Billboard : 02/23/1957
Score of 81

Of the jazz sets out by Capitol in the last few years by small modern groups, the only real standouts have been Chaloff‘s first, Boston Blowup and this one. The incomparable baritone saxophonist represents Bird Parker‘s idiom on the big horn, blowing with light-footed grace and deepdown funky wailing. This is a happy, fresh, spontaneous jam-fest that swings mightily from start to finish. Three more magnificent moderns help out – Leroy Vinnegar, bass; Philly Joe Jones, drums; Sonny Clark, piano. Chaloff’s long absence from the scene may necessitate a new introduction to much of the public, but put the needle down anywhere on this disk and there’s a good chance you’ll sell it.

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Washington Post
Paul Sampson : 04/21/1957

Capitol Records shows encouraging signs of leaving the jazz doldrums it entered after the unlamented demise of its Kenton Presents series. The label always has had consistently superior sound, and first-rate music is coupled with it on several new LPs.

The often-erratic Serge Chaloff is in top form on Blue Serge, and receives superb rhythmic support from Sonny Clark, Leroy Vinnegar and Philly Joe Jones. Chaloff deftly explores a number of moods, drawing a variety of sounds from his baritone sax. Among the best performances are the intimate Stairway to the Stars, the lightly swinging All the Things You Are and the swift The Goof and I. Highly recommended.

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Down Beat : 03/21/1957
Nat Hentoff : 4 stars

Recorded in Hollywood, March, 1956, the session, as described by Chaloff in the notes, was intended as an easygoing, blowing date: “I picked out what I felt was the best rhythm section around and just told them when to show up… no rehearsals… no tunes set… and trusted to luck and good musicianship. I think it paid off.” This listener agrees.

Judging from his work here, Chaloff continues to be one of the key modern jazz baritone saxists when he is at his best. He has evident technical command of the instrument; he swings authoritatively; his conception is robust, and even while being softly tender on a ballad, he also projects a large shouting emotional reservoir. Fortunately each track is long enough for stretching out.

The rhythm section is one of the best on recent records, pulsating securely and with an integrated flow. Note Philly Joe‘s sensitivity and taste in this kind of framework. Valuable solos by Clark and Vinnegar. I think another horn, a brass instrument, could have made this go all the way. In any case, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable achievement, and indicates again how important a force Serge can be in jazz. The cover, by the way, is ridiculous.

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Liner Notes by Serge Chaloff & Unknown

Blue Serge is custom-tailored by Chaloff with modern style and an informal cut. Serge fashions sound patterns both subdued and vivid, blowing freely with an exciting trio of top rhythm craftsmen.

the bass player / Leroy Vinnegar is currently considered by a host of jazz connoisseurs as the chief purveyor of walking-bass work. His steady and delightful thumping is a wondrous combination of two conflicting sensations: inevitability and spontaneity. Moreover, on this record there is a bit of a Vinnegar bonus; here, for the first time, he is heard in some phrasal, or non-walking, solos. Incidentally, he is the innovator of that little strumming, tumbling fillip heard here in his solos; it’s being emulated with varying success by every alert young bass player in the country. The Goof and I suffices to show what he’s capable of.

serge says / When I listened to these records I was really relieved: I think the date definitely jelled. I was pretty happy with my own work, and I think the other guys turned in as good a job as anybody could ask for. In my estimation Philly Joe Jones is the best drummer in the country. Funny thing, he and I are identified with the Eastern “school” and the other two with the Western “school” … it just goes to show: this East Coast-West Coast business doesn’t mean a thing if you all think pretty much alike.

serge says / My last album, Boston Blow-Up! was one of those carefully planned things. Six months in advance we started arranging and rehearsing and so forth. It was my first record after a long layoff and I was playing it pretty close to the chest. But this time I was feeling a little more easy-going and I decided to make a record just to blow. I picked out what I felt was the best rhythm section around and just told them when to show up… no rehearsals… no tunes set… and trusted to luck and good musicianship. I think it paid off.

serge says / A word about the tunes. The Goof and I was written by Al Cohn, an old side-kick of mine, and one of the great tenor sax men. I recorded it with the old Herman Herd, and I wanted to do it again. Except for that one I’d never recorded or even blown very much any of the other tunes, and neither had the other guys. But we wanted it that way… fresh ideas, you see. We just picked them out as we went along. On I’ve Got the World on a String I tried a little experiment along with Vinnegar: we played some chase things where he’d play along behind me, then while he played, I’d play a bass figure behind him. I think it was kind of interesting. Susie’s Blues is a fond dedication to a girl who’s been a wonderful friend to me. She was very helpful during my comeback… very active in helping me to organize my eastern sextet… and for this date she came clear down from Seattle just to lend a hand.

the pianist / Serge chose for his pianist young Sonny Clark, one of California’s ablest. His style is hard-driving and yet loose, and in the tradition of the no-nonsense school. He is best known for his work with Buddy DeFranco, with whom he toured Europe, and he has been very much in demand for West Coast activities ever since the war. A fine example of his crisp and earthy stile is found on the very first number A Handful of Stars.

the drummer / No drummer has so excited the jazz world in a long time as has Philly Joe Jones. And he has never been heard with more clarity and bite than he is here. He is called Philly, or Philadelphia Joe Jones not so much to indicate his hometown as to differentiate him from just plain Jo Jones, a drummer of like stature who’s been around some years longer. Philly’s hands are easily as fast as those of the fabulously fast Buddy Rich, and his bass-drum foot can best be described as an impeccable blur, unmatched as it is in speed or cleanness. On the sides generally, his time, his fours, his rolls, his triplets, and his punctuation are all exemplary. He is oftenest identified with his work with Miles Davis‘ group.

the baritone saxophonist / With this extremely relaxed and competent rhythm section behind him, Serge Chaloff is at his best. All the admirable tendencies he exhibited in his last album are developed and extended here. Again he indicates that he is more sensitive to the use of dynamics than any other hornplayer today. His imaginative, sometimes whimsical, use of vibrato, dramatic coloring, and such effects are finer than ever. He’s at his lightest on A Handful of Stars, the opener, but after that, no holds are barred.

serge says / I’d never worked with these guys before except for jamming briefly with Joe Jones eight years ago, but I knew from hearing them what they could do. We walked into the session cold. It was an afternoon session, and not having even rehearsed together we were naturally a little stiff. Then the producer tried a little trick that’s worked before in situations like that. He dimmed the lights way down low to make it more like a night club – the musician’s atmosphere. It worked like a charm; we really got blowing right after that.

serge says / As far as the album as a whole is concerned, I couldn’t be more pleased. We were shooting for an impromptu feeling and we got it. It has more freedom and spark than anything I’ve recorded before, and I don’t think there’s a better recommendation than that when it comes to honest jazz.