HOWARD McGHEE – 1949-1952 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1294 (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is quite a package, different in some ways from anything else in the Howard McGhee discography. With J.J. Johnson and Brew Moore alongside McGhee in front of Kenny Drew, Curly Russell, and Max Roach, the first six tracks, recorded for Blue Note in August of 1949, constitute some of the best jazz being made anywhere at that time. Four tunes were composed by Drew, who sounds exceptionally fine here. Brew Moore blew a smooth tenor, unashamedly emulating Lester Young's tone and phraseology. The next phase of McGhee's career took him and a small ensemble into the Pacific Islands as part of the Korean War effort in 1951 and 1952. Eventually presented by New Jersey's Regent Records as Jazz South Pacific or on the Hi-Lo label as Howard McGhee's Korean All-Stars, the band ran through a roster of relatively old-fashioned jazz standards in order to provide accessible entertainment for armed forces personnel. There were occasional bursts of accelerated bop, but the real charm of these live recordings is the wild combination of progressive young musicians handling what must have seemed to them ancient material. The most outrageous example of this is "12th Street Bop," a send-up of "12th Street Rag" hammered out with almost maniacal humor. "Perdido" and "Oh, Lady Be Good" are extended performances while some of the other tracks are much shorter -- "Mood Indigo" is just over a minute in length. The front line of McGhee, J.J. Johnson, and tenor saxophonist Rudy Williams rides through the Philippines and Guam without missing a beat, thanks especially to drummer Charlie Rice and electric guitarist Clifton Best, who generates "Hawaiian" effects during the out chorus of "One O'Clock Jump." These obscure recordings, punctuated with vigorous applause and occasional whistling from the sailors near the bar -- lending a "Ringside at Condon's" ambience to the proceedings -- have been reissued here and there over the years, most notably by the Savoy label. It is good to have them laid out in orderly fashion as an important segment of the Classics Howard McGhee chronology. arwulf arwulf