Of all the tenor saxophonists who have come roaring out of Lionel Hamptons band, Texas tenor Arnett Cobb always seemed the most likely to allow his essentially rich and swinging style to stand on its own merits. He demonstrated it in these relaxed, unpretentious sessions amid congenial, inventive company, including some of the most accomplished and soulful pianists around, with Ray Bryant, Tommy Flanagan, and Bobby Timmons providing some lean and lithely moving solos on these implacably swinging dates.

 

The setting allowed one of the most assertive of the roistering tenorists to work his way into piece after piece, developing gracefully structured lines in his rough, tweedy tone. Forceful, virile and uncomplicated, an assertive reflection of its time and place, the music retains the capacity to reach directly into the emotions, unhindered by the passage of time.

 

Tracklisting:

CD 1

01. When My Dreamboat Comes Home (Friend-Franklin) 5:46

02. Lonesome Road (Shilkret-Austin) 3:55

03. Blues in the Closet (Oscar Pettiford) 4:18

04. Party Time (Arnett Cobb) 5:52

05. Flying Home (Hampton-Goodman) 5:14

06. Slow Poke (Arnett Cobb) 6:51

07. Cocktails for Two (Johnston-Coslow) 5:13

08. Lover Come Back to Me (Romberg-Hammerstein II) 8:56

09. Blue Lou (Sampson-Mills) 3:40

10. Swanee River (Stephen Foster) 5:49

11. Blue Me (Arnett Cobb) 7:35

Total time: 63:51 min.

 

CD 2

01. Sometimes I'm Happy (Youmans-Robin-Grey) 5:13

02. Fast Ride (Arnett Cobb) 4:11

03. The Nitty Gritty (Arnett Cobb) 3:52

04. All I Do is Dream of You (Brown-Freed) 4:00

05. Ghost of A Chance (Victor Young) 5:21

06. Exactly Like You (McHugh-Fields) 6:28

07. Walkin (Richard Carpenter) 5:27

08. Softly, As in A Morning Sunrise (Romberg-Hammerstein II) 4:06

09. The Shy One (Cobb-Thompson) 4:43

10. Down By the Riverside (Traditional) 5:22

Total time: 46:03 min.

 

Sources:

CD 1, tracks #1-7 from the album "Party Time" (Prestige PRLP7165)

CD 1, tracks #8-11 & CD 2 tracks #1 & 10 from "More Party Time"

(Prestige PRLP7175)

CD 2, tracks #2-9 from the album "Movin' Right Along" (Prestige PRLP7216)

 

Personnel on "Party Time":

Arnett Cobb (tenor sax), Ray Bryant (piano), Wendell Marshall (bass), Art Taylor (drums),

Ray Barretto (conga, except on #6).

Recorded in New York, on May 14, 1959

 

Personnel on "More Party Time":

Arnett Cobb (tenor sax), Tommy Flanagan (piano), Sam Jones (bass), Art Taylor (drums), Danny Barrajanos (conga, except on CD 2 #2).

Englewood Cliffs, N.J., on February 16, 1960

 

Personnel on "Movin' Right Along":

Arnett Cobb (tenor sax), Bobby Timmons (piano), Sam Jones (bass), Art Taylor (drums), Buck Clark (conga).

Englewood Cliffs, N.J., on February 17, 1960

 

Original sessions supervised by Esmond Edwards

Photos and cover design also by Esmond Edwards

 

Compiled for CD release by Jordi Pujol

 

Stereo · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered

 

Note: All tracks in this compilation are ordered by session. That is why Fast Ride and Down by the Riverside have been moved from their original LP and put in the corresponding session order.