AVID Jazz here presents four classic Lem Winchester albums including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD.
“A Tribute to Clifford Brown”; “Winchester Special.”; “Lem’s Beat” and “Another Opus”
The story of vibist Lemuel Davis Winchester born March 19th 1928 in Philadelphia is somewhat of a tragic one. His years of musical activity coincided with his career as a police officer and it took him eleven years to decide to give up one beat for another and become a professional musician in 1960. Unfortunately his new career was almost immediately cut short by a tragic accident when he shot himself to death “in a bit of pistol horseplay” in an Indianapolis club in January 1961. Having tried his hand at flute, piccolo, baritone and tenor sax, mellophone and cornet, Lem finally decided to take up the vibes seriously in 1947. His has said that his main three influences were Milt Jackson, Milt Jackson and Milt Jackson! Three years after taking up the vibes Lem decided to join the police force and his dual career began to take off with his appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 having been heard and invited on by jazz critic Leonard Feather. For “A Tribute to Clifford Brown” Lem, who had known Brown from High School and was great friends with the great trumpeter, is joined by The Ramsey Lewis Trio. “Winchester Special” and “Another Opus” find Lem in a straight ahead bop mood joined by some heavy names which tell us how well he had established himself on the scene even as a part time player. Benny Golson, Wendell Marshall, Tommy Flanagan and Art Taylor are heard on “Winchester Special” while Frank Wess, Hank Jones, Eddie Jones and Gus Johnson are heard on perhaps his finest album “Another Opus”. “This is the best session I have made so far…..I feel that I am finally in the first stages of joining the professionals”…… so said Lem Wichester having just listened to the playback for “Lem’s Beat”. Here he is joined by Oliver Nelson who arranges as well as plays tenor sax, Curtis Peagler on alto sax, Roy Johnson and Billy Brown on piano, Wendell Marshall on bass and Art Taylor on drums. We leave you with another quote from the liner notes of “Lem’s Beat” which in retrospect is a combination of joy and sadness given Lem’s tragic end………..”If you live your whole life without doing what you want to do you when you have a chance to do it, you’ve wasted a whole life and nobody should die without wishing they had done something”. Listening to these fine albums we know Lem certainly did something, the sadness is he did not have longer to enjoy his new life and do more.
All four albums have been digitally re-mastered.
CD1
1-8: ‘A Tribute To Clifford Brown’
1. Joy Spring
2. Where It Is
3. Sandu
4. Once In A While
5. Jordu
6. It Could Happen To You
7. Easy To Love
8. A Message From Boysie
9-14: ‘Winchester Special’
9. Down Fuzz
10. If I Were A Bell
11. Will You Still Be Mine
12. Mysticism
13. How Are Things In Glocca Morra?
14. The Dude
CD2
1-6: ‘Lem’s Beat’
1. Eddy’s Dilemma
2. Lem And Aid
3. Friendly Persuasion
4. Your Last Chance
5. Lady Day
6. Just Friends
7-11: ‘Another Opus’
7. Another Opus
8. Blues Prayer
9. The Meetin’
10. Like Someone In Love
11. Both Barrels
