Alvin Queen - The Jazzcup Cafe Blues

2024

The session opens with the swinging East Harlem Moon composed by Dezron Douglas. The bassist gets in an expressive solo on his composition. Bird Lives on Au Privave where Jesse Davis gets to demonstrate his bebop chops on Charlie Parker’s composition. Alvin and Jesse collaborated in composing Jazzcup Café Blues. It gets very funky with the addition of Cesar Grenados on percussion. Alvin named it after the Jaazcup Café in Copenhagen Denmark. It is a favorite spot for him to hang out and listen to music while drinking coffee. The club also sells LPs and CDs so you can take music home with you after indulging in your favorite espresso. I’m sure this recording is a bestseller in the café.

Danny Grissett contributed Herd’s Word on which he also contributes a swinging solo. Jesse Davis wrote Blues For Sluggo to give the drummer some. Alvin opens with a sole before all the cats join in on a bebop romp. Jesse shows off his blues roots in his solo.
Detour Ahead is probably most associated with Billie Holiday. It was written as a collaboration by the Soft Winds Trio of violinist Johnny Frigo, guitarist Herb Ellis and pianist Lou Carter and recorded by Lady Day in 1951. Danny Grissett arranged this evocative ballad and he and Dezron Douglas solo beautifully.
Evening Stroll Through Nyhavn brings Cesar Grenados back to the quartet to go at it with Alvin on this rhythmic number. Alvin tells us that “Nyhavn is an area in Copenhagen where you will find many tourists at night and is one of the main attractions in the city. The neon lights are so beautiful all year round and I take many strolls there mostly every evening while being in town.”

I’m old enough to have heard Duke Ellington conclude a concert by saying “we do love you madly.” He and Billy Strayhorn collaborated on the composition that concludes this session at the Jazzclub Domicile, Love You Madly. Alvin Queen loves you madly, too, and hopes you enjoy this music from a packed club in Germany. I’m looking forward to seeing him in a packed club in the United States. In the meantime, I’m digging the music on this disc. I hope you love it as much as I do.

Rusty Hassan