Billboard : 09/11/1965
Four Stars

The four-star rating is awarded new albums with sufficient commercial potential in their respective categories to merit being stocked by most dealers, one-stops and rack jobbers handling that category.

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Asbury Park Press
Don Lass : 08/28/1965

Two new albums feature the artistry of John Cornelius Hodges, to many the greatest of all alto saxophonists in jazz and certainly one of the most distinguished jazz musicians of all time. For years Hodges has graced the Duke Ellington sax section, with brief interruptions during the 1950s to lead his own group. His finest work, however, has always come on small group dates, usually featuring musicians from the Ellington band. And for the past couple of years he has been heard repeatedly in the company of veteran organ player “Wild Bill” Davis. The newest Hodges works have him first in a medium-sized band led by Ellington trombonist Lawrence Brown (Inspired Abandon – Impulse! 89) and with Davis and a rhythm section (Con-Soul and Sax RCA Victor 3393). Both recordings are excellent, with the edge going to the Impulse! album.

The Brown-Hodges LP has the two stylists with two trumpets, two trombones, five reeds, and rhythm, an instrumentation that moves away from the Ellington ensemble sound (note the absence of a baritone saxophone) and comes closer to the approach Hodges used with his own group a decade ago. The two leaders are in fine form throughout. Both favor the graceful, easy-going approach to melody, which distinguishes their sound from the coarse, hard sound of most modernists. Brown’s most eloquent comment comes on Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me, but he proves he can swing with abandon on Stompy Jones and Little Brother. Hodges displays his long, flowing lines best on Mood Indigo and pulls out all the stops on Jones and the rocking Ruint. Harold Ashby, a tenor saxophonist with a deep-throated Ben Webster-like tone, acquits himself well on Jones while trumpeter Ray Nance, clarinetists Russell Procope and Jimmy Hamilton, and tenor man Paul Gonsalves have some stirring things to say on the other tracks. Bass player Richard Davis, who is becoming one of the best, is impressive throughout while drummer Gus Johnson handles the drumming chores on all but Indigo and Brother, which feature Johnny Hodges Jr. Another highlight of the LP is Good Queen Bess, first recorded by Hodges in November 1940 with Ellington and a small group. The new version outdoes the original.

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San Francisco Chronicle
Ralph J. Gleason : 08/22/1965

Lawrence Brown, the trombonist with the Duke Ellington orchestra, has one of the most majestic styles in jazz playing, a great, triumphal lyricism that, when he swings in a certain way, is like a parade grand marshal in striding style. His new LP, Inspired Abandon (Impulse A-89), offers him in eight numbers accompanied by fellow Ellingtonians Ray Nance, Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Cat Anderson, Paul Gonsalves, and Buster Cooper, plus the services, now and then, of Gus Johnson, Harold Ashby, Jimmy Jones, Richard Davis and Johnny “Brother” Hodges.

The music is glorious, replete with moving solos by all the players featured and including some highly interesting versions of various numbers from ‘Histoire d’Ellington’, such as Stompy Jones, Mood
Indigo, Good Queen Bess, Jeep’s Blues and Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me.

I am always absolutely fascinated by the treatment of certain standard Ellington numbers when the players work outside the direct supervision of The Master, though Lord knows they are NEVER outside his influence. Stanley Dance, whose contribution to the documentation of Ellingtonia is invaluable, contributes an enlightening editorial comment.

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San Francisco Examiner
Philip F. Elwood : 08/22/1965

The impressive recording techniques of the Impulse company, best in the business, brilliantly display many of The Duke‘s men on Inspired Abandon, by Lawrence Brown’s All Stars. Seven current Ellington card carriers are joined by four fellow travelers. Hodges jumps and leaps all the way, particularly noteworthy are his efforts on Good Queen Bess, Ruint, and Jeeps Blues. Bassist Richard Davis is magnificently captured by the mikes, demonstrating great imagination especially behind Brown‘s trombone on Mood Indigo and Harold Ashby‘s tenor sax on Stompy Jones.

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Down Beat : 09/23/1965
Dan Morgenstern : 4 stars

This is Brown‘s second LP. The first, issued in the mid-50s, was a bona fide showcase for his sonorous and lyrical trombone, but on this one he is hardly more than a featured soloist, one among many.

Only on Do Nothing, his standard feature with the Duke Ellington Band, is Brown truly showcased, and he comes off with flying colors. A broadly romantic player with a huge, vibrato-laden sound, he wraps up this old favorite in virtuoso style. The introduction, invented in the studio, would make a fine verse for the tune.

Brown also gets a chance to shine on Jeep’s, this version following the original Hodges Vocalion recording, and on Sassy, a blues with a more than passing resemblance to the first strain of Creole Love Call. Brown’s swooping phrases and occasional touches of bombastic humor are in evidence here, as is his beautiful tone and execution. On Indigo he uses a plunger mute, sounding at times like his old section mate, Tricky Sam Nanton.

Altoist Hodges is brilliant on Indigo; he also contributes the bulk of the remaining solo work.

Gonsalves has just one solo appearance – a brief bit on Brother, a take-your-turn blues.

Ashby, a Ben Webster disciple, is particularly close to the master on Jones, where his entrance is especially Webster-like But Ashby is not merely an imitator – he plays with his own brand of warmth and conviction.

Anderson may surprise those familiar with only his high-note work with his delightful plunger solo on Bess, a Hodges original, vintage 1940, and well deserving of resurrection.

Nance is soulful on Indigo, strong and bluesy on Brother, and note-for-note Cootie Williams on Jones, a brightly swinging track. (That this splendid trumpeter, violinist, singer, and showman has never made an LP of his own is one of the supreme ironies of the record business.)

Hamilton sounds like Benny Goodman, his early model, on Jones. Procope takes the clarinet solo on Jeep’s in his best Barney Bigard manner. If any clarinetist has a warmer sound than Procope, I haven’t heard him.

Cooper, a gifted young trombonist with a big sound and explosive manner, is heard briefly on three tracks, but Davis‘ bass outbalances him on two of these outings.

The engineering, in general, is less than felicitous. On the monoaural version, the balance is poor on several tracks. In some instances, an echo was used. These musicians are masters of sound, and know instinctively how to get a perfect blend and balance. Itchy fingers in the control room should be discouraged; the majestic sound of a Hodges needs no gimmickry.

The album’s title is hyperbole. The supreme relaxation and control of men like Hodges and Brown is not “abandon,” nor did any of the players seem unusually inspired. Rather, the music is the product of complete professionalism – a gathering of old friends in the spirit of easygoing musical companionship. The potential could have been better realized, perhaps; nonetheless, this is an example of superior music-making in the grand and continuing tradition of Ellingtonia.

In terms of the generations that have passed through this Ducal school, it is of interest to note that Hodges’ teenaged drummer son makes his recording debut on two of the tracks. He acquits himself well. The other drummer, Johnson, is one of the very best, while bassist Davis, over-recorded as he is, adds plenty of spirit. Glimpses’ of Jones’ piano make one wish for more frequent opportunities to hear this remarkable and original player.

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Liner Notes by Stanley Dance

“Inspired abandon” may seem like a contradiction in terms, for inspiration is the result of a “Divine, elevating or exciting influence,” while abandon usually implies “freedom from conventional restraints” and a “surrender to natural impulses.” Yet in the very first track, the prominently recorded bass of Richard Davis is an example of an exciting influence which ultimately led to a shedding of conventional restraints and a willing surrender to natural impulses!

The group, under Lawrence Brown‘s leadership, is Ellingtonian in character, but it differs in its instrumentation from others previously recorded. Two trumpets, two trombones – that’s unusual. Five reeds, but no baritone, is even more so. Harold Ashby, who moves into the sax section on tenor, is what might be called in sporting parlance an Ellington reserve, since he often works in the bands assembled by Mercer Ellington. The rhythm is even more surprising. True, Jimmy Jones is by now an accredited Ellingtonian, but Gus Johnson, from Tyler, Texas, brings to the section a drumming style developed in such Kansas City big bands as Jay McShann‘s and Count Basie‘s and Chicagoan Richard Davis gives a warm, velvety foundation to the slow numbers and a tremendously buoyant pulse to those faster tempos. The kind of well-being he radiates, musically and physically, is communicated to everyone in the studio, and he audibly responds to the band’s enjoyment of his playing.

The opener, Stompy Jones, was first recorded in 1934 by the full Ellington orchestra of that time, in which Lawrence Brown was then as now on of the major soloists. The present version discards some of the ensemble discipline of the original and relies more on its soloists for effect. There was a minor dispute in the studio about the tempo. “Let me start this off,” Ray Nance eventually requested. Having done so, he turned to Lawrence Brown and Johnny Hodges at the take’s conclusion and asked, “You want it more relaxed?” No one did. Ray and Cat Anderson use cup mutes behind the solos by Jimmy Hamilton and Johnny Hodges, Ray intervening with an open chorus in which Cat answers him through a Harmon mute. The succeeding soloists are Lawrence Brown, Harold Ashby (a swinging protégé of whom Ben Webster is justly proud), Buster Cooper (in the role of admiring accompanist to Richard Davis), and Jimmy Hamilton again. Then Lawrence Brown returns to take it out over an ensemble that was ready to roll all night – until control signaled a fade.

There are only four horns on Mood Indigo, the now-classic trio being played by Hodges, Brown and Procope (clarinet). It is very interesting to hear the freshness of the solo statements by musicians who have literally played the number thousands of times. Hodges’ phrasing indicates an area in which he influenced Ben Webster; Brown, with his plunger, sounds a melancholy, mock-dramatic note; and for Ray Nance, as the trio returns, this is a perfect vehicle for the meditative soulfulness he is capable of on cornet. Jimmy Jones makes a highly appropriate contribution at the piano, and the drummer on this, please note, is Johnny Hodges’ son, Brother, a self-possessed young man who has on occasion taken over the drum chair in the Duke Ellington orchestra.

Good Queen Bess, clearly a Renaissance figure like Christopher Columbus, was originally recorded by Johnny Hodges in 1940. The performance has a groovy tempo and very satisfying plunger trumpet by Cat Anderson, whom it is refreshing to hear in this kind of improvisation. Hodges, Brown and Hamilton take care of the other solo responsibilities, the alto saxophonist bearing down with some vehemence in his last eight bars.

Little Brother is the second number on which Brother Hodges is heard at the drums. A catchy blues composed by his parents, this gets a strongly swinging workout in which the solo sequence is as follows: Ashby, Cooper, Nance, Gonsalves, Hodges, Brown and Anderson, the last riding high over the final ensemble. Jones and Davis are a very effective duo on this. Answering a question about his son’s nickname, Johnny Hodges said, “My mother used to call me ‘Brother’, too.”

Jeep’s Blues, a 1938 collaboration by Hodges and Ellington, was another number well worth reviving. Soloists for this version are Jones, Cooper, Procope (clarinet), Brown, Hodges and, in the last chorus, Nance with plunger.

Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me was originally conceived as a concerto for Cootie Williams, but in the course of time it has become a romantic vehicle for Lawrence Brown. He devised a new introduction in the studio, and he brings the solo to an exultantly confident conclusion. His range, control and flair for dynamics are all in evidence here.

Ruint was originally arranged for Mercer Ellington’s band by the late Andy Gibson, who subsequently drew upon it for his own number, Blueprint. Tom Whaley, the pianist and composer, sometimes obligingly beat off the time with a rule on this date (“Like Stokowski,” Johnny Hodges observed), and he had definite ideas about how this blues could be played. “Was that dirty enough?” Cat Anderson asked him after the first take. “No, it should have been more funky,” was the reply. The soloists heard over the insistent shuffle rhythm are Brown, Nance, Hodges (three choruses), Hamilton and, again, Brown.

Last, but far from least, is Sassy Cue. The number was given its title in the studio by Johnny Hodges, probably without the consent of the co-composer, his wife. The performance opens with Anderson and Nance using plunger mutes to answer submissively the joint demands of Hodges and Procope (clarinet). Brown and Hodges are more lyrically explanatory in their well constructed choruses.

To return to the subject of inspired abandon, it should be explained that two of the numbers in this album were made after the arrival in the studio of a dozen fifths of fine scotch whisky, the gift of Miss Ella Fitzgerald, whose accompanying note expressed appreciation of “a memorable evening.” (She had appeared with the Ellington band on Ed Sullivan’s show the night before.) Since the recordings are not programmed here in the order in which they were made, the question may arise: Which two titles? It is left unanswered, because many listeners will derive pleasure from deciding for themselves in which two the spirit of the highlands makes itself felt.