John Hardee was one of the premiere tenor saxophonists of his day, performing with a laid-back style that emphasized the song over flashy playing. 1946-1948 features 24 tracks of Hardee's finest tracks from this period. The slower, moodier tracks are the ones that stick out, especially his cool and crisp rendition of "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man." It is on this track where his talents are fully showcased, as his gorgeous saxophone rings out over the shuffled beat and sparse accompaniment with pristine sound quality. Not every slow song is that good, but they all revolve around that same playing style. On the faster tracks its easier to lose Hardee in the mix; he is definitely not too proud to let the rest of the band really shine. He is still more than audible, but on tracks like "Boppin' in B Flat he simply supplies the melody line as the other musicians provide a fiery background for his horn. The album does run a little long -- a problem that is not helped by the varying degrees of sound quality. But fans of this era of jazz should probably give this a listen, Hardee's musical voice was a distinct and important one in the genre. Bradley Torreano
Tracklist :
1 Tired 3:17
Doris Fisher / Alan Roberts
2 Blue Skies 2:53
Irving Berlin
3 Hardee's Partee 3:14
John Hardee
4 Idaho 3:12
Jesse Stone
5 What Is This Thing Called Love? 3:12
Cole Porter
6 Nervous from the Service 2:55
John Hardee
7 River Edge Rock 3:09
John Hardee
8 Sweet and Lovely 3:12
Gus Arnheim / Jules LeMare / Harry Tobias
9 Bottle It 2:59
Skip Hall
10 Denzil's Best 2:42
Denzil Best
11 Right Foot Then Left Foot 3:01
Skip Hall
12 Four Wheel Drive 2:56
Skip Hall / Robert Snyder
13 Hand in Hand Blues 3:04
Dickie Thompson
14 Taylor-Made Gal 2:59
Dickie Thompson
15 Swing Song 3:05
Dickie Thompson
16 Stardust 3:08
Hoagy Carmichael / Mitchell Parish
17 Red Man's Bounce 2:46
Parirsh / Carmichael
18 Lunatic 2:43
John Hardee
19 Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man 2;41
Oscar Hammerstein II / Jerome Kern
20 Baby Watch That Stuff 2:42
John Hardee
21 Cobblestones 3:07
Elen
22 Prelude to a Kiss 2:44
Duke Ellington / Irving Gordon / Irving Mills
23 Boppin' in B Flat 3:03
John Hardee
24 Man With a Horn 2:55
Eddie DeLange / Jack Jenney / Bonnie Lake
