René Thomas with Eddie Louiss and Kenny Clarke

Another great find, René playing his composition Meeting with some wonderful drumming from the great Kenny Clarke and great, single chorus of fours traded between all three. The band is on fire - about half way through traces of smoke appear from nowhere . . .

René Thomas - guitar
Eddie Louiss - organ
Kenny Clarke - drums

Blues in the Closet: Treatment of the Blues

Two versions of Oscar's Pettiford's Blues in the Closet. Jim Hall is not really know for his blues playing. On this version he never moves that far away from the tune but takes a few tips from his ex boss, Sonny Rollins, and deconstructs it in various interesting ways. It's Jim at his best - spontaneous, thoughtful and witty. Attila Zoller, not exactly a conventional player himself, also plays with a lot of freedom, spinning some really interesting, swinging, bluesy lines lines. I'm impressed that both players can play so freely in front of TV cameras, but then they have a wonderful rhythm section to support them - Red Mitchell on bass and a very familiar-looking drummer (Daniel Humair I think). If only there was a jazz version of Later with Jools Holland . . .



I like the Bud version of the tune too. It's played quite slowly but is beautifully ornamented and quite Monk-ish in places.