Search - Urbie Green :: All About Urbie Green His Quintet & Big Band

Good collection but duplicates part of another release

James A. Vedda | Alexandria, VA USA | 06/30/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's nice to see that more of Urbie Green's 1950s-vintage recordings are being released, but fans should be wary of the duplication in a couple of the new collections. In a previous review of new Urbie releases, I noted that four tracks from 1954 appear on both "Slidin' Swing" and "Blues and Other Shades of Green." Similarly, anyone considering "All About Urbie Green" should be aware that it shares 11 of its 22 tracks with "Blues and Other Shades of Green." Which to buy depends on your taste: if you want more in the small group setting, get "Blues..."; if you want big band, you'll find it on half the tracks in "All About Urbie Green." Pass up "Slidin' Swing," especially if you buy "Blues..."

This CD has plenty to offer. The small group tracks include nice renditions of the ballads "You Are Too Beautiful" and "It's Too Late Now." "Thou Swell," and "Dirty Dan" are livelier tunes that get Urbie's slide moving. "One for Dee" captures the essence of 1950s small group jazz.

The 11 big band tracks are not extraordinary, but they're nice arrangements from two 1956 sessions featuring notables such as Al Cohn on tenor sax, Dave McKenna on piano, Doc Severinsen on trumpet, and Don Butterfield on tuba. Among the selections are the standards "Cherokee," "'Round Midnight," "Soft Winds," and one of my favorites, "Stella by Starlight." Overall, a good collection of Urbie's early work."