The Long Way Home (Cellar) is an instrumental album with a generous bonus collection of interviews, starring pianist Charles Chen, recorded in New York with bassist Bill Crow, drummer Steve Little, and guitarist Félix Lemerle. Captured August 11, 2025 at Bunker Studio, The Long Way Home presents a set of standards accompanied by spoken tracks in which Crow and Little recount their lives in music. It pairs performances with firsthand accounts from the same musicians. Notably, it is available June 19th as CD, vinyl, digital download and in streaming formats.
Bill Crow, who came to the bass after arriving in New York as a valve trombonist, went on to work with Stan Getz, Marian McPartland, Gerry Mulligan, and Claude Thornhill, and later documented that world in writing, including his books Jazz Anecdotes (1990) and From Birdland to Broadway (1992). At 98, he continues to perform.
Steve Little, now 91, worked with Duke Ellington late in Ellington’s career before leaving the road and building a career in New York’s studios, orchestras, and television industry. His credits include the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and decades of work on Sesame Street and related productions. He and Crow have known each other since 1955 and continue to play together regularly at Smalls Jazz Club in New York, where they maintain a weekly presence.
Charles Chen is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and has performed and recorded with Randy Brecker, Billy Drummond, Bob Sheppard, Roy McCurdy, Adam Nussbaum, Mike Richmond, Ralph Moore, Peter Washington, and Kenny Washington. A first-place winner at the 2019 Jazz Search West competition, he has appeared at venues including Yoshi’s and the San Jose Jazz Festival.
Félix Lemerle is a Paris-born guitarist based in New York and trained at the CRR de Paris, Queens College, and Juilliard, his nimble fingers and soulful sense of groove completes the quartet.
Opening with Oscar Pettiford’s “Laverne Walk” (5:45), the piano leads the way, brushes sizzle the whole way through, upright bass played with pluck, the guitar’s turn is deeper into the track, there is a very nice percussion solo, the piano melody is circular and the guitar weaves it all together. Lavern does not need to walk fast, more like dancing while gliding.
“You Turned the Tables on Me” (5:14) was originally composed by Louis Alter with lyrics by Sidney D. Mitchell. I love a sassy piano, while amply supported by guitar, drums, and bass, the piano does most of the talking and tells quite a story.
Cole Porter’s “Dream Dancing” (4:37) celebrates the soothing romantic piano to the maximum with the drum kit and the bass. While the piano gets busy showing off, the bass is always right on time and the guitar makes the magic, ahhh, romance.
“Squatty Roo” (3:00) is a rapid tricky ditty, while the piano leads the melodic fun, the guitar takes some swirls and turns too and there is a really cool drum solo.
Next comes “On the Alamo” (5:45), leaning back with lots of trills and flourishes on the 88s, on this number the guitar soon has a hand and the flow perks up, like a crooner. There is another groovy section of drum solos on this one, with plenty of snare flare, a bass solo and the guitar takes us out into a very tidy ending to the track.
“You Send Me” (4:18) was written by Sam Cooke and pairs the guitar and piano, the famous melody is not pushed, it floats up gently. I love it when the microphone catches a musician making vocal sounds, uhhhhhhhh…
Next comes an Ellington triptych — “Prelude to a Kiss” (2:11), “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good)” (2:12), and “Sophisticated Lady” (2:51). These three classics flow perfectly together, everyone trading solos, a sleepy dreamy relaxing groove with plenty of variation and trill work, flourishes, and noodles galore.
Flowing sweetly in a new direction, “Yours Is My Heart Alone” (4:19) is originally from the 1929 operetta The Land of Smiles (Das Land des Lächelns) with music by Franz Lehár and the libretto by Fritz Löhner-Beda and Ludwig Herzer. The piano pleads the case as a solo to start and gets increasingly chilly. The feeling almost closes but then breaks open a brighter tempo, bass and drums lift the weight and the guitar breaks in with a solo, which blends with the band and the piano picks right up and takes over, all bright and peppy.
Referring to the musical Madame Butterfly, “Poor Butterfly” (5:23), the piano owns this one, while the drums come in, brushes sizzle and of course the bass is there too keeping it both easy and busy as the bass does. There is a smooth guitar solo to bring us all home.
Crow and Little represent two distinct paths through the same era: one rooted in bandstands and small groups, the other in orchestras, studios, and television work. They have known each other since 1955 and continue to perform together. Little recalls working with Duke Ellington, including performing without drum charts, and describes the mid-century New York union scene, where thousands of musicians gathered each week. He explains why he left the road after a snowbound engagement with Dave Brubeck and how he built a career across studios, orchestras, and television. Crow’s accounts cover Claude Thornhill, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, and Marian McPartland, along with firsthand memories of Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, and other musicians he worked with and heard early in his career.
The Long Way Home brings an essential and rapidly disappearing insight into standard jazz professional musicians doing what they do best for all these years, they welcome the new ones and honor the old ones. Each instrument has special details, the drums are cool and understated, the bass is busy and keeps behind the center except for rare solos, the guitar can carry anything, and the piano owns the place.
It’s essential classic jazz listening that brings a rare insight into the passing era, plus some memories of the musicians themselves.
Find it everywhere June 19th, including Bandcamp: https://charleschen.bandcamp.com/album/the-long-way-home
TRACKS
“Laverne Walk” (5:45)
“You Turned the Tables on Me” (5:14)
“Dream Dancing” (4:37)
“Squatty Roo” (3:00)
“On the Alamo” (5:45)
“You Send Me” (4:18)
“Prelude to a Kiss” (2:11)
“I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good)” (2:12)
“Sophisticated Lady” (2:51)
“Yours Is My Heart Alone” (4:19)
“Poor Butterfly” (5:23)
