S.J. Hoover
Member
Though I "missed" the '60s and obviously -as well as unfortunately- have no recollection of what the TJB were like live in their heyday...the vintage tv clips across the Web have given me a fair-enough(?) approximation of their stage demeanor (which: was what I kinda expected them to have been like) and also, actually, it kinda makes the albums now seem more "personable" when you can equate a visual to the music performed.
However, on all the album covers featuring the real group, the one guy that always piqued my interest was...the tall guy with the trombone whom looked like a younger -and slightly goofballish- version of the '50s method actor Jeff Corey: BOB EDMONDSON.
Bob's presence in the TJB, to me, always sounded like he was "co-lead" of the band(!). He was like the counterpart of a second "guitarist"; in being able to -both- drive the chord progression of a song or, in fact, double-up on Herb's main melody and create a "weaving" interplay with it.
Bob, certainly, seemed to have a very versatile sound (he could go from languid to jaunty in a moment's breadth). His peers -by all accounts- (thankfully) look to have acknowledged that in his playing days: from the resume opportunities he's had to sit-in with some of Big Band's and Jazz's all-time legends. [Before Bob, the only "names" of trombonists I knew were: James Pankow, Sy Zentner, and Ray Conniff.]
Well, I put together a three-and-change audio collage of my five favorite Bob Edmondson phrases within TJB arrangements; from 1965-1968 (BEAT and CHRISTMAS ALBUM are well stocked with them!). Apologies for the "home brew" rigging.
1. In a Little Spanish Town (0-:34)
2. Cabaret (.36-:55)
3. Let It Snow (.56-1:54)
4. Winter Wonderland (1:55-2:29)
5. It Was A Very Good Year (2:30-3:18)
If I'd made it 10, they'd go: 6. The Love Nest; 7. The Nicest Things Happen; 8. The Maltese Melody; 9. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You (presuming? it *is* him); 10. Lollipops and Roses (def. sounds like Bob instead of Wells or McCreary).
However, on all the album covers featuring the real group, the one guy that always piqued my interest was...the tall guy with the trombone whom looked like a younger -and slightly goofballish- version of the '50s method actor Jeff Corey: BOB EDMONDSON.
Bob's presence in the TJB, to me, always sounded like he was "co-lead" of the band(!). He was like the counterpart of a second "guitarist"; in being able to -both- drive the chord progression of a song or, in fact, double-up on Herb's main melody and create a "weaving" interplay with it.
Bob, certainly, seemed to have a very versatile sound (he could go from languid to jaunty in a moment's breadth). His peers -by all accounts- (thankfully) look to have acknowledged that in his playing days: from the resume opportunities he's had to sit-in with some of Big Band's and Jazz's all-time legends. [Before Bob, the only "names" of trombonists I knew were: James Pankow, Sy Zentner, and Ray Conniff.]
Well, I put together a three-and-change audio collage of my five favorite Bob Edmondson phrases within TJB arrangements; from 1965-1968 (BEAT and CHRISTMAS ALBUM are well stocked with them!). Apologies for the "home brew" rigging.
1. In a Little Spanish Town (0-:34)
2. Cabaret (.36-:55)
3. Let It Snow (.56-1:54)
4. Winter Wonderland (1:55-2:29)
5. It Was A Very Good Year (2:30-3:18)
If I'd made it 10, they'd go: 6. The Love Nest; 7. The Nicest Things Happen; 8. The Maltese Melody; 9. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You (presuming? it *is* him); 10. Lollipops and Roses (def. sounds like Bob instead of Wells or McCreary).