Billboard : 10/07/1957
Score of 67

Fuller, another Blue Note “discovery,” essays a soft-spoken, Miles Davis approach to the trombone. Style is individual, but hardly dynamic enough here for a market conditioned to the dynamic sounds of such as Kai and J.J.. Prime support solo-wise is from tenorist Hank Mobley and bassist P. Chambers. Both are interesting, but the set won’t be too easy to sell.

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Down Beat : 12/26/1957
Don Gold : 3 stars

This is the first LP as a leader for Fuller, 22-year-old Detroit trombonist. Fuller, one of a number of promising jazzmen from that city, worked with Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, and Pepper Adams in the Motor City. He has recoded with Clifford Jordan, Sonny Clark, and Bud Powell, on other Blue Note LPs, but this is his first opportunity to head his own recording group.

Fuller plays with a tastefully melodic sense in the tradition so well-established by J.J. Johnson. Most of the material contained here is presented simply and directly, with very little embroidery or bizarre wizardry. However, Fuller manifests what seems to me to be an annoyingly limited sense of dynamics that lends a sameness of sound to his performances, regardless of tempo. This tends to make some of his playing a trifle colorless.

Mobley has played with more strength, conceptually speaking, than he does here. Timmons, however, is delicately persuasive, playing with a splendid touch and taste. Chambers solos vividly and joins Taylor in maintaining the virile base of operations.

Fuller’s performance here certainly indicates appreciable potential. He could benefit, however, from listening attentively to the dynamic range achieved by Jack Teagarden or Bill Harris, two trombonists he favors, according to the liner notes. Aside from this, Fuller’s debut as a leader symbolizes for me the importance of the flow of musicians from Detroit. The city is rapidly becoming the training ground for influential jazzmen and more attention should be devoted to the musicians working in that area today.

The excellent cover photo by Francis Wolff is worth seeing. And, of all things, it is a photo of Fuller playing trombone. Blue Note deserves credit for being appropriately obvious.

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Liner Notes by Robert Levin

“Man, that cat can blow!”

The above was Bud Powell‘s happy – rather surprised exclamation, addressed to Alfred Lion, at the completion of a Blue Note recording date. The “cat” he referred to was one Curtis Fuller, a young trombone player – fresh out of Detroit, who had just cut three tunes as a guest star with Bud’s trio. Bud’s surprise was understandable in view of the fact that he had never before seen or heard of Curtis Fuller. It was through the suggestion of Alfred Lion that he had agreed to have Curtis augment his group. There are very few knowing musicians who lack faith in Mr. Lion’s taste and keen recognition of budding talent. Bud, though by no means deeply elated, was no exception. He went into the idea expecting something good – at least an interesting experiment, and came out amazed; all smiles and full of superlatives.

The results of that wonderful session will soon be available on BLP 1571 but, perhaps I am getting a bit ahead of things.

The recorded contained in the sleeve you are now holding constitutes Curtis Fuller’s first LP under his own leadership. As such it is an important record. Herein Curtis displays much more than just potential or “promise.” This album makes it all by itself and when you stop to consider that at the time of its recording Curtis was still in his early twenties, you realize that here is a young man who is going places. Bud Powell is not the only musician to have acknowledged Fuller’s gifts. Miles Davis, J.J. Johnson (the man responsible for pointing Curtis in the direction of the Blue Note offices) and Horace Silver, among many others, have gone out of their way to express themselves in his behalf. These are people not given to impulsive judgement.

It is also significant to note that Curtis placed forth as the “New Star” trombonist in a field of fourteen in the 1957 Down Beat Critics’ Poll. While at first glance this may not seem like a particularly astonishing feat it must be remembered that Curtis has only bee on the big time scene two months and had no real recording exposure to speak of when the votes were cast!

Born in Detroit, Michigan on December 15, 1934, Curtis was first exposed to the world of music in his seventh year when his mother bought him a “school” trombone. He took lessons but discontinued them when his mother died a year later. He was not to pick up the trombone again until the Spring of 1950. He graduated high school in 1950 when he was only sixteen years old and took a course in Sociology at Michigan State Normal. He stayed only for one term.

“I was young and foolish. I just wanted clothes and a car, you know. So I went to work as a clerk in a grocery store. After a while I decided to try and get a job with the Kaiser-Frazer Aircraft plant. You had to be eighteen to be employed there, so I falsified my age and got in.”

Curtis worked there for almost a year and then, ironically, since he had not yet reached eighteen, was drafted.

“Things like that are just part of the dues you have to pay. Anyway, I had the good fortune to have as my Sergeant, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley. He inspired me to go back to the trombone and I played it, along with baritone horn, in army bands. When I got out of the army I went to Detroit University for awhile and then to Wayne University and then I started gigging around Detroit. I played with John Butt’s group that had Kenny Burrell and his brother Bill, who played bass, Tommy Flanagan and Pepper Adams.”

The group broke up with K. Burrell left to join Oscar Peterson but Curtis stayed on in Detroit (until the Spring of 1957 when he came to New York) working at the Blue Bird and Kline’s with Barry Harris and Yusef Lateef.

Upon his arrival in the “Apple” Curtis worked briefly with Miles Davis at the Café Bohemia and then with Dizzy Gillespie‘s big band, Sonny Rollins, the Adderley Brothers, Burrell and Duke Jordan. He also recoded with Cliff Jordan (BLP 1555), pianist Sonny Clark (BLP 1570), as well as Bud Powell.

Curtis lists a variety of trombonist as being influences and favorites; J.J. Johnson and Bob Brookmeyer have made the strongest impression but there are also Bill Harris, Jack Teagarden, Urbie Green, Jimmy Cleveland, Carl Fontana and Kai Winding. As his all-time favorites on other instruments Curtis names Bird, Miles, Diz, Sonny Rollins, Bud, Monk, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown,Art Blakey and Max Roach.

Curtis’ sidemen on this date Hank Mobley, Bobby Timmons, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor need no introduction to followers of the Blue Note scene. Mobley has three of his own albums on Blue Note (BLP 1540, BLP 1544 and BLP 1550) in addition to those with the Jazz Messengers (BLP 1507, BLP 1508 and BLP 1518), Horace Silver (BLP 1539 and BLP 1562) and Lee Morgan (BLP 1541). Timmons can be hears with Kenny Dorham (BLP 1523). Chambers’ own LPs (BLP 1534, BLP 1564 and BLP 1569) are complimented by his dates with Kenny Burrell (BLP 1543 and BLP 1523), Morgan (BLP 1541) and Mobley (BLP 1540). Taylor has sparked the groups of Bud Powell (BLP 1504), Lou Donaldson (BLP 1537 and BLP 1545) and is on the fabulous Art Blakey Orgy In Rhythm sides (BLP 1554 and BLP 1555). At this writing Mobley (who is present on all but the two opening tracks) is a member of the Max Roach Quintet while Chambers and Taylor are both laying down a solid rhythmic foundation in Miles Davis’ unit.

A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening (and we might say that listening to this disc would make a lovely and swinging way to spend at least part of an evening – several times weekly) opens the set. Fuller embraces the pretty ballad with warmth and delicacy. Timmons (quoting Man With A Horn) and Chambers follow through with equally moving and tasteful statements.

Hugore, a blues by Fuller, begins with a unison riff theme that is followed by Mobley’s effective evenly flowing tenor and a meaty, funky stint by Curtis. Timmons and Chambers excel in a similar groove before the horns return to the theme.

Oscar Pettiford’s Oscalypso is the most exciting tune in the set. Curtis and Hank play with the theme (Curtis pointed and gutty; Hank in a lazy, drawling fashion) over Taylor’s crisp cymbal figurations before they go out on their respective excursions. A brief piano bit and then A.T. extends himself proceeding the fade-out close.

Fuller’s sensitive, reverent approach to the melody of a ballad is again shown to fine advantage on the sadly beautiful Here’s To My Lady. His winsome solo is succeeded by a dreamily thoughtful Chambers and an easy, lyrical Timmons.

Lizzy’s Bounce, by Fuller, similar in structure to Hugore only taken at a more spritely tempo and with Curtis at the top of the order gives Curtis, then Hank, Paul and Bobby equal chance to come out and “bounce” a bit. I wonder if “Lizzy” bounces as provocatively – if she does she must be a gas!

George Gershwin’s evergreen, Soon, a happy type song not too often played by modern jazz groups but nevertheless an outstanding vehicle for soloists in a happy mood (in this case Curtis, Hank, Curtis again, Paul and Bobby) provides an excellent close to a decidedly excellent album.

This then is Curtis Fuller’s original LP as a leader. It could quite conceivably stand as a collector’s item in years to come, for Curtis will go far in his chosen profession.