Color Changes is considered by many to be one of the finest albums by trumpeter and pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, Clark Terry. Rather than have the usual jam session with the stellar sidemen he’d assembled, Terry utilized specific arrangements by Yusef Lateef, Budd Johnson, and Al Cohn for the date. At the time of this recording, he had recently finished a stint with Charles Mingus’ group and one can hear the subtle influence that association had on these sessions. The result is an album which ranges through many moods and many textures, which is why the album was titled, Color Changes.
Clark Terry’s career spanned more than 70 years. Having appeared on over 900 recordings which may very well make him one of the most recorded jazz artists in history. Terry began his career in the lively jazz scene of St. Louis in the early 1940’s, and was by all accounts an inspiration for a young Miles Davis. He had long associates with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones and Oscar Peterson, and also performed and recorded with Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, and Gerry Mulligan. Of note, he was a member of the Tonight Show Band beginning in 1962, making him the first African American to become a regular in a band on a major US television network.
Terry recorded over 50 albums under his own name. Color Changes was already his ninth outing as a band leader.
Produced by Candid A&R man and founder Nat Hentoff at the Nola Penthouse Studios in November of 1960, and released in 1961.
The LP includes extraordinary liner notes written by Hentoff, giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these magnificent performances.
Clark Terry, Joe Benjamin, Ed Shaughnessy, Julius Wakins, Bud Johnson, Tommy Flanagan, Seldon Powell, Yusef Lateef, Jimmy Knepper
