Here Is Phineas

Here Is Phineas (subtitled The Piano Artistry of Phineas Newborn Jr.) is the debut album by American jazz pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. recorded in May 1956 and released on the Atlantic label in August 1956.^[1][2][3][4]

Here Is Phineas
Studio album by Phineas Newborn Jr.
Released	August 1956 (1956-08)[1][2]
Recorded	May 3 & 4, 1956
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ
Genre	Jazz
Length	36:14
Label	Atlantic LP 1235
Producer	Nesuhi Ertegun
Phineas Newborn Jr. chronology
Here Is Phineas (1956) Phineas' Rainbow (1957)

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "some listeners may shake their heads at his constant outpouring of technically impossible runs (those speedy octaves are ridiculous) – but if one has chops on this level, one should feel free to display them. This is a dazzling debut from an ill-fated but classic pianist".^[5] Reviewing the reissued album for JazzTimes, Miles Jordan wrote "Praised in some quarters for his 'fabulous technique' and damned in others for his 'lack of feeling,' Phineas (say 'Finus') Newborn, Jr. burst onto the NYC scene from Memphis like a sky rocket".^[6]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[7]

Track listing

1. "Barbados" (Charlie Parker) – 4:01
2. "All the Things You Are" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) – 7:22
3. "The More I See You" (Mack Gordon, Harry Warren) – 4:01
4. "Celia" (Bud Powell) – 3:06
5. "Daahoud" (Clifford Brown) – 3:34
6. "Newport Blues" (Phineas Newborn Jr.) – 4:32
7. "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, Harry James) – 3:05
8. "Afternoon in Paris" (John Lewis) – 6:45

Personnel

• Phineas Newborn Jr. – piano
• Calvin Newborn – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 5 & 8)
• Oscar Pettiford – bass (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 & 8)
• Kenny Clarke – drums (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 & 8)

References

1. Editorial Staff, Cash Box (4 August 1956). "August Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box. The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
2. "Atlantic - New Releases". Billboard. The Billboard Publishing Co. 25 August 1956. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
3. Phineas Newborn Jr. catalog, accessed May 7, 2015
4. Phineas Newborn Jr. discography, accessed May 7, 2015
5. Yanow, Scott. Here Is Phineas – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
6. Jordan, M., JazzTimes Review, November 1999
7. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1072. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.