Jimmy Knepper - Dream Dancing (Criss Cross, 1986)

This post is by Dan

Jimmy Knepper (tb); Ralph Moore (ts); Dick Katz (p); George Mraz (b); Victor Lewis (d)

Recorded April 3, 1986

Dream Dancing is my second Jimmy Knepper post following 1982's I Dream Too Much. Except for the leader and George Mraz, it's a different line up including the saxophone of Ralph Moore instead of the brass ensemble All tunes are standards except for two Knepper originals. Although not exactly a "concept album," Dream Dancing has a bit of an old-timey vibe to it, perhaps because of the choice of material by composers Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, and Gordon Jenkins. Even Knepper's originals retain a retro sensibility that is the album's defining attribute. 

The surprise group member here is Dick Katz, the 62-year-old veteran pianist with recording credits dating back to 1953. I like the way he solos, as if the whole history of jazz is being used to inform his improvisations. His most intriguing contribution comes on "Of Things Past," one of Knepper's originals. He plays a brief intro to Knepper's melody statement and returns with an exceptional solo after the trombone solo. (Moore sits this tune out). Katz's playing has graced hundreds of jazz albums over his career. He died in 2009 at age 85. 

Ralph Moore, by contrast, was just ramping up his career in the 1980s, recording for the Criss Cross and Landmark labels. His Rejuvenate! album will be reviewed in a future post. Moore has a unique sound on the tenor that pairs beautifully with Knepper's trombone. (A tenor-bone pairing is also exploited on Rejuvenate!). His approach to constructing solos is to build novel ideas from simple phrases and to avoid trickery such as over-blowing and accelerating tempos. Like Knepper, he keeps the melody of any tune in mind while building variations outward. 

Moore and Knepper adopt a clever way to state the melodies of the standard tunes. Rather than playing in unison, as they do on "In the Interim" (a Knepper original), Moore plays a counter melody behind Knepper. This is heard to greatest effect on "Goodbye" and "All Through the Night." On the latter tune, they trade roles on the final bars of the melody statement, so that Knepper now plays the shadow, alternative melody behind Moore. On "This Time the Dream Is on Me," Knepper again plays the counter melody. These are delightful moments that help to enliven the standards program.

Dream Dancing was recorded in the Van Gelder studio. The CD includes three tracks not on the LP. I have not heard these.