Leapin' and Lopin' [Original recording remastered] [Import]

1. Somethin' Special

2. Deep in a Dream

3. Melody for C

4. Melody for C [Alternate Take]

5. Eric Walks

6. Voodoo

7. Midnight Mambo

8. Zellmar's Delight

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
20 bit digitally remastered.

Leapin' and Lopin',Sonny Clark,Blue Note Japan,Bop,Hard Bop,Jazz,Pop

Jazz

Music

jazz

Tracks:

Somethin' Special
Deep In A Dream
Melody For C
Melody For C (Alternative Take)
Eric Walks
Voodoo
Midnight Mambo
Zellmars Delight

Customer Reviews:

Without a Song.......2006-07-20

I recently picked up Walter Davis Jr.'s first date as a leader, "Davis Cup," and despite the strong performances by all hands I had to down-rate it because of the pedestrian tunes and arrangements, none of which provided the least hint of the singular, strikingly original, even visionary, compositions that would issue from Davis' pen beginning in the 1970's. Sonny Clark's "Leapin' and Lopin'" comes up short for the same reason but, as Sonny's last date, has to be judged the greater disappointment.

The compelling reason for purchase, besides Sonny's tasteful piano work, is the frontline of Charlie Rouse and Tommy Turrentine. A player of the first order, Rouse is well represented on Columbia, Jazzland, and Dawn but not on Blue Note. No tenor player has a more personal, inimitable sound or, for that matter, a more inventive imagination along with the pyrotechnical skills to follow it wherever it leads. (Rouse's "Takin' Care of Business" on OJC offers a veritable clinic on the limitless possibilities of the tenor saxophone.) Turrentine is usually passed over completely, almost as scarce on recordings these days as the underappreciated but towering Bill Hardman. Like his younger brother, tenor saxophonist Stanley, Tommy has a big sound and the ability to say the most with the fewest number of notes.

Sonny Clark himself is one of the most eloquent and elegant of the post-Powell generation of piano "blowers." His touch is light and full, not unlike Tommy Flanagan's. Although his left hand uses basic, Bud-like "shell" voicings, he's so sparing in his use of it that all the attention is directed to the unfailing, flowing logic of his right hand constructions. And he can improvise through a sequence of rapidly changing chords in a manner that accounts for the shifting harmonic pattern without sacrificing melodic continuity.

With the exception of the Jimmy Van Heusen standard, "Deep in a Dream," these are all undistinguished originals, reminiscent of the exercises in numerous jazz improvisation books. "Melody in C" is one of those tunes I can hear once and write down all of the harmonies for. To have to listen to an additional, alternate, even longer, version of it is a questionable use of the listener's time. Of all the originals, the only one that has sufficient inherent interest to be memorable is "Zellmar's Delight," which was not included on the original LP.

Incomparable song.......2004-09-24

The tenor-trumpet front line gives this recording an incomparable warmth, further intensified by the appearance of tenorman Ike Quebec crooning "Deep in a Dream". Notwithstanding Billy Higgins' brilliant work with Ornette Coleman and, later, Cedar Walton, it sounds as though as Clark was the bandleader closest to Billy's "own" music. In any case the rhythm section with Butch Warren is extraordinarily responsive and swinging. They gradually build as the soloist develops his solo. The key accents are the all the more moving coming on top of their fairly spare support in the initial choruses. Charlie Rouse is remarkably lyrical and funky, obviously in a more relaxed environment than Monk's quartet, and rich-toned Tommy Turrentine is probably at his best as well. This is a rhythm section and compositional context in which everybody is at their best. In any case, Clark was surely "onto something", but could not pursue further. Put his magnificent quintet on a powerful sound system and go for a swim in NYC-early 60s heat. Such sounds will never be heard again.

Lovin' and Lovin' it.......2004-07-09

All of Sonny Clark's blue note albums are excellent, this one is exiting since the front line is unusual for blue note, Charlie Rouse and Tommy Turrentine. Dig Turrentine's tone on the trumpet, and check out the tunes, I really like Voodoo and Midnight Mambo. Check out how solid Billy Higgins is on this, listen to the swing on Melody for C.

A recommendation to "orangeduke".......2004-01-06

Dear friend, you need to go urgently to the ophtalmologist because your hearing already have lost completely.

Sonny's last.......2003-02-09

Sonny Clark has been a cult pianist for many years, in part because Blue Note failed to keep his discs consistently in print. He was prized among Japanese hard bop enthusiasts & also was a favourite of the avantgardist John Zorn's circle (there's a nice tribute disc, _Voodoo_, by "The Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet": Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Ray Drummond & Bobby Previte). But Clark's star's risen a lot in the past decade, as his work's finally gotten properly reissued: I suspect one key moment was Blue Note's putting together all three Clark/Grant Green quartet sessions on an unbeatable low-priced twofer in the mid-1990s. Anyway, _Leapin' and Lopin'_ is one of the few Clark discs to have been around on CD for a while, along with the perennial _Cool Strutting_. _Leapin' and Lopin'_ is also Clark's last date as a leader (from November 1961), though it wasn't his last recording session by any means (he died in 1963, a victim of the jazz life--alcohol & drugs). The rhythm section here--Clark, bassist Butch Warren & drummer Billy Higgins--became something of a house rhythm section at Blue Note at this period: in addition to this album, they formed the rhythm section to a number of albums by Jackie McLean & Dexter Gordon (including the popular _Go_). Despite the brilliance of the Chamber-Philly Joe Jones rhythm section on _Cool Strutting_, I'd actually recommend listening to this disc to hear Clark at his best as an accompanist, simply because these guys have clearly established a very close relation. (One sign of this is that Butch Warren contributes a tune to the album, "Eric Walks"--it's a nice swinger, a close cousin of Gillespie's "Woody'n You".) The band is completed by Warren's pal from the Monk band, Charlie Rouse, & the trumpeter Tommy Turrentine. Rouse is in absolutely terrific form throughout--arguably better than on most of the albums he cut with Monk, in fact (& fans of Rouse should investigate this album for this reason).

Much of the material here is deliberately minimalist, & one suspects that if Clark had lived he would have moved strongly in the direction of modal jazz. "Melody for C" is mentioned in Ira Gitler's liner notes as being Clark's essay in modal jazz, but actually "Voodoo" & "Midnight Mambo" are also in a similar vein, pursuing a stripped-down blues-minimalism which obviously is indebted to _Kind of Blue_ but is already moving off in a different direction from Miles. "Voodoo" is especially remarkable, not least for Clark's comping. For each soloist he devises a distinctive, complementary pattern & works variations on it for the duration of the solo (in tandem with bassist & drummer)--it gives the piece a sense of almost compositional development.

One track on the album stands at something of a distance from the rest. "Deep in a Dream" is a ballad feature for Clark and the tenorist Ike Quebec (who worked for Blue Note as an A&R man & was presumably simply around the studio that day & dropped in to play). Unlike the contemporary blues-drenched feel of the rest of the session, this ballad is deliberately old-fashioned in feel, a little sentimental, stated caressingly by Clark in the intro (over bowed bass) & then given a tough/tender reading by Quebec in the best tradition of Hawkins & Webster. A nice track. Those who wish to pursue this side of Clark's work should check out Quebec's _Blue & Sentimental_ & Grant Green's _Born to Be Blue_, both of which feature Clark on piano.

_Leapin' and Lopin'_ comes highly recommended: for anyone interested in Clark's work, it's essential listening.

Leapin' & Lopin'
Average customer rating:
Leapin' & Lopin'

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000AU1NSS
Release Date: 2005-11-01