Vibist Lem Winchester (1928-1961) seemed well on the way to a promising jazz career when he made these two straight-ahead, bop-flavoured albums in 1959-60 with some of the leading lights in the music at the time. Influenced by Milt Jackson, he was also evolving his own sound and approach to the instrument.
That much is evident in his playing on the first, Winchester Special, with Benny Golson in fine form on tenor and an excellent rhythm section in pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Wendell Marshall and drummer Art Taylor. For Another Opus, arguably his best recorded album, Winchester was teamed with flautist and tenor saxophonist Frank Wess and the delectable piano of Hank Jones in a rhythm section completed by bassist Eddie Jones and drummer Osie Johnson. The vibist is particularly inventive on Like Someone In Love, responds imaginatively to Oliver Nelsons The Meetin and plays with spirit and warmth on his own originals. But the end was nigh; an accident with a revolver wrote the final chapter on January 13, 1961.
Tracklisting:
01. Down Fuzz (Lem Winchester) 10:02
02. If I Were a Bell (Frank Loesser) 4:02
03. Will You Still Be Mine (Matt Dennis) 7:00
04. Mysticism (Len Foster) 7:31
05. How Are Things in Glocca Morra? (Burton-Lane-Harburg) 4:11
06. The Dude (Lem Winchester) 6:42
07. Another Opus (Lem Winchester) 6:31
08. Blues Prayer (Lem Winchester) 10:37
09. The Meetin (Oliver Nelson) 5:48
10. Like Someone In Love (Burke-Van Heusen) 6:30
11. Both Barrels (Lem Winchester) 4:56
Sources:
Tracks #1-6, from the 12-inch album
Winchester Special (New Jazz 8223)
Tracks #7-11, from the 12-inch album
Another Opus (Prestige/New Jazz 8244)
Personnel on #1-6:
Benny Golson, tenor sax except on #6; Lem Winchester, vibes; Tommy Flanagan, piano; Wendell Marshall, bass; and Arthur Taylor, drums.
Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on September 25, 1959
Personnel on #7-11:
Frank Wess, flute, tenor sax; Lem Winchester, vibes; Hank Jones, piano; Eddie Jones, bass; and Gus Johnson, drums.
Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on June 4, 1960
Original recordings supervised by Esmond Edwards
This CD compilation produced by Jordi Pujol
Stereo · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered
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