Frank Wess
North, South, East....Wess/No Count (Savoy/Fresh Sound)
By Alex Henderson
Count Basie, arguably, was playing soul-jazz long before that term came into vogue. Gritty, earthy and blues-minded, Basie’s band had a major influence on the tenor sax honkers of the ‘40s as well as the funky soul-jazz organ combos of the late ‘50s-60s. And Basie’s sidemen often carried a soulful aesthetic with them even when the Count wasn’t around. That is alive and well on this reissue, which unites two classic Frank Wess/Frank Foster encounters from 1956 (North, South, East…Wess and No Count) on a single 73-minute CD, the former released under Wess’ name while the latter was a Foster album. The septet lineup is the same on both: tenor saxophonist/flutist Wess and tenor saxophonist Foster are joined by trombonists Benny Powell and Henry Coker, guitarist Kenny Burrell, bassist Eddie Jones and drummer Kenny Clarke.
Except for Burrell and Clarke, everyone in this septet had been a member of Basie’s orchestra. And his influence is impossible to miss on infectious grooves such as Wess’ “Hard Sock Dance”, Foster’s “Apron Strings”, Coker’s “Lazy Sal” and producer Ozzie Cadena’s “What’d Ya Say?” (a slow, relaxed blues). Much of the material was composed by Foster (including “Stop Gap”, “Dill Pickles”, “Alternative” and the gospel-ish “Salvation”), although the septet also turns its attention to Leroy Anderson’s “Serenata” and the Rodgers-Hart standard “Dancing on the Ceiling”. It should be noted that the absence of a piano on these two albums is no coincidence; the septet’s participants didn’t want to have a Basie-ish sound without actually having Basie on piano.
Both albums combine Kansas City swing (Wess and Foster’s arrangements) with hardbop (Burrell’s guitar solos and Clarke’s drumming). These inspired Wess/Foster encounters continue to hold up admirably well after 56 years.
For more information, visit freshsoundrecords.com. Wess is at Birdland Jan. 1st-5th for his 91st birthday celebration.
