Jazz Patrick Williams - Threshold

[jbtsax]

I came across this album by the late, great composer for tv, movies, and big bands Patrick Williams. He passed away in 2018 at age 79 but left a legacy of music that will stand in tribute to the excitement, beauty, and creativity of his writing. This is the first of many recordings by Patric Williams that I first heard in 1973 that knocked my socks off. "Threshold" was also the name of the album that earned him a Grammy award after it was released. It features Marvin Stamm on trumpet and Tom Scott on flute and tenor sax.

If there are any other Patrick Williams fans here at the Cafe, please post videos of some of his songs and arrangements that are your favorites.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwffmqGqKQk&ab_channel=siys

 

[Guenne]

One of my favorite songs.
Peter Erskine on drums.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHHA8cSBAhE

This one features Phil Woods on Alto:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAuK5kABhsk

 

[jbtsax]

Phil Woods played a great solo on that arrangement, but the way he was recorded/mixed made his tone sound so unlike Phil Woods---almost like he was playing on a bamboo saxophone. 🙂

For those who grew up in the '60's this early Patrick Williams album "Shades of Today" shows his "commercial" side writing creative big band arrangements of popular songs of that era. Check out the calliope playing the melody in the first track. If you listen to some of the other cuts, don't miss his original tune: "Bubbles Was a Cheerleader" at the end.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6kH9ceJ9g4&ab_channel=martinradio

 

[David Roach]

I came across this album by the late, great composer for tv, movies, and big bands Patrick Williams. He passed away in 2018 at age 79 but left a legacy of music that will stand in tribute to the excitement, beauty, and creativity of his writing. This is the first of many recordings by Patric Williams that I first heard in 1973 that knocked my socks off. "Threshold" was also the name of the album that earned him a Grammy award after it was released. It features Marvin Stamm on trumpet and Tom Scott on flute and tenor sax.

If there are any other Patrick Williams fans here at the Cafe, please post videos of some of his songs and arrangements that are your favorites.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwffmqGqKQk&ab_channel=siys

That album blew my socks off too, not least because of Tom Scott's stellar playing. Scott was my favourite player in the 70s.
I was fortunate enough to meet and talk at length to Buddy Childers who was 1st trumpet with Sinatra when I toured with with him in the early 90s. He explained that he over dubbed all the trumpet parts on the track 'And on the Sixth Day'; he started with the lead, overdubbed the rest of the section, then re-did the lead with the support of the lower parts. Buddy was a lovely man, and a wonderful lead player, by which I mean he led by utterly dependable example rather than by force!