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Larry Vuckovich: Young at Heart
Vuckovich's design is to have the music and arrangements on this album focus on the saxophone of Lester Young within and outside the context of the Count Basie band. Two reed men share the responsibility of evoking the Young sound (which supplements their own creative interpretative skills), Noel Jewkes and Jules Broussard. In addition to the tenor, Jewkes recalls that Young was a master with the clarinet as well while he solos on "Blue and Sentimental" bringing to mind Young's 1938 Count Basie recording. Jewkes also takes up the straight stick on "Sweet Lorraine" where bassist Nat Johnson does a vocal. Broussard is here with a Johnny Hodges -like alto sax, making this track one of the album's highlights. Another notable track on an album of consistently good playing is the title tune "Young at Heart" where Vuckovich's arrangement calls for a medium tempo pace with riffs interspersed among the solos turning this usually dolefully played tune into a bouncing melody. The swinging performance of Charlie Parker's, "Ornithology", recalls that this psalm to bop comes from a favorite swing tune, "How High the Moon". The performance features an energetic tenor sax by Broussard and rarely heard drummer. Dottie Dodgion (Jerry's former wife). This is Dodgion's only appearance as former Basie drummer Harold Jones is on all other cuts. Leading the way is the spare pianistic styling of Larry Vuckovich whose debt to the Basie style is shown with the space he leaves between the chords and his nod to the famous Basie tune-ending coda on such cuts as Neal Hefti's "Why Not". And "why not" add this fine album to your collection.
Track Listing
Why Not; Blue and Sentimental; Jumpin' with Symphony Sid#; She's Just My Size; Besame Macho#; Sweet Lorraine@; Jumpin' at the Woodside; The Man I Love; The Lady's in Love with You#; Young at Heart; Ornithology*#; Sometimes I'm Happy; Lester People#
Personnel
Larry Vuckovich
pianoLarry Vuckovich - Piano; Noel Jewkes - Tenor Sax/Clarinet/Flute; Jules Broussard - Tenor & Alto Sax; Harold Jones, Dottie Dodgion* - Drums; Louis Romero - Latin Percussion; Josh Workman, Bob Basa% - Guitar; Nat Johnson - Bass/Vocals@; Buca Necak# - Bass
Album information
Title: Young at Heart | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Tetrachord Music