Search This Blog

Friday, January 22, 2010

Al Grey - Basic Grey (1976)


Al Grey (June 6, 1925 - March 24, 2000) was a jazz trombonist who is most remembered for his association with the Count Basie orchestra. Grey is known for his plunger mute technique (comparable only to Tricky Sam Nanton, Bob Hunt and Wycliffe Gordon), and also wrote an instructional book called "Plunger Techniques".

 
After service in WWII, Grey was with the orchestras of Benny Carter (1945-1946), Jimmie Lunceford (1946-1947), Lucky Millinder, and Lionel Hampton (off and on during 1948-1953). He was a soloist with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra during 1956-1957 (remembered for his virtuoso solo in "Cool Breeze" at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival). He was with Count Basie's orchestra on three separate occasions (1957-1961, 1964-1966, and 1971-1977), led a band with Billy Mitchell in the early '60s, and had a group with Jimmy Forrest after leaving Basie in 1977.

 
He died of complications from diabetes on March 24, 2000.

 
Basic Grey is a two record set comrprising previously released recordings from 1959, 1961 & 1962. Notable other artists participating in the tracks on this set are Billy Mitchell, Bennie Powell, Sonny Payne, Art Davis, Ray Barretto, Bobby Hutcherson, Ed Williams, Donald Byrd and Herbie Hancock, to name a few. As far as I can tell this set has never been released on CD, making it long out of print.

Track List:
  1. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
  2. Open Wider, Please
  3. I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
  4. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
  5. How Come You Do Me Like You Do
  6. Blueish Grey
  7. The Elder
  8. Bewitched
  9. Kenie-Konie
  10. Blueish Grey
  11. Wild Deuce
  12. Green Dolphin Street
  13. Bantu
  14. Melba's Blues
  15. Home Fries
  16. Grey's Blues
  17. Nothing But the Truth
  18. Three Fourth Blues
  19. Just Waiting
  20. R.B.Q.
  21. MInor On Top
  22. African Lady
  23. HiFly

 
Because of their combined size, the files for this recording are in two zip files.

 
Download links: Part1, Part 2

Other recordings available on CD:

No comments:

Post a Comment