Houston Person at Rudy Van Gelder’s Studio

Cover of the album being discussed (courtesy of HighNote Records)

My latest encounter with a historical jazz recording is an album featuring tenor saxophonist Houston Person entitled Reminiscing at Rudy’s, which was released by HighNote Records almost exactly a month ago. “Rudy” is, of course, Rudy Van Gelder, whose obituary I wrote on this site in August of 2016. During the second half of the twentieth century, Van Gelder was the master when it came to recording the full diversity of jazz styles. Ironically, he began his professional life as an optometrist, using the money he earned to build a recording studio in his home in Englewood Cliffs.

Van Gelder’s name appeared regularly on albums released by Blue Note Records, Prestige Records, and Impulse! Records. It should therefore come as no surprise that Person’s first recording as leader, Underground Soul!, was recorded at that studio for release on Prestige. However, he is not one for memorial gestures. As a result, the title of this new album basically reflects on his practices of making jazz for recordings and the ways in which Van Gelder’s techniques influenced those reflections.

Reminiscing at Rudy’s is a quintet album. Person is joined by guitarist Russell Malone, pianist Larry Fuller, Matthew Parrish on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums. Nash is also the vocalist for the song “Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You,” composed jointly by Marvin Fisher and Jack Segal. While Person is consistently in the foreground, the other members of the quintet have many opportunities to share that space. Beyond Nash’s vocal work, there is much to enjoy in solo improvisations by Malone, Fuller, and Parrish. For that matter, “nothing ever changes” in the breadth of Person’s expressive interpretations of the ten songs he selected to record for this album.