A contemporary of Dizzy Gillespie, Howard McGhee (1918-1987) left an indelible mark on the history of modern jazz as it developed in the 1940s. He was the first important post-swing-style (i.e., bebop) trumpeter after Gillespie himself. Despite the fact that in 1949 he had won first place in the trumpet category of the Down Beat Readers Poll, he fell into a decline that kept him in almost total obscurity through the 1950s. It was a period that was probably necessary for McGhee to achieve real musical maturity.
Then in 1959, in a remarkable comeback, he began an extended stay with James Moodys band, and in the next two years recorded, as leader, the three albums included here, one for Bethlehem and the other two for Contemporary. They proved he had paid his dues and learned well. The frenzy of old was muted and his most precious giftmelodic originalitywas brought to the fore.
McGhee said I need for people to know me again. Now Im nearer to my horn than I ever was before. The passage of time has somewhat dimmed the luster of his name, but his vital, imaginative work on these dates is that of a truly great player, not an obscure talent deserving of wider recognition.
01. Demon Chase
02. Willow, Weep for Me
03. Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise
04. Sunset Eyes
05. Maggies Back in Town
06. Summertime
07. Brownie Speaks
08. Together Again
09. You Stepped Out of a Dream
10. Up There
01. Perhaps
02. Misty
03. Sandy
04. Dusty Blue
05. The Sound of Music
06. I Concentrate on You
07. Sleep Talk
08. Park Avenue Petite
09. Flying Colors
10. With Malice Towards None
11. Groovin High
12. A Cottage for Sale
