Not So Fast - The Complete Esquire Recordings 1951

When Ronnie Scott scooped first place in the tenor sax category of the Melody Maker readers’ poll in early 1951 the victory – his third such award – prompted an especially concentrated patch of recorded activity for the Esquire label. Sharp-as-a-tack, sports car driving, ineffably glamorous and bursting with musical swagger, Scott had it all and it was little surprise that producers Carlo Krahmer and Peter Newbrook clearly wanted to make the most of their star signing. Over the ensuing year they recorded him not only leading his own quartet and all-star “Boptet” but also in partnership with pianist Ronnie Ball’s trio and with fellow tenor star Kenny Graham. The range of the music on these sessions – covering everything from Graham’s prototypical Afro-Cuban fusions to the cool, Getz-like ambience of the recordings featuring Scott in a quartet format – fully illustrated the young tenorist’s gifts, as well as showcasing the talents of an impressive array of British jazz notables, including Jimmy Deuchar, Victor Feldman and Tony’s Crombie and Kinsey. This new Acrobat release concentrates on the results of this single, eventful twelve months, containing all of the original Esquire 78rpm releases recorded during that year together with two recently unearthed PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED alternative takes of Scott’s sextet featuring visiting American jazzman Spike Robinson. Complete with press cuttings, period photographs and a detailed booklet essay by saxophonist and writer Simon Spillett, this release is the ultimate document of a year-in-the-life of one of the UK’s best-loved jazz legends.