Sometimes you start out in one direction and wind up
somewhere else. Years ago I bought a record by Rein de Graaff, the Dutch
pianist. Recently, I ran across a de Graaff CD I had bought with several others
on the (also Dutch) Blue Jack label. What
I hadn’t remembered was that the CD, Blue
Lights, was a tribute to the compositions of saxophonist Gigi Gryce. I knew
about Gryce’s career in the late 1950s, his renown as a composer, his struggles
on the business side of the music biz, and his sudden disappearance from the
jazz scene. A few years ago, I read an article about his personal crisis,
conversion to Islam, and lengthy career as a dedicated music teacher in an NYC
public school. Aside from knowing the names of some of his compositions, like Social Call and Nica’s Tempo, that was it for me.
Thanks to Rein de Graaff and Blue Lights, I now appreciate Gryce’s compositions much more. I was
particularly taken with Sans Souci
and Evening in Casablanca. Both are impressionistic
pieces in the Tadd Dameron mode, although Gryce must have visited Casablanca round midnight. Some tribute
albums are slapdash affairs, but this one provides a well-thought-out showcase
for a neglected composer.
The musicians are first rate. Altoist Herb Geller, on the
scene since the 1950s, is fiery, with a bit of Johnny Hodges lyricism mixed in.
John Marshall, like Geller an American expatriate, is excellent on trumpet. De
Graaff solos and comps beautifully throughout, and Marius Beets and Eric Ineke
on bass and drums furnish solid support.
