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Workshop Jazz 2006 (A), February 1963
b/w El Rig
(Written by Cecil McBee)
I am so very, very bored of freeform pseudo-jazz noodling right now.
Trombonist George Bohanon – spelled “Bohannon” in many sources, including The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 3, but this is apparently a mistake – was a go-to brass player for Motown studio sessions, and accordingly he was one of the handful of Motown musicians granted his own Workshop Jazz LP (George’s effort, Boss Bossa Nova, released the previous month, is a load of cod-Latin trombone instrumentals done in a faintly embarrassing samba style).
As with the other 87 jazz singles released by Motown this month, both sides of this record appeared on the album.
Perhaps one of my problems with all of these jazz sides is a lack of familiarity; it’s just not an area of music I’m used to writing about, and I freely admit I don’t own many jazz records.
Certainly, the entire notion of a trombone jazz instrumental is alien to me – listening to this, however skilled a player Bohan(n)on might be, the instrument just seems fundamentally unsuited to this milieu, coming over sounding amateurish and weedy.
When the trombone stops its clumsy parping (after a particularly unlistenable spell) at 2:50 and gives way to some random piano tinkling instead, it’s almost a blessed relief.
Sadly, it can’t last – the brass comes back in at 3:35 and, while I’m guessing this is meant to have the same sort of relaxed, pseudo-exotic feel as nailed more accurately by later Sergio Mendes or Tijuana Brass records, it all just comes across as cheesy, embarrassing easy-listening soup of the least appealing kind.
So, it turns out I’m not a big fan of jazz trombone. Who knew?
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
(Or maybe you’re only interested in the George Bohanon Quartet? Click for more.)
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| Johnny Griffith Trio “I Did” |
George Bohanon Quartet “El Rig” |
Motown Junkies 
I’m not familiar with these records (though I’ll at least try to track down some excerpts), but your writing is so impressive and descriptive. I have to thank you once again for this essential blog.
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Thanks Marie, it’s much appreciated – in truth I’m just glad people are still reading the site during a week of records seemingly nobody’s heard of!
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🙂 I don’t know these either, but we’re moving in the right direction: forward. 🙂 Tamla 54080 and Gordy 7022 aren’t far away. After that point, every occasional obscure Motown title is likely to be bracketted, fore or aft, by something destined to remain unforgettable.
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Never heard this, but doesn’t that album cover look kind of like it could have been on Blue Note?
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It does, and it’s surely no accident – jazz LPs having a kind of iconography of their own, and Motown off their “home turf” trying to appear as if they belong in such company.
(On a personal note, I’m really enjoying your comments here, but could you please use an e-mail address so I don’t have to manually approve all your comments? If you use an address I’ve already approved one reply from, all your future comments will go through automatically. Thanks!)
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Hi. I thought I put my email address in. Some earlier comments went through. Could you see if I have my address in okay and send me an email? Sorry to be a bother. Tks
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Hi,
No worries! It’s definitely there on this one (I can see it from the admin panel) but some of the others today you left blank – it’s no big deal, it just means your comment won’t show until I’ve logged in and approved it individually, so they may not show for quite a few hours.
Same goes for everyone else, incidentally. You don’t need to use a real address – once I’ve approved one message, that address you used is pre-approved forever.
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Thanks. Re Motown and jazz… Did you ever hear the Dr Strut album from the 70s? Kind of like the Crusaders. I also have some MoJazz releases which are pretty good.
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I haven’t encountered Dr Strut yet, but I’ll be sure to check it out if the opportunity presents itself! Thanks for the tip.
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Nix, you have a major typo in your analysis piece for this record. I KNOW that there were not 87 Workshop Jazz singles released in Feb. 1963. Should that have read “2”? That would have been almost one-third of Motown’s singles releases since Tamla started in 1959, released in a single month! More than even Blue Note’s output!
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‘Twas merely a joke, indicating my exasperation at having to give due consideration to eight jazz sides in a row by making a facetious remark. Sorry if it wasn’t clear!
For the avoidance of doubt, the entire Workshop Jazz 45 catalogue only comprises seven singles, all covered on Motown Junkies already; click the Workshop Jazz icon at the top for a full listing.
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Only seems like 87….or 107….or whatever.
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“Weedy”? Whats that mean?
“Parping” is a new one on me too and i’m a musician.
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Is George any relation to Hamilton Bohannon?
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I have never seen any reference to the two being related. And George’s name is really spelt with one “n”. So, that fact makes it less likely that they are related (although doesn’t preclude it entirely. I’d guess not until evidence to the contrary surfaces.
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This is indeed awful, but it has NOTHING to do with “free-form jazz,” which is a very distinct genre that sounds not a bit like this record. Free-form jazz is jazz with no chords & no limits — and often, no particular tempo.
Mr. President, I enjoy your reviews, but you need to know your musical terms before you throw them around. Three terms you use wrong: “smooth jazz,” “free form jazz” and “calypso.” All three are something completely different than you think they are. It’s like calling the Temptations “country.” Yes, you are THAT far off.
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Good Music
“ El Rig “
Bobbie
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