Down By The Riverside – 1970
Oliver Nelson
A famous arrangement and a trumpet battle
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Oliver Nelson (1932-75) was a very good soloist on tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, but his skills as an arranger-composer eventually overshadowed his playing.
In the mid-1960s, Nelson did the writing for an album co-led by organist Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery, including a classic rendition of “Down By The Riverside.”
In 1970 he led what was called his “Berlin Dream Band” at a concert in Berlin, and his set included a revival of “Down By The Riverside.”
This time around, the uptempo piece featured a battle by three of the five trumpeters in the international orchestra.
Carmell Jones is one of the trio with the two other trumpeters being drawn from a section that includes Ron Simonds, Milo Pavlovic, Manfred Stoppacher and Harry Samp; the band also includes trombonists Ake Persson and Slide Hampton, and altoist Leo Wright.
-Scott Yanow
