artist : Rolf Ericson
title : With Ernestine Anderson And The American All Stars 1956
label : Dragon
cat# : DRCD255
genre : Jazz
street date : 1995-00-00
tracks : 18
bitrate : 109 kbps avg. 44.1/Joint Stereo
size : 62.37 mb
source : CD
type : Retail
url : http://www.dragonrecords.se
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One of Sweden's finest trumpeters, Rolf Ericson played in the U.S. often
enough to gain a strong reputation. He started on trumpet when he was
eight and, after hearing Louis Armstrong play in Stockholm in 1933, he
switched to jazz. Ericson recorded in Sweden with Alice Babs and others
starting in 1945, moved to New York in 1947, and played with Charlie
Barnet (1949) and Woody Herman (1950). After returning to Sweden in 1950,
he recorded as a leader and with Arne DomnΘrus and Leonard Feather's
Swinging Swedes. He also toured and recorded with Charlie Parker. Back in
the U.S. during 1953-1956, Ericson played with the big bands of Charlie
Spivak, Harry James, the Dorsey Brothers, and Les Brown and was with the
Lighthouse All-Stars. In 1956, he toured Sweden and played with Ernestine
Anderson and Lars Gullin. During 1956-1965 in the U.S., Ericson was with
Dexter Gordon, Harold Land, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson
(1960-1961), Buddy Rich, Benny Goodman, Gerry Mulligan, and Charles
Mingus, among others. There were also occasional tours with Duke Ellington
during 1963-1971 and plenty of freelance jobs. In 1971, he settled in
Germany as a studio musician, but Ericson returned to the U.S. several
times over the next couple of decades. His warm tone and creative yet
melodic style were always considered an asset.
In 1956, Swedish trumpeter Rolf Ericson headed an American group for a
tour of his native land. Unfortunately, the group (also consisting of
baritonist Cecil Payne, pianist Duke Jordan, bassist John Simmons and
drummer Art Taylor) included several drug addicts, and after two of the
musicians got in trouble, all four Americans were sent home. Their only
recording session (which resulted in four songs, including a vocal for the
young Ernestine Anderson) opens up this Dragon CD. To fill out the
remainder of the tour, Ericson was able to quickly get baritonist Lars
Gullin, pianist Freddie Redd, bassist Tommy Potter and drummer Joe Harris
along with Anderson. The only existing live broadcast of the band takes up
the majority of this first-time release. Anderson is featured on five
straight songs in a mini-set, and among the instrumentals "Dig," "Lady Be
Good" and "Night in Tunisia" are the hotter cuts; there are also brief
features for bassist Potter and baritonist Gullin. The recording quality
is decent, if not up to the level of the studio date, and overall, this is
a worthwhile if not quite essential set.
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01 Forecast 5:57
02 You Go To My Head 3:20
03 Vacker Flicka 5:00
04 A Night In Tunisia 3:28
05 Introduction 1:50
06 Dig 5:56
07 I'll Remember April 5:18
08 Oh, Lady Be Good 6:54
09 Looking For A Boy 1:50
10 Lover Man 3:01
11 A Foggy Day 1:20
12 I Got It Bad 3:01
13 Love For Sale 3:33
14 Half Nelson 6:07
15 These Foolish Things 3:39
16 Stella By Starlight 2:47
17 A Night In Tunisia 14:16
18 The Theme 0:57
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