THAD JONES / FRANK WESS / TEDDY CHARLES / MAL WALDRON / DOUG WATKINS, ELVIN JONES - Olio [1957] PRESTIGE / OJC / FLAC

Before I begin, let me assure vou that we have not spelled oho incorrectly, that it has nothing to do with oleomargarine or Sonny Rollins's "Oleo" recorded by Miles Davis and Sonny. An olio is a mixture. As the dictionary explains it: (1) a dish of many ingredients; (1) any mixture of heterogeneous elements; (3) a medley or potpourri {musical, literary, or the like); a miscellany.
Here the mixture is more in the musicians than in the music. In the persons of Teddy Charles, Thad Jones, Frank Wess, and Mal Waldron, four different conceptions are embodied; heterogeneous elements which are brought together under the roof of the music of Charles, Waldron, and George Gershwin.
Charles derives from the Parke r-Gillespie-Monk-Powell idiom with the influence of modern classical music showing itself in his compositional techniques and subsequently in his playing. Teddy is not only a soloist, composer, and arranger. He is also an organizer, a coordinator of ideas and personalities who possesses a flame of ambition and energy that can be touched to his cohorts' wicks at many given moments.
This is Teddy's first session for Prestige since his New Directions quartet of January 6, 1955 which, incidentally, can be heard on Evolution (LP 7078). In his return, he has taken on another duty, that of recording director for certain sessions. Needless to say, these include any in which he appears as an instrumentalist,
Thaddeus Joseph Jones, like his older brother Hank and younger brother Elvin, was born in Pontiac, Michigan. Until the Fifties, he didn't do much playing outside Michigan but from the time he joined Count Basie in 1954 and started recording in small combos on the various independent jazz labels, Thad has had his name associated with highly complimentary adjectives by all of the important observers on today's jazz scene. His horn is a biting, brilliant, brassy instrument linked to Gillespie but by the most personal of bridges.
Many people have noted that Thad is wasted in the Basie band and if this were his only outlet of expression, he would be known solely as "the guy who blows 'Pop Goes the Weasel' on 'April in Paris.'" Thad's conception is not especially peculiar to the Basie band but this does not prevent him from playing well within that context when he is given the chance.
One whose ideas seem to fit better in the same setting is tenorman-flutist Frank Wess who reflects the band's swing with more modern overtones outlook. That he has absorbed the lessons of Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Lester Young is clear but Charlie Parker and Sonnv Stitt have not failed to leave
an impression. Frank's flute is more influenced by post-1945 jazz than is his tenor. As a perceptive musician he reacts to the material in this LP by playing within its spirit on both instruments and. as a result, sounding more "modern" than ever before.
Mal Waldron, ever increasing his facility of expression, is a pianist out of Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and Horace Silver who is always thinking, both harmonically and rhythmically, and producing provocative new patterns as a result. The rest of the rhythm section is handled in more than competent style by the aforementioned F.hin Jones, an inventive drummer who knows how to swing without monotony and inject accents with integrity; and bassist Doug Watkins, strong and steady if unspectacular.
Trumpet, flute, and vibes in the front line gives this outing a live and cracking sound that is metallic but never cold. Even on the numbers where Frank plays tenor, the unique tonal mood is continued.
"Potpourri," a sprightly, happy Mal Waldron original, opens the proceedings. Thad and Frank (flute) play one theme as Teddy carries another hue against them. Solos by Frank. Thad, Teddy, and Mal.
"Touche," Mal's other contribution to the date, makes use of interludes at the end of each chorus. Solos bv Frank (flute), Thad, Teddy, and Mal; four-bar chases between Frank and Thad for sixteen bars before the ensemble closes it out. "Blues Without Woe," a simple but powerful blues line, is stated once and then Thad rips off an exciting solo followed by Teddy, Frank (lenor), and Mal. Then Elvin Jones comes in for exchanges with Teddy and the horns.
The exoticism of the West African port is captured in Teddy Charles's "Dakar." Solos are by Frank (flute), Teddy, Thad, and Mal. Mystery and intrigue abound.
On "Embraceable You" Thad and Frank (tenor) demonstrate how to give proper feeling to a ballad, keeping it a jazz performance and avoiding the saccharine.
The acrid, foggy "Hello Frisco," Teddy's follow-up title to his "So Long Broadway," is delineated in solo by Mal, Thad, Teddy, and Frank (tenor).
An incident concerning this album perhaps would be of interest to Robert Ripley's Believe It or Not. Before the title "Olio" was ever suggested, cover designer Reid Miles had in mind a certain abstract painting for use on the front cover. Later, after the title had been arrived at, Miles brought the design in. To everyone's amazement, a word took form as the abstraction was viewed. It was olio.   
   - IRA GITLER These notes appeared on the original album liner.

It was not unusual in the 1950s for record companies to assemble a cast of musicians in a studio, beat them into the shape of a jam session, roll the tape, and hope. Sometimes superior music resulted, sometimes boredom. Any reliance on chance was doomed on the day Olio was made because the musicians included men of intelligence, imagination, and organizational ability, as well as superior musicianship. Teddy Charles was in charge, and he was known to encourage order in ways that made sense to advanced players such as Thad Jones, Elvin Jones, Frank Wess, Mal Waldron, and Doug Watkins. With three compositions of his own, a couple by Waldron, and one by that reliable provider of great melodies and harmonies, George Gershwin, Charles banished the specter of the slapdash. What might have been three soloists and a rhythm section coalesced into a sextet that produced music of permanent value, interest, and charm.  wrote on booklet

Trumpeter Thad Jones receives first billing on this all-star outing, but vibraphonist Teddy Charles, who contributed three of the six selections (two of the other songs are by pianist Mal Waldron, while the lone standard is "Embraceable You") was really the musical director. Jones, Charles, and Waldron are joined by Frank Wess (doubling on tenor and flute), bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Elvin Jones for a set of modern hard bop. Although this was not a regular group and there is not an obvious leader, the music is on a higher level than that of a routine jam session. The challenging material and the high quality playing of the young greats makes this fairly obscure modern mainstream set (reissued on CD in 1998) well worth exploring.  by Scott Yanow 
Tracklist
1.  POTPOURRI   6:04
Mai Waldron 
2.  BLUES WITHOUT WOE 7:58
Teddy Charles 
3. TOUCHE  6:25
Waldron
4.  DAKAR 6:58
Charles 
5. EMBRACEABLE YOU 4:17
Gershwin-Gershwin
6.  HELLO FRISCO 6:23
Charles
Total Time: 38:05
Personel
THAD JONES - trumpet
FRANK WESS - tenor saxophone, flute (1, 3, 4)
TEDDY CHARLES - vibes
MAL WALDRON - piano
DOUG WATKINS - bass
ELVIN JONES - drums
Releases
Prestige PRLP 7084.

THAD JONES / FRANK WESS / TEDDY CHARLES 

 MAL WALDRON / DOUG WATKINS, ELVIN JONES - Olio [1957] 

RE [1999, Fantasy] PRESTIGE / OJC / FLAC / scans

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