Clark Terry Septet - What makes Sammy swing! (1963, 20th CENTURY FOX) + Paris 1960 (Swing)

Clark Terry Septet
What Makes Sammy Swing! + Paris 1960 (2 Lp On 1 Cd)
2008 Lonehill Jazz

“What Makes Sammy Swing” (1963) features an All-Star Septet, led by Clark Terry, featuring outstanding soloists including Phil Woods (playing clarinet and flute in addition to alto sax), Urbie Green, Seldon Powell and Dave McKenna. Other personnel includes George Duvivier, Mel Lewis, Kenny Clarke & Elek Bacsik.

The bonus album, “Paris 1960”, comprises three 1960 small group sessions recorded in France featuring Quentin Jackson (singing on two tracks!) and French pianist Martial Solal. It includes 5 tracks recorded for the French film “Si le vent te fait Peur”.

First published in 1941, 'What Makes Sammy Run' was originally a novel by Budd Schulberg. It is a rags to riches story chronicling the rise and fall of Sammy Glick, a Jewish boy born in New York's Lower East Side who makes up his mind early in life to escape the ghetto and climb the ladder of success. It was later made into a successful Broadway show with music by Ervin Drake and in 1963, Clark Terry and an all-star group of musicians were called to make a record with jazz versions of some of the musical’s songs, with arrangements by Pat Williams.

As Clark Terry himself was quoted on the original liner notes, none of the musicians had the least knowledge about the music or the arrangements before entering the studio. The results, however, are highly interesting as they present a distinguished septet reacting to unfamiliar music. Clark Terry, as usual, alternates between trumpet and flugelhorn, while Seldon Powell switches between tenor sax, baritone sax and bass clarinet.
The most unusual element of these recordings, however, is hearing Phil Woods soloing on clarinet and flute.

01. A ROOM WITHOUT WINDOWS (2'38)
02. YOU’RE NO GOOD (3'26)
03. MY HOME TOWN (2'36)
04. A NEW PAIR OF SHOES (2'22)
05. THE FRIENDLIEST THING (3'17)
06. HUMBLE (3'07)
07. MAYBE SOME OTHER TIME (2'57)
08. SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR (4'06)
09. BACHELOR GAL (2'23)
10. SOME DAYS EVERYTHING GOES WRONG (3'31)
11. NO PROBLEM (5'09) () Bonus Track
12. DON’T EVER LEAVE ME (2'50) () Bonus Track
13. ET TU ME REGARDES (2'30) () Bonus Track
14. IN A MELLOW TONE (2'28) () Bonus Track
15. DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME (3'16) () Bonus Track
16. OL’ ZULU (2'15) () Bonus Track
17. TRAVELIN’ ALL ALONE (3'33) () Bonus Track
18. CLARK’S BLUES (3'08) () Bonus Track
19. CHAR A VOILE (1'54) () Bonus Track
20. RADIO TERRY (0'59) () Bonus Track
21. DANCING (2'49) () Bonus Track
22. PIN-UP (2'27) () Bonus Track
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Tracks #1-10 from What Makes Sammy Swing! 1963 (20th Century TFS-4137).

Personnel: Clark Terry (tp & flh), Phil Woods (cl, fl, as), Seldon Powell (ts, bs, b-cl), Urbie Green (tb), Dave McKenna (p), George Duvivier (b) and Mel Lewis (d). Patrick Williams (arr). Recorded in New York City, August 1963.
Review of What Makes Sammy Swing! 1963 (20th Century TFS-4137)

This obscure 1963 studio session led by Clark Terry features the music from Ervin Drake's Broadway show What Makes Sammy Run, with arrangements by Pat Williams, but the real attraction to it is the cast of musicians. In addition to the always enjoyable trumpeter, Phil Woods, Urbie Green, Seldon Powell, Dave McKenna, George Duvivier, and Mel Lewis are present. The Friendliest Thing is a rare opportunity to hear Woods on flute, joining Terry's muted horn for this easygoing reworking of the chord changes to Tea for Two. The swinging Humble showcases the leader on open horn, while Woods' matchless alto sax is center stage in the bossa nova Maybe Some Other Time. While the music on this disc may be unfamiliar to the vast majority of jazz fans, the strong melodies and outstanding efforts of the players make this long out of print record, which was last available as a French import LP in the 1970s, worth acquiring.
Ken Dryden -All Music Guide


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Tracks #11-22 from Paris 1960 [Tracks #18-22 Previously issued on EP as the music for the motion picture 'Si le vent te fait peur'] (Columbia ESDF 1319).

Personnel on tracks #11-13 Clark Terry (tp), Eric Dixon (fl, ts), Art Simmons (p), Elek Bacsik (g), Michel Gaudry (b) and Kenny Clarke (d). Billie Poole (vcl on 12 only). Recorded in Paris, France, January 1960.

Personnel on tracks #14-17 Same personnel as 11-13 except Eric Dixon out and Quentin Jackson (tb, vcl on 15 & 17) added. Paris, France, February 1960.

Personnel on tracks #18-22 Clark Terry, Fernand Verstraete (tp), Charles Verstraete (tb), Pierre Gossez (as, bs), Martial Solal (p), Benoit Quersin (b) and Armand Molinetti (d). Paris, France, April 17, 1960.