The Many Angles Of John Letman (High Definition Remaster 2023) John Letman

• 1 Mabel's Dream (Remastered 2023) 04:28
• 2 Tina (Remastered 2023) 04:19
• 3 This Time The Drinks' On Me (Remastered 2023) 02:24
• 4 The Room Upstairs (Remastered 2023) 03:37
• 5 Moanin' Low (Remastered 2023) 03:03
• 6 Violets And Violins (Remastered 2023) 04:16
• 7 Say Si Si (Remastered 2023) 04:21
• 8 Sittin' Alone Countin' My Tears (Remastered 2023) 04:17
• 9 Get Out Of My Sight (Remastered 2023) 02:43
• Total Runtime 33:28

Info for The Many Angles Of John Letman (High Definition Remaster 2023)

"On the face of it this modest little mainstream album doesn’t have classic status, but I was so beguiled by it that I couldn’t resist the four stars. I was immediately roped in with the opening Mabel’s Dream, a rarely used King Oliver tune from the dawn of jazz, and the addition of that timeless jazz musician Kenny Burrell to interpret it had me completely hooked. Dick Wellstood is on top form throughout both these sessions.

Letman’s work was unfamiliar to me until this album arrived. He seems to have been with a multitude of name bands at the wrong time, and never secured his grasp on the renown he might have expected and certainly deserved. His hard work and suffering led him to be a mainstream trumpeter to rank alongside Roy Eldridge, Buck Clayton, Shavers and the whole catalogue of sub-Louis players. We are guilty of neglect and acquiring this album will go some way to correcting that!

John Letman, trumpet, vocals
Kenny Burrell, guitar
Dick Wellstood, piano
Peck Morrison, double bass
Gene Ramey, double bass
Panama Francis, drums

Digitally remastered

Johnny Letman
(1917-1992) was a trumpeter and singer in the traditional- mainstream vein, who had been on the scene for quite a long time, playing with such bandleaders as Lucky Millinder and Cab Calloway, before rising to prominence in the late 50s. But his lack of recognition (on records, at least) had not been—like the fate of some other mainstreamers—a matter of simply being forgotten. Letman never was known to any extent until 1958, when he started working out of the Metropole in New York City.

His big, fat, walloping trumpet style drew from the Louis Armstrong-Roy Eldridge line, whereas his attack ranged from the crisply crackling to the exuberantly flamboyant. The high quality of this set is established by the outgoing musical personalities of Letman and pianist Dick Wellstood, as well as by guitarist Kenny Burrell’s willingness and ability to match their extroversion note for note.

This album contains no booklet.