Richie Cole/Hank Crawford - Bossa International (Milestone)

Altoist Richie Cole is a recent acquaintance of mine. I’d encountered his name periodically over the years, but never bothered to investigate at the prompting of passing mentions. Cue cut-out bin and the subsequent acquistion of this satisfying if rough-hewn date from Milestone. Cole had reputation as a cut-up and clown, a guy for whom humor was a fundamental musical ingredient right alongside highly-honed chops. Apprenticeships with Buddy Rich and Lionel Hampton opened the door to a solo career that continues to this day, but he initially gained visibility via his admittedly gimmicky penchant for transforming popular themes into unexpectedly sturdy bop vehicles. Some of his more infamous hybrid specimens include “I Love Lucy”, “Stark Trek” and even “The Price is Right”(!) Hank Crawford, Cole’s elder by over a decade and an audible influence, joins him for this French concert gig from the summer of 1987. Cole shelves the novelty songbook and focuses instead on bop warhorses interspersed with a pair of bossas and a blues. Solos are frequent as are wailing alto chases and the date has a direct antecedent in Fifties face-offs like the one between Jackie McLean and John Jenkins for Prestige. Combining a clean tone with a Wes-influenced octave phrasing, guitarist Emily Remler distinguishes herself as a soloist of merit as well, joining bassist Marshall Hawkins and drummer Victor Jones as a rhythm section perfectly willing to engage the horns head-on. At the very least, the album has prompted me to dig deeper into Cole’s discography, though nearly all of his fertile tenure for Muse in the 70s is regrettably out-of-print.