Sutton, piano; Dick Cary, trumpet & alto horn; Al Hall, bass; Cliff
Leeman, drums) Arbors Historical Series, Vol. 7 – Arbors Records, #ARCD
19284, 75:32 ****:
Arbors Records is a unique jazz label specializing in keeping both
traditional and swing jazz artists active on the recording scene. Their
Historical Series is a jazz treasure chest. Vol. 7 in this series
documents a 1969 meeting between stride/boogie woogie pianist Ralph
Sutton and jazz trumpeter Dick Cary. Recorded by jazz fans and fellow
MDs George Tyler and Bill McPherson, in Feb. 1969 live at Sunnie’s
Rendezvous in Aspen, Colorado (where Sutton was living at the time),
this CD features a musical conversation between two jazz veterans. Cary
was so motivated to make the session that he was driven by station
wagon with all his gear by the two good doctors from their home base in
Los Angeles all the way to Aspen. Talk about a house call…
The trip was well worth it, and the fun had by Sutton and Cary ably
supported by bassist Hall and drummer Leeman is evident throughout this
CD. Whether it be the barrelhouse boogie-woogie of Mead Lux Lewis’
Honky Tonk Train to the sweetly lyrical Someday Sweetheart, you receive
a jazz history lesson. An added bonus is hearing Cary play the rarely
heard alto horn.
Other special tracks include Cary features, A Hundred Years from Today,
and In a Sentimental Mood and Sutton’s take on Willie ‘The Lion’
Smith’s Echo of Spring. To make you feel even more wonderful about
purchasing this CD, Arbors is donating all the profits from this
recording to the Ralph Sutton Memorial Fund. It’s a win/win situation.
Long Live Arbors…..
– Jeff Krow
