TRACK: “Stompin’ at the Savoy”
ALBUM TITLE: A Sign of the Times
LABEL: Concord
PERSONNEL: Tal Farlow, guitar; Ray Brown, bass; Hank Jones, piano
RECORDED: August 1976
REVIEW FROM: Jazz Bass Artists of the 1950s by Dave Hunt
Of all the performances of such a classic standard in 32-bar A-A-B-A form (8-8-8-8) that were recorded between the 1930s and the 1980s, few will touch Farlow, Jones and Brown for:
- Harmonic originality
- Collective and individual instrumental mastery
- Creative subtlety
- Polished swing
Together they possess the ultimate in jazz sophistication and still unfailingly groove.The melody statement is greatly enhanced by altered harmony in the first, second and last 8-bar sections. The result is an exciting harmonic ride never before associated with this standard. The second chorus, instead of being just the first chorus of solo improvisation, functions as an ensemble feature with a holding pattern vamp in the first, second and last 8-bar sections of the 32-bar trio statement. In both of these first two choruses, the bridge (the third 8-bar section) acts as a walking contrast to the harmonic emphasis in the other three sections. There is an awkward rhythmic phrasing in bars 30 and 31 of the later chorus, but Brown steadies the trio admirably by single-handedly influencing the outcome.
When Farlow takes two living-on-the-edge guitar choruses, the reasons for his legendary status become all the more evident. He employs the previously utilized vamp structure in the second of his improvised choruses. Jones’ two regal, authoritative piano choruses show compatible exploratory tendencies with the trio’s already established harmonic alterations. Farlow adds rhythm guitar beginning on the bridge of Jones’ first chorus and continuing throughout all of his second, simultaneously simulating the missing drummer’s time functions – a simplified brush rhythm and high hat demarcation of the weak portions of each measure.
Brown’s two solo choruses are a marked study in contrasts. For the first 24 bars (through the bridge) of the first, he appears to be just cruising improvisationally, relying primarily on swing eighth notes and related fundamental syncopations. But then, as a lead-in, or prelude, to his second chorus, he really turns up the heat to unleash a noticeably more intense technical display in bars 25-32. Continuing at this new intensity level throughout the remainder of his solo (bars 33-64), he is unquestionably rocking rhythmically, as well as making enviable interpretations of harmonic sequences. Brown’s shift in intensity levels, with all its attendant technicalities, is a feat that few bassists in his era had the capability to execute.
Following Brown in the solo spotlight, Farlow returns but offers a less fiery chorus than either of his earlier efforts. The out chorus, however, again reminds the listener of the magnificence of all the artists involved.