Paul CHAMBERS - 1st Bassman 1961

Paul CHAMBERS - 1st Bassman 1961
1997 Issue B.M

Jazz

As a lead instrument in jazz, the acoustic bass was in many ways liberated by Paul Chambers, and paved the way for many others to follow. Though Pops Foster, Jimmy Blanton and Ray Brown also deserve credit, Chambers was allowed to put his bass on top, become a leader in his own right, and play lead melodies with a clear, ringing, well enunciated tone. 1st Bassman is anchored by rising stars from Detroit such as Yusef Lateef, Curtis Fuller, and adopted (from Pittsburgh) car city resident Chambers, with trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, pianist Wynton Kelly, and drummer Lex Humphries evenly balancing the session. Interestingly enough, it was recorded not in New York or the Motor City, but Chicago. Lateef wrote all of the material, save for Cannonball Adderley's slow jam "Who's Blues?" which was included only on the CD re-release. The emphasis on the compositions of Lateef all display a spare construct, rearing the horns to a marginal level except for solos, allowing Chambers to take care of business and control the shaping of the melodies, with little unison play involved. The small horn inserts of "Melody" give sway to the big bass strut of Chambers, with solos from Turrentine's stoic trumpet, Lateef's advanced tenor, and Fuller's wanton but mushy trombone included. "Bass Region" is even more spare, a one note horn punctuation setting up lengthy solos. The slightly dour post-bopper "Retrogress" gives Kelly's piano his due diligence, "Mopp Shoe Blues" completely offers Chambers his freedom to work out, and the ballad "Blessed" features the arco bowed bass of the leader in a mournful mood, brightened up by the effervescent and hopeful flute of the brilliant Lateef. This CD and its companion piece Go complement the preceding Blue Note sessions, comprising a small but potent body of work that few bassists have produced in modern jazz. If you are a student or lover of jazz bass, the complete Paul Chambers Vee Jay sessions, of which this is one, belongs in your home.
By Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide.
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Yusef Lateef- Tenor Sax
Paul Chambers- Bass
Lex Humphries- Drums
Curtis Fuller- Trombone
Wynton Kelly- Piano
Tommy Turrentine- Trumpet
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01. Melody (Lateef) 4:11
02. Bass Region (Lateef) 10:38
03. Retrogress (Lateef) 3:33
04. Mopp Shoe Blues (Lateef) 6:08
05. Blessed (Lateef) 7:07
06. Who's Blues (Adderley) 8:26
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Paul CHAMBERS - Bass On Top 1957 (REPOST)

Paul CHAMBERS - Bass On Top 1957 (REPOST)
Label: Blue Note
Audio CD: (August 28, 2007)

Jazz

"Bass on Top" is an unique, perhaps even ambitious, album from the blue note catalog, and while it shares some similarities to say a Kenny Burrell album of the period, it's closest relative is the 1960 offering "Soulnik" from the other great bassist of the time: Doug Watkins. However on "Soulnik" Watkins, who at the time rivaled Chambers for the title of best up-and-comer (check out his other leader date: "Watkins at Large", or his work with Donald Byrd, particularly "Byrd in Flight", if you're interested) employed a separate bassist so he could focus on cello. The effect was a rhythm section driven album, that tried to show what an ambitious bassist could do as a leader. "Soulnik" was helped by the presence of Yusef Lateef on flute and oboe, however it's fatal flaw was that Watkins himself neglected the bass duties in favor of a cello he had only started playing three days prior to the recording. Paul Chambers, on the other hand, with "Bass on Top" avoided all the mistakes of the Watkins album (though not consciously as "Bass on Top" was cut in 1957). Chambers does a lot of superb bow work, however he keeps his bread and butter abilities on the bass front and center. One of the really interesting things going on in this album is the playing of Hank Jones. It seems that in effect the bass and piano have switched positions on this date. Instead of the bass accentuating the piano work, Mr. Jones is instead comping to the sublime ever-flowing play of Mr. Chambers, adding a languid flavor to the continuous stream of round walking lines and bowing. The playing of Hank Jones in the lemon running smoothly over the meat of Chambers thick-toned bass. Add Kenny Burrell into the mix, who is wisely contributing to the ambiance of "Bass on Top" by taking on a firmly supporting role, as well as the unobtrusive, supportive drumming of Art Taylor, who can really be heard to great effect on the bonus track "Chamber Mates", and what you've got is a sound that swings in the older sense of the word, you can feel the spirit of Django Reinhardt floating happily in the musical-air. Paul Chambers with "Bass on Top" created his masterpiece, a walking round sound that is as advertised: the bass is on top,
and jazz is all the better for it.
By  Todd M. Stellhorn
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Paul Chambers- (Bass)
Kenny Burrell- (Guitar)
Hank Jones- (Piano)
Art Taylor- (Drums)
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01. Yesterdays (5:53)
02. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To (7:17)
03. Chasin' The Bird (6:19)
04. Dear Old Stockholm (6:44)
05. The Theme (6:15)
06. Confessin' (4:15)
07. Chamber Mates (5:02)
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