Swinging on the Straight Horn

“Swinging on the soprano can be one of the hardest things to do and not have it sound like a high pitched alto or tenor” - Sam Newsome, 2010

This weekend I’ve made another playlist in response to a Sam Newsome blog post from 2010 entitled ‘10 Soprano Players I've Checked Out, And Why’. Number two on Sam’s list is the hard swinging tenor player, turned early adopter of the soprano, Lucky Thompson. I want to dig a little deeper on the straight ahead swinging approach to the soprano as it’s something that isn’t as prominent compared to the more modern post-Steve Lacy and John Coltrane styles of soprano playing. I wouldn’t classify all of these recordings as “Bebop”, as Mr. Newsome does Thompson in his post, but I wanted to represent a variety of styles of this more conventional changes-based approach.

Lucky Thompson - Have You Met Miss Jones

First off I figured we’d start with the inspiration for this post, Lucky Thompson (1924-2005). This track was recorded in January of 1959 for the album ‘Lucky in Paris’ with a French band featuring, most notably, Martial Solal on the piano. Thompson’s melody statement and solo here are rather brief but they stand out to me amongst all of his sides on the straight horn as the most confident and stylistically significant.

Lucky Thompson - Soprano Saxophone

Michael Hausser - Vibraphone

Martial Solal - Piano

Gilbert Gassin - Bass

Gérard Pochonet - Drums

Gana M'Bow - Percussion

Budd Johnson - Mr Bechet

Budd Johnson (1910-1984) is, in my estimation, an underrated tenor player in this day and age. He worked with Benny Goodman, Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines, Dizzy Gillespie, and many, many more. He cut this track in a quartet with Earl Hines in 1974 originally for the album ‘The Dirty Old Men’ which was mercifully reissued as both ‘Mr. Bechet’ and ‘Hines ‘74’. The Bechet allusion is an apt one as Johnson’s soprano sound certainly owes a debt to the elder saxophonist. There aren’t many recordings of Johnson’s soprano playing but the tracks on this record are a great record of a direct sonic descendant of the Bechet style.

Budd Johnson - Soprano Saxophone

Earl Hines - piano

Jimmy Leary - bass

Panama Francis - drums

Barney Wilen - Prelude In Blue A L’Esquinade

This is probably my favourite track on this playlist. Barney Wilen (1937-1996) cut this track with Art Blakey, and members of the Jazz Messengers, for the Roger Vadim film ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ in 1959. Wilen, perhaps most famously, recorded with Miles Davis for the soundtrack ‘Ascenseur pour l'Échafaud’ as well as Kenny Clarke and later Thelonious Monk. To my ears Wilen had the best ‘bebop soprano’ sound on this playlist, while he sometimes fights with the stubborn parts of the horn he has a relaxed feeling to his phrasing and his lines utilize the range of the soprano in an incredibly effective way. I only wish that he cut more sides with the straight horn (in this era in particular).

Barney Wilen - Soprano Saxophone

Bobby Timmons - Piano

Jymie Merritt - Bass

Art Blakey - Drums

Dave McKenna Quartet feat. Zoot Sim - There’ll Be Some Changes Made

This track from the Dave McKenna quartet appears courtesy of a recent post by Joe Giardullo over on SopranoPlanet. Though I knew Zoot Sim’s (1925-1985) soprano sides on other recordings I hadn’t heard this track until Joe shared his transcription of this solo a little while ago. Zoot swings hard on the fish horn and this McKenna quartet session recorded in 1974 might be the finest example of his approach.

Zoot Sims - Soprano Saxophone

Dave McKenna - Piano

Major Holly - Bass, Vocals

Ray Mosca - Drums

Bob Wilber - In A Mellow Tone

Recorded live in 1969 with the Ralph Sutton Quartet, ‘Sunnie's Rendezvous, Vol.2’ features some excellent soprano tracks from Bob Wilber (1928-2019), one of the few actual students of Sidney Bechet. I think there’s something special about the soprano and the music of Duke Ellington; Johnny Hodges recorded several sides on the straight horn with Ellington, Sidney Bechet’s version of ‘The Mooche’ inspired Steve Lacy to pursue the soprano, and Wilber, who was also inspired to learn saxophone from an Ellington disc, recorded many Ellington compositions through his career (dig this YouTube video from Wilber’s 84th birthday celebration). Wilber has a kinetic rhythmic feel that I find irresistible and it’s something I think all soprano players should get hip to.

Bob Wilber - Soprano Saxophone

Ralph Sutton - Piano

Al Hall - Bass

Cliff Leeman - Drums