Listening to Prestige 367: Oliver Nelson

Billboard made this album their jazz pick of the week when it was released in 1961, saying "Here are six selections that fairly jump out of the grooves with drive and vitality." It featured two young musicians who were poised to write significant chapters in the story of jazz. \

Oliver Nelson was 28 years old. This was his third session for Prestige, and he had also appeared on Lem Winchester's Lem's Beat album, as both tenor saxophonist and arranger. He would go on to make five more albums for Prestige in 1960 and 1961, each one with a different lineup and a different

spirit. He would also be asked to contribute arrangements to other Prestige albums, as he began to be recognized as one of the most important composer-arrangers of his day. But in the middle of that already prodigious burst of creativity, he took a side trip to Impulse! to record what is generally recognized as his masterpiece and one of the most important albums of the decade, the wonderfully titled The Blues and the Abstract Truth, featuring Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Roy Haynes.

I went back and reacquainted myself with The Blues and the Abstract Truth. It really is as good as everyone has said. "Stolen Moments," in particular, has breathtaking solos by Hubbard, Dolphy and Evans. "Hoe Down" is a tour de force, on the cutting edge of jazz experimentation and at the same time conveying the down-home spirit of fun of a hoedown.

Eric Dolphy, to my surprise, was a good deal older. At 34, he was just making his first serious mark in the jazz field. He had been a member of Chico Hamilton's group for two years and five albums--and in a really unlikely credit, he had joined the Count Basie orchestra for a 1955 session backing up Sammy Davis Jr.), but he had not generated enough attention to get a single vote in Down Beat's 1959 poll, either for flute or alto. It's still amazing to consider how short Dolphy's career was, and how much he accomplished.

He had recorded one album for Prestige as a leader, which only began to show what he was capable of. This was his second outing for the label that would be his home. It was May 27. By the end of the year, he would be a breakout major star.

So how far along that path are they with this album? They are in a very good place. The tunes here are robust, aggressive and exciting. Dolphy is really beginning to emerge. His voice isn't as personal as it would become leading his own sessions, but his solos soar and bewitch within the context of Nelson's leadership. Dolphy clearly liked working with Nelson. They  would come together for a session with a big band led by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and one more small group session led by Nelson, both for Prestige, and of course for Blues and the Abstract Truth.

Nelson covers a lot of bases here. "Screamin' the Blues" hits not only blues but rhythm and blues, and like "Hoe Down" from the Abstract Truth album manages to be both rootsy and experimental at the same time. "The Meetin'" does the same for gospel. "Alto-itis" with its Charlie Parkeresque title, sort of does the same for bebop.

Producer Esmond Edwards contributed one tune, "March On, March On," which I believe is a first.

Screamin' the Blues was a New Jazz release, and the title track was a two-sided 45 for New Jazz.