All Smiles

by Kenny Clarke, Francy Boland, Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band

Overview

When just about everybody was breaking out the shovels to bury big bands as a serious medium for modern jazz, along comes Francy Boland and Kenny Clarke to put together a band that not only swung, but was a vehicle for modern arrangements. Boland was associated with his co-leader since 1958 when Clarke, one of bebop's early practitioners and an emigre from the United States, was a member of Boland's unit. Boland wrote all the charts for this co-led outfit, including masterful arrangements of some of America's top pop standards that are on this release. The band was populated with an international cast of musicians, allowing Boland to take a page from Duke Ellington's book to create arrangements and award solos on the basis of the individuals in the band at any given moment. And, like Ellington, his piano snuck in a few comps from time to time to keep matters on track. This particular iteration featured the trumpets of Benny Bailey and Idrees Sulieman on such cuts as "By Strauss" and "When Your Lover Has Gone." The vibes were regularly featured in Boland's arrangements. Dave Pike is highlighted on several cuts, including title tune "Let's Face the Music and Dance" and "I'm All Smiles," trading lilting eights on the latter with Sahib Shihab's flute. One of the qualities that set apart this aggregation from others of the same mettle was the smoothness of the playing. Smoothness here means sensuous and bluesy, not lifeless in the sense the term is used in contemporary jazz. There's a bounce to the up-tempo tunes, but the ostentatious playing other bands were noted for is shunned. A fine performance that should be released on CD. ~ Dave Nathan

Product Details

Release Date:	06/23/2017
Label:	Mps
UPC:	4029759119555

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band   Primary Artist
Kenny Clarke   Primary Artist,Drums
Francy Boland   Primary Artist,Piano,Soloist
Johnny Griffin   Soloist,Sax (Tenor)
Ronnie Scott   Soloist,Sax (Tenor)
Jimmy Deuchar   Soloist,Trumpet
Dave Pike   Soloist,Vibraphone
Nat Peck   Trombone
Tony Coe   Soloist,Sax (Tenor)
Benny Bailey   Soloist,Trumpet
Sahib Shihab   Soloist,Sax (Baritone)
Erik VanLier   Trombone
Kenny Clare   Drums
Sonny Grey   Trumpet
Derek Humble   Sax (Alto)
Ake Persson   Soloist,Trombone
Idrees Sulieman   Soloist,Trumpet
Jimmy Woode   Bass

Technical Credits

Ira Gershwin   Composer
Johnny Griffin   Group Member
Jules LeMare   Composer
Francy Boland   Arranger,Composer,Co-Leader,Group Member
George Gershwin   Composer
Jimmy Dorsey   Composer
Ronnie Scott   Group Member
Jimmy Deuchar   Group Member
Nacio Herb Brown   Composer
Michael Leonard   Composer
Dave Pike   Group Member
Bronislaw Kaper   Composer
Gus Kahn   Composer
Harry Tobias   Composer
Martin Cook   Liner Note Translation
Nat Peck   Group Member
Tony Coe   Group Member
Benny Bailey   Group Member
Charles Daniels   Composer
Sahib Shihab   Group Member
Gus Arnheim   Composer
Gigi Campi   Producer,Supervisor
Herbert Martin   Composer
Wolfgang Hirschmann   Engineer
John Philip Sousa   Composer
Paul Mertz   Composer
Erik VanLier   Group Member
Paul Madeira   Composer
Dirk Sommer   Liner Notes
Kenny Clare   Group Member
Sonny Grey   Group Member
Derek Humble   Group Member
Sam Haskins   Cover Photo
Ake Persson   Group Member
David Mack   Composer
Heinz Baehr   Photography,Cover Design
Michel Leonard   Composer
Charles N. Daniels   Composer
Einar Aaron Swan   Composer
Manfred Miller   Liner Notes
Stefan Franzen   Liner Notes
Idrees Sulieman   Group Member
Kenny Clarke   Co-Leader,Group Member
Irving Berlin   Composer
Cole Porter   Composer
Jimmy Woode   Group Member
Einar A. Swan   Composer