Bobby Timmons - The Soul Man (1966)

Bobby Timmons - The Soul Man (1966)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 260MB

Prestige

Amazon
The Soul Man! is beautiful, elegant music and, contrary to what one might expect from a straightforward Prestige session, it's made up entirely of compelling, memorable originals. When the album was recorded, both Wayne Shorter and Ron Carter were in the second Miles Davis quintet, and it appears from this record that they were willing to contribute original compositions for a smaller unit under someone else's leadership, even someone as modest as Bobby Timmons, who was essentially just a reliable, bluesy pianist, while Miles was a giant.
The result actually is a small gem. Shorter is at the height of his maturity as a player, delivering eloquent, lyrical statements in that rich, confident tone, while Timmons lays down solos as witty as he ever played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the "school" that gave him (and Shorter, incidentally) an assured place in the business.
What surprises me to this day is just how unknown and obscure this record is. The closing piece, Ron Carter's "Little Waltz" is a minor masterpiece, and ought to have become a standard straight away (it appears in several recordings made throughout the 70s featuring Ron Carter).

Tracks
-1. "Cut Me Loose Charlie" - 5:46
-2. "Tom Thumb" (Wayne Shorter) - 7:09
-3. "Ein Bahn Strasse (One Way Street)" (Ron Carter) - 7:21
-4. "Damned If I Know" - 6:31
-5. "Tenaj" (Carter) - 7:08
-6. "Little Waltz" (Carter) - 6:37
All compositions by Bobby Timmons except as indicated
Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on January 20, 1966.

Personnel
* Bobby Timmons - piano
* Wayne Shorter - tenor saxophone
* Ron Carter - bass
* Jimmy Cobb - drums

 sample & buy: Soul Man!

 

Bobby Timmons - Easy Does It (1961)

Bobby Timmons - Easy Does It (1961)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 220MB

OJC

Allmusic:
Pianist Bobby Timmons, who became famous for his funky originals and soulful playing, mostly sticks to more bop-oriented jazz on this trio set with bassist Sam Jones and drummer Jimmy Cobb. He provides three originals (none of which really caught on) and is in excellent form on five standards, with highlights including "Old Devil Moon," "I Thought About You," and "Groovin' High." The Riverside CD reissue shows that Timmons was a bit more versatile than his stereotype; in any case, the music is excellent.

Tracks
-1. "Easy Does It" - 4:53
-2. "Old Devil Moon" (E.Y. Harburg, Burton Lane) - 4:38
-3. "A Little Busy" - 5:52
-4. "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You" (Bing Crosby, Ned Washington, V Young) - 4:54
-5. "Pretty Memory" - 3:32
-6. "If You Could See Me Now" (Tadd Dameron, Carl Sigman) - 6:31
-7. "I Thought About You" (Johnny Mercer, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 5:01
-8. "Groovin' High" (Dizzy Gillespie) - 3:33
All compositions by Bobby Timmons except as inicated
Recorded in New York City on March 13, 1961.

Personnel
* Bobby Timmons - piano
* Sam Jones - bass
* Jimmy Cobb - drums

sample & buy: Easy Does It

Bobby Timmons - In Person (1961) (OJC 20-bit remaster)

Bobby Timmons - In Person (1961)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 350MB

OJC 20-bit remaster

Allmusic:
This enjoyable LP presents a relaxed, agreeable live date, but not one that generates sparks. Pianist Bobby Timmons, who made his name as a writer and invaluable part of the rhythm section in the Art Blakey and Cannonball Adderley bands of the late '50s and early '60s, is a different proposition in his role here as a leader. Although able and energetic, Timmons demonstrates little taste for adventure and, consequently, can sustain himself in the spotlight only intermittently. Still, with Timmons in the company of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Albert Heath, both in their early twenties at the time of this 1961 recording, there would seem to have been potential for great things -- something beyond the sum of the parts. As it is, Carter and Heath provide little more than reliable support relative to their superior skills. Things may have sounded differently to the Village Vanguard audience, but on the LP Carter is uncharacteristically two-dimensional. His volume is about right, but the tone is rendered as an anonymous, mid-range pulsing. There is no sense of flesh, wood, and strings interacting with one another. Heath, predominantly using brushes, is also at about the right volume in the mix, but there are nuances missing and his snare is overemphasized. The players sound most together on the parts they've worked out, but the telepathy that distinguishes an excellent trio from an average one is missing in the group's improvisations. The result is a release that stops short of satisfying expectations.

Tracks
-1 "Autumn Leaves" (Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer, Jacques Prévert) - 7:57
-2 "So Tired" - 6:24
-3 "Goodbye" (Gordon Jenkins) - 4:46
-4 "Dat Dere (Theme)" - 0:56
-5 "They Didn't Believe Me" (Jerome Kern, Herbert Reynolds) - 6:48
-6 "Dat Dere" (Full-length) - 4:31
-7 "Popsy" - 6:12
-8 "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) - 8:14
-9 "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Sigmund Romberg) - 5:30
-10 "Dat Dere (Theme)" - 0:56
* Recorded at the Village Vanguard in New York City on October 1, 1961.

Personnel
*Bobby Timmons - piano
*Ron Carter - bass
*Albert Heath - drums

sample & buy: In Person