Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Bobby Timmons - Sweet And Soulful Sounds + Born To Be Blue

Sweet and Soulful Sounds, from 1962, is a most atypical record for Bobby Timmons. Long thought of only as a funky piano player in the style that Ramsey Lewis would later make commercially successful, Timmons could also play prettily, as he does on this ballad-heavy set. There's a little funk here; the up-tempo "Another Live One" sounds like a potential Cannonball Adderley hit (Timmons, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Roy McCurdy were all once and future Adderley accompanists). But for the most part, Timmons keeps his cool, showing a very strong Bud Powell influence throughout. (Actually, the two solo tracks, "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" and a meditative "God Bless the Child," sound as if Timmons had been listening to Bill Evans' solo records, as the latter in particular has the same rhythmically loose, melodically free style.) The highlights are the three standards, Richard Rodgers' "The Sweetest Sounds," a relaxed and swinging take on Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," and a version of Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern's "Why Was I Born?" that turns it from a show tune into a despondent blues. This is an unusual record for Bobby Timmons, but a great one. - by Stewart Mason, AMG

Throughout his career, Bobby Timmons was typecast as a soulful and blues-oriented pianist due to his hits ("Moanin '," "This Here" and "Dis Dat"). But as he shows on this 1963 trio date (with either Sam Jones or Ron Carter on bass and drummer Connie Kay), Timmons was actually a well-rounded player when inspired. The repertoire on his CD ranges from bop to spirituals, from three diverse originals to "Born to Be Blue." This is excellent music but unfortunately Timmons would not grow much musically after this period. His CD is worth picking up. - by Scott Yanow, AMG

Artist: Bobby Timmons
Album: Sweet And Soulful Sounds + Born To Be Blue
Year: 1962 + 1963 (Riverside Records)
Label: Universal (Dig. Remastered, 2012)
Runtime: 81:53

Tracks:
1.  The Sweetest Sounds (Richard Rodgers) 5:00
2.  Turn Left (Bobby Timmons) 5:30
3.  God Bless The Child (Billie Holiday/Arthur Herczog Jr.) 5:05
4.  You'd Be So Nice To Come Home (Cole Porter) To 4:39
5.  Another Live One (Bobby Timmons) 4:14
6.  Alone Together (Howard Dietz/Arthur Schwartz) 6:03
7.  Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (Fran Landesman/Tommy Wolf) 3:42
8.  Why Was I Born? (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II) 5:51
9.  Born To Be Blue (Mel Torme/Robert Wells) 4:27
10.  Malice Towards None (Tom McIntosh)  5:00
11.  Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (Traditional) 4:44
12.  Know Not One (Bobby Timmons) 7:57
13.  The Sit In (Bobby Timmons) 4:19
14.  Namely You (Johnny Mercer/Gene DePaul) 6:05
15.  Often Annie (Bobby Timmons) 9:17

Personnel:
Bobby Timmons (Piano)
Sam Jones (Double Bass) - 1,2,4-6,8-10,13,15
Roy McCurdy (Drums) - 1,2,4-6,8
Ron Carter (Double Bass) - 11,12,14
Connie Kay (Drums) - 9-15

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