Lighthouse All-Stars Collection XIV

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars

Live In The Solo Spotlight

By the end of 1952 Howard Rumsey had transformed a small local bar in Hermosa Beach, California into a name known around the world. The Lighthouse became the centerpiece of the West Coast Jazz scene and the Lighthouse All-Stars became international jazz celebrities. Situated just a few yards from the beach with the cool ocean breeze and the smell of salt water in the air, it was the picture perfect setting for what would become known as "West Coast Jazz".

But that wasn't always the case.

In 1949 when Howard first came upon the Lighthouse there wasn't anything about it that would foresee it's future success. It was small and dingy, primarily catering to a rough merchant seaman crowd and it was close to going out of business.

Howard suggested to owner John Levine that he try putting on a jazz jam session on Sunday afternoons. The Lighthouse had been having live music with a variety of local musicians but it hadn't made much of an impact, plus in 1949 it was universally accepted that Sunday was the worst day of the week for the liquor business. Luckily, Levine was a gambler and figured he didn't have anything to lose at that point, so on May 29, 1949 Howard presented his first Sunday session at the Lighthouse and recalled "We propped open the doors and started blasting and within an hour we had more people in the place than Levine had seen all week".

The success of that first Sunday established the weekly Sunday Jam Session policy and became a tradition that helped catapult the Lighthouse into it's role as the center of West Coast Jazz.

Over the next couple of years Howard was able to replace the merchant seaman crowd with college age kids coming in off the beach to hear the live jazz and Sundays continued to be the featured attraction. The sessions started in the afternoon and ran until 2 in the morning. The Lighthouse All-Stars served as the core group with different guest musicians sitting in each week. The guest artists ran the gamut from local up and coming artists to established stars including big name out of town visitors.

This disc features guest artists captured live with the All-Stars by Bob Andrews and Donald Dean, two local jazz fans who frequented the Lighthouse with their tape recorders. The sound quality varies from track to track and while not professional recordings they are extremely important historical documents of those Sundays in Hermosa Beach and we are happy to be able to share them with you. All of the recordings are previously unissued. *Ken Poston (from the liner notes, 2014)*

About The Lighthouse Cafe:

A couple of years ago, Howard Rumsey, one of the original Kentonites (bass), would have been rated by most as washed up with the music business. He had taken a job as tile setter and was glad to be heading a little combo on Sunday afternoons at the Lighthouse café in Hermosa Beach, a small beach town about 45 minutes from Hollywood.

Today, thanks mainly to Howard's constructive, intelligent job of developing and presenting, with the cooperation of the management, a sound, CONSISTENT, policy, the Lighthouse has become virtually a full-time operation with a notable group of musicians holding the stand Wednesday through Sunday.

The Sunday sessions start at 2 p.m. and run to midnight, with special guest stars (paid—not just “sitting in” and blasting without purpose) appearing from 2 to 6 p.m.

The payoff is that it is paying off—and big. Business has been consistently good, even during the past winter (off-season at beach towns) and the place is so packed all day Sundays you have to get there early to get a seat near the bandstand. The fact that the drinks are good, prices are reasonable, and nobody gets hustled is an important factor. Says Howard, in summing up:

"The things that make us happy is that the crowds we are drawing, aren't full of these so-called 'hipsters' and queer characters so often associated with our kind of music. I think we’re getting what you might call a good cross section of that 'general public' that's supposed to shy away from good music, just as, I think, musicians are inclined to shy away from the 'general public'. There’s a mental hazard there on both sides. We've managed to cross it on a kind of imaginary bridge".

*Hal Holly, "The Hollywood Beat", Down Beat, August 24, 1951*

Fortunately for fans of Jazz on the West Coast and for posterity, Bob Andrews and Donald Dean, two local Jazz devotees, frequented the Lighthouse with their tape recorders and some of what they recorded has been issued on CD under the auspices of the Los Angeles Jazz Institute headed up by Ken Poston.

The sound quality varies from track to track and while not professional recordings they are extremely important historical documents of those Sundays in Hermosa Beach. All of the recordings are previously unissued. *Steven A. Cerra*

1 - Love Me Or Leave Me

 (Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn)

Art Pepper (alto sax); Doug Mettome, Shorty Rogers (trumpets);

Hampton Hawes (piano); Howard Rumsey (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, June 3 (or 10), 1951

2 - Blue Moon

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 

Maynard Ferguson (trumpet), Frank Patchen (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, 1952

3 - Stuffy

(Coleman Hawkins)

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax), Shorty Rogers (trumpet), Bob Cooper (tenor sax),

Frank Patchen (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, June 14, 1952

4 - Scrapple From The Apple

(Charlie Parker)

Stan Getz, Arno Marsh (tenor saxes); Shorty Rogers (trumpet); Milt Bernhart (trombone);

Hampton Hawes (piano); Charlie Drayton (bass); Larry Bunker (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, September 14, 1952

5 - Indiana

(Warne Marsh)

Warne Marsh (tenor sax), Frank Patchen (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, December 14, 1952

6 - Perdido

(Juan Tizol)

Harry "Sweets" Edison, Shorty Rogers (trumpets); Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax);

Milt Bernhart (trombone); Hampton Hawes (piano);

Howard Rumsey (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, February 8, 1953

7 - Maid In Mexico

(Russ Freeman)

Chet Baker, Rolf Ericson (trumpets); Bud Shank (alto sax); Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax);

Russ Freeman (piano); Howard Rumsey (bass); Max Roach (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, September 13, 1953

8 - Everything Happens To Me

(Matt Dennis, Tom Adair)

Jack Sheldon (trumpet), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, March 7, 1954

9 - Toots Sweete (Suite)

(Bill Holman)

Bob Cooper, Zoot Sims (tenor saxes); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Stu Williams (trumpet); Frank Rosolino (trombone);

Claude Williamson (piano); Howard Rumsey (bass); Stan Levey (drums);

Lighthouse Cafe, March 7, 1954

Lighthouse All-Stars Collection XIII

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars

On The Air 1957

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars On the Air features two complete radio broadcasts from late 1957. These broadcasts come from a short-lived program called Nightlife which aired on KMLA 100.3 FM beginning in the fall of 1957.

We're very fortunate that these broadcasts exist, especially when you consider the state of FM radio in 1957. FM was still somewhat a novelty and programming was mostly classical music, easy listening and other non-popular programming. As a matter of fact, most popular brands of radios that were available at that time didn't even have an FM band. AM was still king and would remain so for another 20 plus years. Besides the fact that FM wasn't widely listened to, this was a local broadcast that aired at 11:30 pm on Wednesday nights. It was a live broadcast so the only way for these programs to survive was for someone to record them off the air. (...)

These KMLA broadcasts represent a time of transition in the Lighthouse personnel and come at a time when the All-Stars were not well represented on commercial recordings. The working All-Stars unit made their last record for the Contemporary label in October of 1956, the classic "Music For Lighthousekeeping". There was one final recording for Contemporary in March of 1957 that featured an augmented version of the All-Stars to fill out a 12" release of "In The Solo Spotlight". (...)

For this members-only CD we have included two full broadcasts both with the same personnel: Conte Candoli, Bob Cooper, Frank Rosolino, Victor Feldman, Howard Rumsey and Stan Levey. One broadcast comes from November 20, 1957 and the other from December 18 featuring a special program devoted to the music of Bob Cooper.

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars On the Air gives us a rare opportunity to transport ourselves back to the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach circa 1957 to experience the West Coast Jazz scene at it's finest. *Ken Poston (from the liner notes)*

1 - I Deal • Broadcast Introduction

(Sonny Clark) • (Donn Harling [Announcer])

2 - Jazz Invention

(Bob Cooper)

3 - Nightlife

(Bob Cooper)

4 - Lighthouse Commercial

(Donn Harling [Announcer])

5 - Octavia

(Bob Cooper)

6 - Moto

(Bob Cooper)

7 - Lighthouse Commercial

(Donn Harling [Announcer])

8 - Snap The Whip

(Bob Cooper)

9 - Topsy

(Durham, Battle)

10 - Jubilation

(Bob Cooper)

11 - Somebody Loves Me

(Gershwin, MacDonald, DeSylva)

12 - Round Midnight

(Thelonious Monk)

13 - Confirmation

(Charlie Parker)

14 - Musician Introductions • Lighthouse Commercial

(Donn Harling [Announcer])

15 - Long Ago And Far Away

(Kern, Gershwin)

16 - Topsy • Broadcast Closing

(Durham, Battle)

Howard Rumsey (leader, bass), Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bob Cooper (tenor sax),

Frank Rosolino (trombone), Victor Feldman (piano, vibes), Stan Levey (drums).

KMLA's "Night Life" Broadcast from Lighthouse Cafe,

September 19 (#1 to #6) and November 20 (#7 to #16), 1957

Lighthouse All-Stars Collection XII

In the remaining ten chapters of our Lighthouse All-Stars series, we'll go straight to where the magic happened. The albums we have left to present are live recordings, captured right there in that Pacific sanctuary known as the Lighthouse Café.

If you think about it, the story is incredible. Picture Howard Rumsey—who had been playing with Stan Kenton—walking along the Hermosa Beach boardwalk in 1949 and stepping into a somewhat gloomy, nautical-themed bar that had almost no customers. The owner was John Levine, a millionaire and obsessive gambler who had recently purchased the place. When Rumsey pitched the idea of playing jazz, Levine was blunt: he told him that Sunday afternoons were the worst possible time to sell liquor. But Rumsey, who already had his eye on a grand piano Levine had installed, stood his ground and asked for a chance to prove that the music would bring in the crowds.

For that first Sunday on May 29, 1949, Rumsey recruited the most powerful musicians he could find in the city. They threw the front doors wide open and, to Levine's surprise, the place packed out immediately. The display of talent from those soloists was so immense that the group's name was born right then and there: the Lighthouse All-Stars. That single bet transformed a nearly non-existent beach bar into the epicenter of the West Coast scene for the next 22 years.

What you will hear in these recordings isn't that "anaemic" jazz that some critics used to associate with California; this music has muscle. Rumsey was a strategist who systematically refused to take the band on tour because he wanted the club to be a place of pilgrimage. He forced everyone, from Hollywood stars to record label executives, to drive down to Hermosa Beach just to see what was happening on that bandstand. The club eventually became the perfect haven for musicians who, tired of the road, were looking to play top-tier jazz and finally settle down under the sun.

Everything happened on that stage. It is said that even Charlie Parker himself showed up one day and stayed for two hours playing tenor sax. For the club's history, this happened, and it remains one of its most sacred anecdotes; even if for the official discography it remains a "myth" without physical evidence, the legend is an inseparable part of the atmosphere there. As you listen to these tracks, you will hear the clinking of the cash register and the murmur of a crowd that sometimes attended in their swimwear. It is, quite literally, the sound of jazz history being recorded as it unfolded in front of the waves.

To open this final part of the series, we will focus on three extremely special and hard-to-find volumes, released by the Los Angeles Jazz Institute (LAJI).

The LAJI is more than just an institution; it is the sanctuary that guards the memory of West Coast Jazz. Thanks to their preservation efforts, they have rescued unissued recordings that would have otherwise vanished. These first three albums I am presenting are exclusive editions, originally released only for Institute members. They are true treasures capturing intimate and vibrant moments at the club—recordings that aren’t found through regular commercial channels and have become genuine collector's items today.

It is truly a pity that, due to the very nature of these highly restricted archive editions, the blog cannot secure all of these recordings to share with all of you. Accessing this material is almost a task of musical archaeology; they are records that remain, for the most part, reserved for members or for those collectors lucky enough to stumble upon a stray copy. Nevertheless, the value of these three volumes is immeasurable in understanding what was actually happening on the Lighthouse stage when the cameras and major labels weren't watching.

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars

Modern Jazz a la Lighthouse

The Los Angeles Jazz Institute, under the guidance of Howard Rumsey, has been granted permission to relaunch The Lighthouse Record Company.

The Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, California was the symbolic headquarters of the West Coast Jazz movement of the 1950s and Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All-Stars became one of the most important groups of the decade. Sundays at the Lighthouse became a Southern California tradition because of the legendary marathon sessions that took place every week with visiting guest musicians augmenting the All Stars lineup.

Our first "members only" release features several different eras of the Lighthouse All Stars recorded live over a five year period. Many of these recordings took place during Sunday sessions at The Lighthouse so a variety of guest artists are included as well.

This is an important historical document which displays the significant role that the Lighthouse played in the development of modern jazz in Southern California and we are happy to be able to share it with you. *Ken Poston (from the liner notes)*

Note:

The recordings on this CD come from a variety of sources, some of which were recorded under non-professional conditions. We felt however that the rarity and uniqueness of the performances precluded any flaws in the recording quality.

1 - 30 Pier Ave.

(Jimmy Giuffre)

2 - Coop De Ville

(Bob Cooper)

3 - Big Boy

(Jimmy Giuffre)

Shorty Rogers (trumpet); Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Cooper (tenor saxes); Milt Bernhart (trombone);

Hampton Hawes (piano); Howard Rumsey (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, March 15, 1953

4 - Topsy

(Eddie Durham, Edgar Battle )

Stan Getz, Bob Cooper (tenor saxes); Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax); Teddy Charles (vibes);

Russ Freeman (piano); Howard Rumsey (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, March 15, 1953

5 - What's New

(Bob Haggart)

Maynard Ferguson (trumpet), Hampton Hawes (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Shelly Manne (drums)

Lighthouse Cafe, June 21, 1953 

6 -Lester Leaps In

(Lester Young)

Harry "Sweets" Edison, Shorty Rogers (trumpets); Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Cooper (tenor saxes);

Russ Freeman (piano); Howard Rumsey (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, June 21, 1953

7 - Funnyfied

(Jimmy Giuffre)

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Herb Geller (alto sax),

Claude Williamson (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, September 13, 1953

8 - No Socks

(Howard Roberts)

Stu Williamson (trumpet); Zoot Sims, Bud Shank (tenor saxes); Claude Williamson (piano);

Howard Rumsey (bass); Stan Levey (drums); Jack Costanzo (conga).

Lighthouse Cafe, November 28, 1954

9 - Now I Lay Me Down To Dream

(Ted Fiorito)

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Frank Rosolino (trombone),

Sonny Clark (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

ABC TV Studios, Hollywood, California, September 3, 1956

10 - Gal In Calico

(Robin, Schwartz)

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Frank Rosolino (trombone),

Dick Shreve (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, 1957

11 - Evening In Paris

(Victor Feldman)

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Frank Rosolino (trombone),

Victor Feldman (piano, vibes), Howard Rumsey (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

Lighthouse Cafe, 1958

12 - Lighthouse Commercial • Confirmation • Topsy

(Charlie Parker) • (Eddie Durham, Edgar Battle )

KMLA's "Night Life" Broadcast from Lighthouse Cafe,1957

Lighthouse All-Stars Collection XI

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars

Jazz Structures

This album represents a fundamental turning point and, in many ways, the conclusion of the canonical corpus of the Lighthouse All-Stars recordings. Although it fits chronologically into the Lighthouse All-Stars Collection series, its nature demands a dual interpretation: on one hand, it belongs to the band's main line; on the other, as Howard Rumsey himself did not participate as a session musician, the record functions as a natural heir to the Lighthouse Series that the All-Stars produced for the Liberty label.

Unlike the recordings captured in the effervescent atmosphere of the club in Hermosa Beach, Jazz Structures sought an almost "architectural" clarity. To achieve this, Rumsey moved the project to United Recording Corp. in Hollywood. Under the technical direction of Bill Putnam, the studio environment allowed for a technical precision impossible to reach in a live setting, capturing Bob Cooper’s complex arrangements with absolute fidelity. The use of specialized microphones and the controlled acoustics of United Recording provided this work with a unique sonic texture within the group's discography.

It is worth noting that while this album marks the end of a formal era, the legacy of the Lighthouse All-Stars — with or without Howard Rumsey in their ranks — extends through many more recordings. Much of that material, generally recorded live and featuring top-tier special guests (Miles Davis, Art Pepper, Stan Getz), is currently scattered across official releases and valuable unreleased recordings that we will be discovering in the near future.

It was over 12 years ago that bassist Howard Rumsey left the Stan Kenton Orchestra and, in his own words, "decided to find a permanent home for the music of jazz on the west coast". Today, the Howard Rumsey All-Stars, based at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California, are internationally famous. As Stan Kenton says today: "Much credit must go to Rumsey as a pioneer and an enlightened promoter for the best in jazz". For the past five years, composer-tenorist Bob Cooper (or "Coop" as he is affectionately known) has been a leading member of Rumsey's Lighthouse group.

"Les Novros, head of Graphic Films, wanted to have jazz as the background music for his A BUILDING IS MANY BUILDINGS picture", Howard Rumsey tells. "This is a color documentary film showing the construction of the new Union Oil building in downtown Los Angeles".

"Novros wanted mostly improvisation originally", Rumsey continues. "I arranged for Bob Cooper to do the score and he took off like a bird. 'Coop' was so impressed by the calibre of the film that he went a lot further, musically, than we had planned".

"The score is a mixture of classical and jazz", Rumsey concludes, "and I think that 'Coop' really outdid himself!". (from the liner notes)

One of the most exciting jazz bands of the musically fertile '50s and '60s, Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars performed a wide variety of styles ranging from standard bebop and post-bop to the cool West Coast style. The band also included several first-rate arrangers and composers, with Jimmy Giuffre and Bob Cooper receiving special mention. The band also included many of the top musicians of the West Coast jazz scene that boasted the likes of Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino (who are featured here), Bud Shank, Bill Perkins, Victor Feldman and Stan Levey, to name but a few. This particular release showcases the versatility of this exciting group. Jazz Structures reveals both the complexity of the compositions and precision of the arrangements. All of the charts were written, arranged and conducted by Bob Cooper. The album features the music that Cooper scored for Les Novros documentary A Building Is Many Buildings, where the construction of the new "Union Oil Building" in Los Angeles is described in this film. *Jordi Pujol*

Side 1

1 - Genesis (Pt. II)

2 - Architectonics

Directional Suite 

3 - Introduction

4 - a) Impulse

5 - b) Automatons

6 - c) Impulsion (Pt. 1)

7 - c) Impulsion (Pt. 2)

Side 2

Directional Suit

(continued)

8 - d) Complexus

The Worker 

9 - a) Rain Blues

10 - b) In The Morning

11 - c) Quittin' Time

12 - Edifice

(All compositions by Bob Cooper)

#1 to #8 and #10:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), 

Buddy Collette (bass clarinet [#2], baritone sax [#1, #3 to #8]),

Bud Shank (alto sax [#1,#8 ], B-flat clarinet [#2], flute [#3 to #8]),

Victor Feldman (piano, vibes, tambourine, conga, boo-bams and bongos [#2 to #8]),

Monty Budwig (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

#9, #11, #12:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone),

Buddy Collette (bass clarinet [#9], baritone sax [#12]),

Bud Shank (alto sax [#12], alto flute [#9, #11]),

Joe Castro (piano), Larry Bunker (vibes), Red Callender (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

Howard Rumsey (leader)

Recorded at United Recording Corp., Hollywood, California,

November 21 (#1, #2), November 22 (#3 to #7) and November 29 (#8 to #12), 1960.

Note:

When analyzing the "Directional Suite" in the liner notes, the following peculiarity is noted:

""This particular music depicts workers driving little electric carts", Bob Cooper remembers. "Victor Feldman plays boo-bams here. They're a kind of tuned bongo. After more effusive drum work by Stan Levey, there's simultaneous jazz improvisation. The separation of this collective invention is particularly remarkable in the stereo version of this album".

Consequently, both versions (monaural and stereo) are presented here to

allow for comparison and to appreciate the specific sonic detail described.

Five-Star Collection... Erroll Garner

Erroll Garner

That's My Kick

This was Erroll Garner's first traditional studio album in five years and perhaps his most ambitious album ever as a composer. The selections were surely inspired by the new array of musicians assembled for the sessions, including percussionist José Mangual, who would go on to play with Garner for the rest of his career. The electric atmosphere captured on tape here is at times raucous and always palpably joyful.

The Erroll Garner Octave Remastered Series represents the heart of Erroll Garner's recorded catalog. Spanning 12 albums and the last 18 years of Garner's career, this collection of music is among the most important in the history of jazz. It represents an artist in his prime, with full creative and commercial control of his output following his break with Columbia Records. *mackavenue.com*

Actually, this isn't a recording. It's live music in your living room — and it's a ball. It romps with a lack of inhibitions and tenseness rarely captured in the uptight and businesslike sterility of a recording studio. The feeling is one of now and close. The musicians were playing for the fun of it right then and not for some vague and unknown listener someplace and sometime else.

Immediacy and presence: Empathy and joy. The life hasn't been programmed out of the human beings here, as it so often is in our "advanced" society, in favor of that glossy God Technology, which will soon program the life out of all of us if we are not careful. It takes a man with the energy of Erroll Garner to achieve audio-fidelity with humanity, not at the sacrifice of it.

Erroll is the only guy around who can sound like two different instruments playing at two different tempos at the same time, and still swing. His left hand is a guitar pushing the beat, his right a pianist lagging. They meet, somehow, and where they do is right where the rhythm section is — the right place to be. Erroll's time is here extended; extended to and meshed perfectly with the rhythm section. The bongos and the balance reflect a more important role for the accompaniment than in Erroll's past. They nest together like lovers in a haystack, five people making music together — as one. (...)

Primarily, though, we owe him thanks for the happy energy his music gives to us and to that extent this record adds to his vital body of recorded works. It is the same joy, even more so.

*Michael Zwerin (from the liner notes)*

Garner's first album in many years without his custom-tailored rhythm section (and with the addition of bongos and guitar) finds him in excellent form, and top-drawer Garner is as good as they come.

A peculiar snobbishness has kept a number of jazz critics from giving Garner his due. Partly, it's the old claptrap: can a musician become a star attraction and remain a creative artist, and variants of this jive question; and partly, it's the ease with which Garner makes music, and the joy he takes in his work — there just isn't enough Sturm und Drang to satisfy those who insist that an artist must suffer to be great.

This distorted perspective (which fortunately has not affected Garner's career one whit) has brought about an absurd situation: though he has been proving it for more than 20 years, one still feels compelled to repeat that Garner is one of the few truly great and original figures to emerge in jazz since the mid-40s; a unique and astonishing musician whose work brings beauty and happiness to the world.

There are no fewer than six Garner originals on this record, all of them substantial. My favorite, as far as interpretation is concerned, is the latin-tinged Afinidad, on which the pianist really gets into something, and the rhythm section achieves a floating feeling, not least due to Ryerson's first-class support, and the late George Jenkins' excellent drumming (these two players are present only on this and the lilting, melodic title track).

Of the other Garner pieces, Gaslight is a vintage ballad in the romantic Misty mold, tastefully played — and if you want to hear full-bodied piano-sound at its fullest, watch for Garner's climax.

Nervous Waltz is a delightful piece, its melody akin to Kick (not the bridge, though). Garner's marvelous ability to produce a lagging swing (his time, generally speaking, is out of sight) is displayed to perfection here. Passing Through, a catchy up-tempo piece, has some - fine single note passages and never stops flowing, while the gospel-flavored Like It Is indicates that Garner could really get Ramsey Lewis and his ilk in bad trouble.

Garner has an amazing ability to revitalize material that others have wrung dry. Who would think that Autumn Leaves could still sound fresh? It does under Garner's fingers, moving at a brisk, unsentimental clip, with his orchestral conception of the piano to the fore.

Contemporary harmonies are in evidence here, and even more so on Necessarily, perhaps the most brilliant single performance in the set. The voicings in the exposition are marvelous, and the ensuing improvisation full of surprises.

The other standards — Smile, Moon, More — are more "routine" Garner, but that, too, means superior music. Besides, whenever you begin to anticipate Garner, he pulls you up with a startling idea. On More, it's a fascinating contrapuntal break; on Smile, the transitional chords linking the exposition and second chorus (speaking of "freedom"...) and on Moon, the surprise introduction.

Of the rhythm players not mentioned above, Mangual has the greatest empathy with Garner. He became a regular in the new Garner quartet organized after this session. Hinton is solid, as expected, and Lovelle a bit reticent. The guitar has been dispensed with, and with Garner's left hand in action, it won't be missed. The new group has been received with enthusiasm, and the next Garner album should be something to look forward to. But aren't they all?

*Dan Morgenstern (Down Beat, August 24, 1967 [5 stars])*

 

1 - That's My Kick

(Erroll Garner)

2 - The Shadow Of Your Smile

(Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster)

3 - Like It Is

(Erroll Garner)

4 - It Ain't Necessarily So

(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)

5 - Autumn Leaves

(Jacques Prévert, Johnny Mercer, Joseph Cosma)

6 - Blue Moon

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

7 - More

(Nino Oliviero, Norman Newell, Riziero Ortolani)

8 - Gaslight

(Erroll Garner)

9 - Nervous Waltz

(Erroll Garner)

10 - Passing Through

(Erroll Garner)

11 - Afinidad

(Erroll Garner)

12 - She Walked on

(Erroll Garner)

#1, #11, #12:

Erroll Garner (piano), Milt Hinton (bass), Art Ryerson (guitar),

George Jenkins (drums), Johnny Pacheco (bongos).

Recorded at RCA Studios, New York City, April 13, 1966

#2 to #10:

Erroll Garner (piano), Milt Hinton (bass), Wally Richardson (guitar),

Herbert Lovelle (drums), José Mangual (bongos).

Recorded at RCA Studios, New York City, November 19, 1966

Lighthouse All-Stars Collection X

Howard Rumsey

The Lighthouse All-Stars Plus Ten

Jazz Rolls Royce

For many years, the date of October 28, 1957 — Royce Hall, University of California, Los Angeles — has been accepted as the moment of origin of Jazz Rolls Royce. In an essential sense, it is: that evening gave rise not only to the album’s repertoire, but also to its underlying conception. Yet, as is often the case in jazz discography, the relationship between date and final result is more complex than traditional documentation suggests.

The concert, presented as part of the 1957 UCLA Homecoming Show, formed part of a broader institutional production, conceived not strictly as a jazz performance but as a ceremonial event that included the presentation of the Homecoming Queen and other elements typical of the university celebration. Within this context, Howard Rumsey assembled his Lighthouse All-Stars in an expanded formation — "All Stars plus ten" — designed to deliver a broader sonic statement within that festive framework.

The genesis of the project dates back several months prior to the concert, when, as part of the event's organization, a specific program began to take shape, combining original writing with expanded instrumentation. With Conte Candoli featured as a principal soloist, the ensemble reinforced in its lower register, and arrangements largely by Bob Cooper, the repertoire was conceived as a unified body of work, even at this early stage oriented toward eventual recording.

From an aesthetic standpoint, the project sought a delicate balance: preserving the immediacy and character of the Lighthouse small group while incorporating the color and density of a larger orchestral setting. This tension — between improvisational freedom and more elaborate writing — defines much of the project’s musical identity.

The concert was recorded with the explicit intention of producing a live LP. In that sense, the Royce Hall date is not an arbitrary convention: it represents the true starting point of the album. However, the tapes made that evening did not meet the standards required for commercial release. Performance flaws, ensemble imprecision, and incomplete or technically deficient material rendered them unsuitable as a basis for publication.

The solution was to move the project into the studio. In subsequent sessions held at Liberty Studios in Hollywood, the repertoire was re-recorded in its entirety, with a partially revised personnel — Stu Williamson replacing Conte Candoli, and a reconfigured low-brass section including Marshall Cram — under conditions that allowed for a greater degree of precision in the execution of the arrangements.

It is this studio material, rather than the Royce Hall recordings, that forms the basis of the LP Jazz Rolls Royce, although for many years the concert date continued to appear as the recording reference in various editions and discographies. The album thus became associated with a live event from which no direct master recording was ultimately derived.

The subsequent editorial history of the material gave rise to two distinct presentations, each of which approaches the relationship between the original concert and its later discographical realization in a different way. The following presents both releases.

V.S.O.P. Records

The edition issued by V.S.O.P. Records adopted a position of continuity with respect to the original release, preserving the configuration established in its initial appearance on Lighthouse Records (Lighthouse CS-300) and in the subsequent Omega reissue (Omega OSL-5). In this way, the structure of the LP is maintained as originally conceived from the studio material. However, this presentation introduces an additional element: the inclusion of applause not corresponding to the original recording at the end of three tracks, a device that artificially reinforces the impression of a live context in material which, as noted, does not derive directly from the Royce Hall concert.

Our idea was to add ten men to the Lighthouse group, forming a sixteen-piece band. We knew the first song should be the traditional "Strike Up The Band", the song that George Gershwin wrote specially as a "fight" song for UCLA. First of all, the students that accepted the responsibility of the 1957 Homecoming and particularly the producer of the Homecoming Show, John Brown, knew they wanted all new music written just for this occasion. The material should embellish the show, the traditional purpose being of course the selection of the Homecoming Queen and it should fit with the theme "Under the Bruin Big Top".

As we wanted to feature "new" jazz music we got in touch with Bob Cooper. "Coop" is the senior member of the Lighthouse All-Stars and watching his development as a soloist and a composer-arranger certainly has been a pleasure. As a musician he has every qualification: playing Tenor Saxophone, Oboe, English Horn or Clarinet, he has traveled extensively as a member of Stan Kenton's Band and Kenton's Innovations Orchestra; since becoming one of the best known members of the West Coast movement and joining forces with the Lighthouse he has made two European tours with Bud Shank. (...)

After deciding together on the program numbers, all written by Bob Cooper specially for the Show, we began the selection of the added men, players with much recording experience, yet men with strong roots in jazz. More important, it was to be a big modern band, one that pointed ahead. Furthermore, we wanted a permanent record of it. This was a labor of love and all the players responded in a grand manner; after rehearsals, they were on their own. No one conducted the performance or the recording. *Howard Rumsey (from the liner notes)*

1 - Strike Up the Band

(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)

2 - Prelude To The Queen

(Bob Cooper)

3 - The Clown's Dance

(Bob Cooper)

4 - Coop Salutes the "Co-Op"

(Bob Cooper)

5 - Bruinville, My Bruinville

(Bob Cooper)

6 -Mambo del Quado

(Bob Cooper)

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Stu Williamson (trumpet),

Victor Feldman (piano, vibes), Howard Rumsey (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

plus Ten Added Stars:

Pete Candoli, Al Porcino, Ed Leddy, George Werth (trumpets); 

Milt Bernhart, Harry Betts, Hoyt Bohannon (trombones);

Marshall Cram (bass trombone); Red Callender (tuba); Larry Bunker (tympany, vibes).

Recorded at Liberty Studios, Hollywood, California, circa 1957

✤✤✤✤

Fresh Sound Records

The edition released by Fresh Sound Records, by contrast, incorporated material from the original Royce Hall concert, adding the only two performances preserved in sufficiently complete and usable condition, introduced by Howard Rumsey himself. As indicated in the accompanying documentation, the surviving master tapes of the live event were largely compromised — affected by excessive audience noise, incomplete musical content, and various technical deficiencies — which reduces these two numbers to the only viable examples of the concert as it actually took place. Even these, however, present defects.

The jazz record buyer is listening more and more to the soloist, as opposed to ensemble writing. This is evident in the decline of the big band and increasing popularity of soloists and small groups. This may be the result of over-arranging and lack of honest emotion except during an improvised solo. It is here that the real communication between the listener and performer takes place. I have felt that the best points of the big band should be retained, especially since a big band can be a great source of inspiration to the soloist. With these things in mind we decided on the instrumentation used here. The idea being to preserve the sound of the small group (Lighthouse All-Stars) and inject the excitement and color of a big band with freedom and ample space for improvised solos.

We learned a great deal in recording and playing this music. I hope that the idea will be carried out and developed by others. I know we are all excited by its challenge.

*Bob Cooper (from the liner notes)*

1 - Strike Up the Band

(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)

2 - Prelude To The Queen

(Bob Cooper)

3 - The Clown's Dance

(Bob Cooper)

4 - Coop Salutes the "Co-Op"

(Bob Cooper)

5 - Bruinville, My Bruinville

(Bob Cooper)

6 -Mambo Del Quado

(Bob Cooper)

7 - Bruinville, My Bruinville

(Bob Cooper)

8 - Mambo Del Quado

(Bob Cooper)

#1 to #6:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Stu Williamson (trumpet),

Victor Feldman (piano, vibes), Howard Rumsey (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

plus Ten Added Stars:

Pete Candoli, Al Porcino, Ed Leddy, George Werth (trumpets); 

Milt Bernhart, Harry Betts, Hoyt Bohannon (trombones);

Marshall Cram (bass trombone); Red Callender (tuba); Larry Bunker (tympany, vibes).

Recorded at Liberty Studios, Hollywood, California, circa 1957

#7 and #8:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Frank Rosolino (trombone),

Victor Feldman (piano, vibes), Howard Rumsey (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

plus Ten Added Stars:

Pete Candoli, Al Porcino, Ed Leddy, George Werth (trumpets); 

Milt Bernhart, Harry Betts, Hoyt Bohannon (trombones);

John Halliburton (bass trombone); Red Callender (tuba); Larry Bunker (tympany, vibes).

Recorded live at Royce Hall, University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles, October 28, 1957

Lighthouse All-Stars Collection IX

Howard Rumsey

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars

Volume 8

★ Music For Lighthousekeeping ★

Once Again I have the pleasure of writing the notes for one of my albums. A pleasure, because it gives me the opportunity to correspond with the listener and express some personal opinions.

Now that the Lighthouse and the All-Stars are firmly established (eight Contemporary Records LPs are available), I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound appreciation to the many wonderful people who have helped to make our project a success. John Levine, the owner of the Lighthouse, is first on the list — without his personal guidance I doubt very much if we ever would have got off the ground. If modern jazz ever had a friend, it is John. If there is such a thing as a West Coast movement, if it's true that an art form must have a medium before it can become a force, and if modern jazz, like all good art, requires patronage, this truly inspiring American, by way of naturalization from Canada, did much more than his share to make it all possible.

Four years with Contemporary Records have been equally inspiring. The Lighthouse and what we stand for musically are now known wherever there are jazz enthusiasts. My correspondence contains letters from tiny Ceylon to countries behind the Iron Curtain. The infinite care and personal attention that goes into the production of each of our albums is something to behold and definitely something the astute record collector can appreciate.

Since the All-Stars do not tour the nation, and I haven't missed a weekend in the Lighthouse for some time (over seven years), it took a while for the impact of our progress to reach me. A delayed reaction is sometimes the best and, believe me, we feel extremely indebted to the many, many fine friends and enthusiastic jazz followers who encourage us daily by coming to our place, or writing to let us know they are rooting for us.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the musicians who have worked with me as members of the All-Stars, as well as the ones who have appeared either as guests or off-night attractions. Last year alone, including the regular All-Stars, fifty-two musicians worked at the Lighthouse. (...)

This album was recorded on a series of Tuesday evening dates at Contemporary Records' studio, and I think you will find it just different enough from our other albums to make it interesting throughout. The material is programmed the way we might present the last set of a busy, swinging night at the Lighthouse. (...)

The All-Stars join me hoping the music in this album will make your housekeeping a whole lot lighter! *Howard Rumsey (from the liner notes)*

Music For Lighthousekeeping was Rumsey's last recording for Contemporary and includes several satisfying excursions into Latin-influenced fare. There were many liaisons between jazz and Latin styles. Perhaps Samba – with its swaying Girl from Ipanema (Stan Getz) – has worn least well – the only acceptable version of that tune being its deconstruction by Archie Shepp. But with its Cuban metronomic percussive roots, mambo has retained a more modern-retro ambiance.

This is "West Coast" jazz in geography only, as the musicians hail from all points of the American compass, and their styles echo several east coast counterparts. One of the joys of the Rumsey All-Stars band is Bob Cooper, the West Coast answer to Hank Mobley. They share the same wayward slightly-nasal tone, fleet runs with the occasional triplet slipped into a regular metre, squawks crowning bombastic figures, plaintive vibrato, bursting with ideas, the "Coop" solo spots are a rare treat.

Frank Rosolino's trombone offers a bluesy helping of Curtis Fuller, while Conte Candoli's bright peppy trumpet sways between Dorham, Morgan but ultimately Hubbard-lite, which is good. Stan Levey is Art Blakey perhaps without the thunder, but great drive, as he knocks seven bells out of his ride cymbals, giving the tweeters a good work out, speakers left dripping with audio sweat. The presence of the young Sonny Clark on this Lighthouse session is another rare bonus, his highly rhythmic comping nailing down those latin tempos, adding perfectly-paced bluesy swinging solos.

Oddly for the leader, Rumsey's bass is fairly low-key, an understated Paul Chambers. On some other Lighthouse records he disappears into the control room, leaving friend Red Mitchell and others to stand in on bass. Perhaps he sensed his strengths were as band leader, arranger, and salesman. *londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com*

This fine 1956 Contemporary recording is a timeless snapshot of the West Coast jazz scene, from one of its iconic groups. Bassist and leader Howard Rumsey ran the Lighthouse Café and was responsible for its fine jazz programming, had already been doing so for seven years at this point in time, and led his all-star group for many years. Personnel changed gradually, but one of its most durable line-ups was the current group, with the frontline of stalwarts Frank Rosolino on trombone, Conte Candoli on trumpet and Bob Cooper on tenor sax. At this time, the fine young bebop pianist Sonny Clark, soon to become a Blue Note label recording artist and leader in his own right, was in the piano chair. Drummer was a West Coast regular and bebop drum pioneer, Stan Levey. Nearly sixty years have passed since this recording, but the music remains fresh, and a fine example of the vitality of the thriving southern Californian jazz scene of the 1950s.

This group plays like a team, the frontline fits together like a glove, and the rhythm section swings tightly but in that loose kind of way that makes the group sound relaxed at all tempos. The repertoire includes three Bill Holman originals, the opener, "Love Me or Levey", structured on Harold Arlen's "Get Happy", played at a blistering tempo, with crackling trumpet from Candoli that compares well with that of the then recently departed Clifford Brown, and fine bebop solos from all. The later Holman offerings are two Latin excursions, "Mambo Las Vegas" and "Latin for Lovers", which show some of the rhythmic directions that musicians were pioneering at the time – of course, Latin rhythms then became "mainstream" in jazz from the early 1960s. Perhaps the finest tunes on this recording are the two Bob Cooper compositions – the fine ballad "Octavia" whose haunting melody is based on the wide octave interval, and the marvellous "Jubilation" (not to be confused with the Junior Mance tune of the same name), which is a beautifully-arranged and well-paced, up-tempo tune on which all the players have a chance to excel.

Bob Cooper's playing is as good as his best on this recording, his tone and phrasing are tremendous, and display the full range of his sounds from the sensuous to the hipper, harder-swinging, more assertive sound on the faster items. Rosolino shows his energetic, virtuosic and tasteful trombone solo style at every opportunity, Candoli's bebop lines are fluid and fast. Sonny Clark swings throughout as he always did, comping sympathetically and soloing confidently, particularly on his own up-beat blues, "I Deal", in which he stretches out, playing seamlessly across the 12 bar form.

Rosolino and Clark, two of jazz's finest and most distinctive players, were tragic figures who died prematurely, but with plenty of fine recordings under their belt. Cooper and Candoli remained active and very productive in jazz into their seventies, Levey ultimately veered into his parallel career, photography. Howard Rumsey's distinguished career as bassist, organiser of festivals, club owner went on for decades and he was the last survivor from this session, passing away early in 2015 at 97 years, shortly after a tribute festival in his honour by the Los Angeles Jazz Institute. This is one recording that cements his place as a major figure in West Coast jazz, and deserves to be in everyone's collection. *simonjp (amazon.com)*

1 - Love Me or Levey

(Bill Holman)

2 - Taxi War Dance

(Lester Young, Count Basie)

3 - Octavia

(Bob Cooper)

4 - Mambo Las Vegas

(Bill Holman)

5 - Jubilation

(Bob Cooper)

6 - I Deal

(Sonny Clark)

7 - Latin For Lovers

(Bill Holman)

8 - Topsy

(Eddie Durham, Edgar William Battle)

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Frank Rosolino (trombone),

Sonny Clark (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Stan Levey (drums). 

Recorded at Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, California, October 2, 9 and 16, 1956

Five-Star Collection... Chet Baker

Chet Baker

Chet Baker Quartet

This LP presents Chet Baker in a quartet format with the remarkable Russ Freeman on piano. This was the first group Chet fronted as a leader after Gerry Mulligan's imprisonment broke up the celebrated piano-less quartet, which had launched the trumpeter to fame. One of the greatest trumpeters and most popular cult-figures in jazz history, Baker was as famous for his rugged good looks and stormy personal life as he was for his gentle vocals and lyrical introspective trumpet playing. Gaining fame as a member of Gerry Mulligan's heralded piano-less quartet, Baker quickly became the undisputed trumpet king of the 1950s West Coast cool jazz sound. His beautiful tone, delicate and haunting melodic lines and masterful sense of space imbued his music with a warm, nostalgic quality, and earned him a fan base that extended well beyond the boundaries of the traditional jazz enthusiast. He once stated: "As I rely 100% on the ear, I react strongly to everything that goes on around me. The conditions that I've had while learning to play do not exist anymore. I feel like I belong to a species, threatened by destruction. Sad, in a way, but that's what they call progress, isn't it?" A brilliant improviser, Baker's silky lines seemed to glide through the air with effortless grace, spinning webs of dreamy sentimental moods and textures.

Chet Baker made his record debut in September of 1952 with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet for Pacific Jazz. His playing immediately received the critic's praise; cries of "another Bix", another "Bunny" were sounded. His recording of "My Funny Valentine" with the Mulligan Quartet is well on the way toward becoming a jazz classic.

Chet was born in Yale, Oklahoma, 23 years ago. His family moved to California when he was ten years old. At Glendale Junior High School he began his musical training. In school he played trumpet in the marching band and the dance orchestra. Drafted in 1946, he was shipped to Berlin, Germany, with the 298th Army Band. Discharged two years later, he began to study music theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles. A chance to join the Presidio Army Band in San Francisco caused Chet to re-enlist in 1950. Ten months in San Francisco gave Chet the opportunity of playing in various sessions which started him in jazz music. From his past concert band experience he brought a legitimate tone and conception, uninfluenced by the jazz stylists of the past.

When Charlie Parker was on the West Coast during the summer of 1952, he heard Chet and hired him for his dates on the Coast. Shortly afterwards he joined Gerry Mulligan at the Haig Club.

Pianist Russ Freeman's collaboration with Chet on this date has brought about a more aggressive, less subdued side of his playing style. Russ, 26 year old product of the West Coast, shows a strong original approach to jazz in his inventive compositions and precise, swinging piano solos. He has been heard with Art Pepper's group on records, and has played with Wardell Gray, and many West Coast jazz groups. He is currently with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars.

*Richard Bock (from the liner notes)*

Now it's for sure. Our suspicions that the 23-year-old trumpet man from Yale, Okla., was a major new star are confirmed by this LP, which is a gasser from start to finish. The lad has the style, the sound, the command of the horn; almost as important, he has the perfect setting. Russ piano, fleet and modern in both accompanying and solo roles throughout, is of immeasurable value to the overall results. Larry Bunker and Bobby White split the drum chores, Carson Smith and Bob Whitlock the bass job.

Three of the tunes are Freeman originals. One of them, Maid in Mexico, was five-starred here as a single 78 disc; another, Batter Up, provides some delightful voiced and unison two-part moments for trumpet and piano.

Outstanding performance of the set, though, is Imagination, played very close to the melody, but, amazingly, all around and below middle C. Beautifully simple and simply beautiful.

Until now the great modern horn stars could be counted on the digits of one hand. To the names of Dizzy, Miles, Joe Newman, Shorty Rogers, and Clark Terry must now be added an extra finger on the hand: Chet Baker has arrived. *Down Beat, Chicago, July 29, 1953 (5 stars)*

Side 1

1 - Isn't It Romantic

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

2 - Maid In Mexico

(Russ Freeman)

3 - Imagination

(Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen)

4 - This Time The Dream's On Me

(Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen)

Side 2

5 - The Lamp Is Low

(Maurice Ravel, Bert Shefter, Peter de Rose, Mitchell Parish)

6 - Russ Job

(Russ Freeman)

7 - Easy To Love

(Cole Porter)

8 - Batter Up

(Russ Freeman)

✳ Personnel and recording dates: theories and controversies ✳

To this day, the sources upon which even the most rigorous discographies have relied to establish with certainty the recording dates of these earliest Chet Baker sessions for Pacific Jazz remain unknown.

According to Jørgen Grunnet Jepsen, in his reference work Jazz Records 1942–1965, and the publication CHET – The Discography of Chesney Henry Baker by Hans Henrik Lerfeldt and Thorbjørn Sjögren, the following information is given:

#1

Chet Baker (trumpet), Russ Freeman (piano),

Red Mitchell (bass), Bobby White (drums)

Recorded at Gold Star Studios, July 24, 1953

#2, #4, #5

Chet Baker (trumpet), Russ Freeman (piano),

Bob Whitlock (bass), Bobby White (drums)

Recorded at Gold Star Studios, Los Angeles, July 27, 1953

#3, #6, #7, #8

Chet Baker (trumpet), Russ Freeman (piano),

Carson Smith (bass), Larry Bunker (drums)

Recorded at Radio Recorders, July 30, 1953

Even so, the original liner notes clearly identify Bob Whitlock as the bassist on tracks #1, #2, #4, and #5.

Further research carried out in Europe for releases on the Disques Vogue, Swing, and Karusell labels appears to have confirmed that Bob Whitlock was present at the first recording session of the Chet Baker Quartet at Gold Star Studios on December 15, 1952, leading to the logical conclusion that Red Mitchell did not participate in that session.

Moreover, reviews published in Down Beat — both those referring to the 78 rpm releases (May 6, 1953) and to the 10-inch LP (July 29, 1953) — would seem to demonstrate that the recording dates given by Jepsen are impossible, even though they continued to be accepted within the jazz community.

In 2000, producer Michael Cuscuna reported that a contact with access to the archives of American Federation of Musicians Local 47 had confirmed that there were no records of Chet Baker recording sessions on July 24 and 27, 1953. The same source established that the first session took place on December 15, 1952, at Gold Star Studios, and that additional sessions were documented on April 17, 1953, and July 30, 1953. Accordingly, the dates should be revised as follows:

#1

Chet Baker (trumpet), Russ Freeman (piano),

Bob Whitlock (bass), Bobby White (drums)

Recorded at Gold Star Studios, Los Angeles, California, December 15, 1952

#2, #4, #5

Chet Baker (trumpet), Russ Freeman (piano),

Bob Whitlock (bass), Bobby White (drums)

Recorded at Gold Star Studios, Los Angeles, California, April 17, 1953

#3, #6, #7, #8

Chet Baker (trumpet), Russ Freeman (piano),

Carson Smith (bass), Larry Bunker (drums)

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, California, July 30, 1953

To complete the controversy, Dick Bock — the album's producer — never acknowledged the December 15, 1952 recording session at Gold Star Studios. The closest he came to admitting that he had recorded Chet Baker as a leader while the trumpeter was still a member of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet was in a letter published in the May 1953 issue of Metronome.

Beyond the — often debatable — precision of recording dates, what ultimately matters is the remarkable artistry of these earliest Chet Baker sessions, whose lyricism, clarity, and sense of space would already define one of the most distinctive voices in modern jazz.

✳✳✳✳

Five-Star Collection... Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Seven Steps To Heaven

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

                                                  "Hamlet"

Miles Davis believes that a performer's first responsibility is to himself, and that if he becomes disturbed by the opinions and advice of others he will make very little headway.

Amplifying this credo, he once pointed out that "critics write whole columns and pages of big words and still ain't saying nothing. If you have spent your life getting to know your business and the other cats in it, and what they are doing, then you know whether a critic knows what he's talking about. Most of the time they don't. I pay no attention to what the critics say about me, the good or the bad. The toughest critic I got, and the only one I worry about, is myself. My music has to get past me, and I'm too vain to play anything I think is bad".

Miles' indifference to critics, and to critical audiences, is coupled with a complete lack of concern for the comments accompanying his albums. He believes in letting the music act as its own spokesman. As a concession to this precept, Someday My Prince Will Come was issued with nothing on the jacket but the personnel, a candid shot of Miles on the back, and a portrait of his princess, Frances Davis, on the front. The music remained unharmed. Fortunately for the penmen, it is still widely believed that contrary to Miles' views, informative commentary can help acquaint the listener with the artist and may thereby aid in an understanding of the music.

To gain an accurate perspective of Miles it is advisable to consider only his musical and personal background, rather than to evaluate him in terms of the curious cult that has taken root around him. There is a growing circle of hipsters who dress as he dresses, curse as they think he curses, copy everything off his old records including the clinkers, and get their masochistic kicks by waiting for him to do, in a nightclub or onstage, something they think they can point out as rude or unconventional. These pseudo-sophisticates, in most cases, are totally unaware of what Miles Davis is or was, for although the what and the how of Miles today fascinates them, the why of yesterday concerns them hardly at all.

His career since 1957 has moved upward in a sort of two-pronged spiral. Experiments with Gil Evans and a large orchestra have alternated with informal performances by his own quintets and sextets. During these years, Miles has matured into a brilliant, complex man shaped by the ironies of a society that could Jim Crow him on a variety of private and professional levels while simultaneously giving him a healthy shove toward his first million dollars.

It is a miniature musical education to watch the creative processes at work during a Miles Davis session. Miles talks very little, expecting the musicians to follow his plans by intuition. It takes a sensitive and intelligent artist to follow the leader under these conditions, and it was the very demands he placed on his men that brought out the best in them.

In a way, it was symbolic of the attitude Miles has developed toward music and life. If one were asked to epitomize in one phrase his uncompromising approach to the horn, the answer would be simple again: Let the chops fall where they may. Miles' music is his own just as he is his own man; never has it been made clearer than in these starkly eloquent musical statements, uttered 360 years after "Hamlet". *Leonard Feather, 1963 (from the liner notes)*

This LP is the result of two sessions held this spring, the first in Los Angeles, the other in New York City. The Los Angeles session, with Feldman, Carter, and Butler, produced Basin, Love, and Baby; the other three titles stem from the second date, with the trumpeter's present group — Coleman, Hancock, Carter, and Williams. Davis played exceptionally well on both dates, though each brought out a different facet of his artistry.

There is a spell of melancholy cast over the Los Angeles performances, partly because the three selections are slow tempoed and balladic in nature, partly because Davis plays only muted — and he tends to play "sadder" muted than he does open. But more than anything, it is what he plays and how he phrases it that casts the spell.

On each of the three tracks, there is a general downward curve to his solos; that is, the phrases may rise, but at the critical point they descend, either in a short run or a slur, and even as they rise there are innumerable points where Davis slurs individual notes downward. It's as if he were continually turning down the corners of his highly melodic improvisations.

Davis also often uses the low register of his horn, sometimes in breathy fashion, on Basin, Love, and Baby — on the last named he ends his solo with what must be termed a sigh. And as always, his playing is very human, with voicelike inflections that give his work a "singing" quality, not unlike that of a Billie Holiday or an Edith Piaf.

On the other hand, his playing at the New York session is almost joyous. Certainly there are turned-down corners, but not as many as on the other three tracks.

It should be noted that Seven, So Near, and Joshua are not taken at slow tempos, but this is not necessarily the reason for the joy evident in Davis' playing—he's conjured up melancholy at fast tempos before. There is a shift in his playing here, a general upward curve to his solos— rising phrases and runs up scales to the high register. He also uses the upper register more on these tracks than the others —and he makes what he goes for, which is something one could not always say about some of his other recordings.

Both sessions resulted in classic Miles. All three tracks from the Los Angeles session are superb. And there is a remarkable Joshua solo that must stand as a model of how to construct a solo— there is one part, for example, where he uses a scale first in its entirety and then returns to it periodically but only uses part of it to make his point—which is a simple enough idea, but how many jazzmen think of something like that?

And so strong is Davis' playing on both sessions that one never bothers about how many choruses he plays, how long or short his phrases are, how he gets through a certain set of chords—just as long as he keeps playing. Which, I guess, is the mark of a true artist at work.

Of the others on the album, Feldman, who wrote Joshua and collaborated with Davis on Seven, and Carter are the more sympathetic accompanists, though Hancock solos brilliantly, particularly on Seven and Joshua.

Feldman combines parts of Bill Evans and Red Garland in his solos but plays harder than either of those two former Davis sidemen. In general, he does an excellent job of following Davis' unpredictable twists and turns.

Butler occasionally seems at a loss as to what to play behind Davis, sometimes double-timing for a few bars and then dropping back; he sounds more comfortable backing Feldman. Williams, however, goes straight ahead in his accompaniment, and the young Boston drummer displays mature taste in his Seven solo, which is a characteristic uncommon to most other 17-year-olds.

Coleman is unimpressive in his solos, though I've heard him play very well with the group in live performances since the record was made. The tenorist also falls victim to a recording imbalance in the stereo version that brings out Hancock's often busy accompaniment much too strongly, to the point of distraction, in fact.

But these are minor carps in light of the stunning performances by Davis on the record.

*Don DeMicheal (Down Beat, September 12, 1963 [5 stars])*

1 - Basin Street Blues

(Spencer Williams)

2 - Seven Steps To Heaven

(Victor Feldman, Miles Davis)

3 - I Fall In Love Too Easily

(Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)

4 - So Near, So Far 

(Tony Crombie, Benny Green)

5 - Baby Won't You Please Come Home

(Charles Warfield, Clarence Williams)

6 - Joshua

(Victor Feldman)

7 - So Near, So Far

(Tony Crombie, Benny Green)

8 - Summer Night

(Al Dubin, Harry Warren)

Miles Davis (trumpet), with:

#1, #3, #5, #7, #8:

George Coleman (tenor sax), Victor Feldman (piano),

Ron Carter (bass), Frank Butler (drums).

Recorded at Columbia Studios, Los Angeles, California,

April 16 (#1, #3, #5, #7) and April 17 (#8), 1963

#2, #4, #6:

George Coleman (tenor sax), Herbie Hancock (piano),

Ron Carter (bass), Tony Williams (drums).

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City, May 14, 1963