LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

It takes a certain confidence to start an album--only his fourth as a leader, and first for a major jazz label--with a elegiac number like "Goodbye," but that's just how guitarist Chuck Wayne kicked off Morning Mist. But then, Wayne's credentials extended for miles--from jazz (52nd Street during its heyday, George Shearing, Woody Herman, Gil Evans), to singers (Tony Bennett), to CBS-TV and Broadway and various jingles. Though not terribly well known to the general public, Wayne (b. Charles Jagelka, 1923; d. 1997) was a guitarist's guitarist, who could also play bebop banjo (as on this set's "Lovely"), as well as mandolin and balalaika. Morning Mist, a trio date from 1964, is notable for its winsome chordal theme statements, stirring single-note solos, pensive balladry, and uptempo dexterity. Chuck Wayne was not only a guitarist's guitarist, but a musician's musician.
Track listing:Goodbye, See Saw, Li'l Darlin', I'll Get Along, Things Ain't What They Used to Be, Shalimar, Someone to Watch Over Me, The Song Is You, Alone at Last, Lovely