Coming from the heart of the
Count Basie bands,
Harry "Sweets" Edison and
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis might seem an odd pair. The stoic
Edison, able to straddle
swing to
bop with an ease rivaled by only
Clark Terry, with
Dizzy Gillespie or
Fats Navarro as parallels on the
bop side, played with a clean, professional efficiency that made him a true legend.
Davis, who was known as a multi-faceted tenor saxophonist, dipped from the deep wellspring of the
blues, was an
R&B bar walker at times, but preferred a clipped yet refined approach that served him well over decades of
jazz evolution. Though neither were expatriates, they found themselves in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1976 for these session that feature the brilliant pianist
Kenny Drew, who did abandon the U.S. for Europe, and in his prime on these dates later in his life. There are four sextet tracks with trombonist
John Darville joining, including the far too brief but hard bopping
"C Jam Blues," Lou Donaldson's
"Blues Walk," a 12-bar groove that was not ever linked to either
Edison or
Davis, the call and response laden
"Lester Leaps In," and the laid-back rhythm on the bopper
"Robbin's Nest." As a quintet,
Sweets and
Lockjaw cozy up on the cool
blues "Opus Funk" and the
Coleman Hawkins piece
"Spotlite," playing the end of the melody line phrase which was turned into
"Woody 'n' You" by
Dizzy Gillespie.
Drew is truly outstanding, digging in on
"Opus Funk," using cascading arpeggiated dexterity on the stunning intro of
"You Are Too Beautiful" in duet with
Davis, and on the other emotional end of the spectrum, comping deep, blue and somber during
"Angel Eyes." The good feelings of the front line mates is clear to understand and thoroughly enjoy, the sound is as good as it gets, and the song choices offers enough variation within the
mainstream jazz model to keep things interesting. Astute listeners should note how
Edison carries the play to
Davis -- check out his presence on
"Candy" or the bluesy, walking style he emotes on
"Lullabye for Dancers," where he demonstrates his love of playing exactly on the beat. While not totally dominant, his is the stronger voice. This is a welcome item of many from the
Storyville catalog (once issued on a
Mobile Fidelity LP,) recommended without hesitation, and worth searching for. ~ Michael G. Nastos