ProJazz.net

The Jazz Guitarist is an album by jazz guitarist Chuck Wayne which was released on the Savoy label in 1956. The album comprised two recording sessions, one recorded in 1953 (originally released as Chuck Wayne Quintet on a 10 inch LP on Progressive) and the other from 1954.

“Chuck Wayne’s participation in some of the earliest bebop recordings have lead many to conclude that he was purely a bop-style guitar player. Yet on the recordings he made in the mid-1940s, first with the Billy Eckstine Band and later with Dizzy Gillespie, his swing-oriented guitar collides with the “new music” being played by the more modern musicians on the set. It was with George Shearing that Wayne had his greatest success, making a major contribution to the Shearing sound. This particular album reissues two sets cut by Wayne during the 1950s. The first, covering tracks 1-4 and 7-10, is from 1953 sessions with his Quartet featuring Zoot Sims and Brew Moore; the second session, made the following year with the John Mehegan Quartet, comprises the other four tunes. There are some standards along with seven originals, including five by Wayne. Words that can best be used to describe the latter are “innocuous,” “pleasant,” “nice background music.” These arrangements could be heard in a hundred lounges and small clubs throughout the country during the years when this album was made. While there is virtually no inventiveness going on, the playing is entertaining. One quality that comes through with the Wayne guitar is its hornlike sound, which adds a dimension to his playing and is especially complementary when either Sims or Moore is soloing, as on “While My Lady Sleeps,” “Side Walks of Cuba” and “Uncus.” One exception to the ordinariness of the material is the arrangement of the Victor Young/Ned Washington masterpiece, “Stella by Starlight,” where John Mehegan’s piano and Wayne’s guitar engage in interplay which comes close to being avant-garde. Several of the players at these sessions were from the upper echelons of jazz; it’s regrettable they were not offered more interesting or challenging music to perform.” – Dave Nathan/AllMusic.

Track listing:
“You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me” (Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal, Pierre Norman) – 3:03
“S.S. Cool” (Chuck Wayne) – 2:44
“Mary Ann” (Chuck Wayne) – 2:31
“Butterfingers” (Chuck Wayne) – 3:29
“Taking a Chance on Love” (Vernon Duke, Ted Fetter, John La Touche) – 2:47
“Sirod” (John Mehegan) – 3:00
“While My Lady Sleeps” (Bronisław Kaper, Gus Kahn) – 2:34
“Tasty Pudding” (Al Cohn) – 3:22
“Prospecting” (Chuck Wayne) – 2:33
“Sidewalks of Cuba” (Chuck Wayne) – 2:56
“Uncus” (Mehegan) – 2:21
“Stella by Starlight” (Victor Young, Ned Washington) – 3:28

Personnel:
Chuck Wayne – guitar
Brew Moore (tracks 1-3), Zoot Sims (tracks 4 & 7-10) – tenor saxophone
Harvey Leonard (tracks 1-4 & 7-10), John Mehegan (tracks 5, 6, 11 & 12) – piano
George Duvivier (tracks 1-4 & 7-10), Vinnie Burke (tracks 5, 6, 11 & 12) – bass
Joe Morello (tracks 5, 6, 11 & 12), Ed Shaughnessy (tracks 1-4 & 7-10) – drums

____________________________

Released: 1956
Recorded: April 13, 1953 & June 10, 1954
Studio: Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ
Length: 34:48
Label: Savoy
MG 12077
Producer: Gus Grant/Ozzie Cadena