Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Edmond Hall: Petite Fleur

338

Edmond Hall: Petite Fleur

By

View read count
Edmond Hall: Petite Fleur
This reissue raises issues about "the tradition"—whatever the hell that is. This music was slightly venerable when it was recorded back in 1959, but the sheer verve and aplomb with which the program is delivered makes questions about its place in the overall canon of jazz seem immaterial.

At the time of the recording, Edmond Hall had not long departed from the ranks of the Louis Armstrong All Stars, and outside the restricting routines that were a hallmark of that band, he takes the opportunity to show his mastery of the entire pre-bop jazz vocabulary. On the likes of his own "Cook Good" he's aided in this endeavour to no small degree by the underrated Ellis Larkins on piano, whose trenchant urbanity—there can be such a thing!—marks a nice contrast in solo terms to Hall's patented clarinet playing, the mark of which is deeply personal at the same time as it is a whole lot more than the display of empty virtuosity.

The same qualities apply to the trombone of Vic Dickenson, and he and trumpeter Emmett Berry both excel on the tracks on which their presence makes the band a sextet, not the least of these being the Duke Ellington medley, where all the horns plus Larkins get the chance to shine. The program overall has a nice balance about it, with standards mixed in with Hall originals, and while the standards are largely nothing if not well done a number of times over on record, in the hands of these guys something fresh seems to emerge from each of them.

Ultimately, indifferent playing time might be an issue for those who prefer to buy their music by the yard. For everyone else this is essentially music of a bygone age which still has a place in the early years of the 21st Century, especially when it's put out by musicians who knew their stuff inside out and had the vocabulary to express themselves eloquently.

Track Listing

Petite Fleur; Ellington Medley: Prelude To A Kiss, Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me; Solitude; Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Mood Indigo, Take The 'A' Train; Clarinet Marmalade; Edmond Hall Blues; Cook Good; Off The Road; Adam And Evie; Don't Give Me No Sympathy.

Personnel

Edmond Hall: clarinet; Ellis Larkins: piano; Milt Hinton: bass; Jimmie Crawford: drums. Plus Emmett Berry, trumpet; Vic Dickenson: trombone.

Album information

Title: Petite Fleur | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Mighty Quinn Productions

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.