ONZY MATTHEWS: Mosaic Selected, Blues with a touch of elegance, Sounds for the 60`s (3 LP´s)

ONZY MATTHEWS
Se existe um segredo guardado a 7 chaves, seu nome deve ser ONZY MATTHEWS. Sim, porque - até então, eu jamais ouvira qualquer menção ao nome deste excelente arranjador que, nos anos 60, tocou e escreveu arranjos para nomes muito importantes,
como: Ray Charles, Lou Rawls, Lionel Hampton, Herb Alpert e Duke Ellington. Apesar e ter-se mantido à sombra, Onzy Matthews era um arranjador extremamente competente, comedido, elegante e de bom gosto, como se poderá constatar nesta preciosa e
raríssima coletânea de 3 LPs. As cores e timbres do jazz estão presentes em todos os arranjos, para um espetacular repertório que vai da "bossa nova" aos "standards", passando por músicas de filmes e temas de jazz. É nítida a influência dos grandes arranjadores do "West Coast Jazz" e da banda de Stan Kenton, no trabalho de Matthews. E isso, por si só, já é um atestado da altissima qualidade dos arranjos de Onzy Matthews.
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ONZY MATTHEWS
Onzy Matthews' musical career sprang from eight bars of music. As an aspiring singer, pianist and composer in 1963, a young Mr. Matthews gave his first professional arrangement to Les Brown for a tryout with the Band of Renown. "It was really a catastrophe," Mr. Matthews recalls. When it was over, Mr. Brown took the young man aside and asked him if he had heard anything he liked. "I told him
there were eight bars that sounded good," says Mr. Matthews, a Fort Worth native raised in Dallas. "And he said, `You take those eight measures and you throw away everything else, and you go from there." Mr. Matthews took that advice and went on to become one of the most sought-after arrangers in jazz and pop music. His 35-year career has included collaborations with the likes of Ray Charles, Lou Rawls, Lionel Hampton, Herb Alpert and, most notably, Duke Ellington. Doing it right has been a trademark of Mr. Matthews' career. He knew early on that music was his calling.Mr. Matthews lived in Dallas until he was 14, when his mother pulled up stakes and moved to Los Angeles for a better job. In Los Angeles, Mr. Matthews augmented his early gospel roots with healthy doses of smooth California jazz and big-band music. He graduated from high school at 16 and had already decided he wanted to sing. Nearly every day he walked to a nearby park, where he could play piano for hours in the recreation building. "I taught myself to accompany myself on piano," he says, "and then I found out that you had to have arrangements." He attended Westlake College of
Music, where he studied ear training and harmony. "I started singing with the dance band, so that's where I started getting information about arranging," he says. As word spread, Mr. Matthews found himself being courted by record labels to work with their artists. His first major arranging job was on Lou Rawls' album Black & Blue, which he describes as "a rebirth for Lou Rawls." Working with many of the musicians from the weekly rehearsals, Mr. Matthews recorded his first album in 1964, Blues With a Touch of Elegance, for Capitol Records. About a year later, with his career in full swing, so to speak, Mr. Matthews was a guest on a New York radio show
hosted by Mercer Ellington, Duke Ellington's son. "He says, `If I can do anything for you, let me know,' " Mr. Matthews says. "I say that I'd like to be introduced to his father. And he says, `Oh, that's easy.' " The two men hit it off but wouldn't begin working together for another four years. But for the first time in his career, Mr. Matthews found himself stymied. "I just couldn't rearrange those songs,"
he says. "I told him {Duke}, `I grew up listening to those songs - I can't do it.' And he didn't speak to me for six months." Mr. Ellington eventually welcomed Mr. Matthews back into the fold, and Mr. Matthews became one of the Duke's main collaborators, helping fill the void left by Billy Strayhorn's death. Besides his prodigious arranging work, Mr. Matthews is listed as a co-writer on two Ellington
tunes, Just a Gentle Word From You Will Do and Mexicali Brass. When Mr. Ellington died in 1974, Mr. Matthews played piano in the Ellington band for a while. He moved to Seattle in 1974 and put together a big band, which he led for three years before returning briefly to Texas and New York. Feeling restless, he moved to Paris in 1979 and lived there for the next 14 years. He put together yet another big band, did some trio and solo playing and even found work as an extra in the movies. He and Miles Davis both appeared in the movie Dingo in 1993. In the film, Mr. Matthews plays a trumpeter in a nightclub scene. Mr. Matthews returned to the States in
1993 to work on a project with Mr. Ellington's widow and was drawn back to Texas by the death of his mother in 1994. And there's always the prospect of the next big hit. He recently recorded a demo for Herb Alpert and also pitched the song to George Benson. It's a smooth, Latin tune called Macarena that has nothing to do with the dance craze of the same name. When asked how many songs he's written, Mr. Matthews pulls out a suitcase filled with sheet music and says, "I've got twice as much in the closet. So how many tunes have I written? I don't know." Onzy Matthews, passed away in 1997. The cause of death was hypertensive and arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
~By Al Brumley, Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News - edited by CB
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ALBUM REVIEW
What a great discovery! Nobody talks about the Los Angeles jazz pianist and arranger Onzy Matthews these days; all that’s left in cultural memory, if anything, is his great record “Blues With a Touch of Elegance” (1964). The people at Mosaic Records, the reissue label, have taken a closer look at the situation and come up with more than we knew existed, more than we knew we needed. (They always do.) “Mosaic Select: Onzy Matthews” (MS-029) gives us three discs’ worth of completely boss large-ensemble music from the black jazz scene in postwar Los Angeles, a pocket of American culture that’s just starting to be better understood through books like
R. J. Smith’s “Great Black Way,” Steven Isoardi’s “Songs of the Unsung” and the oral history “Central Avenue Sounds.” This is the velvety end of that music: plump and earthbound, deeply swinging, rich with the detail of Mr. Matthews’s arrangements, shrewd with his minimalist, supersmart piano playing. He worked with black West Coast jazz musicians who were staying local and finding studio work rather than moving to New York. These included some of the great overlooked West Coast musicians of the early ’60s: Curtis Amy, Sonny Criss, Dupree Bolton and Teddy Edwards. There are entire sessions here that were never released: an alternate version of the “Blues With a Touch of Elegance” album, more gutbucket this time, with Richard (Groove) Holmes’s organ instead of Mr. Matthews’s piano; an entire bossa nova album; and a weirdly compelling session of Mr. Matthews singing in a phlegmatic, regular-guy baritone.

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Incredibly Inventive Arrangements
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 unissued 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 unissued two-tune session by Earl Anderza and Dupree Bolton for Pacific Jazz.
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MINHA OPINIÃO:
O primeiro álbum MOSAIC SELECTED é todo em clima de "bossa-nova-made-in-USA", ainda com aquela canhestra levada de bateria e guitarra, dos tempos em que os músicos norte-americanos ainda não haviam assimilado o "groove". A exemplo do que fizeram outros arranjadores (Quincy Jones, Henry Mancini, etc), que pegaram carona na "novidade", os arranjos são - digamos - comerciais, voltados para o público que se encantara com a "bossa nova". Mas todos eles, sem exceção, têm as cores e timbres do "jazz. Ah,atenção! Tem uma pérola incrustada nesse LP: o grande tema "A second chance", escrito por André Previn para o filme "Two for the Seasaw" (Dois na gangorra, na versão brasileira). No segundo, BLUES WITH A TOUCH OF ELEGANCE, o clima é totalmente de jazz para "big bands", no velho e bom estilo. A faixa "Flamingo" poderia ter sido gravada por Stan Kenton, com direito a solos estratosféricos de Maynard Ferguson, tal como o fizeram em várias ocasiões; certamente, foi neles que OM se inspirou ao escrever este arranjo. O terceiro, SOUNDS FOR THE 60´s, segue a mesma linha: arranjos jazzisticos, com excelentes solos individuais de grandes (ainda que, também, obscuros) músicos que formam a banda. Além dos arranjos e de algumas composições, Ozzy Matthews toca um piano elegante e econômico e, de quebra, canta (e bem!) na faixa "Put on a happy face": lembra um pouco Billy Eckstine. Em suma: uma preciosa e raríssima coletânea de 3 LPs de um grande músico que, a exemplo de centenas de outros, viveram à sombra, sem que o seu grande talento tivesse o merecido reconhecimento do grande público : UM LUXO!
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ONZY MATTHEWS: Mosaic Selected, Blues with a touch of elegance, Sounds for the 60`s

TRACKS/FAIXAS:

DISC ONE:
1. A New Samba For Margo (C) 4:14
(Onzy Matthews)
2. A Second Chance (Song from Two For The Seesaw) (C) 2:25
(A. Previn-D. Langdon)
3. Bossa Nova Blue (C) 2:40
(Bobby Bryant)
4. Little Boat (O Barquinho) (C) 2:50
(Menescal-Boscoli-Kaye)
5. Lover Man (A) 3:17
(Davis-Ramirez-Sherman)
6. Ho Ba La La (A) 2:55
(J. Gilberto-N. Gimbel)
7. Almost In Your Arms (Love song from Houseboat) (A) 2:24
(R. Evans-J. Livington)
8. Canadian Sunset (A) 3:10
(E. Heywood-N. Gimbel)
9. Non-Stop Jazz Samba (B) 3:47
(Onzy Matthews)
10. Without Your Love (B) 3:00
(Onzy Matthews)
11. Bossa Nova In Minor (B) 2:24
(Onzy Matthews)
12. One Note Samba (B) 2:42
(Jobim-Hendricks-Mendonca)
13. Lilies Of The Field (D) 2:33
(Jerry Goldsmith)
14. Joe And I (E) 3:56
(unknown)
15. Midnite Lament (E) 5:20
(Benny Harris)

DISC TWO
1. Blues With A Touch Of Elegance (G) 4:07
(Onzy Matthews)
2. Flamingo (G) 2:11
(T. Grouya-E. Anderson)
3. Pensive (H) 2:36
(Onzy Matthews)
4. Feels Like I’ve Got The Blues (G) 3:43
(Onzy Matthews)
5. Dallas Blues (H) 3:18
(Onzy Matthews)
6. Somethin’s Cookin’ (H) 2:35
(Onzy Matthews)
7. I Should Care (G) 4:23
(Stordahl-Weston-Cahn)
8. Blues Non-Stop (G) 3:21
(Onzy Matthews)
9. I Cover The Waterfront (H) 5:00
(J. Green-E. Heyman)
10. Satin Doll (H) 5:00
(D. Ellington-B. Strayhorn)
11. Burnin’ (H) 2:03
(Onzy Matthews)
12. Blues Non-Stop (first version) (F) 3:09
(Onzy Matthews)
13. I Cover The Waterfront (first version) (F) 4:28
(J. Green-E. Heyman)
14. Dallas Blues (first version) (F) 3:32
(Onzy Matthews)
15. Soemthin’s Cookin’ (first version) (F) 2:20
(Onzy Matthews)
16. Lefty Louie Blues (I) 2:20
(M. Jacobs-F. Huddleston)
17. Blues Non-Stop (vocal version) (I) 2:28
(Onzy Matthews)

DISC THREE
1. Ray-On Blues (J) 2:28
(Onzy Matthews)
2. You’ll Know The First Time (K) 4:26
(Onzy Matthews)
3. Moon River (K) 2:22
(H. Mancini-J. Mercer)
4. Like Someone In Love (L) 1:22
(J. Burke-J. Van Heusen)
5. Ballad For Orchestra (M) 3:20
(Onzy Matthews)
6. I Left My Heart In San Francisco (M) 3:48
(D. Cross-G. Cory)
7. A Set For Gillette (M) 2:04
(Onzy Matthews)
8. Spring Is Here (M) 2:25
(R. Rodgers-L. Hart)
9. Down In My Soul (M) 2:40
(Onzy Matthews)
10. Make Someone Happy (M) 2:21
(Styne-Comden-Green)
11. People (N) 3:45
(J. Styne-B. Merrill)
12. Play Me Some Blues (N) 3:35
(Onzy Matthews)
13. White Gardenia (N) 2:57
(Onzy Matthews)
14. Lilies Of The Field (N) 3:00
(Jerry Goldsmith)
15. Mexicali Brass (N) 2:47
(Onzy Matthews)
16. Blues For The Reverend (N) 2:47
(Onzy Matthews)
17. Put On A Happy Face (M) 1:32
(L. Adams-C. Strouse)
18. I Thought About You (J) 3:23
(J. Van Heusen-J. Mercer)
19. Guess I’d Better Go Back Home (J) 3:16
(Onzy Matthews)


PERSONNEL:
(A) Bobby Bryant, trumpet, fluegelhorn; Gabe Baltazar, alto sax, flute; Onzy Matthews, piano; Al Viola, Julian “Bud” Matlock, guitars;

Jim Crutcher, bass; Jerry MacKenzie, drums.
Capitol Studios, LA, February 5,1963
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(B) Horace Tapscott, Joe Vasquez, trombones; Onzy Matthews, piano; Al Viola, Julian “Bud” Matlock, guitars; Jim Crutcher, bass; Jerry MacKenzie, drums, Elliott Fisher, Jim Getzoff, Jerry Vinci, Paul Shure, violins; Ray Kramer, Adolph Frezin, cellos.
Capitol Studios, LA, February 6,1963
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(C) Bob Rolfe, Dupree Bolton, trumpets; Horace Tapscott, Lou Blackburn, Dick Leith, trombones; Gabe Baltazar, alto sax; Curtis Amy, tenor sax; Jay Migliori, baritone sax; Onzy Matthews, piano; Al Viola, Julian “Bud” Matlock, guitars; Jim Crutcher, bass; Jerry MacKenzie, drums.
Capitol Studios, LA, February 6,1963
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(D) Bud Brisbois, Bob Rolfe, Dalton Smith, Freddie Hill, Walter Williams, trumpets; Horace Tapscott, Lou Blackburn, Joe Vasquez, trombones; Ron Smith, bass trombone; Sonny Criss, Joe Maini, alto saxes; Curtis Amy, soprano sax, tenor sax; Teddy Edwards, tenor sax; Jay Migliori, baritone sax; Rene Hall, Ray Crawford, guitars; Onzy Matthews, piano, Jim Crutcher, bass, Earl Palmer, drums, Lou Rawls, tambourine.
Capitol Studios, LA, July 30,1963
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(E) Dupree Bolton, trumpet; Earl Anderza, alto sax; Hadley Caliman, tenor sax; Roosevelt Wardell, piano; Clarence Jones, bass; Chuck Carter, drums.
Pacific Jazz Studios, LA, June 30 1963
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(F) Dolton Smith, Bud Brisbois, Bobby Bryant, Bob Rolfe, John Anderson, trumpets; Lou Blackburn, Dick Hude, Horace Tapscott, trombones; Ron Smith, bass trombone; Sid Miller, Clifford Scott, alto saxes; Curtis Amy, Teddy Edwards, Clifford Solomon, tenor saxes; Jay Migliori, baritone sax; Onzy Matthews, piano; Richard Groove Holmes, organ, Ray Crawford, guitar; Jim Crutcher, bass; Earl Palmer, drums.
Capitol Studios, LA, October 10,1963
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(G) Bud Brisbois, Bobby Bryant, Freddie Hill, Bob Rolfe, Dalton Smith, trumpets; Lou Blackburn, Dick Hyde, Horace Tapscott, trombones; Ron Smith, bass trombone; Clifford Scott, Sid Miller, alto saxes; Curtis Amy, Clifford Solomon, tenor saxes; Jay Migliori, baritone sax; Onzy Matthews, piano; Ray Crawford, guitar; Jim Crutcher, bass; Chiz Harris, drums.
Capitol Studios, LA, January 2,1964
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(H) Same as (G) except Joe Maini, alto sax replaces Sid Miller.
Capitol Studios, LA, January 3,1964
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(I) Onzy Matthews, piano; Ray Crawford, guitar; Jim Crutcher, bass; Chiz Harris, drums; Randy Van Horn, Wayne Dunston, 2 of The King Sisters, 1 unknown, vocals..
Capitol Studios, LA, January 22,1964
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(J) Bud Brisbois, Bobby Bryant, Melvin Moore, John Anderson, Bob Rolfe, trumpets;
Dave Wells, bass trumpet, trombone; Lou Blackburn, Pete Myers, Dick Leith, trombones; Gabe Baltazar, alto sax; Clifford Scott, alto sax, tenor sax; Curtis Amy, Alex Nelson, tenor saxes; Jay Migliori, baritone sax; Onzy Matthews, piano; Ray Crawford, guitar; Jim Crutcher, bass; Chiz Harris, drums.
Capitol Studios, LA, July 1,1964

(*) - 1 Onzy Matthews, lead vocal and unknown female vocal group overdubbed.
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(K) same as (J) except Harry Sweets Edison and Ollie Mitchell, trumpets replace Bud Brisbois and Bobby Bryant.
Capitol Studios, LA, July 7,1964
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(L) Harry Edison, Lee Katzman, Melvin Moore, John Anderson, Bob Rolfe, trumpets;
Dave Wells, bass trumpet, trombone; Lou Blackburn, Pete Myers, Dick Leith, trombones; Gabe Baltazar, alto sax, flute; Clifford Scott, alto sax; Curtis Amy, Alex Nelson, tenor saxes, Jay Migliori, baritone sax, flute; Onzy Matthews, piano; Ray Crawford, guitar; Jim Crutcher, bass; Chiz Harris, drums.
Capitol Studios, LA, August 8,1964
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(M) Bud Brisbois, Bobby Bryant, Melvin Moore, Bob Rolfe, John Duke, trumpets;
Dave Wells, bass trumpet, trombone; Lou Blackburn, Pete Myers, Don Switzer, trombones; Gabe Baltazar, alto sax; Clifford Scott, alto sax, tenor sax; Curtis Amy, Bill Carter, tenor saxes; Jay Migliori, baritone sax, Onzy Matthews, piano; Herb Ellis, guitar; Jim Crutcher, bass; Chiz Harris, drums; Dal Carlos, congas.
Capitol Studios, LA, October 7,1964

-1 Onzy Matthews, lead vocal overdubbed.
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(N) Bud Brisbois, Ollie Mitchell, Melvin Moore, Bobby Bryant, Bob Rolfe, trumpets;
Lou Blackburn, Dick Hyde, Pete Myers, Dick Leith, trombones; Bob Knight, bass trombones: Gabe Baltazar, alto sax, flute; Sonny Criss, alto sax; Clfford Scott, Curtis Amy, tenor saxes; Jay Migliori, baritone sax; Don Peake, guitar; Onzy Matthews, piano; Larry Knechtel, electric bass; Sharky Hall, drums; Lloyd Morales, percussion.
Capitol Studios, LA, July 28,1965