Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » C-Jam All Stars: Diminuendo, Crescendo and Blues
C-Jam All Stars: Diminuendo, Crescendo and Blues
The play list is a mix of Ellington pieces, a couple of standards and five tunes written by Terry or Gonsalves. The latter are little more than blues based head arrangements serving as the platform for the solo artistry each member of the group. All good stuff. But it's the more familiar material which catches the ear. Gonsalves does his thing with "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue". While not approaching the 27 choruses of the1956 Newport Jazz Festival performance, he continues to generate sparks showing no signs of ennui which might have set in because of the many times he had to play the tune because of Newport. "I Cover the Waterfront" is enhanced by a lovely Terry muted trumpet sequing into a soft melodic tenor by Gonsalves which makes this track especially appealing. But soloing is not the only good thing on this set. There's some outstanding, up beat ensemble playing as on "It Don't Mean a Thing (if It Ain't Got That Swing)". There is always something special about the rhythm support of Woode and Woodyard. Their long association with Ellington gave these players the ability to anticipate just what each soloist's move was going to be during their extended extemporizations. This familiarity allowed them to smoothly meet the needs of the instrumentalists.
It's been a long time coming, but finally we in the US can enjoy this German session. Just one complaint. There's only 35 minutes of music. But highly recommended anyway.
Track Listing
Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue; I Cover the Waterfront; C-Jam Blues; Evad; It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing); Autobahn; Willow Weep for Me; Hildegard; Ocean Motion; Jivin' with Fritz
Personnel
Clark Terry - Trumpet; Paul Gonsalves - Tenor Saxophone; Carlos Diernhammer - Piano; Jimmy Woode - Bass; Sam Woodyard - Drums
Album information
Title: Diminuendo, Crescendo and Blues | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: RCA Victor
< Previous
Lemme Tell Ya 'Bout Desmond