Warren Smith: One More Lick For Harold Vick

Warren Smith wrote this composition as a paean to the great flinty-toned tenorist, Harold Vick. Smith never recorded with Vick, as far as I know, but considered him a dear friend, and deeply respected him as a both a sax player and bandleader.

The song begins with a resplendent intro of suspended, ascending chords that quickly culminates into raucous swing. Its not apparent who out of Smith and Haber are playing the drums and who is manning the vibes, but the hard-charging drums are setting the tone for the entire band. Stewarts tenor sax solos with the gusto of the songs namesake, as does Yates with his alto.

The pretty theme is revisited at periodic intervals, softening out the hard edges of the tune, perhaps symbolic of Vicks own soft side. Regardless of whether that was intended or not, Vick would have surely been pleased at the tribute. Perhaps even more pleased than at Sonny Rollins funky Did You See Harold Vick? from about ten years earlier.