Johnny Hodges

THE JOHNNY HODGES/ WILD BILL DAVIS PROJECT - VOL.3

INCLUDES THE RECORDINGS IN WHICH GUITARIST KENNY BURRELL PLAYED WITH WILD BILL AND JOHNNY HODES: the complete LP "Mess of Blues" and three tracks from the LP "Blue Rabbit". As a bonus, this CD contains the complete 1966 Johnny Hodges/Earl Hines LP "Stride Right", also featuring Kenny Burrell.

Personnel: JOHNNY HODGES (alto sax), WILD BILL DAVIS (organ), KENNY BURRELL (guitar) on all tracks except where otherwise indicated, with:

#1-7: "MESS OF BLUES": Joe Wilder (tp), Osie Johnson & Ed Shaughnessy (d). Recorded in New York, Sept 3 & 4, 1963.

#8-10: Taken from "BLUE RABBIT": Ray Jackson (organ) replaces Wild Bill Davis, Jack Lesberg (b on #8 & 9), Wendell Marshall (b on 10), Bobby Donaldson (d). Recorded in New York, May 15 (#8 & 9) & May 17 (#10), 1963.

#11-19: "STRIDE RIGHT": Wild Bill Davis out. Earl Hines (organ and piano), Richard Davis (b), Joe Marshall (d). Recorded in New Jersey, January 14, 1966.

Tracks: 1. Jones, 2. I Cried For You, 3. Love You Madly, 4. Little John, Little John, 5. Stolen Sweets, 6. A & R Blues, 7. Lost In Meditation, 8. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart, 9. Tangerine, 10. Creole Love Call, 11. Caution Blues (Blues In Thirds)*, 12. Stride Right*, 13. Rosetta*, 14. Perdido*, 15. Fantastic, That's You*, 16. Tale Of The Fox*, 17. I'm Beginning To See Th e Light*, 18. C Jam Blues*, 19. Tippin' In*. (* Bonus Tracks).
Total time: 74:26 mins.

THE JOHNNY HODGES/WILD BILL DAVIS PROJECT AN OUTSTANDING 4 VOLUME (5 CD) PROJECT INCLUDING ALL OF HODGES AND DAVIS' SMALL-GROUP COLLABORATIONS! MOST OF THIS MATERIAL APPEARS HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER SINCE THE ORIGINAL LP ISSUES! EACH RELEASE INCLUDES A DETAILED 16 TO 24-PAGE BOOKLET, WITH PHOTOS AND COMPLETE INFORMATION!

This special one-off project contains 10 complete original albums, spread over 5 CDs (three single CDs and one double CD set): "Blue Hodge" (1961), "Mess Of Blues" (1963), "Blue Rabbit" (1964), "Joe's Blues" (1965), "Wings And Th ings" (1965), "Con-Soul & Sax" (1965), "Blue Pyramid" (1965), "In Atlantic City" (1966). Two of these ten albums are included as a bonus: two complete 1966 Johnny Hodges' albums (without Wild Bill Davis): "Blue Notes" & "Stride Right" (the latter with Earl Hines) and also four tracks featuring Johnny Hodges and Wild Bill Davis from the rare 1963 big band album "Sandy's Gone". Celebrated jazzmen with deep blues roots, Johnny Hodges (1906-1970) and Wild Bill Davis (1918-1995) formed a prolific musical team with exquisite chemistry that was apparent from their first recording together (the 1961 album Blue Hodge) and would continue for nearly a decade. Hodges and Davis recorded a total of eight albums as co-leaders. The majority of these recordings, however, remained lost in obscurity after their original release and, with a few exceptions, have never been released on CD until now. All of these LPs are presented in their entirety on this project, which also includes numerous bonus tracks!

THE COMPLETE SMALL GROUP RECORDINGS OF A SPLENDID BLUES TEAM. Celebrated jazz musicians with deep blues roots, Johnny Hodges (1906-1970) and Wild Bill Davis (1918-1995) formed a prolific musical team with exquisite chemistry that was apparent from their first recording together (the 1961 album Blue Hodge) and would continue for nearly a decade.
Apart from making various albums as co-leaders with small groups, they were both members of Duke Ellington's orchestra (Hodges was, of course, an Ellington veteran) in the late Sixties, with whom they toured Europe in 1969. Will Bill was even present of the April 27, 1970 New York session (issued on the Ellington album New Orleans Suite), which turned out to be Johnny's last session ever: he died of a heart attack on May 11, 1970, while at his dentist's office.

Hodges and Davis recorded a total of eight albums as co-leaders. A few numbers from some of these sessions (mostly ballads where a piano was better suited than the organ) featured pianist Hank Jones replacing Will Bill Davis. Their albums were met with great success and constitute a solid body of recordings, which combined standard songs and Ellington-related tunes with highly-spirited blues, mostly composed by Hodges and Davis.

The majority of these recordings, however, remained lost in obscurity after their original release and, with a few exceptions, have never been released on CD until now.

Chronologically, their collective albums are as follows:
1. Blue Hodge (1961)
2. Mess Of Blues (1963)
3. Blue Rabbit (1964)
4. Joe's Blues (1965)
5. Wings And Th ings (1965)
6. Con-Soul & Sax (1965)
7. Blue Pyramid (1965)
8. In Atlantic City (1966)

All of these LPs are presented in their entirety in this project, which also includes numerous bonus tracks! Although this four-volume set includes all of their collective albums, the producers decided not to issue them in chronological order. Instead, the original LPs were grouped according to diverse musical criteria:

Vol. 1, the only 2-CD set of the series, comprises the only two albums in which Will Bill Davis was the primary session leader, and in which his name preceded that of Hodges in the original cover art, plus Blue Pyramid.

Vol. 2, includes the two albums in which guitarist Grant Green plays with the two masters.

Vol. 3, includes the recording in which guitarist Kenny Burrell played with Hodges and Davis, plus three tracks from the Blue Rabbit LP.

THE BONUS TRACKS: Hodges and Davis also participated on a ninth project, a Claus Ogerman big band LP titled Sandy's Gone fronted by Hodges. This project includes the four tracks which also feature Will Bill Davis, as a bonus at the end of Vol 1. The only other known recordings by Hodges and Davis together were as members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

ADDITIONAL CONTENT: To fill up the discs in the project, the producers have also included two complete Johnny Hodges albums (without Wild Bill Davis) from the same period: Blue Notes (1966) and Stride Right (1966).