Dueling horns

Mosaic resurrects two trombone heroes

by Ed Hazell

Two new box sets from Mosaic feature musicians on either side of the great J.J. Johnson divide -- the Maginot Line that separates swing from bebop jazz trombone. The Complete Capitol Fifties Jack Teagarden Sessions (four CDs) includes late sessions in the career of the inimitable swing stylist (1905-'64) best known for his association with Louis Armstrong's All Stars. A hard-bopping The Complete Blue Note/UA Curtis Fuller Sessions (three CDs) restores to print the first recordings as a leader by one of the earliest trombonists to personalize Johnson's innovations.

Teagarden's seemingly effortless melodicism, burnished, congenial tone, and command of the blues made the laconic Texan an instant star when he appeared in New York in the late '20s. When he sang, he sounded bone-weary from battling the blues, but never hopeless; bemusement gave even the saddest songs an ironic and oddly optimistic undercurrent. His voice and instrument were two sides of the same coin; one can hear a trombone when he sings "20-dollar gold piece" on "St. James Infirmary" and almost hear the words of "While We're Young" when he plays it on his "trambone."

His Mosaic box includes three late-album masterpieces and a couple of lesser sessions marred by misguided attempts at commercialization. Unlike most Mosaic boxes, this one is not strictly chronological but is divided into two small-group CDs and two big-band discs. The small-group discs consist mostly of two superb albums originally issued under trumpeter Bobby Hackett's name, Coast Concert and Jazz Ultimate -- with Hackett and Teagarden in peak form. Both feature beautifully balanced ensemble jamming in addition to sterling examples of Hackett's sleek Armstrong-inspired trumpet. Teagarden sounds casual but devastatingly concise and swinging, too. He never wastes a note and makes every one sing.

The orchestral sides also offer some superior Big T, especially the January 1956 sessions from This Is Jack Teagarden. Inspired by the orchestral setting, Teagarden sings well-worn standards like "I'm Comin' Virginia" and "Beale St. Blues" with conviction, and his trombone sounds sweetly robust, especially on four tunes with a four-piece trombone section. A session of spirituals is marred by merely workmanlike arrangements and a hoky vocal group. The final orchestral album, showcasing Teagarden's trombone on a program of warhorses, could have been an easy-listening disaster, but Teagarden's unmatched way with a melody makes it much more than a pleasant surprise.

At roughly the same time Teagarden was sliding into the sunset, Curtis Fuller was a rising star. By 1957, the year in which he made three of the five albums in the Mosaic box, Fuller had already appeared as a sideman on several Blue Note releases, most prominently on John Coltrane's Blue Trane. His tenure in the Benny Golson-Art Farmer Jazztet and in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers lay ahead of him.

His first album as a leader, The Opener, was a bit formula bound, but the line-up, with tenor-saxophonist Hank Mobley and pianist Bobby Timmons, ensures that the music is light and airy with plenty of rhythmic sophistication and punch. His second, Bone and Bari, was substantially better, with several examples of his naturally tuneful writing, like the title track and the lovely "Nita's Waltz." Baritone player Tate Houston, in his only Blue Note appearance, adds some heft to the ensembles and spurs Fuller on to some uncharacteristically aggressive playing.

Fuller endured a lot of comparison with J.J. early on. And there is a family resemblance to Johnson in Fuller's warm, even-tempered, vibratoless sound. Fuller's poised solos, like Johnson's, are models of lyrical construction built from clearly articulated phrases and carefully modulated dynamics. But Miles Davis also looms as an important influence, which makes the pairing with Art Farmer an inspired match and the highlight of the set. Fuller puts together a remarkably coherent solo on "Two Quarters of a Mile" and mixes short riffs, quotes, and careful note placement into a dramatic statement on "Little Messenger."

Two Trombones, a lively album previously released only in Japan, benefits from some superior Fuller compositions, pianist Sonny Clarke's relaxed soulfulness, and the contrast between the cool, considered Fuller and the more excitable Slide Hampton. A final 1959 United Artists session with arrangements by Golson and Gigi Gryce and a band featuring Mobley and trumpeter Lee Morgan finds Fuller at his most melodically inventive on "When the Lights Are Low" and "I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone." Like the rest of the set, it's a bit of hard-bop heaven that's good to have back in print.

Mosaic Records are available by phone or mail order only. Call (203) 327-7111 for more information.