© -Steven
Cerra , copyright protected; all rights reserved.
The piano player
on the gig asked me: “Do you have tympani mallets?”
I said: “Yeah,
they are in my trap case, why?”
“We’re gonna play Invitation during the next set so you
better go get them.”
I got them and
when the tune was called, I used them to play a slow rumba beat on the drums.
With the snare
drum strainer turned off, that gave me three tom toms upon which to use the
tymp mallets to tap out a steady Latin-feel over which the tenor saxophonist
played a lilting version of Bronislau Kaper’s beautiful melody to Invitation.
I first heard Invitation on an obscure George
Wallington with Strings Norgran LP and later on a John Coltrane
Prestige LP entitled Standard Coltrane, drummer Lenny
McBrowne’s Lenne McBrowne and the 4 Souls Pacific Jazz LP and vibist Milt
Jackson Riverside LP of the same name.
Over the years,
versions of Invitation taken at
various tempos and played in a variety of styles kept appearing in my Jazz
collection mainly because as Ted Gioia explains in his marvelously-fun-to-read The
Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire:
“Invitation has survived solely because
Jazz musicians have enjoyed playing it. [Kaper also penned On Green Dolphin Street and All
God’s Chillun Got Rhythm, each of which garnered more interest from Jazz
players than from the general public]. …
The song is
usually taken at a medium tempo with dark hard bop overtones, but is capable of
a range of interpretative angles. … Invitation
is still inviting enough to keep Jazz musicians interested, and is likely
to hold on to this constituency for some time to come.” [pp.201-202].
I recently came
across the Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra’s version of Invitation and it along with their treatment of Cole Porter’s Love for Sale gave this piece its title and prompted me to write it in the first place.
The RJO big band
arrangement of Invitation was written
by Johan Plomp and puts tenor saxophonist Simon Rigter in the solo spotlight
behind a driving beat which is laid down by bassist Aaaron Kersbergen and
drummer Martijn Vink.
Checkout the screaming
trumpet section that begins the shout-me-out-chorus at 3:36 minutes and the way
they reintroduce the theme with quarter note triplets at 3:47 minutes.
If you close your
eyes, you might be able to conjure up images of Zoot Sims taking one of his
great tenor saxophone solos with Gerry Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band as booted
along by Bill
Crow on bass
and Mel Lewis on drums
Those tympani
mallets were handy to have around because later that evening, we played Cole
Porter’s Love for Sale in a style
that was very reminiscent of the version that Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis
made famous on the forrmer’s Somethin’ Else LP.
[On this classic Blue
Note recording, drummer Art Blakey used the tympani mallets to form a conga
drum phrase behind his always-insistent, cymbal beat.]
Turning once again
to Ted Gioia for commentary about the tune, Dottore
Gioia has this to say about Love for Sale
in The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire:
“By the 1960’s,
the taboo associated with "Love for Sale " had faded [it was banned from radio
play for years because its lyrics are sung from the prospective of a
prostitute], and it became entrenched in the repertoires of Jazz players. And
for good reason. The opening theme is suitable for vamps of all stamps, from
Latin to funky, and the release offers effective contrast both rhythmically and
harmonically. A tension in tonality is evident from the outset: this song in a
minor key nonetheless parts on a major chord, and seems ready to go in either direction
during the course of Porter's extended form. A composition of this sort
presents many possibilities, and can work either as a loose jam or bear the
weight of elaborate arrangement.” [pp.240-241]
The are a number
of big band recorded versions of Love for
Sale including one on Pacific Jazz that offers some exciting drum breaks by
Buddy Rich [Big Swing Face].
In recent years, I
have also become very partial to Johan Plomp’s arrangement of the tune which
appeared on the RJO’s debut recording Introducing the Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra [2005].
You can hear this arrangement
on the following video tribute to the RJO with Jan van Duikeren playing an
extended trumpet solo in a manner that may rekindle memories of Clark Terry’s
joyous flights of fancy on the instrument. Also listen throughout the
performance for the kicks, fills and solos of Martijn Vink, one of today's best
big band drummers. [See if you can pick-up the key change at 4:10 minutes following one of Martijn’s
explosions.]
The Rotterdam Jazz
Orchestra debut recording is available from Amazon and other online retailers
and the RJO has its own website – www.rotterdamjazzorchestra.com
– should you wish to find out more about the orchestra’s current activities.