A Tribute to Stuff Smith

Last updated
A Tribute to Stuff Smith
A Tribute to Stuff Smith.jpg
Studio album by
Billy Bang
Released1992
RecordedSeptember 20, 21 & 22, 1992
Genre Jazz
Length42:45
Label Soul Note
Producer Flavio Bonandrini
Billy Bang chronology
Valve No. 10
(1988)		A Tribute to Stuff Smith
(1992)		Hip Hop Be Bop
(1993)

A Tribute to Stuff Smith is an album by the American jazz violinist Billy Bang recorded in 1992. The album was released on the Italian Soul Note label and features songs written by or associated with violinist Stuff Smith (1909-1967). Bang is supported by pianist and former Smith collaborator Sun Ra (in a rare sideman appearance), bassist John Ore and drummer Andrew Cyrille. [1]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Tom Hull – on the Web A− [6]

The editors of AllMusic awarded the album 4 stars, and reviewer Scott Yanow wrote: "Ra was a bit hemmed in by the concept, and his conception of time was different than Bang's, so there is a certain amount of tension in the music. Also, Billy Bang has a much rougher sound and a freer style than Stuff Smith, but the end results are well worth hearing". [2]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings praised Cyrille's contribution, stating that he is "the key element, constantly suggesting new routes, changing the pace, lying back almost out of the picture, and then erupting in with another flurry of ideas." [3]

Critic Tom Hull assigned the album a rating of "A−", commenting: "Not breathtaking, but certainly a delight." [6]

Robert Spencer of All About Jazz remarked: "Although the choice of material here is made up entirely of tunes Stuff Smith played... Bang and Sun Ra... make them new in the best tradition of jazz." [7]

Track listing

  1. "Only Time Will Tell" (Stuff Smith) - 5:33
  2. "Satin Doll" (Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Billy Strayhorn) - 8:01
  3. "Deep Purple" (Peter DeRose, Mitchell Parish) - 6:24
  4. "Bugle Blues" (Smith) - 2:52
  5. "A Foggy Day" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 3:58
  6. "April in Paris" (Vernon Duke, E. Y. Harburg) - 5:18
  7. "Lover Man" (Jimmy Davis, Ram Ramirez, James Sherman) - 6:27
  8. "Yesterdays" (Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern) - 4:12

Personnel

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References

  1. ↑ Soul Note discography accessed July 12, 2011
  2. 1 2 Yanow, S. AllMusic Review accessed July 12, 2011
  3. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 75. ISBN   978-0-14-103401-0.
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin Books. p. 53.
  5. ↑ Swenson, John, ed. (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. p. 45.
  6. 1 2 Hull, Tom. "Billy Bang Is in the House". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  7. ↑ Spencer, Robert (May 7, 2004). "Unsung Recordings By Billy Bang". All About Jazz. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
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