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Who says you can't teach an old dog--or an old
clarinetist--new tricks? Approaching his 60th birthday
in the early '60s, Pee Wee Russell, long associated with
Dixieland and traditional jazz, formed a new pianoless
quartet with trombonist Marshall Brown and started
exploring the more modern sounds of Thelonious
Monk, John Coltrane, and even Ornette Coleman.
The finest fruit of that collaboration was Ask Me
Now!, an exceptional
1963 session for Impulse! that seamlessly mixes the old with the
new, and certainly makes the case for Russell as a
progressive--and the bigger case that great artists can
often transcend genres and stereotypes.
Russell is at his best on ballads, including two by
Monk (the title tune and "Hackensack"), for whom he
shows a real affinity. On Ellington's "Prelude to a
Kiss," Russell's lyricism and wonderfully expressive,
sometimes breathy tone evoke a clarinet version of
Johnny Hodges or even Ben Webster. He also tackles
an uptempo Coltrane blues and, most impressively,
takes on Ornette Coleman's "Turnaround," which he
harmonizes and renders as a fairly straight-ahead
blues romp.
Marshall Brown, Russell's chief compadre and an
inspiration in the leader's modernist move, is
showcased on the gorgeous chestnut "Angel Eyes."
The mood throughout is relaxed, patient, even
languorous, as Russell, the veteran who'd jammed as a
kid with Bix Beiderbecke and spent 30 years with
Eddie Condon, shows himself undaunted by the '60s
radicals. A brave and bravura performance.
This review originally appeared in the July 2003 issue of
All About Jazz - New York.
~ Joel Roberts
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Track Listing: 1. Turnaround - 4:14
2. How About Me? - 4:16
3. Ask Me Now! - 2:30
4. Some Other Blues - 3:16
5. I'd Climb the Highest Mountain - 3:26
6. Licorice Stick - 3:36
7. Prelude to a Kiss - 2:41
8. Baby, You Can Count on Me - 5:01
9. Hackensack - 3:37
10. Angel Eyes - 2:51
11. Calypso Walk - 2:34
Personnel: Pee Wee Russell - Clarinet,
Ronnie Bedford - Drums,
Marshall Brown - Valve Trombone, Bass Trumpet;
Russell George - Bass.
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