Cool Colors and Chamber Winds
Chico Hamilton's cello-led quintet gives way here to Paul Horn's woodwinds, turning a cool-jazz workshop into something quietly unusual.
The ideas on this record start with Paul Horn. He is the musician who gives this session its character, and the sound of the album is largely the sound of his reed and flute work sitting against Chico Hamilton's drums and the unusual textures Hamilton kept returning to in the 1950s. Hamilton had built his reputation as a bandleader by refusing the standard jazz horn-section lineup, and a band that places woodwinds and light, conversational timbres at the front fits that restlessness well.
What you hear is cool jazz in the loose, chamber-minded sense rather than the hard-swinging sort. Hamilton keeps the pulse light and lets the lines breathe, so the arrangements feel more like a small ensemble weighing options than a band driving toward a solo. Horn moves easily between instruments, and that flexibility is the reason the record holds together. Where a conventional quintet would lean on a piano and a brass front line, here the colors shift from track to track, and the rhythm section stays flexible enough to follow them.
The album is worth a listen for anyone curious about how Hamilton worked outside the mainstream, though it is not the place most listeners should start. His earlier work with the cello quintet and his later fusion-leaning groups are more representative of his range. This session is for listeners who already know his style and want to hear one of its more exploratory variations, with Horn's playing as the main reason to return to it.
Who's playing
George Duvivierbass
Carson Smithbass
Marty Bermanbassoon
Jim Hallguitar
Howard Robertsguitar
John Pisanoguitar
Herbie Harpertrombone
Joe Howardtrombone
Dick Noeltrombone
Harry Kleeflute
Chico Hamiltondrums
Paul Hornwoodwind
Fred Katzcello
Julie Jacobsoboe
Wilbur Schwartzclarinet
Where next?
More by Chico Hamilton
All 30 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
