1. Hobo Flats
2. Post No Bills
3. A Bientot
4. Three Plus One
5. Take Me With You
6. Daylie's Double
7. Teenie's Blues
8. Laz-ie Kate
Oliver Nelson - Tenor sax
Jerome Richardson - Baritone sax, flute, alto
flute
Phil Woods - Alto sax, clarinet
Robert Ashton - Tenor sax, clarinet
Kenny Soderblom - Alto sax, flute
Roy Wiegano - Trombone
Tony Studd - Bass trombone
Art Hoyle, Eugene (Snooky) Young - Trumpets
Patti Bown - Piano
Ben Tucker - Bass
Grady Tate - Drums
Oliver Nelson established
himself as an important composer and arranger
with his 1961 album, Blues and the Abstract
Truth. Consisting entirely of blues compositions,
it showed Oliver's ingenuity in arranging
as well as playing the tenor-sax. Fantabulous
was originally released on the Argo label
three years later and again displays Nelson's
multiple talents.
Oliver Nelson had a particular
gift for writing simple but effective tunes
that made ideal material for improvising.
He also arranged them in such a way as to
keep things varied as well as swinging. Note
from the personnel that this is not actually
a "big band" in the usually accepted sense
(15 to 20 players), because it only contains
a dozen musicians. Yet Nelson manages to create
the feeling of a big band without falling
into most of the traps that beset big-band
writing. And who could go wrong with Grady
Tate's dynamic drums driving things along?
Part of Nelson's success lies in his leaving
plenty of space for the soloists, so that
individual voices like Phil Woods get plenty
of room to solo at length. Woods is heard
soloing gloriously on Post No Bills,
which also features Jerome Richardson's growling
flute. Patti Bown gets plenty of solo exposure,
although her piano on Hobo Flats sounds
rather like a tinny children's toy. Oliver
Nelson features his own tenor sax on several
tracks, notably Take Me With You, where
he states the theme and then solos with eloquence.
This album has been overshadowed
by the success of Blues and the Abstract
Truth but it is well worth hearing - and
buying. In fact, like its more famous predecessor,
this album is vitalised by the bluesy quality
in the music. The short playing-time (under
35 minutes) may be a deterrent but it is offset
by the budget price and, in any case, every
one of those minutes contains music of interest
and imagination.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Verve 0602517621350
