Faulise, Paul

Bass trombonist whose recording career stretches back at least to 1950, with the release of Dizzy’s Diamond’s: The Best of the Verve Years and Lush Life: The Billy Strayhorn Songbook.

In 1952, he appeared on two more tribute albums, All the Things You Are: The Jerome Kern Songbook and Night and Day: The Cole Porter Songbook. In fact, there have been seemingly few songbooks Paul Faulise hasn’t played from during his 50+ year recording career. In 1955, he performed on Carmen McRae’s Here to Stay and Compact Jazz: Cannonball Adderley. He would also make the cut on Cannonball’s Greatest Hits, released in 1958, the same year he played on Jazz ’round Midnight: Quincy Jones. He would collaborate with these artists consistently over the years.

Paul re-united with Dizzy on Gillespiana/Carnegie Hall Concert in 1960, around the same time he was recording Afro/American Sketches with Oliver Nelson and being billed as part of The Incredible Kai Winding Trombones. In 1961, he blew trombone on Cannonball Adderley’s African Waltz, created Perceptions with Dizzy Gillespie, and appeared on the Quincy Jones albums, At Basin St. East (with Billy Eckstine), Quincy Jones at Newport, and Quintessence. He did a bossa nova turn in 1962 with The Girl from Ipanema: The Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook and Enoch Light’s Big Band Bossa Nova: The New Beat from Brazil. In 1963 and 1964, he appeared on five Jimmy Smith albums, Any Number Can Win, Christmas Cookin’, Christmas ’64, The Sermon, and Talkin’ Verve: Roots of Acid Jazz. He accompanied a pair of sirens in 1965, Carmen McRae on Alfie and Sarah Vaughan on Viva! Vaughan. In 1966, he joined the Big Band of Jimmy McGriff on their Tribute to Count Basie. He was also a member of the Jazz Interactions Orchestra that recorded Jazzhattan Suite in 1967. Another group he hooked up with was The Free Design, on their album, You Could Be Born Again, and The Tonight Show band, which undoubtedly helped Doc Severinsen announce his Great Arrival in 1968. In 1969, he appeared on no less than three Paul Desmond albums, From the Hot Afternoon, Latin Chant (Canto Latino) and Round ‘n Round.

He opened the 1970s with Bill Evans’ From Left to Right, The Best of Freddie Hubbard, and Doc Severinsen’s Closet. In 1972, he appeared on a pair of Freddie Hubbard albums, Povo and Sky Dive, and Grover Washington, Jr.’s All the Kings Horses. The two of them would also lay down tracks for Soul Box, released in 1974, a year that also saw Paul team up with jazz guitarist George Benson on Bad Benson, and Bob James and Claus Ogerman on Symbiosis. In 1975, he appeared on The Choice 4’s and The Manhattan Transfer’s self-titled albums. He let out a Primal Scream in 1976 with Maynard Ferguson, and appeared on Maynard’s follow-up album, Conquistador, released the following year. In 1977, things got spacey with Meco’s Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk. He performed in the soundtrack of The Wiz in 1978, and helped Van McCoy explore My Favourite Fantasy. In 1979, Van employed his services again on Lonely Dancer, as did Frank Sinatra on his boxed set, Trilogy, and Meco for the Yuletide album no family should be without, Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album.

In 1984, he made the cut on The Best of George Benson. He ended the decade with B.B. King, Live at the Apollo. On 18^th April 1990, he helped premiere Charles Mingus’s ambitious “Epitaph”, a jazz suite that clocks in at two hours and fifteen minutes, under the baton of Gunther Schuller. The 1990s and the new millennium found Paul getting steady work in the Broadway pit of a pair of long-running musicals, The Will Rogers Follies, which ran from 1991 to 1993, and Beauty and the Beast, which ran from 18^th April 1994 through 29^th July 2007. At the end of the run, Paul and his fellow musicians donated the $370 from the tip box to the Emergency Relief Fund.

In addition to a massive discography that is barely represented here, Paul has also found time to teach and to write a valuable instruction book for budding trombonists, The F&D Double Valve Bass Trombone: Daily Warm-Up and Maintenance Exercises.

Van McCoy recordings
That’s the Joint (Van McCoy)

Frank Sinatra recordings
That’s What God Looks Like To Me (Stan Irvin/Lan O’Kun)
Reprise RPS 49233 (XNY2101S) (US 45)

Theme from “New York, New York” (Fred Ebb/John Kander)
Reprise RPS49233 (XNY 2103 S) (US 45)

He’s playing the trombone here on a performance of “Wind Machine” with Butch Miles and his orchestra….

Sources:

Faulise, Paul (1935-Present)

Navigate Feenotes

Search Feenotes

Please donate to keep the site alive