Larry Eanet Quartet: Sunset Stomp

The highly polished, Goodman-inspired clarinet of Ron Hockett opens this date with pianist Eanet, bassist Tommy Cecil, and drummer Harold Summey, Jr., with the seldom heard “Rhythm King,” a tune made famous by Bix Beiderbecke in 1928. Moving on, the quartet then embraces Ellington’s “Across the Track Blues” from 1940, the precocious chromaticism of “Susie,” which was first put on the jazz map in 1924 by Bix and the Wolverines, and Duke’s “Sultry Sunset” from 1946, upon which Ron honors Johnny Hodges with a beautifully intoned solo on soprano sax. Some of the other numbers on this 13-track disc are “Sunset Stomp” and “Frederic’s Tune,” both being Eanet adaptations from classical themes, the Ellingtonian “Lady of the Lavender Mist,” “Clementine,” and “It Shouldn’t Happen to a Dream,” all from the ’40s, the standards “Rain” and “Miss Brown To You,” and a 1950s Goodman swinger, “Hi Ya Sophia.” Using a sweet, Eddie Miller-type tone, Ron plays tenor on “It Shouldn’t Happen to a Dream,” elsewhere using the overdubbed larger horn for filling out ensemble textures.

Originally Published November 1, 1999