The New Don Rendell Quintet - Roarin' (BGP CDBGPM 166)
A CD reissue of one of the rarest U.K. jazz Lp's featuring the talents of a young Graham Bond.
The name Don Rendell is not likely to stir any memory of too many reader's here at Uppers or too many other places for that matter.
Indeed his name and reputation are only know to that small tightly knit clan of British jazz aficionados and an even smaller sect of fans following work of the late great British blues/r&b pioneer Graham Bond. Best known for his work on a Hammond with The Graham Bond Organization, Bond is less known for his humble beginnings as a youthful, portly alto saxophonist. It is here with The New Don Rendell Quintet that his humble beginnings saw their onset. Long a collector's item , mint copies of this original 1961 Jazzland records LP "Roarin'" spring anywhere from 100 pounds on up. Luckily with it's recent CD reissue you needn't trouble yourself with such hefty purchases!
Led by tenor sax man and veteran Brit jazz scene staple Don Rendell (who had his start playing with the legendary Johnny Dankworth), the quintet's line up on this LP included pianist John Burch (who would later go on to compose a few amazing B-side's for Georgie Fame such as "Preach And Teach" and "Telegram"), Graham Bond on alto sax, bassist Tony Archer and drummer Phil Kinorra (the latter two both fresh from a stint of backing Jackie McClean in the U.K.).
The Quintet's hard bop leanings are initially offset by some squeally horn work on the opener, a Bond composition titled "Bring Back The Burch", but things are easily remedied by track two, a Burch original titled "Manumission". There are a fair selection of originals which share the space with covers such as Thelonious Monk's "Blue Monk" and my favorite of the disc, "Jeannine" (written by Duke Pearson and made famous by Donald Byrd among others). My other favorite of the CD is a Randell original titled "You Loomed Out Of Loch Ness", that would not have sounded at all out of place on a Dexter Gordon LP!
Whether you are a hardcore jazz fan or just a curious neophyte like myself (with heavy Graham Bond leanings!!) this CD is ideal for your next Saturday night at home or your next low key cocktail party and certainly a lot cheaper than tracking down an original LP copy!
[Published 29 August 2005]
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| JONATHAN | mar 7 2006 3:58AM |
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| bASKET hEAD | mar 7 2006 3:55AM |
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| Oscar | sep 29 2005 6:15PM |
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| I love this record!! | |
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| bob gruff | sep 12 2005 6:21PM |
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| Nick Rossi | aug 29 2005 3:54PM |
| http://www.nickrossiset.com | |
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| Nice to see this one reviewed Bill. Some nice Brit Modern Jazz on this one. It's interesting how singular Bond's alto playing is - and how close to his singing voice it can be at times. The other players are top-notch. Another trivia note in that Phil Kinorra not only was part of Brian Auger's first piano-led Trinity but also resurfaced later as Julian Covey of "A Little Bit Hurt" fame. | |
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