Together Again!!!! (Remastered 2024) Teddy Edwards, Howard McGhee, Phineas Newborn Jr., Ed Thigpen, Ray Brown

• 1 Together Again (Remastered 2024) 09:45
• 2 You Stepped Out Of A Dream (Remastered 2024) 07:17
• 3 Up There (Remastered 2024) 03:27
• 4 Perhaps (Remastered 2024) 05:12
• 5 Misty (Remastered 2024) 04:15
• 6 Sandy (Remastered 2024) 09:50
• Total Runtime 39:46

Info for Together Again!!!! (Remastered 2024)

Bringing together trumpeter Howard McGhee and saxophonist Teddy Edwards, “Together Again!!!!” was originally released on Contemporary Records in 1961. In addition to Edwards and McGhee, the album features Phineas Newborn Jr. (piano), Ray Brown (bass), and Ed Thigpen (drums).

Two of the best west coast boppers of the postwar years -- back together again in a killer revival date cut by Contemporary Records! As the title implies, the set's got a backward-looking sort of feel -- at least for the early 60s recording date -- but from the perspective of our generation, the whole thing merges nicely into the classic sound of LA bop -- perhaps extending out the original Central Ave groove a bit more, thanks to the generous recording spirit of Contemporary, and the longer tracks on the date. Edwards plays tenor, McGhee plays trumpet, and other players include Phineas Newborn on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. Titles include "Together Again", "You Stepped Out Of A Dream", "Up There", "Perhaps", "Misty" and "Sandy". It's About Time is one of the most easily swinging of Teddy's albums from this period -- thanks to backing from the Les McCann trio! The format is simple -- one of those "jazz soloist meets the famous piano trio" sessions that were big in the late 50s and early 60s. Teddy gets plenty of room to solo in his solid, deep tone -- and Les holds back a bit more than usual, working the trio in a strong accompanist mode. Titles include "Frankly Speaking", "Beve's Cojumulations", "Undecided", "Fools Rush In", and "Lover Come Back To Me".

The trumpeter was having a short-lived comeback at the time and he had largely regained his earlier form. Edwards sounds as strong as ever and Newborn was an up-and-coming talent. Their collaboration for this boppish date is generally quite memorable.

Howard McGhee, trumpet
Teddy Edwards, tenor saxophone
Phineas Newborn Jr., piano
Ray Brown, double bass
Ed Thigpen, drums

Digitally remastered

Teddy Edwards
was, with Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray, the top young tenor of the late '40s. Unlike the other two, he chose to remain in Los Angeles and has been underrated through the years but remained in prime form well into his 70s.

Early on, he toured with Ernie Fields' Orchestra, moving to L.A. in 1945 to work with Roy Milton as an altoist. Edwards switched to tenor when he joined Howard McGhee's band and was featured in many jam sessions during the era, recording "The Duel" with Dexter Gordon in 1947.

A natural-born leader, Edwards did work briefly with Max Roach & Clifford Brown (1954), Benny Carter (1955), and Benny Goodman (1964), and he recorded in the 1960s with Milt Jackson and Jimmy Smith. But it was his own records -- for Onyx (1947-1948), Pacific Jazz, Contemporary (1960-1962), Prestige, Xanadu, Muse, SteepleChase, Timeless, and Antilles -- that best displayed his playing and writing; "Sunset Eyes" is Edwards' best-known original. (Scott Yanow, AMG)

Howard McGhee
During 1945-1949, Howard McGhee was one of the finest trumpeters in jazz, an exciting performer with a sound of his own, who among the young bop players, ranked at the top with Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. The “missing link” between Roy Eldridge and Fats Navarro (Navarro influenced Clifford Brown who influenced most of the post-1955 trumpeters), McGhee originally played clarinet and tenor, not taking up trumpet until he was 17. He worked in territory bands, was with Lionel Hampton in 1941, and then joined Andy Kirk (1941-1942), being featured on “McGhee Special.” McGhee participated in the fabled bop sessions at Minton’s Playhouse and Monroe’s Uptown House, modernizing his style away from Roy Eldridge and towards Dizzy Gillespie. He was with Charlie Barnet (1942-1943), returned to Kirk (where he sat next to Fats Navarro in the trumpet section), and had brief stints with Georgie Auld and Count Basie before traveling to California with Coleman Hawkins in 1945; their concise recordings of swing-to-bop transitional music (including “Stuffy,” “Rifftide,” and “Hollywood Stampede”) are classic. McGhee stayed in California into 1947, playing with Jazz at the Philharmonic, recording and gigging with Charlie Parker (including the ill-fated “Lover Man” date) and having an influence on young players out on the Coast. His Dial sessions were among the most exciting recordings of his career, and back in New York he recorded for Savoy and had a historic meeting on record with Navarro in 1948 on Blue Note.

Eventually, drugs began to affect McGhee’s career. He traveled on a USO tour during the Korean War, recording in Guam. McGhee also had sessions for Bethlehem (1955-1956) but was inactive during much of the ’50s. He recorded some strong dates for Felsted, Bethlehem, Contemporary, and Black Lion during 1960-1961, and on a quartet outing for United Artists (1962), but (with the exception of a Hep big band date in 1966) was largely off records again until 1976. He had a final burst of activity during 1976-1979 for Sonet, SteepleChase, Jazzcraft, Zim, and Storyville, but by then, McGhee was largely forgotten and few knew about his link to Fats Navarro and Clifford Brown. (Scott Yanow, AMG)

This album contains no booklet.