So Freddie Green never took a solo, huh? Not so fast!
UPDATED: Sound Samples Working!
The legend of Freddie Green very clearly states that Freddie never soloed. Well ... like most legends, that's not exactly true.
Freddie can be heard soloing on "Dinah" by Pee Wee Rusell's Rhythmakers from 1938 (I really should double check that date....). Freddie's using a chordal style much like Allan Reuss or perhaps like Al Casey. But this short 16-bar break was supposedly the only exception in Freddie's career.
"Dinah" - Pee Wee Russell
Until......
Hal Smith recently turned me on to another Freddie Green solo from the New Testament Basie band (which I generally do not consider to be "Swing" in the genre sense of the word; that band was very straight-ahead, although they may have been "swingin'"). The solo clearly indicates Allan Reuss' influence on Freddie's solo style. This clip is a live version, and appearently there is studio version which is much clearer.
"The Elder"- Count Basie
The legend of Freddie Green very clearly states that Freddie never soloed. Well ... like most legends, that's not exactly true.
Freddie can be heard soloing on "Dinah" by Pee Wee Rusell's Rhythmakers from 1938 (I really should double check that date....). Freddie's using a chordal style much like Allan Reuss or perhaps like Al Casey. But this short 16-bar break was supposedly the only exception in Freddie's career.
"Dinah" - Pee Wee Russell
Until......
Hal Smith recently turned me on to another Freddie Green solo from the New Testament Basie band (which I generally do not consider to be "Swing" in the genre sense of the word; that band was very straight-ahead, although they may have been "swingin'"). The solo clearly indicates Allan Reuss' influence on Freddie's solo style. This clip is a live version, and appearently there is studio version which is much clearer.
"The Elder"- Count Basie
posted by Jonathan Stout @ 9:20 AM
3 Comments:
At 10:12 AM,
Anonymous said…
On the restored Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall concert, they have the complete Honeysuckle Rose jam session, which apparently had been edited in the first release which had been floating around for decades.
Apparently Benny signaled for Freddie to solo not knowing that Freddie basically never soloed, and so Freddie does.
At 8:03 AM,
Progress Hornsby said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
At 8:04 AM,
Progress Hornsby said…
Also check out "Ain't Misbehavin'" the opening track on Count Basie-Joe Williams:Memories Ad Lib (Roulette Roulette R52021,1959. The under-miking of the witty solo has been "enriched" on recent re-issues. Check Rhapsody.
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