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Slam & Muel play side by side
Delos CD 1024Notes by Dan Morgenstern
Director: Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University
The irreverent title of this wholly delightful album captures just one aspect of its unique ambiance: the humor. But there is also subtlety and sophistication involved in this meeting between two great originals, not to mention swing. Slam Stewart and Major Holley seem such a natural combination that it's strange that their first meeting on records didn't take place until 1977 (in Monte Carlo, would you believe). It inspired the writer of these comments to present them together live at the 1981 Kool Jazz Festival, at a Carnegie Hall concert devoted to jazz duets. Neither meeting achieved the perfect team-work and balance heard in these groovy groves.
It was Slam (Major's senior by 10 years) who first hit upon the brilliant idea of simultaneous bass-bowing and humming-singing. He got the idea, he has stated, from Ray Perry, a gifted but neglected musician (born in 1915, he died in 1950, leaving behind a few records with Lionel Hampton, Ethel Waters and Sabby Lewis) who doubled alto sax and violin, and employed the bowing-humming technique on the fiddle in Dean Earl's Boston-based band, with which Slam had his first important job in 1935.
Perry performed this feat in unison, but Slam decided to pitch his vocal work an octave above his arco line. When he teamed up in New York with the madcap multi-instrumentalist, singer and comedian Slim Gaillard (they soon became known as "Slim and Slam"), he honed this special skill to the point of perfection. Quiet as it's kept, and with no disrespect to the greatness of Jim Blanton, it is Slam Stewart who first developed a true solo role for the bass in jazz, as he began to demonstrate on record in early 1938.
Even then, the flexibility and musicality of his playing was nothing short of phenomenal, and when he joined Art Tatum in 1943 he added further refinements, notably in the area of harmony. Needless to say, Slam is also a master of conventional bass playing (i.e., without the bowing-humming element), and so is Major, who was directly inspired by Slam, but decided to do his thing in unison, thus getting a distinctive sound of his own. A listing of the distinguished musical associations these two masters have enjoyed through their careers would take up all this space, and both have also been active as teachers.
Because of the difference in sound production, the listener won't need a scorecard to figure out who's who. If the distinction between unison and octaves is mere verbiage to you, be advised that Slam produces the more high-pitched sound, while Major prefers to roam in the nether regions. In addition, their nicely complementary senses of humor are also readily distinguished from each other, Major's being more earthy and funky, Slam's more oblique and sly. They go together like bacon and eggs.
To pursue the culinary image, Dick Hyman and Oliver Jackson can be described as the toast and hash browns on this musical menu. Throughout, they support and enhance the ever-surprising arias and duets of the two protagonists with perfect taste. The multi-faceted pianist also takes on a considerable solo role, providing textural contrast and giving the bassists a chance to display their time-keeping prowess. He even plays organ on occasion, giving the music further color and dimension. Hyman is a good man to have on any session, and he took a hand in this recording's production as well. As for Jackson, he is quite simply one of the finest drummers alive, an impeccable time-keeper who's also a thinking musician, always aware of the sound of his instrument-in the grand tradition of Jo Jones and Sid Catlett, not least on brushes.
The repertoire chosen by Slam and Mule (if I may call Major by his nickname among musicians) is fitting and imaginative, ranging from new and old standards to such lesser-known gems as I Love You (not the 1943 Cole Porter song of Miles Davis fame, but a charming 1923 tune with music by Harry Archer). And I never thought I'd actually enjoy hearing Tomorrow (the whiny hit from the Broadway show "Annie"), which Slam and Mule turn into a perfect vehicle for their zany yet tasteful doings.
Every listener will discover favorite moments of his or her own. A few of mine include Slam's insertion of a quote from "Pagliacci" on I Love You; the hilarious exchanges on Would You Like To Take A Walk (altogether a masterpiece) and the great ending; Mule's last two bars on the bridge of his Side by Side solo chorus, and Hyman's funky organ on this cut; the split bridge at the end of Close Your Eyes (alias "Shut Yo' Mouth'); the great team-work of the bassists and Hyman's piano contributions on Wrap Your troubles in Dreams; Mule going way down low on Misty, and Slam's contrastingly high chorus and cadenza (shades of Johnny Mathis), and Jackson's tap-dance, followed by a marvelous Slam-Mule exchange (dig SlamÕs bridge and Mule's coda) on My Blue Heaven.
All told, this is an irresistible recording, proving beyond dispute that humor and genuine musicality are more than compatible. Alas, that is a truth too seldom celebrated in jazz today. Which is just one more reason to be grateful to all concerned in serving up this savory dish of jam and jive!
Note:
During his participation in recording Clark Terry's "Having Fun" (Delos DE 4021);
Major Holley brought to my attention the existence of these tapes he had done with
Slam Stewart
Ironically Major died shortly after we had concluded negotiations for the release of this recording.
Consequently this album stands as a tribute to two great germinal jazz bassists, Slam Stewart and Major Holley.
Ed Bland,
Co-Executive Producer
