Nelson's Blues Without the Leader
Oliver Nelson arranged every note but stepped back from his saxophone, letting others carry the weight.
Oliver Nelson brought together Thad Jones, Daniel Moore, Pepper Adams, Phil Bodner, Roger Kellaway, Richard Davis, and Grady Tate to cut More Blues and the Abstract Truth in 1964, three years after the original set that bore his name. Nelson wrote three of the eight originals and arranged everything, but his absence from the horn section is the album's defining tension. He chose not to play, and it shows — not as a lack, exactly, but as a strategic emptiness that lets the other voices breathe and compete without his voice mediating.
The album leans harder into blues than its predecessor, with pieces that feel less composed and more like vehicles for the players to stretch. Jones and Moore trade lines over Kellaway's piano, while Adams pushes through with his characteristic heft. Davis and Tate keep everything grounded and swinging. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow gave it four stars but noted the absence stung — without Nelson's tenor anchoring the charts, the date loses some of its cohesion, some of its purpose.
It's a competent, mostly engaging session that doesn't quite justify stepping away from the bandstand. The blues pieces have meat on them, and the soloists are in good form, but the album never escapes the shadow of what it isn't. Better as a footnote to Nelson's larger work than a destination in itself, though worth hearing if you already know the original and want to see how the idea landed when Nelson moved to the background.
Who's playing
Richard Davisdouble bass
Roger Kellawaypiano
Pepper Adamsbaritone saxophone
Phil Bodnercor anglais, tenor saxophone
Phil Woodsalto saxophone
Ben Webstertenor saxophone
Thad Jonestrumpet
Daniel Mooretrumpet
Grady Tatedrums
Where next?
More by Oliver Nelson
The Blues and the Abstract Truth 1961
Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle 1966
Skull Session 1975
Taking Care of Business 1960
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
