Here Swings The Judge is Milt Hinton's first LP as a band leader, and includes intimate, private recordings featuring Ben Webster on tenor saxophone before his departure to Europe in 1964. The remaining tracks consist of dynamic studio recordings produced by Harry Lim, and feature prominent players such as Jon Faddis and Budd Johnson. These sessions range from the swinging "Blue Skies,' to the slow, serene blues of "Blues for the Judge." This is truly an impressive collection of recordings from the group of early jazz musicians.
Performers include: Gil Evans, George Russell, Johnny Carisi and Rod Levitt.
A lot of unusual music appears on this Bluebird CD. Altoist Hal McKusick (with arrangmeents contributed by George Russell and Gil Evans) performs five numbers (including a version of "Blues for Pablo" that was cut a year before Miles Davis's recording) with a variety of musicians including trumpeter Art Farmer and trombonist Jimmy Cleveland. Arranger John Carisi (heard here on trumpet) interprets seven previously unreleased numbers with an octet and trombonist Rod Levitt performs five of his arrangements with his own advanced octet. Although these performances would have little influence on future developments in jazz (the free jazz movement of the 1960s overshadowed the trend toward using elements of modern classical music in charts), the music still sound quite fresh and unpredictable today.
Originally released on the Famous Door label, this album was recorded in 1964 & 1975 and features special guest Ben Webster on tenor sax & piano. The sextet tracks were made in 1975 in New York, with trumpeter Jon Faddis showing his powerful style to advantage. Also featured is tenor/baritone saxophonist Budd Johnson, pianist John Bunch, tenor saxophonist Frank Wess & drummer Jo Jones.
