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134 9 1956—Back inAction After over two years of near-total obscurity,Tadd Dameron returned to the jazz world again in 1956. The first project Dameron was connected with was finishing the Clifford Brown/Max Roach album At Basin Street,1 one of the seminal recordings of the style that would become known as “hard bop.” Three of the selections,“Step Lightly (a.k.a. Junior’s Arrival),” by Benny Golson,“Gertrude’s Bounce,” and “Powell’s Prances,” by Richie Powell, had already been recorded at a session on January 4. The remaining six tunes were recorded at another session on February 17.2 Dameron was in attendance at this second session and took part in arranging the tunes, two of which he had composed:“Flossie Lou” and “The Scene Is Clean.” These two would also be recorded at his own octet session a few weeks later, the session that first introduced “Fontainebleau.” All of the musicians present at the Brown/Roach session were capable small-group arrangers, and the results, for the most part, were probably a collaborative effort. Nevertheless, Tadd’s presence is clearly heard in his own compositions, and he is credited with arranging his own tunes, as well as Cole Porter’s“What Is This Thing Called Love.”3 One of the distinguishing features of the hard-bop style is the attention to arranging details, and the performances on At Basin Street include well-thought-out introductions and codas, as well as ensemble interludes. All of these devices were frequently present in Dameron’s small-group work of the late 1940s, and his involvement in this recording is significant. Just three weeks later, on Friday, March 9, Dameron was in Rudy Van Gelder’s studio with a band of his own to make a record for Prestige, using material he may have developed while leading rehearsal bands in Cleveland in 1954 and’55. On hand were Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Henry Coker on trombone, 1956—Back in Action 135 Sahib Shihab on alto sax, Joe Alexander on tenor sax, Cecil Payne on baritone sax, John Simmons on bass, and Shadow Wilson on drums. The title track on the LP released from this session is“Fontainebleau,” a through-composed piece with no solos—the next work in his“Soulphony” series.4 The rest of the album has suggestions of a band concept that is never quite realized. Some of the weaknesses of this album may be the result of Prestige’s approach to production: while Prestige released many important records, it was not known for providing much,if any,support for rehearsals.On his 1953 album, which features more consistent performances, Dameron had the advantage of having worked with several of the musicians just prior to the recording. The Fontainebleau LP is a mixture of the introduction of a very important Dameron composition,“Fontainebleau,” one other really strong performance,“Delirium,” and three not-too-well-focused takes,“Flossie Lou,”“The Scene Is Clean,” and “Bule-Beige.” It gives the impression that Tadd was not really ready to make a complete album. Nevertheless, the record was well received and earned four stars (out of five) in a Down Beat review. “Flossie Lou” is a contrafact of Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren’s“Jeepers Creepers,” and both the quintet and octet arrangements are rather simple. The Brown/Roach version has a four-bar introduction in the piano, followed by the trumpet carrying the melody throughout and the tenor sax cycling among counterlines , harmony, and octave doubling. There are no ensembles, and the tune ends suddenly with no coda. The octet version, a feature for trombonist Henry Coker,has an eight-bar introduction that returns at the end of the arrangement. The A section of the tune consists of two short phrases and one long phrase, the former played by the ensemble in unison and the latter harmonized with some little contrapuntal details as well. Dameron paraphrases the bridge melody at the piano, and the last A is the same as the first two. Coker takes three choruses with only the rhythm section, and the piece concludes—without returning to the tune—with the introduction, a short cadenza from Coker, and a “stinger” from the ensemble. The Brown/Roach version is taken at a moderately brisk 180 beats per minute. The octet version is more sedate at 120. “The Scene Is Clean” is one of Dameron’s most striking tunes. In ABAC form, with a unique chord sequence, it...

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