Search - Tiny Grimes, Jerome Richardson :: Tiny in Swingville

Tiny Grimes

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 11/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Guitarist Tiny Grimes was in the midst of his first of two separate "come backs" when he cut this album for Swingville in 1959. Tiny had made a name for himself in the 1940s playing with the likes of The Cats and the Fiddle, John Hardee, Ike Quebec, even Charlie Parker, but perhaps most importantly of all, Art Tatum. He plays a four-string guitar, which gives him a big, distinctive sound. Multi-reed man Jerome Richardson joins Tiny on the front line on this CD; he plays tenor on most of the tracks, flute on one, and baritone sax on two. HOMESICK is a slow blues with good baritone work by Jerome (I wish he had picked up this ax more in his career), but what's special about this selection is Ray Bryant's cut-time solo (he does the same thing on the other slow blues on the disc, DOWN WITH IT) - real nice! DURN TOOTIN' is an interesting tune with a 4-bar tag on the theme that's eliminated in the solos; Richardson's tenor is effective here. FRANKIE AND JOHNNIE gets a real up-tempo workout. This is a solid mainstream album, with emphasis on the blues; as Tiny says in the liner notes: "If a man can't play the blues he won't last very long." Tiny was around for decades."