In addition to the friendliest photograph of
Bill Coleman ever published, this fourth installment in the
Classics Coleman chronology presents material performed live in Paris, France. The first 11 tracks were recorded on October 18, 1952, with
Coleman as MC in front of a wildly appreciative audience at
the Salle Pleyel, 252 Rue de Faubourg St-Honore. The opening number is an extended duet on
"Out of Nowhere" played by pianist
Randy Downes and bassist
Alvin "Buddy" Banks. A brief crowd-pleasing take of
"The Sheik" consists mostly of
Zutty Singleton beating the hell out of a cymbal.
Guy Lafitte is heard on clarinet and tenor sax (very nicely handled on
"Ghost of a Chance") and
Dicky Wells blows his trombone with either laconic eccentricity or a boisterous if somewhat dog-eared abandon.
Coleman, as always, sounds like a trumpeter who was inspired by
Louis Armstrong and gradually developed his own sound without ever deviating very far from the
Armstrong influence.
"Knuckle Head," composed by
Coleman and
Wells, is a solid example of what in 1945 was often referred to as "rebop."
Coleman uses a mute most beautifully on
Duke Ellington's
"Solitude" and
Lafitte demonstrates a
Barney Bigard-like approach to the clarinet.
"Perdido" heavily features bassist
Buddy Banks. The author of the liner notes assumed that
Wells was loaded and needed to be "rescued" by
Coleman. This is debatable; on the excellent
"Red Top" the trombonist sounds like he's fully in command of himself. Given the tastes of the average Parisian
jazz head in 1952, it is not surprising that this band ended its gig with a singalong version of
"When the Saints Go Marching In." Lafitte's very modern tenor solo on this historical New Orleans street stomp perfectly addresses the European fascination with the entire history of
jazz. The rest of the material issued here was recorded at
the Cluny Palace in
the Cluny de Luxe Hotel on October 23, 1953, with trombonist
Bill Tamper, veteran reedman
Benny Waters, and a tight rhythm section propelled by percussionist
Wallace Bishop.
Coleman exercises his vocal chords on the last three tracks.
Benny Waters takes one of the toughest solos of his career on
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's rocking
"Old Maid Blues," a facetious tune addressed to a 35-year-old woman. ~ arwulf arwulf
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