© -
Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.
“He was an incredibly
imaginative arranger, especially when it came to varied and vivid blues
compositions. Hopefully with the release of this material, his work will
receive some degree of the recognition it deserves.”
- Michael Cuscuna
I got to know Onzy
Matthews a bit during his time in Los Angeles
Onzy had a
rehearsal band which used one of the practice rooms at the Musician Union Hall
at Local 47 in Hollywood, CA and one day he literally called over the fence to
me as I was packing my drums in the car in the parking lot at the adjacent Desilu
studios to “come by and play a few tunes with the band.”
He was a groovy
pianist and a superb composer-arranger who wrote charts that had flair and that
swung like mad.
Many years later, I
also ran into him at a restaurant in Dallas
One night, while I
was waiting for my clients, we reminisced a bit over a drink in the bar. On that
occasion, I remember him ruefully remarking: “They didn’t know me then and they
don’t know me now.”
I always found it
rather amazing that a musician with so much talent could be relegated to so
much obscurity.
Which is why I was
thrilled and delighted when Michael Cuscuna and his team at Mosaic Records issued Onzy Matthews: Mosaic Select (MS-029),
a 3 CD set in a limited edition of 5,000 which sells for $44.00. You can visit Mosaic's website by way of this link.
Here are Michael’s
annotations to the set and some of the remarks of the Jazz fans who have
purchased the set.
© - Michael
Cuscuna /Mosaic
Records , copyright protected; all rights reserved.
“The brilliant
West Coast arranger Onzy Matthews was a master of the blues in many hues. He
contributed to important recordings by Lou Rawls, Ray Charles and Esther
Phillips, but his career never caught fire and, after working for the Duke Ellington
orchestra as both a pianist (when Duke was ill) and an arranger, he spent much
of his later years in Europe .
Onzy made two
albums for Capitol, the first of which Blues With A Touch Of Elegance is
considered by many to be a big band masterpiece. This set collects those albums
plus 29 previously un-issued Capitol tracks by Matthews. They include an album
of jazz sambas and four-tune session of tunes from Blues With A Touch Of Elegance
with Richard Groove Holmes as the principal soloist.
These big band
sessions include soloists Sonny Criss, Gabe Baltazar, Curtis Amy, Clifford
Scott, Dupree Bolton, Bobby Bryant, Bud Brisbois, Lou Blackburn, Ray Crawford
and Richard Groove Holmes. An added bonus is the legendary, previously un-issued
two-tune session by Earl Anderza and Dupree Bolton for Pacific Jazz.
Onzy Matthews died
in relative obscurity in 1997 in his native Texas
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TOP
SHELF
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I have the vinyl
recording of "A Touch of Elegance" and after seeing this 3 CD set,
I had to have it. A MUST have for the '60's Jazz and Blues Fan. After hearing
'Bud' playing 'Flamingo' without the hiss and scratch of vinyl, I was
reminded of the passing of Him and Maynard all over again. Too bad Onzy
wasn't able to record more.
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Mr.
O
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I've been
enjoying this set. The musicians are excellent, and Onzy has a distinctive
voice as an arranger/composer. I could do without some of the more commerical
tracks but most of the set is a real treat for this long time big band fan.
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Nah
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Nah, this set
couldn't have been one CD. Maybe two - maybe. There's lots of good music in
addition to the wonderful "A Touch of Elegance" session.
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Good
Stuff
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There's not much
big band music out there period that is at the level of "Blues with a
Touch of Elegance." I also listen to the first disc a lot, especially
the latin influenced material. The third disc is uneven but throughout the
whole select the players are a pleasure to listen to, even with some of the
more commerical stuff on the last disc.
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Could
have been one CD
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"Blues with
A Touch of Elegance", Onzy's masterpiece is on CD2 of this set.
Unfortunately, the rest of the 3CD set is not up to the level of this
session: CD1 and CD3 are mostly commercially oriented recordings. But for
those who are looking for rare Big Band gems, CD2 is worth the price of the
set. Amazing lead Tpt from Bud Brisbois (check out "Flamingo").
Rare recordings of the great guitarist Ray Crawford (from Gil Evans "Out
of The Cool") The spare but rich arrangements give the musicians room to
blow. When Duke was sick at the end of his life, Onzy replaced him in the
Duke Ellington Orchestra. That fact alone should motivate many to check out
this set.
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Continually
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a pleasure to
listen to. Sophisticated big band music.
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I'm
ALWAYS amazed......
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how MUCH great
music is out there that I had NEVER heard of...I hadn't heard of Onzy before
gettin' this set on Ebay....Excellent in everyway...tight arrangements...CD
#1 is my personal favorite, it has a "cool, 60's, let's have a
cocktail" feel to it...
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Big
Band
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Subtle section
playing, great arranging for the horns and saxes. The bands are sharp, well
rehearsed, and up for the gigs. This is wonderful big band music.
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Onzy
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Onzy's a cool
dude. Sophisticated arrangements, great soloists, terrific bands. If you like
big band jazz, check this one out.
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A
True Representation of
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As a native
Dallassite and musician I remember all too well Onzy Matthews, he's a legend
in
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Buy
It!
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Cuscuna strikes
again! Incredible liner notes written by Michael himself, a beautiful 24 bit
mastering job by Ron McMaster (yep that McMaster) and these words: "For
all his years as a musician, the only documentation of Matthews' music lies
essentially in these Capitol sessions and the outstanding albums he arranged
for Lou Rawls and Esther Phillips. He was an incredibly imaginative arranger,
especially when it came to his varied and vivid blues compositions. Hopefully
with the release of this material, his work will achieve some of the
recognition it deserves.
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Neat
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This is a good
one. If you have the Gerald Wilson Box Set this is a wonderful compliment to
it. The quality of the arrangements and the consistently interesting bands
are on par with
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