by Tyler Schmitz
On this week’s Scenes from the Saxophone Section, I escaped the dangerously low registers of Scott Robinson’s contrabass and the show saw a return to form. Frank Morgan has been described as a “Charlie Parker successor” for his style of alto sax, and I can definitely see it. It’s also been a while since I’ve featured an alto player, and with all the tenor madness I’ve been subjected to, it’s a breath of fresh air for the show.
Like Parker, Morgan was known most well for his bop and ballads, and with that, I tried my best to showcase these styles. He was well recognized for it as some of the greats, such as Dexter Gordon, let Frank jam with him and Wardell Gray. He was also given Johnny Hodge’s spot in the Duke Ellington Orchestra at just fifteen years old but was turned down for being too young.
Our first tune, “Well You Needn’t,” is a great small group piece, only really having room for a lead player and the rhythm section on backgrounds. Personally, I think if you were to arrange this chart for a big band, it would fall under the category of what my director would call a “meat and potatoes” piece. I like to use that term a lot, and in case you didn’t know, it’s just any straightforward piece that will usually get opened up for solos. That being said, this one moves along quite nicely.
After that was Morgan on the JJ Johnson tune “Enigma,” and this really calls back to his specialty in ballads. The soft, melodic sound he outputs from the alto cuts right through the piece to layer itself atop the piano part beautifully, and the dynamic sound of the piece fits its speed and tone well. Being a duet, he and the piano player bounce right off each other for a rich sounding piece altogether.
And finally, I decided to play what is probably my favorite standard, “Bernie’s Tune.” I feel like I’ve already played this song enough on the show, but clearly, that’s not the case (you cannot get enough of it). Morgan takes the piece and decides he wants to turn it into a Latin samba, and it’s a take so far removed from what I’m used to hearing, I felt it unique enough to warrant a slot in the setlist.
Tune in to Sunday Standards every week for more Scenes from the Saxophone Section.
