Clarence Williams’ many sessions with the QRS label are some of my favorite recordings in jazz history. The quality of the recordings, small combo arrangements, and excellent performances are quite unique. While Williams recorded no fewer than 46 sides with QRS – a label that only issued 92 total records – they are quite scarce and hard to find.
Recently I was lucky enough to acquire this beautiful record – both sides from Williams’ first session with QRS in August of 1928.
“Squeeze Me” is a languidly sensual love song – and the performances here are as elegant as they are sultry. Cyrus St. Clair is wonderfully present on tuba, keeping a relaxed pace while Williams’ light touch on the piano and Leroy Harris’ banjo gingerly fill out the rhythm section.
The first solo we hear is from Ed Allen on cornet, a muted wah-filled plaintive pleading, book-ended by Cyrus’s. Then comes one of the most unexpected trombone solos – I had to check the speed on my turntable for fear I had slowed the speed down – and Ed Cuffee delivers a sleepy surprise, taking his time to lay out the pillow talk before an unknown tenor sax (Ben Waters?) cajolingly delivers the final wooing.
0:00 Intro
0:44 Cornet solo (Ed Allen)
1:28 Tuba solo (Cyrus St. Clair)
1:49 Trombone solo (Ed Cuffee)
2:09 Tenor sax solo (Ben Waters?)
2:30 Ensemble
Recorded in the Gennett Records studio in Long Island City, New York in August 1928.
Credits
Ed Allen, Joe Oliver – cornet
Ed Cuffee – trombone
Clarence Williams – piano
Cyrus St. Clair – tuba
Leroy Harris – banjo
Unknown Artist – clarinet, alto sax (Arville Harris?)
Unknown Artist – clarinet, tenor sax (Ben Waters?)
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