Ray Bryant: Splittin'
Recorded: Hackensack, NJ, April 5, 1957
Rating: 94/100 (learn more)
Miles Davis, who took credit for everything, claimed he originated "trading fours" (4-bar exchanges between soloist and drummer) as Charlie Parker's sideman in order to keep the oft-nodding Bird awake. Apocrypha, however, suggests a nonmusical, 19th-century origin. Traveling salesmen, called drummers because they beat the drum for their merchandise, engaged haggling customers in spirited, often jocular exchanges called "trading-for's" that were relished by participants and onlookers alike and first set to music by Jelly Roll Morton, who really did invent everything. Anyhow, with Specs Wright nimbly closing the deal, Ray Bryant's "Splittin'" has the most irresistible trading fours we know.
Reviewer: Alan Kurtz
Tags: piano trio
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