Arthur Lyman

As part of their extensive reevaluation of Arthur Lyman's sizable late-'50s and 1960s back catalog, Collectors' Choice Music has paired the folk-related long-players Cotton Fields (1963) and Blowin' in the Wind (1963). The result is two-dozen above-average interpretations of concurrent pop songs, a bevy of selections from the stage and silver screen as well as a wide range of other familiar melodies. Regardless of each song's respective heritage, all the material here is given an engaging -- if not somewhat inspired -- score from Lyman (vibraphone and marimba), who is joined by Alan Soares (piano), John Kramer (bass, guitar, and flute), and Harold Chang (percussion). The Highwaymen had considerable success with their 1962 update of Huddie Ledbetter's "Cotton Fields," and the assembled bandmembers waste no time fueling their reading with a jaunty concoction of uptempo jazz and blues, with Lyman's improvisations standing out between the verses. "Suzy's Waltz" captures the combo in a soulful mood, adapting a theme strikingly similar to Ray Charles' R&B primer "What'd I Say." Edging back into the realm of jazz, the upgrades of organist Jimmy Smith's "Walk on the Wild Side," the Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart-penned "Little Girl Blue," and Herbie Hancock's slippery syncopated "Watermelon Man" provide uniformly excellent examples of Lyman's strengths as a formidable instrumentalist. The early-'60s bossa nova craze certainly didn't escape the group, as it unleashes versions of "Limbo Rock," "Hawaiian War Chant," "Brazil," and the follow-up, "Brazilleros," in an incessantly catchy fusion of post-bop jazz and Brazilian-based samba stylings. Concurrent with these platters, the folk movement was just beginning to take hold as a force to be contended with. With that in mind, the rationale behind using Peter, Paul & Mary's lightweight handling of Bob Dylan's masterpiece "Blowin' in the Wind" is most likely based on the trio's proven track record -- having taken it to the top spot on the adult contemporary chart. More traditional by comparison are the beguiling "Greensleeves," "This Is My Beloved" (from the 1953 musical +Kismet), "Scarlet Ribbons" (which features Kramer on flute), and the stunningly beautiful adaptation of the Appalachian-based "He's Gone Away." The latter had initially come to prominence as featured in poet Carl Sandburg's 1955 -American Songbag, prior to the title's inclusion by the Coon Creek Girls' on their Renfro Valley Gatherin' album in 1962. Lyman lovers should take note of the tiki jive on "Jungle Drums," "Singing Bamboo," and an outstanding rendition of Eden Ahbez's "Eden's Island." Other entries worth a rotation or two are the aforementioned classy "Little Girl Blue" -- from the 1935 Rodgers & Hart musical +Jumbo-- and a similarly refined arrangement of "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad." ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide