Alabama Concerto
| Alabama Concerto | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1958 | |||
| Recorded | July 28 & 31 and August 25, 1958 Reeves Sound Studio, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 42:27 | |||
| Label | Riverside RLP 12-276 | |||
| John Benson Brooks chronology | ||||
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| Cannonball Adderley chronology | ||||
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Alabama Concerto is an album by composer John Benson Brooks featuring saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and trumpeter Art Farmer; it was released on the Riverside label in 1958.[1] For Brooks, it was "an outgrowth of an assignment he had [...] to transcribe for a book some folk recordings made in Alabama by Harold Courlander"; these contrasted with New Orleans jazz recordings, causing Brooks to consider an alternative influence on the history of jazz.[2]: 45
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
Critic John S. Wilson, in a contemporaneous review, observed of the composer: "Working from several rural folk themes, he develops his Concerto through ensembles, written solos and improvised solos played by a quartet".[2]: 45 Concluding in a negative vein, Wilson stated that the album "lacks movement and explicit development [...] the work becomes lost in monotony long before the two full LP sides have been completed."[2]: 46 The Allmusic site awarded the album 3 stars with the review by Scott Yanow stating, "Although not essential, the music is thought-provoking, quite melodic, and looks backwards toward folk music of the 1800s while giving the pieces a 1950s jazz sensibility".[3]
Track listing
All compositions by John Benson Brooks
- First Movement: THEMES: "The Henry John Story" / "Green, Green Rocky Road" / "Job's Red Wagon" - 4:49
- First Movement: "The Henry John Story (return)" / "Green, Green Rocky Road (return)" - 3:17
- First Movement: "Job's Red Wagon (return)" - 3:07
- Second Movement: THEMES: "Trampin'" / "The Loop" / "Trampin' (return)" - 7:54
- Second Movement: "The Loop (return)" - 2:25
- Third Movement: THEME: "Little John Shoes" - 3:09
- Third Movement: THEME: "Milord's Calling" / "Little John Shoes (return)" / "Milord's Callin' (return)" - 5:06
- Fourth Movement: THEMES: "Blues for Christmas" / "Rufus Playboy" / "Grandma's Coffin" / "Blues for Christmas (return)" - 7:33
- Fourth Movement: "Grandma's Coffin (return)" / "Rufus Playboy (return)" / "Grandma's Coffin (2nd return)" - 5:07
Personnel
- John Benson Brooks - piano, arranger
- Cannonball Adderley - alto saxophone
- Art Farmer - trumpet
- Barry Galbraith - guitar
- Milt Hinton - bass
References
- ^ Cannonball Adderley discography accessed October 29, 2012.
- ^ a b c Wilson, John S. (1959) The Collector's Jazz: Modern. J. B. Lippincott.
- ^ a b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed October 29, 2012