New Jazz Records

Harry Carney with Strings (Clef LP). The man who has provided the solid foundation of Duke Ellington's sax section during 30 wonderful years plays his baritone in lush surroundings. The sound of the solo is pleasantly, hoarsely tender, and the tone of the improvisation recalls a good-natured storyteller ruminating over his romantic past, with occasional wry asides. Among the good old tunes: It Had to Be You, A Ghost of a Chance.

Don Elliott Doubles in Brass (Vanguard LP). Versatile Jazzman Elliott plays trumpet (sometimes choked with sorrow, sometimes sighing in contentment), the mellophone (an extravert relative of the French horn) and the chilly chimes of the vibraphone. Co-starring on this "Showcase" album: Pianist Ellis Larkins, who has a sophisticated beat all his own and a sweet, gentle way of dandling a tune.

Bud Freeman (Capitol LP). Tenor Saxman Freeman was a 1936-38 feature of the great Tommy Dorsey band. His way with such tunes as Three Little Words, I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan, etc. is fresh, insolent, rugged, mellow--depending on the subtle humors of music and musician.

Coleman Hawkins & His All-Stars (Concert Hall LP). Tenorman Hawkins is one of the alltime master hot improvisers, a willy-nilly progenitor of the bellowing excesses that mark today's rock-'n-roll craze (TIME, April 4). This record shows that Hawkins' swooping insinuations, his ever-building arabesques, his brash, driving rhythms have withered little with the years.

Pete Kelly's Blues (Victor & Columbia LPs). Both of these disks offer the same musicians--Clarinetist Matty Matlock and his Jazz Band, including Tenorman Eddie Miller, Guitarist George Van Eps, Drummer Nick Fatool--and eleven of the same tunes from the current movie. Several of the players, once the shock-thatched cream of Chicagoland, are now the cream of Movieland, and their thinning hair is neatly parted.

The Natural Seven (Victor LP). A pickup septet, led by Tenorman Al Cohn, plays jazz a la Count Basic in his Kansas City heyday. The music bounces on foam rubber rather than crepe shoes, is muffled rather than raucous, but includes some delightfully piquant ensemble riffs under the trumpet of Joe Newman.

Lennie Niehaus, Vol. Ill (Contemporary LP). A distinctive-sounding octet, identifiable by its deep-pile texture, its gentle but unmistakable swing, the oddball humor of its sudden pauses and the curious mutter of its counterpoint.

The Trolley Song (Dave Brubeck Quartet; Fantasy 45 r.p.m. single). One of Pianist Brubeck's and Alto Saxman Paul Desmond's most popular numbers, unmasked. One side of the disk has the finished product; the other shows how it was put together in rehearsal. "Hard to keep up," murmurs Dave as he fingers a tricky accompaniment figure. "Listen,'' he warns his combo. "If I'm going to play this, boy, I want you guys in on the beats you're playing as hard as you can play . . . umpeta-pah, umpeta-pah . . ." The bass man thumps out a sample, and Dave approves: "Yeah! Unh! Zam! I don't wanna hear 'Omm, chack-boom.' I want 'Unh! Unh! Unh! Unh!'" He gets the sounds he wants, and the trolley goes clanking on its way.

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