Record of the Day: Paul Gonsalves, “Tell It the Way It Is!”

Paul Gonsalves
“Tell It the Way It Is!” (Impulse CD 547960-2)

One of the cornerstones of Duke Ellington’s orchestra, in which he played for twenty-four years producing memorable performances (one for all the famous solo in “Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue” at the Newport Festival in 1956), Paul Gonsalves was one one of the greatest tenor players in the history of jazz, a man with a difficult character and complicated by excess alcohol and narcotics (he often fell asleep during performances due to these excesses, only to wake up when it was time to play) but a solid musician and always reliable for Duke, who dedicated a lot of space to him at each performance

for solo performances. Of course Newport forever remained the pinnacle of his career but there are many recordings that testify to his supreme melodic taste, his sound rich in warmth, his perfect phrasing and perfectly complementary to the other great voice of the Ellingtonian orchestra, Johnny Hodges.

This CD brings together two albums made by Gonsalves in 1963; the first, “Tell It the Way It Is!”, sees him surrounded by his people
orchestra mates such as Hodges (also arranger of some songs) and Ray Nance, together with names of proven professionalism such as Walter Bishop jr on piano and Osie Johnson on drums. It’s a fresh, hassle-free session, made up of catchy tunes (paying homage to their boss in “Duke’s Place” and “Things ain’t What They Used to Be”) that flow with ease, giving each participant a chance to shine. their instrumental skill, with pleasant and captivating results.

The other album is an authentic rarity forgotten for years, “Cleopatra-Feelin’ Jazzy”, which sees Gonsalves dusting off themes taken from the soundtrack of the blockbuster film starring Elizabeth Taylor in a jazz key. The melodies with which Gonsalves and his colleagues (a supergroup including luxury names: Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones, George Duvivier and Roy Haynes) are certainly not compositional masterpieces, the border of kitsch is crossed often and willingly, but our guys really manage to draw blood from the turnip through swinging and relaxed performances that quickly make you forget
the poverty of the original material by shining the light on the ability of these musicians, capable of creating excellent jazz from anything.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.