Earlier this year British reedman Tony Coe died at 88. He was one of those players you generally only encountered in the pages of the Penguin Guide to Jazz: he spent a good chunk of his life recording for small European labels or working as a sidesman for people like Stan Getz, Georgie Fame, and Kenny Clarke. But there’s a very good chance you haven’t just heard his playing, but you can actually recall it in your head: that’s him playing the signature riff on the Pink Panther theme in the mid 70s.
But Coe was far more than just a studio hack. A talented player on both clarinet and sax, Coe was asked to join Count Basie’s band but turned him down. Instead he played with an ex-Beatle (and his brother MIke McGear), with free-jazzers like Peter Brotzmann and Derek Bailey, and even dabbled with blues/folk musicians like Alexis Korner, Loudon Wainwright III, and Murray Head. This was not a guy who settled into one sound or style.
That said, Coe’s work as a leader is a little hard to get a hold of. He never spent a lot of time with major labels, instead working with indie labels based in the UK. Beginning in the 1980s, he recorded a series of records for Nato, a French label that I’m not sure is distributed in North America (you can, however, order directly from them - and it looks like Coe’s work is still in print, too). I recently came into possession of one of these records and I’d like to introduce you to it: despite its relative obscurity, it’s a good example of Coe’s music and a pretty good record to boot.
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Mainly Mancini (Nato/Chabada, 1985)
On this 10” LP, Coe returns to where he made his mark: the music of Henry Mancini. A trio album with pianist Tony Hymas and bassist Chris Laurence, Mainly Mancini was recorded over a couple of sessions and it marks an interesting place in his music of this period.
It starts with “The Pink Panther,” that warhorse theme every high school jazz band plays. Tony Hymas opens with the familiar theme on piano, then Coe comes in. For the main theme, he’s layered overdubs of horns for a big block of sound, but soon steps out into a solo. His playing isn’t too busy, instead settling into an almost West Coast vibe where he does little runs up and down his horn’s register. It’s not dissimilar on “Days of Wine and Roses,” where he’s also playing deliberate, slow notes on the tenor. He occasionally darts up higher, but not often. Instead, these two pieces are played pretty close to the vest: not too adventurous, but more of that late 50s kind of feeling.
Meanwhile on “Crazy World,” a Mancini tune from Victor/Victoria, Coe switches to clarinet. He eases into the song, but before long his playing here is busier than on the sax with lots of twisting little passages. It’s a nice change of pace from an album that’s generally pretty laid back. There’s a similar shift on “Mr Lucky” in how Hymas takes a stride piano approach to the intro and steps up for a nice solo about halfway through the song.
Coe added two originals on this one. “Hank Neuf” comes first, closing side one. It’s of a piece with the ballads here: Coe plays slow, drawing the lines out on his horn, and has a thin, almost fragile tone at times. Hymes and Laurence gently move the song along without distracting from Coe’s leads.
The other is basically a Coe solo: on “Charade” he uses overdubs to accompany himself on piano. His piano playing is sparse, little more than a bed for him to play under. It’s an effective ballad and it closes the album on a chill note.
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In 1991 this lineup went back into the studio for Les Sources Bleues, also issued by Nato. For me, it lacks the same focus as Mainly Mancini, but it has its moments. Conversely, 1988’s Mer de Chine soundtracks to a 1988 documentary about Vietnamese boat people and is more a set of musical cues than a proper record - can’t say I’d recommend it. Perhaps 1990’s Les Voix Des Itxassou strikes the best balance between these: over 15 songs, Coe leads a large band that includes multiple horns, strings and recited vocals. My French isn’t up to snuff, so you’re on your own over what exactly the album is about, but there is a nice guest spot by Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure.
Still, if you’re new to Coe, I think Mainly Mancini is probably the way to dive in. The music isn’t especially free and several of the themes are familiar for even casual jazz fans, so it’s a pretty accessible record. I won’t lie and say it’s especially easy to find, but if you see a copy, you know what to do.