JAM Magazine: June/July 1995 Issue: For the Record

THE BOB WILBER/DICK WELLSTOOD DUET
Progressive PCD-7080

Personnel: Bob Wilber, clarinet/soprano sax; Dick Wellstood, piano

Tracks: Ain'tcha Got Music?; Lonesome Blues; I've Got You Under My Skin; You, You, You; My Chinatown; Soulful Soliloquy; Save Your Sorrow For Tomorrow; Soprano Chop Suey; I Wonder What Became Of Me; The Entertainer; Wildcat Blues; More Flowers For My Lady; Song of the Vagabonds.

Recorded March 27, 28 and May 22, 1984 in New York City.

These sparkling duets were recorded just a few years before pianist Dick Wellstood's death. The sessions reprised a relationship that began when he and Bob Wilber launched their recording careers together as teenagers in 1947. This CD includes the tunes originally released a decade ago on a Parkwood Records LP plus three previously unissued titles.

The program veers from the stylistic diversity of James P. Johnson to Cole Porter -- from Scott Joplin to Dill Jones -- and from Rudolf Friml to Johnny Mercer. The Wilber/Wellstood partnership gracefully accomplishes each musical leap.

A rhythm section? Wellstood's resourceful left hand took care of those details. Swinging improvisation? The synergy expressed in the last 32 bars of "Save Your Sorrow For Tomorrow" packs all the wallop of a seven-piece band in full flight.

Wilber's fluid intensity generates a dramatic tonal force that often bears a strong reflection of his mentor, the legendary Sidney Bechet. This is most obvious on "Wildcat Blues," based on Bechet's first record in 1923. Wilber sails through the soaring strains with Bechet's typical pizzazz while Wellstood boils beneath the surface.

Following the composer's admonition that ragtime should not be played too fast, the Wilber/Wellstood collaboration on Joplin's "The Entertainer" flows gently at a very moderate tempo. The cerebral, almost ethereal "Lonesome Blues" is vividly contrasted by "Song of the Vagabonds," seldom heard in a jazz setting. Friml's dynamic composition inspired Wellstood's rollicking two-fisted striding romp paced by Wilber's fervent soprano sax.

"Soulful Soliloquy," Wilber's beautiful introspective original, floats lightly and settles on a "breathtaking" sustained note. On "Soprano Chop Suey," he effortlessly weaves the articulate stop time phrases that highlighted Louis Armstrong's timeless Hot Five recording of "Cornet Chop Suey" six decades ago.

By reducing the jazz ensemble to its basic elements, Dick Wellstood and Bob Wilber achieved a freedom of expression apparent on every number. Their multi-layered explorations are a source of joyous listening -- again, again and again!

-- Floyd Levin

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© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.






	Search our site:		THE BOB WILBER/DICK WELLSTOOD DUET Progressive PCD-7080 Personnel: Bob Wilber, clarinet/soprano sax; Dick Wellstood, piano Tracks: Ain'tcha Got Music?; Lonesome Blues; I've Got You Under My Skin; You, You, You; My Chinatown; Soulful Soliloquy; Save Your Sorrow For Tomorrow; Soprano Chop Suey; I Wonder What Became Of Me; The Entertainer; Wildcat Blues; More Flowers For My Lady; Song of the Vagabonds. Recorded March 27, 28 and May 22, 1984 in New York City. These sparkling duets were recorded just a few years before pianist Dick Wellstood's death. The sessions reprised a relationship that began when he and Bob Wilber launched their recording careers together as teenagers in 1947. This CD includes the tunes originally released a decade ago on a Parkwood Records LP plus three previously unissued titles. The program veers from the stylistic diversity of James P. Johnson to Cole Porter -- from Scott Joplin to Dill Jones -- and from Rudolf Friml to Johnny Mercer. The Wilber/Wellstood partnership gracefully accomplishes each musical leap. A rhythm section? Wellstood's resourceful left hand took care of those details. Swinging improvisation? The synergy expressed in the last 32 bars of "Save Your Sorrow For Tomorrow" packs all the wallop of a seven-piece band in full flight. Wilber's fluid intensity generates a dramatic tonal force that often bears a strong reflection of his mentor, the legendary Sidney Bechet. This is most obvious on "Wildcat Blues," based on Bechet's first record in 1923. Wilber sails through the soaring strains with Bechet's typical pizzazz while Wellstood boils beneath the surface. Following the composer's admonition that ragtime should not be played too fast, the Wilber/Wellstood collaboration on Joplin's "The Entertainer" flows gently at a very moderate tempo. The cerebral, almost ethereal "Lonesome Blues" is vividly contrasted by "Song of the Vagabonds," seldom heard in a jazz setting. Friml's dynamic composition inspired Wellstood's rollicking two-fisted striding romp paced by Wilber's fervent soprano sax. "Soulful Soliloquy," Wilber's beautiful introspective original, floats lightly and settles on a "breathtaking" sustained note. On "Soprano Chop Suey," he effortlessly weaves the articulate stop time phrases that highlighted Louis Armstrong's timeless Hot Five recording of "Cornet Chop Suey" six decades ago. By reducing the jazz ensemble to its basic elements, Dick Wellstood and Bob Wilber achieved a freedom of expression apparent on every number. Their multi-layered explorations are a source of joyous listening -- again, again and again! -- Floyd Levin RETURN TO JUNE/JULY 1995 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.