Listening to Prestige 328: Shirley Scott

A new side of Shirley Scott here, as she really steps forward as a composer, and delivers some solid stuff.

I think composing on a organ must be an entirely different experience from composing on a piano--or anything else, for that matter. But piano is the preferred instrument of composers, unless you're composing for voice -- writing a song -- in which case a guitar will do just as well. But these pieces sound different, even when they're doing more or less the same thing, like the classic catchy riff end-punctuated by a two-note fanfare. Miles Davis' "So What," from Kind of Blue, is a familiar example. Scott uses the same pattern on "Duck and Rock," but it sounds different. It is different. It's not just the difference in hearing the two-note  response played on the organ. She does that on Bobby Timmons' "Moanin'" (Every mornin' finds me moanin' -- oh,

yeah!) "Duck and Rock" is different. Different fanfare. Different way of getting there. Different places to go to from there.

It's altogether a fascinating listening experience, through four originals: "Duck and Rock," "Boss," "Plunk, Plunk, Plunk," and "Soul Searchin'." You wouldn't automatically assume from its title that "Plunk. Plunk, Plunk" is an organ tune. The title makes it sound more like a banjo tune, but Scott plunks away at that organ and comes up with something that's a lot more great organ jazz than it is plunkety plunk. "Boss" changes the pace by changing the tempo. You don't necessarily think of an organ, with its great capacity for sustained notes, as being the perfect vehicle for a wild uptempo number, but Scott, as we know, is a great believer in trying to discover everything an organ can do.

"Soul Searchin'" is the title cut, and it's anchored by the soulful bass of Wendell Marshall. "Soul" is gaining in popularity as a music-related word. Charles Mingus's Mingus Ah Um, released earlier in the year, had included "Better Git It in Your Soul." Ray Charles' Genius + Soul = Jazz was still just beyond the horizon, as was self-described original soul artist Solomon Burke. So put Scott up near the head of the line.

As for the tunes by other composers, it's hard to beat Bobby Timmons' "Moanin'" for soulfulness. Scott does flammable things with dynamics on it, and uses the whole keyboard, with sacrificing its simple tunefulness. She tears up Sy Oliver's "Yes Indeed," not so soulful when it was originally recorded in 1941 by Bing Crosby (although Connee brings some soul), much more so when it was revived by Ray Charles in 1958.  Don Redman ("Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You") and Buddy Johnson ("You Won't Let Me Go") are both good sources in the search for soul.

They added a "g" for the album title: Soul Searchin'. "Duck and Rock" b/w "Ebb Tide" was the first single off the album, followed by "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You?" / "Moanin'."

"Uh-Oh" and "Misty" are both on the set list for this session, but they were Scott-Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis  collaborations, and he's not listed as being part of the mix. But the two made a 45, with "Misty" as the A side, under Davis's name, and "Misty" would be released again on 45 some years later, with "In the Kitchen" as the B side. Both would also appear on a later Davis-Scott album.

Order Listening to Prestige Vol 2

 

Listening to Prestige Vol. 2, 1954-1956 is here! You can order your signed copy or copies through the link above.

Tad Richards will strike a nerve with all of us who were privileged to have
lived thru the beginnings of bebop, and with those who have since
fallen under the spell of this American phenomenon…a one-of-a-kind
reference book, that will surely take its place in the history of this
music.

                                                                                                                        --Dave Grusin

An important reference book of all the Prestige recordings during the time
period. Furthermore, Each song chosen is a brilliant representation of
the artist which leaves the listener free to explore further. The
stories behind the making of each track are incredibly informative and
give a glimpse deeper into the artists at work.

                                                                                                                --Murali Coryell