The Thinking Man's Trombone

The Thinking Man's Trombone is an album by trombonist Al Grey released in 1960 on Argo Records.^[1][2][3]

The Thinking Man’s Trombone
Studio album by Al Grey
Released	1960
Recorded	August 23–25, 1960
Venue	Ter-Mar Studios, Chicago, IL
Genre	Jazz
Length	34:19
Label	Argo LP-677
Producer	Jack Tracy
Al Grey chronology
The Last of the Big Plungers (1959) The Thinking Man’s Trombone (1960) The Al Grey - Billy Mitchell Sextet (1961)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "A boppish trombonist who was a master at using the plunger mute (crossing over into swing), Grey holds his own on this set ... Swinging and witty music".^[4]

Track listing

1. "Salty Papa" (Al Grey) – 5:50
2. "Don't Cry Baby" (James P. Johnson, Saul Bernie, Stella Unger) – 2:24
3. "Stranded" (Frank Foster) – 5:30
4. "Rompin'" (Foster) – 4:00
5. "King Bee" (Al Grey) – 6:14
6. "When I Fall in Love" (Victor Young) – 2:32
7. "Al-amo" (Thad Jones) – 5:25
8. "Tenderly" (Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence) – 2:24

Personnel

Performers:

• Al Grey – trombone, bandleader
• Joe Newman – trumpet
• Benny Powell – trombone
• Billy Mitchell – tenor saxophone
• Charlie Fowlkes – baritone saxophone
• Eddie Higgins – piano (tracks 1-7)
• Freddie Green – guitar (tracks 1-7)
• Ed Jones – bass (tracks 1-7)
• Sonny Payne – drums (tracks 1-7)

Arrangers:

• Al Grey - arranger (tracks 1 & 5)
• Thad Jones - arranger (tracks 2 & 7)
• Frank Foster - arranger (tracks 3 & 4)
• Nat Pierce - arranger (track 6)
• Clare Fischer - arranger (track 8)^[a]

References

1. Edwards, D. and Callahan, M. Argo Album Discography, Part 1: Jazz Series (1956–1965) accessed April 24, 2017
2. Fitzgerald, M. Argo/Cadet Records Listing accessed April 24, 2017
3. Jazzlists: Argo/Cadet discography (LP 601 to LP 699) accessed April 24, 2017
4. Yanow, Scott. ''The Thinking Man’s Trombone – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved April 24, 2017.

Notes

1. Note that this was not specifically arranged for this album, as it is identical to Fischer's earlier arrangement of the same song for The Hi-Lo's.