Illinois Jacquet - Bosses of the Ballad/Spectrum

The fourth Illinois Jacquet Project CD collection contains both the complete October 29 & 30, 1964, Bosses Of The Ballad Sessions featuring a 19 piece orchestra with arrangements by Tom McIntosh and Benny Golson. This edition also includes the complete April 29 & 30, 1965 Spectrum dates featuring Patti Bown, Billy Butler, Eric Gale, George Duviver, Grady Tate and Candido Camero. Lone Hill Jazz. 2006 Album Description

Jacquet in wraps here

This CD is the fourth in a series of 5 issued by Lonehill dealing with all of Illinois Jacquet's recordings from 1956-66; it includes two complete albums, one for Argo (1964) and the other for Cadet (1965). The Cadet was obviously geared for the pop charts, with just about all the tunes being oversimplified and forgettable - there's even a tambourine added for that 60's r&r effect. Jacquet plays well, but there isn't much to get his teeth into and, besides, the jazz angle seems definitely restrained. Waste of a good talent here.

The Argo is a ballads-oriented affair, though the song selection at least has the advantage of being all Cole Porter tunes. Jacquet plays with a deep, lyrical tenor sound, and is usually "allowed" to improvise to his liking for a chorus or so on each tune. But a lush, 19-piece string orchestra backs him up and it can be overpowering at times. Case in point is on SO IN LOVE: Jacquet's theme statement is absolutely gorgeous, but then the orchestra comes in to almost push Jacquet off the stage; this happens again on BEGIN THE BEGUINE and IT'S ALL RIGHT WITH ME. EVERYTIME WE SAY GOODBY is taken way too slow, but Illinois plays the verse with just piano accompaniment on ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, which is a highlight of the CD. Also good are I LOVE YOU and I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN, both taken at medium tempo. I'm going to give this CD 4 stars because Jacquet's tone is so rich on the Argo, but few of these stars go toward the Cadet album.
December 2, 2006

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