 Photo by Andrea Canter
Raised in Cincinnati and Little Rock,
Williams first performed
in the Twin Cities as a clarinet and sax player with the Navy during
Word War II. Turning down invitations to play with
Count Basie and Duke Ellington, he stayed in the Twin Cities,
although his vita includes stints with Fletcher Henderson, Mary Lou
Williams, and Billy Eckstein. Here at home, Williams has played at
every jazz venue, past and present, including the old Flame Bar where
he was often back to back with such stars as Sarah Vaughn, Dizzy
Gillespie, and Johnny Hodges. The first jazz musician to have his own
“Irv Williams Day” granted by the State of Minnesota (1984), he
has been inducted into the Minnesota Jazz Hall of Fame and was
pictured on the “Celebrate Minnesota” official state map in 1990.
Throughout his sixty-year
career, Williams has focused on the Great American Songbook and the
tenor sax as a solo vehicle. His knowledge of the idiom is legendary
and fellow musicians marvel at his ability to play any song in any
key. Noted Matt Peiken (St. Paul Pioneer Press),
“Veteran saxophonist Irv Williams has always been about
sweetness not power, and he's still gigging strong” at 85.
Dedicated to You
There are many fortunate aspects of
this recording. The only unfortunate thing is the printed playlist
(on the back insert and on the CD itself) as it is only accurate
through the first four tracks. Some proofing glitch perhaps, but the
recording actually has 12, not 11 tracks, and no, that is not
“Lush Life” taken at a faster than logical tempo! Hopefully a
correction can be pasted onto the first pressing, although it does
provide a golden opportunity to test your knowledge of the jazz
canon! (See the correct playlist at the end of this article, thanks
to PR man Pat Courtemanche).  4-05.jpg "Image") Photo by Andrea Canter
But back to the many blessings here.
While this is not a recording (or an artist) that will plow new
ground or amaze with technical fireworks, this is the vernacular of
an era when jazz was the music of popular song and dance, with
bop-accented improvisation keeping the material fresh while always
immediately accessible and—above all—“nice to come home to.”
In short, this is music to warm the heart and ear, not for exploring
new worlds but for connecting the past and present. “It's as if
he's singing these songs, telling his own tales through the medium of
melodies that he obviously loves,” noted Michael Anthony (Star
Tribune).
The selected tracks offer a chance to
reconsider beautiful melodies that are not played as frequently as
they should be—the title tune, “A House Is Not a Home,” “I
Hear a Rhapsody,”“Nancy,” “What Are You Doing the Rest of
Your Life?,” “When Your Lover Has Gone”; two tunes (“Carolyn”
and “Solace”) from Las Vegas-based producer, composer and
arranger Johnny Pate, who had sent the songs to Williams years ago;
the contemporary classic “Blues Period” from bass ace Eddie
Gomez; the original “Bird With a Pair of Dice;” and Strayhorn’s
masterpiece, “Lush Life." Most tunes run 5-6 minutes or less,
perfect for listening rather than much stretching out, although
Williams gives his rhythm section nearly as much solo space as he
takes himself.
Dedicated to You is
predominantly a ballads album, but there are some mid-tempo takes and
Williams’ original “Bird With a Pair of Dice” offers the most
velocity. Starting with a clavé-infested beat, the sax swings
hard and takes the rhythm section along for the ride. Williams slides
around the melody, and Schimke provides his most rambunctious effort
of the session. While Peterson and Horst keep it flying, Williams
picks up speed at each entrance. The montuno figure returns
throughout, rolling over and over as the track fades out.
_1.jpg "Image") Photo by Andrea Canter The mid-tempo tracks include “I Hear
a Rhapsody,” propelled by Horst’s swinging percussion
while Williams quickly moves into layers of improvisation, climbing
higher and faster as the end draws near; Peterson brings it to a
close with a strong bass ostinato. The rhythm section pushes the
swing of “Where is Love?,” while Williams’ brief improvisation
adds an upbeat quality to what often is a more wistful feel to this
tune. Jimmy Van Husen’s “Nancy” also has an upbeat lilt, very
singable to the degree that one expects a vocalist to jump in at any
moment. Williams adds some spiraling phrases that maintain the
integrity of the tune but cover the horn from top to bottom, while
Schimke throws in a swinging solo over some mellow basslines from
Peterson that morph into strong staccato statements in his solo.
Johnny Pate’s “Solace” swings but
at a relatively slow, relaxed pace, Williams’ melodic spirals
giving the tune more lift at the second chorus. Schimke sounds rather
restrained here as if chomping at the bit to take off. Horst rolls
under the sax’s slow-paced return to the head, adding a little
drama, and Williams adds his usual brief cadenza. “When Your Lover
Has Gone” is played at mid-tempo rather than ballad, and with its
bright energy, it seems things perhaps are better “when your lover
has gone.” Schimke adds a sparkling solo with some crispy accents
from Horst. “Blues Period” is a sizzling composition from Eddie
Gomez, and here Loren Walstad’s guitar adds to the zinging, midly
up-tempo bop. Peterson’s virtuoso solo is a standout on the
recording (this is a bassist’s tune!), while the piano, guitar and
sax alternate trades with the drums before Williams returns to the
head. The collaboration of the ensemble is cozy throughout this
recording, but perhaps reaches its highest partnership on this track.
 Photo by Andrea Canter But Irv Williams is above all a
balladeer, and his mellow tone and slightly breathy vibrato shine on
the slow tunes—indeed, he earned his “Mr. Smooth” moniker as an
interpreter of ballads. Sammy Cahn’s title track starts off with
the caress of Horst’s brushes and a slow, steady pulse from
Peterson as if from a deep well. Schimke provides a lyrical mesh of
support to the sax’s simple improvisation lines. Reworking the
melody without altering the basics, Schimke combines forces with
Horst to create some celestial passages. “A House Is Not a Home”
is even slower and more mellow, in the Ben Webster vein, with
perfectly minimalist support from just piano. Schimke’s solo gives
this a more modern twist on what otherwise is a real throwback to the
great swing balladeers of the ‘40s or earlier. The second
run-through finds Williams taking a few more liberties with the
melody without straying far from the original structure or leaving
home for long.
On Johnny Pate’s “Carolyn,”
Schimke sets the tone with tinkling opening bars, while Horst
keeps the tinkling background going. Again, Schimke provides a
stand-out solo.
Photo by Andrea Canter “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your
Life?” is a tour de force for Williams, whose tone here is
reminiscent of Webster but less legato. The head is all Williams with
just skeletal accompaniment from Schimke and a soft pulse from
Peterson and Horst. The rhythm section engages more in the second
chorus, with Schimke taking a quietly elegant solo over Horst’s
rustling brushes and Peterson’s deep vamps. At barely four minutes,
“Lush Life” is the shortest track, but a most exquisite one.
Williams starts with the familiar a capella sax introduction with
some twisty flourishes. Taken at a very slow pace, Williams draws out
each note with his slightly buzzy vibrato, and there is only time for
one chorus. That’s all, and that’s enough.
Live at the Artists Quarter This
Weekend!
Somewhat ominously, Irv Williams starts
his liner notes with “as the sun goes down like a ton of bricks on
my career…” and ends with, “Again, thanks to you—our fans. It
has been a great trip.” If this is a hint at retirement, then more
reason for anyone with a soft spot for straight-ahead, sweet and
swinging saxophone to take in at least a couple sets at the AQ this
weekend when Mr. Smooth and his bandmates celebrate Dedicated to
You. This is an opportunity (hopefully one of many more to come)
to hear one of the last of the great songmasters of instrumental
jazz, a direct descendent of Young and Webster, and a true legend of
Minnesota music. Toss out any pretense of post-modal theory or
intellectual rumination at the door and just sit back and enjoy.
Irv Williams and his quartet perform
Friday and Saturday, 9 pm (May 27-28), at the Artists Quarter in the
lower level of the Hamm Building, 7th Place and St. Peter
Street in downtown St. Paul. (Visit www.mnjazz.org.)
You can often catch Irv on Fridays during Happy Hour with Jazz by
Fosse at the Dakota in downtown Minneapolis (4:30-6 pm). Dedicated
to You is available from CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com), The Electric Fetus (www.efetus.com), and at the AQ.
Corrected track listing for Dedicated to You:
1. Dedicated to You (Cahn, S. Chapen) 5:52
2. A House is Not a Home (B.Bacharach) 7:29
3. I Hear a Rhapsody (D. Gasparro) 6:41
4. Carolyn (J. Pate) 4:47
5. Where Is Love? (L. Bart) 4:05
6. Blues Period (E. Gomez) 5:23
7. Nancy (J. Van Huesen) 7:09
8. Lush Life (B. Strayhorn) 4.08
9. Solace (J. Pate) 6:06
10. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life? (M.
Legrand Bergman) 6:46
11. Bird With a Pair of Dice 6:52
12. When Your Lover Has Gone (Swan) 4:46
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Wednesday, 07 January 2009
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