''The Fabulous Fats Navarro, Vol. 2'' is a studio album by

Fats Navarro Theodore "Fats" Navarro (September 24, 1923 – July 7, 1950) was an American jazz trumpet player and a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. A native of Key West, Florida, he toured with big bands before achieving fa ...

and released posthumously by

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

. Personnel varied through the studio sessions that made up the album but among the most notable were

Wardell Gray Wardell Gray (February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist. Biography Early years The youngest of four children, Gray was born in Oklahoma City. He spent his early childhood years in Oklahoma b ...

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory,Grove Powell's application of complex phrasing to ...

, and

Howard McGhee Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger bebo ...

Reception

According to jazz critic Stephen Cook, "Navarro runs the gamut here, turning in both high-flying solos and gracefully cool statements." He noted that the track listing and personnel of the album had varied between releases. 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 b ...

'' awarded the album a full 4 stars, calling it and its companion volume "one of the peaks of the bebop movement and one of the essential modern-jazz records." Critic John Fordham described the two volumes as "essential Navarro, and essential bebop generally, featuring a string of dazzling themes illuminated by the trumpeter's glowing tone." Author Tom Piazza stated that the albums "show instantly what set Dameron's work apart," and commented: "Among bebop dates, these were really something special, full of carefully worked-out ensembles, introductions, and codas, yet still with plenty of stretching room for the soloists." Saxophonist and writer Benny Green noted Dameron's "ravishing tone" and "precise delivery," and called the recordings "a reminder of the grace of one of the earliest modern pioneers, a grace that was precocious because in the 1940s modernists had still not formulated their own conventions."

Track listing

''All compositions by Tadd Dameron unless otherwise stated'' # " Lady Bird" (alternate take) – 2:53 # "Lady Bird" – 2:52 # "Jahbero" (alternate take) – 3:03 # "Jahbero" – 2:56 # "Symphonette" (alternate take) – 3:07 # "Symphonette" – 3:09 # "Double Talk" (alternate take) (

, Navarro) – 5:22 # "

Bouncing With Bud Bouncing with Bud (also known as Bebop in Pastel) is a 1946 jazz standard by American pianist Bud Powell and Gil Fuller, which features the saxophone of Sonny Stitt and the trumpet of Kenny Dorham. It was originally recorded on 23 August 1946 as " ...

" (alternate take) (

) – 3:07The masters from this session were released under

's name for the album '' The Amazing Bud Powell'' # "Dance Of The Infidels" (alternate take) (Powell) – 2:52 # "The Skunk" (alternate take) (McGhee, Navarro) – 2:59 # "Boperation" (McGhee, Navarro) – 3:07

Personnel

– trumpet *

– trumpet (7, 10–11) *

Ernie Henry Ernie Henry (born Ernest Albert Henry, September 3, 1926 – December 29, 1957) was an American jazz saxophonist. Henry played in the late 1940s with Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro, Charlie Ventura, Max Roach, and was a key member of Dizzy Gilles ...

– alto saxophone (7, 10–11) *

Allen Eager Allen Eager (January 10, 1927 – April 13, 2003) was an American jazz tenor and alto saxophonist who also competed in auto racing and took part in LSD experiments. Early life Allen Eager was born in New York City on January 10, 1927. He grew up ...

– tenor saxophone (1-6) *

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

– tenor saxophone (8-9) *

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

– vibraphone, piano (7, 10–11) *

– piano (8-9) *

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swi ...

– piano (1-6) * Curley Russell – bass (1-7, 10–11) *

Tommy Potter Charles Thomas Potter (September 21, 1918 – March 1, 1988) was an American jazz double bass player, best known for having been a member of Charlie Parker's "classic quintet", with Miles Davis, between 1947 and 1950. Born in Philadelphia, Penn ...

– bass (8-9) *

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), known professionally as Kenny Clarke and nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride ...

– drums (1-7, 10–11) *

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (March 13, 1925 – November 12, 2024) was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s, he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He is among the most recorded drummers in ja ...

– drums (8-9) *

Chino Pozo Francisco "Chino" Pozo (October 4, 1915, HavanaApril 28, 1980, New York City) was a Cuban drummer. Pozo claimed to be the cousin of Chano Pozo, though this has been disputed. He was an autodidact on piano and bass, but concentrated on Bongo drum, b ...

– bongos (3-4)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabulous Fats Navarro, Vol. 2 1957 albums Fats Navarro albums Blue Note Records albums