Search - Howard Mcghee :: Trumpet at Tempo

Philip S. from NORWICH, VT
Reviewed on 9/23/2006...

21 cuts by Howard McGhee And His Band, 1945; Howard McGhee Jam Band, 1946; Howard McGee Sextet, 1946; Howard McGhee Orchestra, 1947.

Bop was alive on the west coast

mondodave | Los Angeles, Ca. United States | 10/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Maggie's" one of the forgotten trumpet titans of jazz. Second only to Dizzy during the crucial first years of bebop, Maggie was instrumental in bringing the new music to L.A., when he arrived in town as a member of Coleman Hawkin's band. His style is Roy Eldridge, as filtered through the new music -- hitting the high notes, but articulating the dissonance that was so prevalent during bebop's inception. Though Maggie's known for saving Bird's notorious "Lover Man" session, he was carving his own crucial statements during his few years on the west coast. He's joined by Teddy Edwards, the legendary Dodo Marmarosa, and others on this collection, which is certainly the historical and creative highlight of Maggie's career. Culled from the Dial library and other obscure record companies, the cuts range from the bizarre, ("Lifestream,") to more mundane blues oriented commercial excursions, to such classics as "Dialated Pupils" and "Up in Dodo's Room.""All night, all frantic," is how Symphony Sid described bop in NYC. "Trumpets At Tempo" fits the bill, and more. Anybody interested in bebop in its absolute purity should dig this collection."