Soft Shoulder – Lonnie Hillyer
A lyrical and light medium up swing, perfect for quartet or quintet, with two different arrangements.
- Recording: Charlie Rouse - Soul Mates
- Recorded on: July 7, 1988
- Label: Uptown (UP 27.34)
- Concert Key: G
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Trumpet - Claudio Roditi
- Tenor Sax - Charlie Rouse
- Piano - Walter Davis, Jr.
- Bass - Santi Debriano
- Drums - Victor Lewis
A light, breezy medium swing, Soft Shoulder is sure to appeal to jazz fans of any generation. Its sweet melody and satisfying changes will elicit great solos from all the members of your combo. This composition will work great for any single front line instrument and rhythm section, and it's perfect for a quintet as well.
The audio excerpts for both albums are from Don Sickler quintet arrangements. For the Charlie Rouse recording, the melody starts in octaves and then moves into harmony after four measures. This recording is slightly faster than Sickler's, with a subtly different feel. Drummer Victor Lewis plays "time" through the first measure of the A section around the hits, making the beat smooth in his distinctive style..
The audio excerpts for both albums are from Don Sickler quintet arrangements. For the Charlie Rouse recording, the melody starts in octaves and then moves into harmony after four measures. This recording is slightly faster than Sickler's, with a subtly different feel. Drummer Victor Lewis plays "time" through the first measure of the A section around the hits, making the beat smooth in his distinctive style..
"Soul Mates" was recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs.
Don Sickler: "Trumpeter Lonnie Hillyer was one of Charlie Rouse's favorite trumpet players and a regular member of Rouse's quintet for a period of time. He brought Soft Shoulder into their quintet book. Unfortunately, that quintet never recorded, and Lonnie died in 1985. When I produced this 1988 session, it was natural for me to remind Charlie about the composition; of course, he wanted me to do an arrangement of it. As you listen to the audio excerpt of the Charlie Rouse recording, you'll notice an extra repeating note in the third measure of the A sections: Charlie remembered that was part of Lonnie's original arrangement for him.
"I also recorded Lonnie's Minor Reflections on my 'Reflections' CD."
Don Sickler: "Trumpeter Lonnie Hillyer was one of Charlie Rouse's favorite trumpet players and a regular member of Rouse's quintet for a period of time. He brought Soft Shoulder into their quintet book. Unfortunately, that quintet never recorded, and Lonnie died in 1985. When I produced this 1988 session, it was natural for me to remind Charlie about the composition; of course, he wanted me to do an arrangement of it. As you listen to the audio excerpt of the Charlie Rouse recording, you'll notice an extra repeating note in the third measure of the A sections: Charlie remembered that was part of Lonnie's original arrangement for him.
"I also recorded Lonnie's Minor Reflections on my 'Reflections' CD."
- Recording: Don Sickler - Reflections
- Recorded on: March 28, 2000
- Label: HighNote (7062)
- Concert Key: G
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Trumpet - Don Sickler
- Alto Sax - Bobby Porcelli
- Piano - Ronnie Mathews
- Bass - Peter Washington
- Drums - Kenny Washington
A light, breezy medium swing, Soft Shoulder is sure to appeal to jazz fans of any generation. Its sweet melody and satisfying changes will elicit great solos from all the members of your combo. This composition will work great for any single front line instrument and rhythm section, and it's perfect for a quintet as well.
The audio excerpts for both albums are from Don Sickler quintet arrangements. The main difference between this and the Rouse version is the first four measures of the A section; in this version the melody begins in a call-and-response format between trumpet and alto sax. The melody would be played on alto in the same range as the trumpet, whereas tenor would sound good an octave lower, as heard on Rouse's version. First and second parts are available for this arrangement. Note also how drummer Kenny Washington on this recording plays only the hits on the first measure of the A section, bringing in "time" on the second measure, unlike Victor Lewis on Rouse's recording.
The audio excerpts for both albums are from Don Sickler quintet arrangements. The main difference between this and the Rouse version is the first four measures of the A section; in this version the melody begins in a call-and-response format between trumpet and alto sax. The melody would be played on alto in the same range as the trumpet, whereas tenor would sound good an octave lower, as heard on Rouse's version. First and second parts are available for this arrangement. Note also how drummer Kenny Washington on this recording plays only the hits on the first measure of the A section, bringing in "time" on the second measure, unlike Victor Lewis on Rouse's recording.
"Reflections" was recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs.
Don Sickler: "In early 2000 I produced a tribute to trumpet player/composers from the Second Floor Music catalog. We played at the Jazz Standard night club in NYC for a week, featuring different composers each night. The rhythm section featured Ronnie Mathews on piano, Ron McClure on bass, and Ben Riley on drums. Alto saxophonist Bobby Porcelli joined me on the front line, with guest trumpeters Roy Hargrove and Virgil Jones playing on different nights.
"One night Joe Fields, owner of HighNote Records, was in the audience. He liked the concept so much he invited me to record an album of the music at the Van Gelder Recording Studio. That's how the 'Reflections' CD was started. I also recorded Lonnie's Minor Reflections on that CD."
Don Sickler: "In early 2000 I produced a tribute to trumpet player/composers from the Second Floor Music catalog. We played at the Jazz Standard night club in NYC for a week, featuring different composers each night. The rhythm section featured Ronnie Mathews on piano, Ron McClure on bass, and Ben Riley on drums. Alto saxophonist Bobby Porcelli joined me on the front line, with guest trumpeters Roy Hargrove and Virgil Jones playing on different nights.
"One night Joe Fields, owner of HighNote Records, was in the audience. He liked the concept so much he invited me to record an album of the music at the Van Gelder Recording Studio. That's how the 'Reflections' CD was started. I also recorded Lonnie's Minor Reflections on that CD."
Lonnie Hillyer
March 25, 1940 – July 1, 1985
A fearless soloist armed with a crackling tone and keen melodic invention, Lonnie Hillyer is best known for his work with bassist/band leader Charles Mingus. Lonnie hailed from Detroit and was a teenaged friend of alto saxophonist Charles McPherson; they both studied with bebop maestro Barry Harris. Lonnie played with Yusef Lateef and Joe Henderson before moving to New York in 1961, where he worked and recorded with Harris, Charles Mingus and McPherson, all into the 1970s. Read more...