune, Red plays the verse very slowly and unaccompanied, but then things pick up somewhat when the rhythm joins in.



NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I'VE SEEN, is taken just a bit too slowly and goes on for almost 12 minutes, though Red really gets into a blues groove near the end. Red's locked-hands chordal approach is evident throughout the album (that's the sound from Red that Miles liked the most). I think Garland produced more successful albums than this one, but it's a good one just the same."