So here's jimmy Gourley 1995, still searching, sometimes finding sometimes stumbling
On this CD I`m using my regular trio plus on the vo(al tracks one of the great saxophone players in jazz today, André Villéger. His sound and his fantastic lyrical sense puts him, to me, way ahead of the crowd.
The drummer is Philippe Combelle, his obsession with getting the right sound out of his drums plus his swing and apropos solos mark him as one of the great european drommers and a joy tu play with.
Dominique Lemerle is the bassist. He knows what swing is ail about and thats a lot, believe me ! He turns in some nice Solos and keeps the rhythm section moving.
We open up the CD with Tadd Damerons bebop masterpiece 'Our Delight'. He wrote it first for the tari Hines band than pofished it un and the exciting Dizzy Gillespie band recorded it.
1 bought the record, played it su mu< h it was turning white su 1 bought a second copy. Kenny Clarke taught it tu me and with the trio we ose it very often as the "opener" ai our concerts.
The next tune is "Maybe youIl be there«. t learned it while being stock in a hospital in Lyon a couple of years ago. It was on one of those "pirate' CD's, a live performance by Billie Holiday. 1 hart my guitar with ine se 1 took the time to ".steai" it. Listen to André on this. Wonderfui ! There are some tunes 1 feel should be song se 1 sing it,
'Here's to Alvy" is a composition Johnny Mandel wrote for AI Cohn. A réal fou tune tu play.
Mundeil Lowe the great guitarist sent me 'l Wish 1 Had the Blues Agam«. He said, 'You should do this song limmy, it sounds perfect for your voice'. 1 feel he was right. André comes through again with a perfect staternent ofa highly original melody, lm so glad he made this recordinm with me. Alec Wilder is the composer.
'North American
Samba' 1 recorded with Eddy Louiss in a trio setting about 20
years ago. Huru ii is again wid) a tiew arrangement. IC, uy tune
audit ketj, you b-y as it moves thm.gh
the keys.
Johnny Mandel's brooding melody 'l Never Told You' is next. Lou Levy played il for nie a couple of years ago and 1 couldn't gel il out ofmy mind. 1 found the music and here il is, a great mood piece. Johnny Manuel is very close lu being my favorite composer. He is a very deep and human musician.
'That Tired Routine Calied Love'. 1 heardj.j. Johnson play this Matt Dennis tune in the 5(cs. Tommy Flanagan bas been playing il recently and dirla nice recording a year or se ago. The tortu, is original and ïCs another song that keeps yen (in your tries.
'That Old Devil Calied Love' is a song I've been playing with the trio. lts another one of those compositions 1 feel should lie suirg. André is one more time just what the doctor ordered.
One ofmy lunes is nexi, dedicated te my favorite lady. ICs "Pépée's Dance'.
1 love the blues, 1 like to play the blues, so here is 'Pass Il On" one of my blues offerings.
'This is New' is the magnificent Kurt Weill composition from the Broadway show lie wrote, "Lady in the Dark". This is another lune Lou Levy introduced me ton, thank goodness for my friends.
A week or so aller we finished this album, Didier Drussant, my producer "bien aimé", asked me if l would like te (Io one more track.. solo !
New solo j;uitar is attenter discipline completely, but what the heil, jazz is one challeni;e aller another. 1 thought il river and as lm ail alone why net the great Dietz and Schwartz melody front the film 'The Bandwagon ", 'By myself' ? So here il is. One doesn't refuse one's producer vices one ?
Jimmy Gourley