Paul Severson Quartet / Chuz Alfred Quintet - Presenting... Rare and Obscure Jazz Albums: Midwest Jazz / Jazz Young Blood (2022)

Midwest Jazz
Paul Severson (1928-2007) was a well-schooled musician with symphony, studio, and traveling band experience. He began studying piano at the age of 5, in his home in Fargo, ND. At the age of 13, he switched to the trombone and never looked back. In 1951 he got a master's degree from Northwestern, and entered the world of big band sounds. He spent two years as first trombone with Ralph Marterie's band, followed by a stint with Hal McIntyre and a Stan Kenton concert tour in the fall of 1953. During the 1953-1954 season he was also first trombonist with the Chicago Civic symphony orchestra. For over two years he was a staff musician for CBS in Chicago. In 1956, he was assigned to record the first in a series of Midwestern jazz albums for Chicago's Academy label. The session clearly captured the creativity of the group Paul put together with Kenny Soderbloom on tenor, Mel Schmidt on bass, and drummer Bob Tilles. Throughout these gently flowing tunes, Severson proved to be a warm, fluent trombonist, his writing was loose and conducive to swinging, and most of his compositions are engaging.

Jazz Young Blood
A native of Lancaster, Ohio, “Chuz” Alfred (1932-2018) came of a musical family entourage. Chuz became interested in music around sixth grade, when he began studying the clarinet. While studying at Ohio State University in August 1954, he organized his first professional group, called the Chuz Alfred Quartet. Even though he always considered himself a jazz man, because of the greater demand for the tenor sax in club work, he switched to tenor, and roughly seventy-five percent of his repertoire was in the Rhythm and Blues and Rock ‘n’ Roll fields. A year later they became a Quintet with Chuz on tenor; Ola Hanson, trombone; Chuck Lee, piano; and two younger newcomers to the group, Paul Holt, bass; and Jim Markham, drums. When Ozzie Cadena from Savoy Records asked Chuz to make a jazz album, Paul and Jim sat it out, figuring they'd better get more experience, and Cadena replaced them with two masters of their respective instruments, bassist Vinnie Burke, and drummer Kenny Clarke. In September 27, 1955, they recorded a long-playing album in a single session that was released early in 1956 under the title “Jazz Young Blood” and has become a true collector's item.