Miami News (Miami, FL)
William G. Moeser : 07/13/1958
3 stars

Brew Moore, a West Coast tenor saxophonist with a floating style reminiscent of Lester Young’s early work, pairs off with a hard-biting tenor man, Harold Wylie, in Brew Moore, (Fantasy, 3264).

The results are quite pleasing as the two horns seem to inspire each other and contrast nicely. The 12-bar theme, Dues Blues, features the vibraphone interpretations of Cal Tjader. Cal blows easy and free behind Brew’s thoughtful horn. A swinger straight from the jump band styling of the early 40s is, Pat’s Batch. John Markham, alumnus of the Barnet and Kenton rocking crews, proves he can complement a small group. These are resourceful, blowing tracks in a reedy vein.

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San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, CA)
C.H. Garrigues : 05/25/1958
The Jazzmen and Brew Moore

If you asked a dozen Bay area jazzmen to name the most accomplished jazz musician in the area it is a good bet that ten would name, not Brubeck or Tjader, but Brew Moore, the tenor man who leads the Sunday afternoon jam sessions at the Tropics and who has just joined the Scotty Lane quartet at the Cabana.

Brew is almost a legend among local jazz people. His was one of the great voices along 52nd Street when jazz was finding its modern form in the 40s but, constitutionally unwilling to travel, he tended to drop more and more out of national attention after coming to San Francisco in the early ’50s. But New York still remembers him and when eastern jazzmen work a San Francisco date they invariably look him up for a chance to sit in with him.

He plays solid modern mainstream jazz (spiced at times with an almost Shavian humor); he can be as lyrical as Getz, as swinging as Young and as rich as Hawkins—but whatever he chooses to be, he remains in control of the musical situation, however it may develop on the stand.

Some of these qualities are revealed in his latest Fantasy LP (entitled just Brew Moore) released last week. On five of the six tracks he appears with Harold Wylie (the tenor now at the Cellar), and with John Markham, drums: John Mosher, bass; John Marabuto piano, and the result is five tracks of solid. substantial modern jazz—not too modern but definitely belonging to the 50s when jazz has found itself musically. The sixth track. Dues Blues, however, completely gassed me. It was one of those recorded at a U. C. concert in which Brew sat in with a Cal Tjader group and on it both Moore and Tjader achieve a lyrical quality which I have never known either of them to equal. It is one of the very few instances I know in which the vibes succeed in subordinating themselves to the voice of the horn and one of the few in which a hornman speaks back with complete authority to a set of vibes. Add some excellent piano by Vince Guaraldi, some good Dean Reilly bass and some very sensitive drumming by Bobby White and you have one of the best tracks of the year.


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Down Beat : 03/05/1959
John A. Tynan : 3 stars

As a general rule, two-tenor albums suffer from a certain monotony-of-tone quality. On this set such is not the case, although there is some similarity in the playing of the two hornmen. What prevents monotony in this case is the relaxed spirit of Moore and Wylie. They achieve a good collective blend and solo in lively and inventive fashion. The missing ingredient, however, that militates against a higher overall rating for the album is, ironically, one of the most pleasant aspects of the playing—relaxation. One is left with the feeling that things were too relaxed, and that there was really nothing to get worked up about.

Dues, a slow blues, has some good vibes work by Tjader and a long, moody Moore solo. The track apparently was inserted to fill out the album; it was recorded at a jazz concert at the University of California. Drummer White’s frequently tasteless playing does nothing to help an otherwise good track.

Nancy, the sole ballad, is sensitively handled by both tenor men. Their duets on the other tracks have a free-and-easy flow with Brew at his best on Pat’s, best of the batch.

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Liner Notes by Ralph J. Gleason

For most of the past two years the best Sunday afternoon sessions in San Francisco have taken place at The Tropics, a corner bar our “in the Avenues” on the way to the Pacific ocean.

Prime feature of these Sunday sessions has been the two tenor team of Brew Moore and Harold Wylie. Any Sunday afternoon you would be likely to find a voting majority of the jazz musicians, traveling and local, who are currently in the Bay Area in attendance paying their homage to Brew and Harold at The Tropics.

The session was held on election day, which in California as in other states, is an unnaturally dry period. However, aided by two cases of ale from a neighboring connection, the session got under way. The three basic elements of this LP are the three basic elements of the Tropics sessions: blues, ballads and swing. The contrasts—and the similarities—in the tenor styles of Brew and Harold make interesting listening, especially on their treatment of the ballad.

Of the tunes, Edison’s Lamp is a product of the pen of John Coppola, stalwart trumpeter with Herman, Kenton, May and many other big bands. It is constructed from a series of quotes from September in the Rain made by Harry Edison on an LP some time ago. Nancy With the Laughing Face is Jimmy Van Heusen and Phil Silvers’ lovely ballad and it is no coincidence that Brew Moore’s wife is named Nancy, too; Rhode Island Red is a tune by pianist John Marabuto, it’s named after a character on the San Francisco children’s tv show, “Fireman Frank” (the youngest member of Marabuto’s family is a steady viewer); it’s supposed “to have a Western flavor,” Marabuto says; Marna Moves is Brew’s own tune for his daughter; Dues Blues is a traditional San Francisco blues number, played by all the bands locally, Pat’s Batch is named for KROW disc jockey Patrick Henry and refers to his growing reputation as a braumeister which may one day overshadow his reputation for segueing records in the same key.

Brew Moore is the doyen of tenor saxophonists in San Francisco and something of a legend among the local jazzmen. This is his second Fantasy LP under his own name and he is also heard on Fantasy 3211 and 3250 with Cal Tjader. A native of Mississippi, Brew has played with most of the great names of modern jazz in New York and elsewhere before settling in San Francisco early in the 1950s. Since then he has led his own group, as well as appearing as featured soloist at The Black Hawk, The Cellar and the Jazz Workshop.

Harold Wylie is 27, a native of San Francisco and the only musician in his family. He first studied the saxophone and clarinet in high school and has played with Woody Herman as well as with numerous local combos. In an unusually penetrating insight into the psychology of jazzmen, Wylie says, “The main reason I play is because I have to play and that’s as much as I can understand about it.” Harold Wylie is another one of San Francisco’s jazz and yachting enthusiasts. He spends every possible moment aboard his 23-foot sloop called “Ool-ya-koo.”

John Markham (one of the three John M’s on the date, Brew points out) has held down the drum chair with such bands as Charlie Barnet and Stan Kenton and in recent years has been the house drummer at KGO-TV in San Francisco. A superlative big band drummer, he functions equally as well in a small group and his drumming has been an integral part of the Sunday sessions at the Tropics for some time.

John Marabuto is a composer as well as a pianist. A native of Oakland, he has worked locally with almost all the good jazz groups including Brew’s own group, and like Markham, Wylie and Mosher, is a sometime player with the Rudy Salvini big band. His favorite pianist at the moment is Hank Jones and John supplements his professional piano playing with daytime gigs as a piano tuner.

John Mosher is a native of Sioux Ciey where his father was a bandleader in vaudeville days. He came to the Pacific Coast after service in the Army and has worked with Jerry Gray, and Les Brown. He settled in San Francisco early in 1957 and since then has been reconized as one of the best bass players in town. He is currently working with the Griller String Quartet in a series of concerts on the educational tv station, KQED, in which the Quartet is enlarged for some unusual string and woodwinds performances. A most versatile musician, he has doubled between the Hangover (as a substitute in Earl Hines” band), and the Ballet Russe as well as modern jazz playing. He intends eventually to devote himself to classical music.

One track, Dues Blues, was taken from a concert at the University of California given by Cal Tjader and featuring Brew Moore. Accompanying Brew and Cal on this track are Vince Guaraldi, Fantasy recording artist and regular pianist with the Tjader group; Dean Reilly, who has appeared as bassist on numerous Fantasy LPs, trombonist Bob Collins, also featured on Fantasy LP 3244, and drummer Bobby White, formerly with Vido Musso and Buddy DeFranco.