Jutta Hipp - With Zoot Sims (RVG Edition)
ARTIST.....: Jutta Hipp
TITLE......: With Zoot Sims (RVG Edition)
LABEL......: Bluenote Records
URL........: http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7623605
RIP DATE...: Mar-21-2008
STORE DATE.: Mar-11-2008
GENRE......: Jazz
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 48,7 MB
Track Listing:
01 - Just Blues 08:38
02 - Violets For Your Furs 06:07
03 - Down Home 06:39
04 - Almost Like Being In Love 06:13
05 - Wee Dot 07:25
06 - Too Close For Comfort 06:49
07 - These Foolish Things 06:10
08 - 's Wonderful 05:52
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53:53 min
Release Notes:
Jutta Hipp, a talented German pianist, came to the United States
in the mid-'50s and quickly gained some attention. However, she
was soon criticized for sounding too close to Horace Silver and,
after recording this final Blue Note album, she gradually dropped
out of music. Given the macho critical climate of the hard-bopping
mid-'50s, this is understandable from a cultural perspective, but
it has no bearing on the musical evidence presented here. For many
years (namely the latter half of the '60s through the middle of
the '90s), Jutta Hipp with With Zoot Sims was available only as an
import LP. It was finally reissued in 1996 on CD with two extra
selections that present the complete session that was issued as
Blue Note LP (no. 1530) in 1957. Hipp's boppish music on the set
is very enjoyable and swinging. Not surprisingly, she does not
sound at all like Silver on the date. Teamed up with great tenor
Zoot Sims (who dominates the music), somewhat hesitant trumpeter
Jerry Lloyd (who briefly came out of retirement), the under-
celebrated bassist and musical innovator Ahmed Abdul-Malik, and
drummer Ed Thigpen, Hipp sounds excellent on this program of
originals and standards. These include: "Violets for Your Furs,"
"Almost Like Being in Love," and J.J. Johnson's "Wee Dot." The
lone original contributed here is by Sims, whose "Just Blues"
opens the set at a sprightly pace. Hipp's delivery as a pianist
and as a soloist is relaxed, focused, and swings beautifully. Her
unhurried sense of time adds to the relaxed feeling of the session
and she is a perfect foil for the far more flashy Sims. The added
tunes, versions of George Gershwin's "'S Wonderful," and the
gorgeous reading of Holt Marvell's "These Foolish Things" add some
interesting melodic and lyric depth to these proceedings. In fact,
as a whole, this recording is so wonderfully executed, one has to
wonder why Hipp simply dropped out of the jazz world. This
formerly rare set is well worth picking up by straight-ahead jazz
collectors. Rudy Van Gelder remastered the 2008 CD version of the
album for its inclusion in his curated series on the label.