Jazz Lead Sheets

GENE AMMONS (April 14, 1925 - July 23, 1974)
Gene Ammons is the son of the great boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. Born in Chicago, Gene studied music at Du Sable High School under Captain Walter Dyett. He left Chicago at 18 to tour with King Kolax. At 19, he made his first recording, with Billy Eckstine and his Orchestra on September 5, 1944. The Eckstein band was truly legendary. At that time the other tenor saxophonist was Dexter Gordon, Leo Parker was on baritone sax, Dizzy Gillespie was in the trumpet section, Art Blakey was the drummer, Tommy Potter on bass, and Sarah Vaughan also sang with the band. Tadd Dameron was one of the arrangers. A hothouse of talent and creativity. Gene continued playing and recording with the Eckstine band through their October 6, 1946, recording.

During Gene's tenure, here are a few of the other great horn players who recorded with the band:
trumpeters Fats Navarro, Kenny Dorham, Miles Davis
saxophonists Budd Johnson, Sonny Stitt, Frank Wess and Cecil Payne

In 1947, Gene did his first sessions (5) as a leader, as well as recording with his father for Mercury records (Albert Ammons And His Rhythm Kings), also participated in Leo Parker's All Stars for Savoy Records. In 1949, he recorded with Woody Herman And His Orchestra, replacing Stan Getz. On February 6, 1950, he recorded a Count Basie octet session. On March 5, 1950, he and Sonny Stitt recorded their classic two-tenor composition Blues Up And Down for the first time. Gene continued to record a session every year, primarily under his own name, through September, 1962. On November 10, 1969, he made "The Boss Is Back!" and continued to record until 1974. Ironically, the last song that he ever recorded, March 20, 1974 (just a short time before he was diagnosed with terminal cancer) was Goodbye.

As Scott Yanow says, "Gene Ammons, who had a huge and immediately recognizable tone on tenor, was a very flexible player who could play bebop with the best (always battling his friend Sonny Stitt to a tie) yet was an influence on the R&B world." He loved to team up with and do battle with other tenor players: setting a precedent with Sonny Stitt and later with Don Byas, Dexter Gordon and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, among others.

MICKEY BASS (born May 2, 1943)

Born Lee Odiss Bass III, Mickey Bass is an American bassist, composer, arranger, music educator and producer. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA. His grandmother, a minstrel show performer, taught Mickey and his cousins Barbershop Harmony, a great start to a life in music.

In 1961 Mickey entered Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he studied bass with Bernard Mason, director of the symphony orchestra. He was "failed" when a teacher heard him playing jazz, a forbidden genre on campus. In 1963, Mickey moved to New York City where he had his first break, playing with Hank Mobley at Harlem's famous Hotel Theresa. Mickey also played at the original Birdland club with Sonny Rollins and Bennie Green.

Mickey's first recording was in 1965 on Bobby Timmons' "Chicken And Dumplin's" album for Prestige. He recorded another album with Timmons the following year, and in 1968 recorded on a Lee Morgan session for Blue Note. In 1972 Mickey recorded with Curtis Fuller and started recording with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He continued to record as a Jazz Messenger the following year.

Mickey has also played or recorded with Kenny Dorham, Jackie McLean, Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman, Joe Henderson, Sonny Stitt, Ramon Morris, Reuban Wilson, Freddie Hubbard, Freddie Redd, Tony Williams, Philly Joe Jones, Walter Bishop Jr., Zoot Sims, Mose Allison, Wynton Kelly, John Hicks, Ruth Brown, Carmen McRae, Miriam Makeba and Gloria Lynne (for whom he also served as Musical Director for seventeen years). Mickey continues to perform and promote jazz in NYC.

DENZIL BEST (April 27, 1917 - May 25, 1965) Drummer and composer Denzil Best started on the piano at age six.Then he took up trumpet and played trumpet with Chris Columbus in 1940, and also in early sessions at Minton's. Denzil seemed to be on his way as a trumpet player until a lung disease in 1940 and 1941 put an end to that career. Denzil then started gigging on piano and bass, and in 1943 started concentrating on the drums. On February 8, 1944, he made his first recording on drums under the leadership of Ben Webster, with Hot Lips Page and Clyde Hart.On July 27, 1944, he started recording with Coleman Hawkins, first in a band with Charlie Shavers and Clyde Hart, and then with Buck Clayton on October 17. On October 18, another Charlie Shavers session, this time with Coleman Hawkins as a sideman. And the next day Best recorded with Coleman Hawkins as leader again, with Thelonious Monk on piano. Before the end of the year, he was in the studio for at least three more sessions. The last one, on December 19, was Clyde Hart's Hot Seven session with Little Bennie Harris on trumpet along with Budd Johnson on tenor sax and Chuck Wayne on guitar. They recorded Denzil's own composition Dee Dee's Dance on this session.

 In 1945 Best continued playing and recording with Coleman Hawkins as well as Don Byas. In 1946 he recorded with a variety of artists, including Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, first in a quartet setting and then with Fats Navarro added on trumpet. In 1947 he recorded on Fat's own Savoy session and did his first recording with George Shearing, followed by a number of sessions that include Jimmy Jones, more Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Ben Webster, a couple of Billy Taylor sessions,singer sessions with Etta Jones and Helen Humes, and a Teddy Wilson date, before heading to Europe to tour with Chubby Jackson (late 1947-1948). Best returned to the US to record with Billy Holiday in December 1948. From 1949 through 1951 he recorded many more albums with Shearing, as well as albums with Serge Chaloff, Mary Lou Williams, Lenny Tristano and Lee Konitz. In 1953, another Teddy Wilson date, and a Bobby Hacket session. In 1954 Henry Renard/Al Cohn Quartet and Jack Teagarden.

From 1955 to 1957 he was an important member of the Erroll Garner Trio, while still recording with Johnny Guarneri and George Wallington. In 1958 he recorded with Phineas Newborn, Jr., Stuff Smith, Tony Scott and Seldon Powell. His last recording was with Sheila Jordan (Portrait of Sheila) for Blue Note on October 12, 1962. Calcium deposits in his wrists hampered him in later years. He died following a fall down a flight of subway steps.

Denzil was also an excellent composer and several of his compositions have become jazz standards (these include Move, Wee (a/k/a Allen's Alley) and of course, Bemsha Swing with Thelonious Monk.

TINA BROOKS (June 7, 1932 - August 15, 1973)
Harold Floyd "Tina" Brooks and his twin brother Harry were born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, becoming the youngest of eight children. The family moved to NYC in 1944. By then, Harold was already being called Tina (pronounced Teena), a grade school nickname that came from his tiny or teensy size. Around this time, he started playing the C Melody saxophone, studying with his older brother David "Bubba" Brooks, Jr. Bubba had become an established R&B tenor saxophonist, and in late 1950, Tina subbed for Bubba for a few months in pianist Sonny Thompson's R&B band. Tina made his first recording with this band.

Throughout the early fifties, Tina worked with local New York Latin bands and various R&B outfits such as those of singer-pianist Charles Brown and trumpeter Joe Morris. In 1953 or 1954, he went on the road with pianist Amos Milburn, then joined Lionel Hampton's orchestra for the spring and summer of 1955. But he found this to be little more than another R&B gig: not enough room to stretch out.
In 1956, Brooks met trumpeter-composer Little Bennie Harris at the Blue Morocco, a Bronx jazz club. Harris took the young tenor player under his wing and taught him the vocabulary and intricacies of modern jazz. Tina also developed a close friendship with the brilliant pianist-composer Elmo Hope.

Alfred Lion, the owner of Blue Note Records, remembers Bennie Harris calling him up to a Harlem club to hear Tina in late 1957. He immediately began recording Brooks on Blue Note at a regular pace. He first hired Tina for a marathon Jimmy Smith recording on February 25, 1958, which led the next month to Tina's first leader session for Blue Note on March 16. This led to another session with Jimmy Smith, followed by several Kenny Burrell sessions and Howard McGhee's June 13, 1960, "The Connection" session, which was recorded less than 4 months after Freddie Redd's original "The Connection" album for Blue Note.

During 1959 and 1960, Tina was the understudy for Jackie McLean in Jack Gelber's play "The Connection," which was presented by The Living Theater in NYC. The pianist, composer, and musical director was Freddie Redd. This association led to three more Blue Note dates: both McLean and Brooks were on two Redd sessions; and under McLean's leadership, Tina played on and wrote three of the six tunes (Medina, Isle Of Java and Street Singer) for a wonderful sextet date.
Through his association with Blue Note, Tina met another great and underrated tenorman, Ike Quebec, who introduced him to Freddie Hubbard. Tina recorded on Freddie's first album as a leader on June 19, 1960, and contributed two originals, both the title composition Open Sesame and Gypsy Blue. Less than a week later, June 25, Freddie recorded on Tina's "True Blue" session, Tina's first released album as a leader.
Tina Brooks would only record two more sessions, both his own, which became: "Back In The Tracks" (October 20, 1960) and "The Waiting Game" (March 2, 1961). He was still only 28 years old when his recording career ended. Although he lived until 1974, he had been very ill and unable to play the saxophone for several years.

Tina Brooks' combo arrangments are available from Second Floor Music: Open Sesame and Street Singer.

RAY BRYANT (December 24, 1931 - June 2, 2011)
Following performances in his native Philadelphia with guitarist Tiny Grimes and as house pianist at the Blue Note Club with Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Miles Davis and others, Ray Bryant came to New York in the mid-1950s. His first jazz recording session in New York was with Toots Thielemans (August, 1955) for Columbia Records. That session led to his own trio sessions as well as sessions with vocalist Betty Carter for Epic Records in May and June ("Meet Betty Carter and Ray Bryant"). On August 5, 1955, Ray recorded with Miles Davis, and on December 2, 1955, with Sonny Rollins, both for Prestige Records. On April 3, 1956, Ray started his "Ray Bryant Trio" album for Epic Records, which contains his own first recording of his classic title Cubano Chant. Cal Tjader had recorded Cubano Chant earlier, on November 11, 1955, on Fantasy Records.

On September 17 and 19, 1956, Ray recorded on "Max Roach Plus 4," with Kenny Dorham and Sonny Rollins. In February, 1957, he recorded Cubano Chant two more times, first with the Art Blakey/Jo Jones Percussion Ensemble (February 22) and on February 25, with Art Taylor ("Tailor's Wailers"). Also in 1957, Ray can be heard on his own recordings and recordings with Carmen McRae, more Art Blakey, Clifford Jordan, Coleman Hawkins and Lee Morgan. Ray was also on three Dizzy Gillespie recordings that year, the first of which contains the first recording of Dizzy's classic, Con Alma, the second contains some great Gigi Gryce compositions and arrangements ("The Greatest Trumpet Of Them All"), and the third has Sonny Stitt's classic The Eternal Triangle, with Ray comping behind the incredible battling tenors of Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins ("Sonny Side Up").

Not bad for a young man who still hadn't turned 26 years of age! More of Ray's long and illustrious career will be discussed with his individual lead sheets.

PAUL CHAMBERS (April 22, 1935 - January 4, 1969)
Bassist Paul Chambers was a leading rhythmic force in the 1950s and 1960s. He became one of the signature bassists in jazz history. Born in Pittsburgh but raised in Detroit, Chambers initially took up the baritone horn as a child. He followed suit with the tuba and didn't become interested in the string bass until 1949. Listening to Charlie Parker and Bud Powell and studying under a bassist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Chambers began making headway in small bars of Hastings Street area and doing club jobs with Kenny Burrell, Thad Jones and Barry Harris. He did classical work in a group called the Detroit String Band, a rehearsal symphony orchestra.

In April 1954 Paul went on the road with Paul Quinichette for eight months before settling in NYC. He did his first recording with Quinichette on November 4, 1954 ("Moods" EmArcy). This session featured Quincy Jones as the arranger. Quincy was obviously impressed with Paul: he arranged Paul's second recording on December 7, 1954 (King Pleasure accompanied by the Quincy Jones band for Prestige). On June 6, 1955, Chambers did his first Blue Note session (The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, Vol 3).

Four days later Paul recorded with trombonist Bennie Green for Prestige, and less than two weeks later he was back with J.J. (plus Kai Winding) for "Trombones For Two," two days of sessions for Columbia Records. Four days later he recorded for Savoy Records on Kenny Clarke's "Bohemia After Dark" with Julian and Nat Adderley. Less three weeks later the Adderleys had Paul on their own date for Savoy.

Paul did two more recording sessions in July, and eight more sessions before his first Miles Davis session on October 26, 1955. This date marked the birth of one of the classic jazz rhythm section, with pianist Red Garland and drummer Philly Joe Jones.

In 1956, at age 21, Paul also started recording as a leader. This allowed him to record some of his classic originals like Visitation, Whims Of Chambers, and Tale Of The Fingers (all in 1956). He did two more leader dates for Blue Note in 1957 ("Paul Chambers Quintet" and "Bass On Top"). In 1959 he started recording as a leader for the Vee-Jay label.

Paul was also much in demand as a sideman, yet he found time to form and maintain another incredible trio with pianist Wynton Kelly and drummer Jimmy Cobb, a unit that worked together for two and a half years starting in 1963. With all his playing and recording, most people are shocked when they find out Paul Chambers died at 33 years of age. His technique, feeling and intonation were impeccable, matched by his overall musicianship.

SONNY CLARK (July 21,1931 - January 14, 1963)
A remarkable composer and pianist whose special touch and articulation makes him instantly recognizable at the piano, Sonny (Conrad Yeatis Clark) was born in Herminie, PA, a small mining town 60 miles from Pittsburgh. He started piano at four, and at six was featured playing boogie-woogie on several amateur hour radio programs. He spent his teenage years in Pittsburgh, playing vibes and bass in high school as well as being featured on piano. He went to California in 1951 with his older brother, also a pianist, and worked in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, starting his recording career at age 22 in February, 1953, with Teddy Charles. He soon recorded with Art Pepper and Buddy DeFranco (traveling to Europe for a couple of months to start 1954), then returned to LA to work with Buddy, Cal Tjader, Sonny Criss, Frank Rosolino, Serge Chaloff, Lawrence Marable-James Clay quartet and Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars. He decided to work his way back East by joining Dinah Washington, arriving in NYC in April of 1957. On June 11 and 12 he did his first NY recording sessions as part of the Sonny Rollins quartet for Riverside Records. June 23, 1957, marks his first Blue Note date as a member of a Hank Mobley sextet. Within the next month, on July 21, he recorded his own first leader date for Blue Note: "Dial S For Sonny." He continued to record many more sessions for Blue Note as both sideman (with Curtis Fuller, more Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin, Clifford Jordan, Lee Morgan, Art Farmer, Lou Donaldson, Tina Brooks, Bennie Green, Jackie McLean, Grant Green, Ike Quebec, Dexter Gordon and others) and as a leader right up to his last recording session, a Stanley Turrentine sextet date (October 18, 1962). He recorded mostly for Blue Note but did find time to also record with Philly Joe Jones (Riverside), Coleman Hawkins (Colpix), more with Bennie Green (Enrica and Time), his own leader date and a date with Stanley Turrentine on Time. We are blessed that he left us with many great recordings from both his California and New York periods. Sonny, along with bassist Butch Warren and drummer Billy Higgins, created one of the truly classic rhythm sections of this period. He was hospitalized in late 1962 with a leg infection and was released only shortly before he passed away in January. Sonny was only 31 years old when he died.

AL COHN (November 24, 1925 - February 15, 1988)

Al Cohn, born in Brooklyn, NY, went on to become not only a brilliant jazz tenor saxophonist, but an arranger, leader and sideman par excellence. From the "Al Cohn Memorial Jazz Collection," East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania website: "His career in jazz spanned more than 45 years. He performed with the bands of Henry Jerome, Joe Marsala, Georgie Auld, Alvino Rey, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Artie Shaw, Elliot Lawrence and others. Many of the arrangements used by these bands were written by Al, and he also arranged for Gerry Mulligan, Quincy Jones, Terry Gibbs and Jimmy Rushing. In Herman’s band, he replaced Herbie Steward as a member of the notable 'Four Brothers' in Woody’s Second Herd, joining tenors Zoot Sims and Stan Getz and baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff." Al and Zoot had a long-term musical and personal friendship. They starting recording together in 1946 and continued to play and record on many projects including many albums with a two-tenor front line, just Al and Zoot.

Al's legacy includes many wonderful compositions, often recorded by other musicians. Stay tuned to jazzleadsheets.com for more.