Urbie Green - Blues and other shades of green (1954-56 Paramount & Jazztone) (Jazz Beat)

cover cd

Urbie Green and His Band (1954 jazztone) - 10'' LPBlues and other shades of green (1955 Paramount) 12'' LP

Biography by Scott Yanow
A fine jazz player with a beautiful tone who has spent most of his career in the studios, Urbie Green is highly respected by his fellow trombonists. He started playing when he was 12; was with the big bands of Tommy Reynolds, Bob Strong, and Frankie Carle as a teenager; and worked with Gene Krupa during 1947-1950. Green had a stint with Woody Herman's Third Herd, appeared on some of the famous Buck Clayton jam sessions (1953-1954), and was with Benny Goodman off and on during 1955-1957. He played with Count Basie in 1963, and spent a period in the 1960s fronting the Tommy Dorsey ghost band (1966-1967), but has mostly stuck to studio work. Urbie Green recorded frequently as a leader in the 1950s up to 1963 (for Blue Note, Vanguard, Bethlehem, ABC-Paramount, and dance band-oriented records for RCA and Command). He has appeared much less often in jazz settings since then, but did make two albums for CTI in 1976-1977.
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DIGIPACK EDITION

This release contains the complete Urbie Green complete Urbie Green and Jimmy Raney collective small band discography, as well as a rare collector's item: the fabulous 10" LP Urbie Green and His Band, which was only previously available at auctions at exorbitant prices.

1. Reminiscent Blues
2. Thou Swell
3. You Are Too Beautiful
4. Paradise
5. Frankie And Johnny
6. One For Dee
7. Am I Blue?
8. Dirty Dan
9. It's Too Late Now
10. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
11. Lulu's Back In Town
12. Blue Jeans
13. Old Time Modern
14. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
15. Lullaby Of Birdland
16. Med's Tune
17. Warm Valley
18. Limehouse Blues.

Tracks #1-9, 17 & 18: "Blues and Other Shades of Green" (1955 Paramount)) - LP
Personnel: Urbie Green (tb), Jimmy Raney (g), Dave McKenna (p), Percy Heath (b), Kenny Clarke (d). Track #5 is a valve-trombone and piano duet; tracks #17 & 18 are solo piano recordings by Dave Mc- Kenna. Recorded in New York, Oct 12, 1955.

Tracks #10-12: Vinnie Burke All Stars (1956) (NOT COMPLETE!!!)
Personnel: Urbie Green (tb), Jimmy Raney (g), Al Cohn (ts), Eddie Costa (p), Vinnie Burke (b) & Joe Morello (d). Recorded in New York, August 20, 1956.

Tracks #13-16: Urbie Green and His Band (1954 Jazztone) -10'' LP
Personnel: Urbie Green (tb), Ruby Braff (tp), Med Flory (as), Frank Wess (ts, fl ), Sir Charles Th ompson (p), Freddie Green (g), Aaron Bell (b) & Bobby Donaldson (d). Recorded in New York, August 17, 1954.

Review by Jason Ankeny
Blues and Other Shades of Green casts Urbie Green in a rare small-group setting, assembling a stellar quintet including guitarist Jimmy Raney, bassist Percy Heath, pianist Dave McKenna and drummer Kenny Clarke for a crisp, coolly efficient session that leaves just enough wiggle room to allow all of the individual contributors their moment in the spotlight. Green wields both the slide and the valve trombone here, and the simplicity of the arrangements affords his lovely, direct tone the perfect platform to shine--as its title suggests, much of Blues and Other Shades of Green boasts a melancholy atmosphere, and Green is unusually expressive in capturing the emotions that haunt material like "Reminiscent Blues" and "It's Too Late Now." Long out of print but finally reissued in 2007 on a two-fer CD alongside its 1956 follow-up All About Urbie Green.

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http://www.urbiegreen.com/

Discography:
Urbie Green Septet 10-inch album (Blue Note 1954)***, Urbie Green And His Band 10-inch album (Vanguard 1954)***, A Cool Yuletide 10-inch album (X 1954)***, East Coast Jazz/6 (Bethlehem 1955)****, Blues And Other Shades Of Green (ABC-Paramount 1956)****, Best Of The New Broadway Show Hits (RCA Victor 1957)***, All About Urbie Green (ABC-Paramount 1956)***, Let's Face The Music And Dance (RCA Victor 1958)***, The Persuasive Trombone Of Urbie Green (Command 1960)***, The Persuasive Trombone Of Urbie Green Volume 2 (Command 1962)**, And His 6-Tet (Command 1963)**, 21 Trombones (Project 3 1968)****, 21 Trombones Volume 2 (Project 3 1968)***, Green Power (Project 3 1970)***, Bein' Green (Project 3 1972)***, The Fox (CTI 1976)**, Senor Blues (CTI 1977)****, Live At Rick's Café Americain (1978)**, The Message (Fresh Sound 1988)***, Sea Jam Blues 1995 recording (Chiaroscuro 1998)***
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