Gerald Wiggins, a quintessential sideman figure on the West Coast jazz scene, played piano with a dexterity and facile skill that easily rivaled the witty speed of
Oscar Peterson and the soulful playfulness of
Erroll Garner. This was readily acknowledged by his peers in California, but not heard by the jazz world at large until this, his debut U.S. recording, originally for the Dig label owned by the legendary
Johnny Otis. With former
Nat King Cole bassist
Joe Comfort and then emerging jazz drummer
Bill Douglas,
Wiggins did this session in 1956, and it is a straight reissue of those tracks, with no extra material, at the LP length of just under 40 minutes.
Wiggins generally goes back and forth from upbeat post-bop to mellow and sweet easy swingers -- there's little middle ground. The tunes that fly by very quickly include standards "Love for Sale," "Surrey with the Fringe on Top," the quick, popping "Three Little Words" and the
Wiggins original "DeSilva Wig" for jazz DJ Walt DeSilva. On these, the trio is, well, wiggin' out! The slower numbers are also done with a taste and refinement exclusive of much older players, but
Wiggins has selected some numbers off the beaten path.
Duke Ellington's lovable "I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I Got," is somewhat obscure, a delicate read of "The Man That Got Away" is not the best known
Harold Arlen tune, and the warhorse "Dinah" is taken at an unusually slow pace, with
Wiggins inserting stride references astutely reminiscent of
Garner. "Laura" is nice and elegant, but shows the lounge side of
Wiggins in a less typical or rote fashion.
Comfort and
Douglas sound great together, as their finely crafted and in-tune collaboration supporting
Wiggins cannot be overlooked. The shortness of this program might be an issue for bargain hunters, but this is an historical document marking the emergence of one of the true unsung heroes in modern mainstream small group piano jazz, and is an item all should find easy to love.