Duke Ellington For Christmas

 Then, in 1892, Tchaikovsky's famous ballet, The Nutcracker, debuted. Because the ballet is set on Christmas Eve and the hero is a nutcracker come to life, the products quickly became associated with holiday decor.

The story of The Nutcracker is loosely based on the Ernest Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann fantasy story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King", about a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King.

The San Francisco ballet performed "The Nutcracker" on Christmas Eve of 1944. But it wasn't until the 1960s that performances of the complete "Nutcracker" ballet really took off as an annual Christmas tradition around the world.

Allow me to respect the tradition accompanied by the quintessential jazz orchestra.

May this entry also serve to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra

The Nutcracker Suite

By the time Duke Ellington recorded his holiday LP The Nutcracker Suite for the Columbia label in the summer of 1960, he had already led a four-decade career as a peerless innovator and leader of an orchestra of legendary virtuosity.

Though his fame had somewhat waned by the bebop era of the early 1950s, Ellington enjoyed a well-deserved career resurgence with the overwhelming reaction to his 1956 live date Ellington at Newport, and this renewed vitality seemed to expand his horizons still further to encompass ever more ambitious large-scale works, his concerts of sacred music, soundtrack composing, collaboration with John Coltrane and Charles Mingus, etc.

>The Nutcracker Suite< was Ellington’s first album-length project devoted to the work of another composer, but it’s not the only thing that makes this recording a standout in his discography. A cursory glance at the album cover immediately draws attention for its central image that features both Ellington and his longtime musical partner, composer, and arranger Billy Strayhorn — the first time Strayhorn’s image graced an Ellington cover — and for the listing of three surnames as the creators of the work: Ellington, Strayhorn, and Tchaikovsky. This equality of billing makes complete sense in retrospect — Strayhorn had the idea for the project in the first place and reimagined the suite to best suit the Ellington Orchestra — but to openly suggest that Duke Ellington was not the singular architect of his own work was an unprecedented (and overdue) acknowledgment of Strayhorn’s talent and his importance as a major figure in jazz in his own right.

Producer Irving Townsend contributed the liner notes to the original release, and in his opening relates a jaw-dropping, but completely apocryphal, anecdote about Tchaikovsky and Ellington meeting in Las Vegas — the Russian died six years before Duke was born and only traveled to the U.S. once in 1891 to conduct concerts on the East Coast — but Townsend most likely meant that it was during Duke’s Riviera Hotel residency that he made the decision to adapt Tchaikovsky’s work. Since Strayhorn masterminded the project, this is also not strictly accurate, but effectively gets us into the background of the album. *Rusty Aceves (sfjazz.org)*

Duke Ellington and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky met in Las Vegas while Duke's band was setting attendance records at the Riviera Hotel. For the first time in Ellington history, Duke had decided to devote an entire album to arrangements of another composer's works instead of his own, and Tchaikovsky was the natural choice.

Because the suite is a favorite form for Ellington composition, the Nutcracker was the obvious Tchaikovsky work to choose.

Duke and Billy Strayhorn needed some reassurance that nobody, including the famous Russian composer, would mind if the Suite was translated into the Ellington style, but once these fears were banished, they attacked the “Sugar-Plum Fairy” and the “Waltz of the Flowers” as if they were no more sacred than “Perdido.”

Duke's band had undergone some changes during his Las Vegas stand, and as he arrived in Los Angeles to begin the recording, the trombone section included two Ellington alumni, Lawrence Brown and Juan Tizol, back for postgraduate courses.

The rhythm section also included Sam Woodyard, back with the band after a year's absence, and Aaron Bell, one of the fine bass players in jazz. Eddie Mullins was new in the trumpet section, as was Meringuito, and Willie Cook had returned to the band. The sax section and, of course, the piano player, were unchanged.

Duke Ellington's first brush with the classics is successfully completed. It is a tribute, I think, to Duke and Billy and to Tchaikovsky. The Ellington forces have proved once again that in any setting, this great band and its strong personality pervade all the music it plays. But that Tchaikovsky has also triumphed is an indication of the perennial strength of his music. As Duke commented, "That cat was it". *Irving Townsend (liner notes)*

1- Overture

2 - Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance Of The Reed-Pipes)

3 - Peanut Brittle Brigade (March)

4 - Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy)

5 - Entr'acte

6 - The Volga Vouty (Russian Dance)

7 - Chinoiserie (Chinese Dance)

8 - Dance Of The Floreadores (Waltz Of The Flowers)

9 - Arabesque Cookie (Arabian Dance)

 (All compositins by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and adaptaed by Duke Ellington)

Willie Cook, Fats Ford, Ray Nance, Clark Terry (trumpets), 

Lawrence Brown, Booty Wood, Britt Woodman (trombones),

Juan Tizol (valve trombone), Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet, tenor sax), 

Johnny Hodges (alto sax), Russell Procope (alto sax, clarinet), 

Paul Gonsalves (tenor sax), Harry Carney (baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet),

Duke Ellington (piano), Aaron Bell (bass), Sam Woodyard (drums):

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, California,

May 26 (#1, #5), May 31 (#2), June 3 (#4, #8), June 21 (#3, #7) and June 22 (#6, #9), 1960.

✤

And now, time for holidays.

To all blog readers, my best wishes for a great 2025.

Out Let will be back next year... exactly on January 20th.

Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XXV)

James Moody

James Moody

James Moody's self-titled disc from 1959 is a solidly swinging date that finds Moody splitting his time between flute, alto, and tenor sax. His sextet is made up of mostly obscure players, though trumpeter Johnny Coles had a couple of records as a leader. The session was the first for Moody following his stay at Overbrook Hospital and he certainly sounds rejuvenated on uptempo tunes like "Daahoud," "Darben the Redd Foxx", and "Cookie". His work on flute is especially nice on the ballads "Little Girl Blue" and "Yesterdays". Best of all is "R.B.Q.", a funky blues workout that closes the record in style and features Moody on tenor blowing his soul out. This record is a fine example of what makes Moody so wonderful; his exuberance, thoughtfulness, and soul make him one of the greats. If you haven't discovered him yet, this is a good place to start. If you're already hip to the man, this is a vital addition to your collection. *Tim Sendra*

Great work from Moody's "second phase" — the post-Overbrook time in which he picks up the flute, drops a bit of the bop style, and starts working in a much more complicated style that showed that he had a hell of a lot of room to grow as an artist! This album's Moody's second for Argo — recorded in 1959, with help from the brilliant arranger Tom McIntosh. Players include Johnny Coles, Musa Kaleem, Gene Kee, and McIntosh — and the album features the first reading of Moody's famous "Darben The Redd Foxx", plus "Cookie", "RBQ", "Daahoud", and McIntosh's perennial favorite, "With Malice Toward None".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

James Moody’s last album, Last Train From Overbrook, was his first recorded step back from a darkness that had engulfed the career of a distinguished jazz musician. It was made in September of 1958, following his half-year tenure at Overbrook, a New Jersey institution at which a sick and alcoholic Moody regained physical and mental health.

This album is the second step back. It was recorded almost exactly one year later, a year during which Moody had reorganized his seven-piece group and had painfully scuffled for bookings that would support it. And it was a year in which Moody established for himself a basis on which he can once more become one of the best-known names among jazz saxophonists and flutists.

During the recording session, Moody once again had a bottle as his companion — a quart of root beer. At the date’s end, as he was packing his tenor saxophone, he eached into the case and pulled out a pint bottle of cheap wine. It was sealed tight, and on the label he had scratched, "Washington, D.C., 1958". 

"I always carry it with me", he said. "Just to remind me". *Jack Tracy (liner notes)*

1 - Darben The Redd Foxx

(James Moody)

2 - Little Girl Blue

(Rodgers, Hart)

3 - Out Of Nowhere

(Green, Heyman)

4 - Daahoud

(Clifford Brown)

5 - Yesterdays

(Kern, Harbach)

6 - Cookie

(Gene Kee)

7 - With Malice Toward None

(Frank McIntosh)

8 - R.B.Q.

(Gene Kee)

James Moody (flute, alto sax, tenor sax), Johnny Coles (trumpet), Tom McIntosh (trombone),

Musa Kaleem (baritone sax), Gene Kee (piano), John Latham (bass), Clarence Johnston (drums).

Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, August, 1959

✤

To be continued...

Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XXIV)

Zoot Sims Quartet

Zoot 

Owner of a badge of distinction only worn in the lapels of three other men (Stan Getz, Herbie Seward, and Serge Charloff), until late '50s "Zoot" Sims was mostly known as one of the original member of the "Four Brothers" (the saxophone section for the Woody Herman orchestra back in 1947) and for his later prolific collaboration with Al Cohn. Recorded in Chicago in 1956, and originally issued on the Argo label, Zoot is the first of his works to give him sufficient blowing room to show his qualities and merits the full rating as one of the more sustained examples of hot jazz improvisation. *forcedexposure.com*

An obscure session for Zoot Sims — but a nice one! The group's a quartet — with Johnny Williams on piano, Gus Johnson on drums, and Knobby Totah on bass — and Zoot's blowing in an unfettered setting that reminds us a bit of Sonny Stitt in similar settings at the same time! Tracks are shortish, but there's still plenty of room for Zoot to work in a style that's up there with his best bop recordings of the 50s — and at some level, the record's got the same sharp edge as Sims' best early sides for Prestige — but perhaps goes them one better with an added sense of tightness and maturity. The titles are pretty fresh too — and include "55th And State", "9:20 Special", "Gus's Blues", and "Bohemia After Dark".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

Zoot Sims is the country boy move to the city, one who has let enough sophistication stick to him so that he can get along with the urbanites.

Though he has firm control of his horn, he shrugs off any unnecessary technical bric-a-brac to dig deeply into the blues-based roots of jazz. His  playing is piercingly honest and revealing, and though he, too, is of the many who have been influenced by Lester Young, his  sound is thicker and fuller, and the beat he evokes is more akin to a heart-beat than a pulse. 

Zoot is a swinger planted ankle-deep in loam.

(This is) quite a remarkable album, one which turns a bright bulb on Zoot Sims, tenor saxophonist.

He does not blink. *Jack Tracy (liner notes)*

1 - 9:20 Special

(E. Warren)

2 - The Man I Love

(G. and I. Gershwin)

3 - 55th And State

(Z. Sims)

4 - Blue Room

(Rogers, Hart)

5 - Gus's Blues

(G.  Johnson)

6 - That Old Feeling

(L. Brown, S. Fain)

7 - Bohemia After Dark

(O. Pettiford)

8 - Woody'n You

(D. Gillespie)

Zoot Sims (tenor sax, alto sax), John Williams (piano),

Knobby Totah (bass), Gus Johnson (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York City, October 12, 1956

Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XXIII)

Sonny Stitt

Sonny Stitt

Sonny Stitt recorded extensively throughout his career, so frequently that he often couldn't remember his sessions a year later. This informal session, cut in Chicago in 1958, is one that Stitt apparently forgot about, which is why the personnel (probably a local rhythm section that might include pianist Barry Harris) has never been definitively identified. Stitt, doubling on alto and tenor, plays some songs with unfamiliar titles, but all of the chord changes of the originals (half of them blues) are fairly basic. He is in above-average form, making this LP of interest for bebop collectors.

*Scott Yanow*

A record with a simple, elegant title — and a similar cover image too — but if you know Sonny Stitt, you know there's often plenty beneath the surface, and this classic Argo Records has plenty to offer, once you start listening! The album's right up there with Sonny's work for Roost — in terms of straight, strong, confident blowing — remarkably subtle, but also remarkably well-conceived, and proof that by the end of the 50s, Stitt had really matured greatly as a player — bringing so much to bear in very short space, and really coming up with imaginative solos in the process! The group's a quartet with Barry Harris on piano (although conflicting information also claims that it's Ramsey Lewis) — but Stitt's the main focus on this set, and for good reason — on titles that include "Jack Spratt", "Propapagoon", "This Is Always", "Everyone Does", and "Mr Sun".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

The front and back covers of this album feature the same photo, a close-up of Sonny Stitt. Even if the size is small enough for a CD booklet, it is a striking photo. But just like the analog version, the original artwork does not mention the musicians who complete the quartet. That is why many people still wonder who they are.

Some sources say they are Barry Harris on piano, William Austin on piano and Frank Gant on drums. But that is just an assumption. Fans who have heard Harris play even once should know that Harris' style and that of the pianist on this album are not at all similar. Furthermore, in an interview with the British magazine "Jazz Monthly", Barry Harris himself denied having participated in this recording.

I'd like to assume the theory that the pianist is Ramsey Lewis, given the similarities to other recordings from the same period that he participated in such as MAX by drummer Max Roach and The Colorful Strings Of Jimmy Woode by bassist Woode.

When Lewis visited Japan in August 2011, we asked him about it and he replied: "Yes... That pianist is definitely me. But I don't remember who the bass player and the drummer were."

Perhaps one day the doubt will be resolved. *Kazunori Hadada (from Japanese CD liner notes)*

1 - Propapagoon

(Sonny Stitt)

2 - This Is Always

(Harry Warren, Mack Gordon)

3 - Jack Spratt

(Sonny Stitt)

4 - Just You, Just Me

(Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages)

5 - Cool Blues

(Charlie Parker)

6 - Mister Sun

(Sonny Stitt)

7 - Dancing On The Ceiling

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

8 - Everyone Does

(Sonny Stitt)

Sonny Stitt (alto sax, tenor sax), possibly with:

Ramsey Lewis (piano), Eldee Young (bass), Isaac "Red" Holt (drums)

or

Barry Harris (piano), William "Bill" Austin (bass), Frank Gant (drums)

Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, 1958

Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XXII)

Jimmy Woode

The Colorful Strings Of Jimmy Woode

Jimmy Woode played the bass for over 50 years, but he isn’t as well known to American audiences as he should be. The reason is, he spent about 40 of those years as an expatriate in Europe. His stateside career was short in comparison.

The Philadelphia-born Woode arrived in Boston in 1946 following his discharge from the army. He studied first at Boston University’s School of Music, then at the Boston Conservatory. By 1948 he was with Clarence Jackson and His Notes of Rhythm, and in 1949 in a short-lived quartet with Jaki Byard, Ray Perry, and Alan Dawson. (Now that must have been interesting.)

Woode left Boston for a time in 1950–51, on the road with Flip Phillips and Bill Harris, but by late 1951 he was at Storyville as the house bassist. He worked with everybody coming through: Sidney Bechet, Teddy Wilson, Charlie Parker, and singers  Lee Wiley and Billie Holiday. He was also Wein’s bassist of choice for the summer Storyvilles in the early fifties. Two Storyville Records sessions highlight his versatility. One was Jazz at Storyville with the New Orleans master Bechet, the other Serge Chaloff and Boots Mussulli.

In 1954 Woode worked in a duo with Jaki Byard and a trio with Dean Earl, and he continued to accompany the biggest stars in jazz, including Parker again, Ella Fitzgerald, and Miles Davis.

In February 1955, Duke Ellington was at Storyville and he needed a substitute bassist right away. Woode got the job, and he remained with Ellington until April 1960. He had memorable moments with the Duke. Everyone remembers that Paul Gonsalves played all those choruses at Newport in 1956, but not everyone remembers it was Woode and Sam Woodyard who laid down the beat for him.

September 2, 1957 found Woode in a Chicago studio recording his only album as a leader, The Colorful Strings of Jimmy Woode, on the Argo label. Woode brought along fellow Ellingtonians Gonsalves, Woodyard, and Clark Terry to the session, and filled out the group with Chicagoans Porter Kilbert on alto, Mike Simpson on flute, and a young Ramsey Lewis on piano. Woode composed all the tunes on Colorful Strings except the standard, “The Way You Look Tonight.”

In 1960, Woode moved to Europe, where he never lacked for work. In 1961, he became a founding member of the big band led by drummer Kenny Clarke and pianist Francy Boland, and he later toured extensively with the Paris Reunion Band. He returned to the States in about 2000.

Jimmy Woode died on April 23, 2005, in what was a very bad week for the art of jazz bass. Niels-Henning Ørsted-Pedersen died on April 20, and Percy Heath died on April 28. Over 150 years of experience were lost in eight days. *richardvacca.com*

An incredible record from bassist Woode – quite possibly his only small group session as a leader, and a super-hip album that bridges his work with Duke Ellington and later sides with the Clarke Boland Big Band! The record's got a groove that's far different than anything Woode cut with Ellington – and in a way, it already points the way towards some of the sounds that would be created by American ex-patriots on the European scene of the 60s. The groove is very light – and features Woode's bass leading a combo with flute from Mike Simpson, tenor from Paul Gonsalves, trumpet from Clark Terry, and piano from Ramsey Lewis – all coming together in unusual timings and phrasings that are a fair bit different than their own work of the time. Simpson's flute is especially great – a really lyrical element that works perfectly with Woode's melodic bass work – and Gonsalves and Terry are working here in their best tonal color mode, really shading things in nicely! All cuts are originals by Woode, and they're done in long takes – with titles that include "Dance Of The Reluctant Drag", "Man From Potter's Crossing", "Falmouth Recollections", and "Foofy For President". *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

Side 1

1 - Falmouth Recollections

(J. Woode)

2 - The Way You Look Tonight

(J. Kern, D. Fields)

3 - Foofy For President

(J. Woode)

Side 2

4 - The Man From Potter's Crossing

(J. Woode)

5 - Dance Of The Reluctant Drag

(J. Woode)

6 - Empathy, For Ruth

(J. Woode)

Clark Terry (trumpet), Paul Gonsalves (tenor sax), Porter Kilbert (alto sax), 

Britt Woodman (trombone), Mike Simpson (flute), 

Ramsey Lewis (piano), Jimmy Woode (bass, vocals [#2]), Sam Woodyard (drums).

Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, September 2, 1957

Rare And Obscure Argo Recordings (XXI)

Max Roach

MAX

1958's MAX shows Max Roach at the top of his game. A decade earlier, Roach had absorbed Kenny Clarke's drumming style and, with trumpet virtuoso Clifford Brown, forged his own brand of bebop. By 1958, on his way to becoming a true jazz elder, Roach began pushing the boundaries of jazz even further. The quintet heard here served as Roach's musical springboard after Brown's untimely death in 1956. >MAX< is a "comeback" album of sorts. Kenny Dorham steps in to fill Brown's shoes and does so with great panache. Hank Mobley's fine tenor playing is also spotlighted. Highlights include the fast and furious Dorham original "Speculate" and the lush ballad "That Ole Devil Love". On the former, Roach takes an absolutely blazing drum solo-which ends curiously with the sound of a tape splice. The performances on this track alone prove that Roach's band was the equal of any hard-bop group in the world. *allmusic.com*

Killer set of bop tracks recorded by Max and other NY bop heavy hitters — like Hank Mobley and Kenny Dorham — plus a guest appearance by Ramsey Lewis on piano, in one of his few non-Chicago, non-trio sides! The record's got that great kind of energy that Roach could hit when he really was kicking his group into gear — and although the overall approach is mostly hardbop, there's plenty going on under the surface. Tracks inlcude "CM", "Four X", "Crackle Hut", and "Speculate". *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

There are many drummers in jazz. But Roach is one of the few meriting the title "percussionist". Few drummers utilize their instrument in the multi-faceted manner that Roach does. He communicates vividly, because he has liberated his instrument to incorporate in its realm patterns of expression rarely associated with it before Roach.

As an accompanist, Roach knows his function and performs it with taste and skill.

Roach, to understate it, is "a good drummer".

In every sense, Roach is a musician. He listens carefully and astutely to what occurs around him. He reflects the feelings and expressions of his compatriots. He seizes ideas, expands them, and returns them in the form of provocative messages. He utilizes the drums as more than sound-creating devices. He fulfills the musical needs of other musicians during a performance. This fulfilment often leads to specific and longrun progress on their parts.

Roach is more than a time-keeper, often the sole function of many jazz drummers. Rather than impersonate a metronome, Roach plays several key roles. Zealously guarding the beat, Roach is inventive enough to accomplish much more than this single function. He utilizes rhythmic patterns creatively; it is difficult to predict his musical behavior, yet it is a constant listening challenge. He plays melodically, speaking freely to the other instruments.

Roach has come a long way since he emerged from high school in '42. From the Minton's era to the School of Jazz at Lenox, Roach has grown with jazz, in the best sense of the term "evolution". Although many jazz listeners might question Roach's capacity for further growth, after such ambitious development, it is quite likely that he will go on to master more of the complexities of modern music, without sacrificing his improvisatory brilliance.

In so doing, he may well dwarf his past achievements.

In Roach's case, this is possible. *Don Gold (liner notes)*

1 - Crackle Hut

(Owen Marshall)

2 - Speculate

(Kenny Dorham)

3 - That Ole Devil Love

(Allan Roberts, Doris Fisher)

4 - Audio Blues

(Max Roach)

5 - "C.M."

(Hank Mobley)

6 - Four-X

(Max Roach)

Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Hank Mobley (tenor sax),

Ramsey Lewis (piano), George Morrow (bass), Max Roach (drums).

Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, January 4, 1958

Rare And Obscure Bob Davis Albums

 Bob Davis was born in Cosmos, Minnesota, July 26, 1927. By the age of 18, Davis was playing improvisational jazz with some of the greats. His styles were ahead of his time. Jazz greats such as Stan Kenton & Count Basie had looked at Davis as one of the greatest jazz pianists of the time.

His playing career did not become fully known to the world because he stopped touring early on to join Hugh Hefner as music director for the Playboy Club in Chicago. He then went on to form his own management company which had such clients as The Jacksons, Ike and Tina Turner, Waylon Jennings, and many more. He still played later in his life, doing shows in the US and South America, and was always considered the finest of technicians.

Bob played with musicians in his quartet and trio such as Stu Anderson (father of TV's Richard Dean Anderson), Bill Blakkestad, Dave Karr, Johnny Frigo, Marcel St. Laurent, and many others. He appeared on bills with Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, and was a personal favorite of Stan Kenton.

Bob Davis passed away in 1996. It is our hope that his music lives on. Please enjoy these treasures. *soundclick.com*

Bob Davis Quartet

Jazz From The North Coast

&

Jazz in Orbit

This pianist was directly inspired by the efforts of his mother, also a piano player who frequently hit the road with touring bands. Bob Davis began his music career as a drummer and by age 13 had been absorbed into a family band. Leaving home meant not only no longer backing up his mother, but a chance to play piano himself. Prior to starting his own group, which was active through the '50s and recorded for several small labels, Davis spent a couple of years gigging with Herbie Fields.

The Davis group, featuring fellow Minneapolis jazzman Bill Blakkestad on drums, gigged frequently around the Midwest, including Chicago. With his drummer inclined to steal attention with solos in the style of Buddy Rich, the pianist also became known for technical mastery. It makes sense that two of the pianists that Davis picked out as influences over the years, Oscar Peterson and Bud Powell, are both known for technical virtuosity. While country & western music may seem like the opposite end of the spectrum, Davis has also dabbled down the road in Nashville. He established a relationship with guitarist and producer Chet Atkins on the 1953 Jazz from the Hills project that led to some other session work, a highlight of which is his cocktail piano goofs on sides by the insane song comedians Homer & Jethro. *Eugene Chadbourne (allmusic.com)*

The Davis group, featuring fellow Minneapolis jazzman William Blakkestad on drums, gigged frequently around the midwest including Chicago. With his drummer inclined to steal attention with solos in the style of Buddy Rich, the pianist also became known for technical mastery. It makes sense that two of the pianists that Davis picked out as influences over the years, Oscar Peterson and Bud Powell, are both known for technical virtuosity. *Jordi Pujol*

1 - Goose

(Bob Davis)

2 - Just The Way You Look Tonight

(Kern, Fields)

3 - Nancy

(Van Heusen, Silvers)

4 -It's All Right With Me

(Porter)

5 - The Song Is You

(Kern, Hammerstein II)

6 -Night In Tunisia

(Gillespie, Paparelli)

7 - Willow Weep For Me

(Ronell)

8 - China Boy

(Winfree, Boutelje)

9 - River Road

(Bob Davis)

10 - The Lady Is A Tramp

(Rodgers, Hart)

11 - Adam's Evening

(Bob Davis)

12 - Windy City

(Karr)

13 - Darn That Dream

(De Lange, Van Heusen)

14 - Blues In Orbit

(Bob Davis)

15 - Dr. Pepper

(Bob Davis)

16 - Cherokee

(R. Noble)

17 - Buzzy

(C. Porter)

18 - Star Eyes

(De Paul, Don Raye)

19 - I Remember April

(De Paul, Don Raye, Johnston)

20 - Sometimes I'm Happy

(Youmans)

21 - Up In Ray's Pad

(Bob Davis)

22 - Deedee's Dream

(Karr)

#1 to #10: from the album Jazz From The North Coast (Zephyr ZP 12001G)

Bob Grea (alto sax ,tenor sax, baritone sax), Bob Davis (piano),

Stu Anderson (bass), Bill Blakkestad (drums).

Recorded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1957

#11 to #22: from the album Jazz In Orbit (Stepheny MF4003)

Dave Karr (flute, tenor sax, baritne sax), Bob Davis (piano),

Johnny Frigo (bass), Bill Blakkestad (drums).

Recorded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1958

Charlie Mariano - Part Of A Great Jazz Testament

Charlie Mariano (1923-2009), a Boston native born to Italian immigrants, discovered his passion for jazz in the late 1930s after being inspired by Lester Young and Johnny Hodges. He quickly  embraced the alto saxophone as his instrument and began jamming around Boston. Drafted in 1942, Mariano spent three years in an Army Air Corps band. Upon being discharged, he enrolled at Schillinger House to pursue his studies, but soon, influenced by the groundbreaking work of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, he also immersed himself in Boston's vibrant modern jazz scene of the late 1940s, joining Ray Borden's orchestra and also performing at venues such as Hi-Hat, Wally's Paradise, and Eddie Levine's club.

In 1949, Mariano became a key figure in Nat Pierce's band and recorded his first two sides as a leader on the local Motif label, showcasing his modern style, and although he gained some attention among jazz critics, Charlie was still relatively unknown outside of Boston.

It was not until he recorded the 10-inch album titled "The New Sounds from Boston" —which included trumpeter Joe Gordon— for the Prestige label in December 1951 that Mariano's talents as a composer, arranger, and soloist were introduced to jazz audiences across the country.

In 1953, he recorded four more excellent albums, with releases on Prestige, Fantasy, and two on the Imperial label, leading groups that included other Boston jazz legends such as Dick Twardzik, Herb Pomeroy, and Jaki Byard. Not content with being solely a performer, that year he co founded the Jazz Workshop, advocating for musical education and experimentation. In early January 1954, he embarked on a tour with Stan Kenton, eventually finding himself on the West Coast, where he spent the next four years actively participating in the thriving California jazz scene.

Under the title Boppin' In Boston, this compilation of recordings from 1947-1953 serves as a testament to the early years of Charlie Mariano's extensive career. Although he initially played too much like Bird to be regarded as individually distinctive, from 1951 Mariano began creating a distinct voice with his alto saxophone, combining the innovations of bebop language with his own unique style. His contributions to jazz, as a performer and educator, solidified his legacy as one of Boston's most celebrated and revered jazz musicians. *Jordi Pujol*

Charlie Mariano

Boppin' In Boston • 1947~1953

The Fresh Sound label from Barcelona, Spain has during the past couple of decades put out hundreds (probably thousands at this point) of superior jazz reissues, most from the 1945-1965 period. Thanks to the diligence of Jordi Pujol, a countless number of sessions have been saved from obscurity and been given the attention and packaging that they deserve.

Recent reissues include a pair of box sets featuring American saxophonists who first emerged during the classic bebop era. One of them dedicated to Charlie Mariano (1923-2009), a talented alto-saxophonist who was born, raised and often based in Boston. The two-CD set Boppin' In Boston • 1947~1953 has most of the highpoints from the first part of Mariano’s career. Starting with a ballad feature on “What’s New” with the Ray Borden Orchestra, Mariano is heard with groups (including a big band) led by pianist Nat Pierce and at the head of a variety of bop oriented combos. Among his sidemen are the forgotten but colorful bebop trumpeters Gait Preddy (whose career should have gone much further), Joe Gordon, Dick Collins, and Herb Pomeroy, trombonist Sonny Truitt, and pianists Roy Frazee (another talented but forgotten great), Dick Twardzik, Richard Wyands, and Jaki Byard. Mariano was clearly influenced by Charlie Parker, particularly during this era, but his own individual voice is heard gradually emerging. He would later spend time as a member of the Stan Kenton Orchestra, be part of the West Coast jazz scene in Los Angeles, and explore avant-garde jazz and fusion during his later years in Europe. Boppin’ In Boston shows that he was a very skilled player from the start.

This box set has extensive and definitive liner notes from Jordi Pujol along with superior sound. Highly recommended. *Scott Yanow*

* CD 1 *

1 - What's New

(Haggart-Burke)

2 - Boppin' In Boston

(Nat Pierce)

3 - Is This The Thing?

(Nat Pierce)

4 - Body Aand Soul

(Green, Sour, Heyman, Eyton)

5 - Sheba

(Charlie Mariano)

6 - Babylon

(Sonny Truit)

7 - King Edward The Flatted Fifth

(Chaloff, Burns)

8 - It Might As Well Be Spring

(Rodgers, Hammerstein II)

9 - King For A Day

(Fiorito, Lewis, Young)

10 - Boston Uncommon [Master A]

(Charlie Mariano)

11 - Boston Uncommon [Master B]

(Charlie Mariano)

12 - The Wizard [Master A]

(Charlie Mariano)

13 - The Wizard [Master B]

(Charlie Mariano)

14 - Mariners

(Charlie Mariano)

15 - Tzoris

(Charlie Mariano)

16 - Autumn In New York

(Vernon Duke)

17 - Aviary

(Charlie Mariano)

18 - Bye, Bye, Blues

(Hamm, Bennett, Lown, Gray)

19 - Bess, You Is My Woman

(G. and I. Gershwin)

20 - Barsac

(Charlie Mariano)

21 - Stella By Starlight

(Young, Washington)

22 - I'm Old Fashioned

(Kern, Mercer)

23 - Erosong

(Charlie Mariano)

#1: Ray Borden Big Band

Ray Borden, Gait Preddy, Bill Adams, Buddy Hartford (trumpets); 

ert Goodspeed, Joe Fine, Joe Laconi (trombones); 

Charlie Mariano, Sebastian Giacco (alto saxes);

Chuck Stentz, George Green (tenor saxes); Gordon Barrantine (baritone sax);

Nat Pierce (piano); Steve Hester (guitar); Frank Vaccaro (bass); Joe McDonald (drums).

Recorded at Ace Recording Studios, Boston, December 1947

#2 to #4: Charlie Mariano / Nat Pierce Sextet

Gait Preddy (trumpet), Charlie Mariano (alto sax),

Nat Pierce (piano), Steve Hester (guitar), Frank Vaccaro (bass), Joe McDonald (drums).

Recorded at Ace Recording Studios, Boston, January 1948

#5 and #6: Charlie Mariano Octet

Don Stratton (trumpet), Mert Goodspeed (trombone),

Charlie Mariano (alto sax), Randy Henderson (tenor sax),

George Green (baritone sax), Nat Pierce (piano),

Frank Gallaguer (bass),Joe McDonald (drums).

Recorded in Boston, March 25, 1949

#7: Serge Chaloff / Ralph Burns Septet

Gait Preddy (trumpet), Mert Goodspeed (trombone),

Charlie Mariano (alto sax), Serge Chaloff (baritone sax),

Ralph Burns (piano), Frank Vaccaro (bass), Pete DeRosa (drums).

Recorded in Boston, July 7, 1949

#8: The Nat Pierce Orchestra

Don Stratton, Roy Caton, Bud Wilson, Dud Harvey (trumpets),

Bob Carr, Frank "Ace" Lane, Sonny Truitt (trombones),

Charlie Mariano, Dave Chapman (alto saxes),

Randy Henderson, Andie Pirie (tenor saxes), George Myers (baritone sax),

Nat Pierce (piano), Frank Gallaguer (bass), Joe McDonald (drums).

Recorded in Boston, November 1950

#9: Charlie Mariano / Nat Pierce Sextet

Sonny Truitt (trombone), Charlie Mariano (alto sax),

Nat Pierce (piano), Chet Kruley (guitar), Frank Gallagher (bass), Joe McDonald (drums).

Recorded in Boston, probably late 1950

#10 to #14: Charlie Mariano Octet

Joe Gordon (trumpet), Sonny Truitt (trombone), Charlie Mariano (alto sax),

Jim Clark (tenor sax), George Myers (baritone sax),

Roy Frazee (piano), Jack Lawlor (bass), Gene Glennon (drums).

Recorded in Boston, December 1951

#15: Charlie Mariano Sextet

Joe Gordon (trumpet), Sonny Truitt (trombone), Charlie Mariano (alto sax),

Roy Frazee (piano), Jack Lawlor (bass), Carl Goodwin (drums).

Recorded in December 1951

#16: Charlie Mariano Quartet

Charlie Mariano (alto sax), Roy Frazee (piano), Jack Lawlor (bass), Carl Goodwin (drums).

Recorded in December 1951

#17: Charlie Mariano Septet

Joe Gordon (trumpet), Sonny Truitt (trombone), Charlie Mariano (alto sax),

Jim Clark (tenor sax), Dick Twardzik (piano), Jack Lawlor (bass), Carl Goodwin (drums).

Recorded in Boston, December 1951

#18 to #23: Charlie Mariano Boston All Stars

Herb Pomeroy (trumpet), Charlie Mariano (alto sax),

Dick Twardzik (piano, tom-tom [#20]), Bernie Griggs (bass), Jimmy Weiner (drums).

Recorded in Boston, January 27, 1953

* CD 2 *

1 - Come Rain Or Come Shine

(Arlen, Mercer)

2 - My Friend Ethel

(Sonny Truitt)

3 - After Coffee

(Sonny Truitt)

4 - Trouble Is A Man

(Alec Wilder)

5 - Let's Get Away From It All

(Dennis, Adair)

6 - The Thrill Is Gone

(Brown, Henderson)

7 - The Nymph

(Vince Guaraldi)

8 - I've Told Every Little Star

(Kern, Hammerstein II)

9 - Diane's Melody

(Jaki Byard)

10 - Harangue

(Herb Pomeroy)

11 - Sweet And Lovely

(Arnheim, Tobias)

12 - Ryan's Love

(Jack Crown)

13 - This Is Heaven

(Sherman Feller)

14 - How About You?

(Fred, Blane)

15- My Nancy

(Charlie Mariano)

16 - Jan

(Jack Crown)

17 - Chanticleer

(Jack Crown)

18 - Chopin Excerpts

(DP, Adap. Charlie Mariano)

19 - April Afternoon

(Mariano, Pomeroy)

20 - Chandra

(Jaki Byard)

21 - Sagapo

(Jaki Byard)

22 - When Your Lover Has Gone

(E.A. Swan)

23 - It's Magic

(Styne, Cahn)

24 - American Indian

(Herb Pomeroy)

#1 to #8: Charlie Mariano Sextet

Dick Collins (trumpet), Sonny Truitt (trombone), Charlie Mariano (alto sax),

Richard Wyands (piano), Vernon Alley (bass), Joe McDonald (drums).

Recorded in San Francisco, 1953

#9 to #24: Charlie Mariano Quintet

Herb Pomeroy (trumpet), Charlie Mariano (alto sax),

Jaki Byard (piano), Jack Carter (bass), Peter Littman (drums).

Recorded in Boston, November 1953

Stan Getz And Swedish All Stars

Stan Getz

And Swedish All Stars • Vol. 2 

Featuring Bengt Hallberg

In Europe today, the musical portrait is a rather unusual one. In Paris, one finds only three clubs with Jazz in any form. Don Byas in his own club, Sidney Bechet in another, and Roy Eldridge at the last one. Note, all three are names with backgrounds of over 15 years on the Jazz Scene. The newer faces like James Moody and Kenny Clarke, well they are there, thats all. 

England has never gotten over Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins. Italy knows only of Duke and Louis, not that that’s bad but there are so many more faces on the Jazz Horizon. 

It is Sweden and Denmark that have come along with the new sound. They have let us hear a few of their sounds like the late Stan Hasselgrad, Rheinhold Svenson, Peter Rasmussen and the greatest little group in Svend Asmussen. From these sounds, we were left hungry for more. 

In Sweden at Easter time there are a series of Jazz Concerts presented in seven major cities. They usually import one or two American jazz musicians depending upon the cost of the artist. This year they honored Stan Getz with an invitation. 

Upon his landing in Stockholm they had a welcoming party of hundreds of Jazz fans who had a banquet waiting for Stan. So on it went, every city he visited the fans turned out en masse, banquets and parties followed. Every morning as Stan would prepare to depart for another city and another concert, there would be champagne breakfasts, toasts to Stan’s good health and Bon Voyage.

Stan was thrilled, rejuvenated at the thought of this tribute to his talent, overwhelmed with joy Stan, chose to record on his last day in Sweden a living memory of all this, his greatest victory ever. 

He chose the same musicians who worked with him on this concert tour, and as Stan put it, "never have I ever felt more like blowing than that day", need we say more? 

And for those who crave for more Swedish Sounds we suggest a close ear to the pianistics of Bengt Hallberg. *Teddy Reig (liner notes)*

As critic John Bush recalls, 1951 was a busy year for Stan Getz. After leaving Woody Herman's band in 1949 spending the better part of a year on his own, he found his first great rhythm section at a Hartford club jam session.

Just three weeks later, 24-year-old Stan Getz was playing in Stockholm with some of the biggest names in Swedish jazz at the time, recording eight tracks (ranging from Porter's "Night and Day" to the traditional "Ack, Värmeland du Sköna") in two days with a classy all-star group that included a light-fingered young pianist named Bengt Hallberg.

Here are those rare recordings made by Roost Records.

Side 1

1. Standanavian

(Stan Getz)

2. Prelude To A Kiss

(Duke Ellington)

3. I Only Have Eyes For You

(Harry Warren)

4. Dear Old Stockholm

(Traditional)

Side 2

5. Night And Day

(Cole Porter)

6. Flamingo

(Ted Grouya, Edmund Anderson)

7. Don't Get Scared

(Stan Getz)

8. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You

(George Bassman, Ned Washington)

#1 to #5, #8:

Stan Getz (tenor sax); Bengt Hallberg (piano); Gunnar Johnson (bass);

Jack Norén [#1, #4, #5, #8], Kenneth Fagerlund [#2, #3] (drums)

#6, #7

Stan Getz (tenor sax), Lars Gullin (baritone sax), 

Bengt Hallberg (piano), Yngve Åkerberg (bass), Jack Norén (drums)

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, March 23 (#1 to #5, #8), and March 24 (#6, #7), 1951

Åke Persson - New Sounds From Sweden

Åke Persson Swedish All Stars

New Sounds From Sweden

Featuring Arne Domnérus

On a cold and foggy February midnight 1975, ace trombonist Åke Persson put his Germany-registred old Volvo Amazon in first gear and drove slowly down a snowy knoll adjoining a walking path in front of the US Embassy in Stockholm. The Amazon soon reached the icy bayside Edge - but, amazingly, refused to let the onrushing waters turn out the fully lit headlights.

Hours later, a man walking his dog along the same path sees the strange, almost fluorescing lights from under wáter. For a brief second, he wonders what a team of divers mights do out there, in teh darkness of the small hours. Then, he notices rubber tracks in the snow, and a trombone case by a pocket size telephone book sitting on a stone pillar. On arrival, police decides that the unknown Amazon driver is someone by the name of Persson, Åke, home address Blumenthalstrasse, West Berlín.

By 1975, Åke was considered the tombone player in all of European jazz. *Hans Fridlund*

Born in Hässleholm, Sweden, on February 25, 1932, Åke Persson, known as "the Comet" (or "Kometen"), was a fine trombonist with an appealing tone who worked steadily in Europe during his prime years and occasionally guested with American jazzmen who were on tour. Among Persson's associations through the years were Simon Brehm (1951-1954), Arne Domnérus, Hacke Björksten, Harry Arnold's Swedish Radio Band (1956-1961), Quincy Jones' big band (playing for the ill-fated Free and Easy show), Lars Gullin, the RIAS Big Band (1961-1975), and the Kenny Clarke & Francy Boland Big Band (1963-1971). Additionally, Persson had opportunities to play with George Wallington, Roy Haynes, Benny Bailey, Count Basie (1962), Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie, among many others.

Persson, considered one of the top European bop trombonists of the 1950s and '60s, led four numbers apiece during sessions for Metronome in 1953, Philips in 1957, EmArcy from 1956-1957, and Metronome again in 1959: 16 selections in all.

Persson drowned in the Djurgården canal in central Stockholm in February 1975; he had driven his car into the canal either accidentally or deliberately.

Side 1

1 - Jumping With Queen Anne

(Blomquist, Svensson)

2 - Pops

(Blomquist, Svensson)

3 - Walking Feet

(G. Svensson)

4 - Subway

(Blomquist, Svensson)

Side 2

5 - Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

(S. Romberg, O. Hammerstein II)

6 - It Might As Well Be Spring

(R. Rodgers, O. Hammerstein II) 

7 - Hershey Bar

(Johnny Mandel)

8 - My Blue Heaven

(W. Donaldson, G. A. Whiting)

#1 to #4:

Åke Persson (trombone); Arnold Johansson (valve trombone [#1, #2]);

Rolf Blomquist [#1, #2], Carl-Henrik Norin [#3, #4] (tenor saxes);

Ernie Englund (trumpet [#3, #4]); Gunnar Svensson (piano);

Yngve Åkerberg (bass); Jack Norén [#1, #2], Alan Dawson [#3, #4] (drums)

Recorded at Radiotjänst (Karlaplansstudion) in Stockholm, Sweden,

February 19 (#1, #2) and November 6 (#3, #4) 1953

#5 to #8:

Åke Persson (trombone), Arne Domnérus (alto sax),

Bengt Hallberg (piano), Gunnar Johnson (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

Recorded at Radiotjänst (Karlaplansstudion), Stockholm, Sweden, September 14, 1953