Doc Cheatham - Nonette Rare in Rehearsal

Adolphous "Doc" Cheatham was a legendary trumpet player who lived to be eleven days short of his ninety-second birthday, in 1997. Some time around 1992, at the Sweet Basil Jazz Club, Doc sat down with his young protégé, Joey "G-Clef" Cavaseno, and discussed his ideas and preferences for a larger group with arrangements, showcasing Cheatham's soft, amiable voice and melodically classic trumpet sound. For the most part, Doc Cheatham had been previously featured by his own legendary quartet, but the time had come to surround himself with some of the younger, swing revivalists associated with Doc and the New York City swing jazz scene of the times. There was mention of a possible recording date with CBS Records, perhaps through Wynton Marsalis. Joey went forth and wrote some arrangements and organized the band for Doc, also tapping trombonist Dan Barrett to do a few. The result was a nine-piece group with horns and rhythm guitar featuring an all-star cast, with names besides Cavaseno and Barrett, such as Brian Sledge, Chris Flory, Dick Katz, and Harry Allen. This recording is the one and only time this band was convened, in a rehearsal in bassist Ari Roland's parents West Village, Manhattan brownstone. No-one seems to know nor remember why this project was abandoned, but perhaps CBS wanted to go in a different direction. Either way, this project, which had enormous potential, fades away in the timeline, until now. When Cavaseno was going through his old cassette collection of recordings he found this very rare example of some of the swinging sounds this group was putting down, and well, the results speak for themselves. What is missing in terms of precision is well compensated for in musical freshness and pure swinging joy. In this raw, volatile, yet timeless musical document, we catch a glimpse of history in the "almost making" with all the breakdowns, instructions, and straight up mistakes that make Jazz a living breathing art form.