''Heavy Sounds'' is an album by American jazz drummer

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

and bassist Richard Davis recorded in 1967 and released on the

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

label.Elvin Jones discography
accessed January 18, 2011

Background

''Heavy Sounds'' was originally intended to be a trio date, with Jones, Davis, and guitarist

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

. However, Coryell did not appear, and producer

Bob Thiele Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

suggested that Jones and Davis play something together in his absence. The result was a 11½ minute duet version of " Summertime". Davis recalled: "No discussion, no editing, no plan, I just started playing the melody, and there he was... and I just thought there was some very brotherly thing about that particular piece." Thiele then suggested that the two musicians return to the studio the following day, and Jones invited saxophonist Frank Foster and pianist Billy Greene to join them. Together, they recorded a standard ("

Here's That Rainy Day "Here's That Rainy Day" is a popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke that was published in 1953. It was introduced by Dolores Gray in the Broadway musical '' Carnival in Flanders''. Frank Sinatra Frank Sinatra ...

"), a tune by Greene ("M.E."), and two by Foster ("Raunchy Rita" and "Shiny Stockings"), as well as a version of "

Take the 'A' Train A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

" that was subsequently lost. An additional track, titled "Elvin's Guitar Blues" was also recorded, with Jones on acoustic guitar. He explained: "I'm not a real guitarist, but it's something that I love... It was one of these old blues tunes — something an old man, his name was Red, taught me when I was a kid... I've always liked to play that because it was one of the first pieces I learned how to play. And I like to listen to these old guitar players: Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker..."

Reception

Opinions of the album have been mixed. The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

stated: "The music is essentially advanced hard bop but is not all that essential." The authors of the ''

Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' called the album "a series of feature spots, stitched together with some suspect ensemble-play." In a review for Flophouse Magazine, François van de Linde referred to the album as "a peculiar but delicious hodgepodge of styles" and wrote: "No plastic people on ''Heavy Sounds''. But real people, searching for real sounds." Writing for Down With It!, Charles Stewart commented: "The title is a poor one - ''Soul-Stirring Sounds'' would be far better, because it is a work that is diverse and impressive... don't be put off by the title and buy without hesitation."

Track listing

# "Raunchy Rita" ( Frank Foster) - 11:35 # "Shiny Stockings" (Foster) - 5:13 # "M.E." (Billy Greene) - 2:40 # " Summertime" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

, DuBose Heyward) - 11:37 # "Elvin's Guitar Blues" (Elvin Jones) - 3:29 # "

" ( Johnny Burke,

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and care ...

) - 7:02 :*Recorded at RCA Recording Studio, New York City, on June 19 (#4) & 20, 1967.

Personnel

* Elvin Jones -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(5) * Richard Davis - bass * Frank Foster -

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

(tracks 1–3, 5 & 6) * Billy Greene -

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

(tracks 1, 3, 5 & 6)

References

{{Authority control 1968 albums Elvin Jones albums Richard Davis (bassist) albums Albums produced by Bob Thiele Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Impulse! Records albums