Kenny Clarke Now Hear Our Meanin'

/Francy Boland Big Band.

Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band includes: Kenny Clarke (drums); Francy Boland (piano); Ronnie Scott (tenor saxophone); Shahib Shihab (baritone saxophone, flute); Benny Bailey, Idrees Sulieman (trumpet); Jimmy Woode, Jr. (bass).

Recorded in 1963. Originally released on Columbia (9114).

Personnel: Kenny Clarke (drums); Sahib Shihab (flute, baritone saxophone, wind); Carl Drevo (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Derek Humble (alto saxophone, wind); Ronnie Scott's Quintet, Billy Mitchell (tenor saxophone); Idrees Sulieman, Edmond Arnie, Ahmed Muvaffak Falay, Jimmy Deuchar, Roger Guerin , Benny Bailey (trumpet); Nat Peck, Freddy Johnson , Raymond Katarzynski, Ake Persson, Erich Kleinschuster (trombone); Francy Boland (piano, keyboards); Joe Harris (percussion); Ronnie Scott (wind).

Recording information: 1963.

The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, which consisted of a combination of American expatriates and some of Europe's best jazz musicians, regularly recorded under the sponsorship of producer Gigi Campi, typically in Cologne, Germany. Their third studio date is a swinging affair, with potent charts by Boland and a number of strong soloists, including Sahib Shihab (on both flute and baritone sax), trombonist Ake Persson, and drummer Clarke ("A Ball for Othello.") Aside from the brief opener, the standard "Johnny One Note," only "Now Hear My Meanin'," a piece composed by bassist Jimmy Woode, made much of a lasting impression, as it was recorded at least twice more by the band. The only disappointment with this disc is the excessive use of reverb and occasional shifting of instruments back and forth between both channels. Long out of print, this Columbia LP was finally reissued on CD by Collectables in 2002. ~ Ken Dryden