ADA MOORE - Jazz Workshop, Vol. 3 (1954-1992) RM / Mp3

The focus of this 1954 set is a seldom-heard session that Ada Moore recorded for Charles Mingus' Debut Records label in 1954. The lineup is certainly nothing to complain about; Moore is joined by guitarist Tal Farlow, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and alto saxman John La Porta (among others), and Mingus helps with the arrangements. Moore has a soulful delivery that is somewhere between Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan, although Jazz Workshop, Vol. 3 is more abstract than what either of them were doing in 1954. The arrangements combine jazz with European chamber music, and Moore's risk-taking pays off on material that ranges from "The Man I Love" and Billy Strayhorn's "Something to Live For" to the folk song "Lass from the Low Country." Meanwhile, "The Devil Is a Woman" is a moody Moore original that almost sounds like a combination of "Black Coffee" and "Blues in the Night." Like much of the music that the Modern Jazz Quartet was providing at the time, Jazz Workshop, Vol. 3 manages to be classical-influenced without sacrificing the feeling of the blues. This session didn't do much for Moore commercially, but it's worth checking out if you appreciate the third stream experiments of the 1950s. by Alex Henderson

Tracklist:

1 The Man I Love 4:49

George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin

2 The Man I Love 4:44

George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin

3 Something to Live For 5:24

Duke Ellington / Billy Strayhorn

4 You Came a Long Way from St. Louis 3:45

John Benson Brooks / Bob Russell

5 You Came a Long Way from St. Louis 3:57

John Benson Brooks / Bob Russell

6 The Devil Is a Woman 3:54

Ada Moore

7 The Devil Is a Woman 4:09

Ada Moore

8 Lass from the Low Country 2:33

Traditional

9 Lass from the Low Country 2:31

Traditional

10 Strange Fascination 2:05

Ada Moore

11 Summertime 4:39

George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / DuBose Heyward

Credits:

Arrangements by Alonzo Levister & Charles Mingus

Ada Moore : Vocals

Tal Farlow: Guitar

John La Porta: Sax (Alto)

Oscar Pettiford :Bass, Bass (Acoustic)

ADA MOORE / BUCK CLAYTON / JIMMY RUSHING - Cat Meets Chick (1956) lp / Mp3

 

As the common format for LPs became 12" rather than 10" in the mid-'50s, record companies and artists struggled to come up with ideas for sustained musical performances lasting 30 to 45 minutes. In 1955, Columbia Records producer Irving Townsend put together a selection of pop songs with the singers Felicia Sanders, Peggy King, and Jerry Vale to come up with Girl Meets Boy, and he had a similar concept in the jazz realm for Cat Meets Chick. Borrowing Jimmy Rushing from Vanguard Records and hiring young Ada Moore, who had recently made her Broadway debut in the musical House of Flowers, he put them in front of an orchestra led by Buck Clayton and had them perform a series of songs in which the story line was that Clayton (through the medium of his trumpet) and Rushing were vying for Moore's attention. For example, Moore would say, "Buck, if I choose you, what are you gonna give me?," which would be a cue for Clayton to launch into "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." "Nothin' but love?" Moore would say, "Uh-huh, you got the wrong girl," after which Clayton would play "The Blues." The concept, of course, was just an excuse to have Rushing and Moore sing a bunch of old favorites before Clayton's band, and that was fine, especially because Moore, sporting a Sarah Vaughan-like alto, held her own against the great blues shouter. Of course, the ruling presence, even in his absence, was Count Basie, who had previously employed both Rushing and Clayton for extended periods. The music had much of the verve and swing of the Basie band, even without the leader being on the date. The story might be silly, but the music was not. by William Ruhlmann 

Tracklist:

Opening - Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home 0:42

–Unknown Artist Opening 

–Ada Moore Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home 

–Jimmy Rushing Pretty Little Baby 1:32

–Ada Moore I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling 2:26

–Jimmy Rushing And Ada Moore If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) 2:44

–Buck Clayton Ain't She Sweet 2:39

–Ada Moore Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home 2:17

–Buck Clayton And Ada Moore You're My Thrill 3:38

–Ada Moore Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea 2:41

–Jimmy Rushing Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good To You 2:36

–Jimmy Rushing Cool Breeze, Woman 2:28

–Buck Clayton I Can't Give You Anything But Love 2:02

–Buck Clayton The Blues 1:20

Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home - After You've Gone - Conclusion 4:42

–Ada Moore Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home 

–Jimmy Rushing And Buck Clayton After You've Gone 

–Unknown Artist Conclusion

 Credits:

Arranged By – Buck Clayton

Bass – Aaron Bell, Milt Hinton

Drums – Jo Jones, James Osie Johnson

Guitar – Steve Jordan

Piano – Ken Kersey, Sir Charles Thompson

Producer – Irving Townsend

Saxophone – Bud Johnson, Eddy Barefield, Willard Brown

Trombone – Dicky Wells

Trumpet – Buck Clayton, Emmett Berry

Vocals – Ada Moore, Jimmy Rushing