Gene Ammons - 'Boss Tenor'

Eugene "Jug" Ammons, also known as "The Boss" (decades before Mr. Springsteen), was a jazz tenor saxophonist.  His accessible style, deeply rooted in soul, R&B, and characterized by his powerful sound and blues-infused, soulful improvisations, made him a prominent figure on the jazz scene.  Gene was the son of the renowned boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, whom I will feature in a future post.

Gene infused his playing with influences from Lester Young and Ben Webster.  These artists had significantly elevated the expressiveness of the tenor saxophone.  Gene, alongside Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt, seamlessly integrated their innovations with the emerging vernacular of bebop.  The musical complexity and rhythmic variety of Charlie Parker are evident in Gene's playing.  While proficient in the technical aspects of bebop, particularly its fondness for harmonic modifications, Gene, unlike Lester Young, Ben Webster, or Charlie Parker, maintained a strong connection with the commercial blues and R&B of the day. 

Stanley Turrentine, Houston Person and Archie Shepp were all influenced by Gene's style, and wide range of textures on the saxophone.

The "Soul Jazz" movement of the mid-1950s, which frequently employed the combination of tenor saxophone and Hammond B3 electric organ, recognized him as a founding member.

Gene had little interest in playing the modal jazz of John Coltrane, Joe Henderson, or Wayne Shorter that was simultaneously gaining prominence.

During the 1950s, Gene recorded primarily jam session albums for Prestige Records.  In June 1960, the label’s founder and producer, Bob Weinstock, decided to record him on a more relaxed LP with just a rhythm section accompanying him. This resulted in one of Gene’s most acclaimed albums: 'Boss Tenor'.

The name of the album says it all

'Boss Tenor' was recorded on June 16, 1960, at Rudy Van Gelder's Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (where else?), and released the same year on the Prestige label.

Along with Gene's tenor sax, this album has a great cast of players: Tommy Flanagan on piano, Doug Watkins on double bass, Art Taylor on drums and Ray Barretto on congas.  Gene and company breeze through seven selections, two of them Gene Ammons originals, "Hittin' the Jug" and "Blue Ammons".  Gene's cover of "Canadian Sunset" was a jazz hit on urban jukeboxes.

The overall feel of the album is very easygoing and very much focused on Gene's tenor with its "bossy sound" on ballads, blues, and uptempo tunes.  Gene's tone completely fills the space, as he confidently zigzags around a song, laying down long fluid lines of improvisation.

This is a classic, amongst classics.

The freeload is a 1997 20 Bit remastered reissue on the JVC label, from their XRCD (Extended Resolution Compact Disc) series.

For the freeload, what's your favorite nickname, given to a musician?