The Aaron Bell Orchestra ║ The Peter Gunn Fever (II)

The Aaron Bell Orchestra

Music From "Peter Gunn"

With this album, Outlet Jazz launches a fascinating series of eight tribute recordings devoted to Henry Mancini's masterpiece: the music of "Peter Gunn".

Released at a time when television soundtracks were enjoying a boom in popularity, this album translates the legendary atmosphere of the series into a mid-century small-group jazz setting.

Using Mancini's compositions as a starting point, Aaron Bell's arrangements aim for an exceptionally clean, elegant, and easy-listening sound. Although the performances maintain a consistently high standard, some jazz critics have found the album somewhat lacking in vitality, particularly when compared with the raw energy and tension that Henry Mancini himself achieved with his West Coast session musicians, or with subsequent interpretations such as Shelly Manne's.

Nevertheless, for collectors, it remains a highly polished and sophisticated recording.

For a good two years up until the fall of 1958, you had to rely on six-shooters and stallions almost exclusively if you wanted action on your television set. Westerns dominated the networks and the ratings. Then, like a refreshing breeze, along came a great new detective series — an adult one, too: "PETER GUNN". Gunn (played by Craig Stevens) can handle a gun, but it's mainly his brain that's for hire to people in trouble. He's a new kind of private investigator — urbane, cultured, a bit cynical, with a touch of the "beat generation" about him. Sometimes, he seems almost to wander into a case out of curiosity or just plain boredom. (...)

Gunn's adventures are neatly varied in plot, usually spiced entertainingly with sharp humor even when the action is running high. Like we said, the series is "adult" in concept and execution — and its record-shattering climb in the popularity ratings shows that the formula is tasty to millions of video viewers. (...)

One of the outstanding features of "PETER GUNN" is its music-pulsating, compelling, spell-binding jazz that fuses with the action in brilliant fashion. When the first show in the series was telecast, NBC- TV was flooded with inquiries about the source of this music. Within a few weeks, the name of its composer, Henry Mancini, was a familiar one to TV fans. Mancini, in his work had come up with an exciting television "first": the first modern jazz back- grounds for the sound track of a filmed TV series. Top-drawer jazz, too-as attested to by the acceptance of even the most jaded of jazz experts. (...)

The present album offers ten dramatic themes from the music for "PETER GUNN", including the hit "Dreamsville". Here, the popular jazz specialist Aaron Bell And his orchestra use them as departure points for some of the most listenable music-making you'll hear in many a moon! (...)

About Aaron Bell:  The "most" on a bass, Aaron is known in the jazz field as a dedicated perfectionist. His playing and arranging have always been characterized by good taste and its quality of being able to reach everybody. A veteran of such top American combos as those of Teddy Wilson, Andy Kirk, and Lester Young, he recently appeared at The Embers and The Left Bank in New York City, drawing ratings by fans and musicians as one of the top bass men around today. He also appeared on Broadway in the stage version of "Compulsion". The musicians Aaron chose to appear with him in this album were chosen for their flexibility and inventiveness and are considered to be among America's top musicians. *(from the liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - Peter Gunn

2 - Dreamsville

3 - Fallout!

4 - Sorta Blue

5 - The Brothers Go To Mother's

Side 2

6 - Soft Sounds

7 - The Floater

8 - Brief And Breezy

9 - A Profound Gass

10 - Session At Pete's Pad

(All compositions by Henry Mancini)

Seldon Powell (tenor sax, flute), Ray Bryant (piano),

Kenny Burrell (guitar), Aaron Bell (bass), Osie Johnson or Elvin Jones (drums).

Recorded in New York City, circa 1958

(Note: discographical records do not specify which tracks feature Elvin Jones and which feature Osie Johnson)

Jazz For The Screen ★ Henry Mancini ║ The Peter Gunn Fever (I)

The premiere of the Peter Gunn television series on American screens in late 1958 not only redefined the sonic aesthetics of the detective genre with Henry Mancini's inimitable score; it also unleashed an immediate shockwave that shook the entire recording industry. Within months, the two original albums signed by Mancini (The Music From Peter Gunn and More Music From Peter Gunn) became an unprecedented cultural phenomenon, topping the charts and proving that music for the small screen could possess a compositional rigor, modern sophistication, and commercial hook rivaling any major cinematic production.

The impact of those avant-garde arrangements didn't stop at dominating the sales charts; it acted as an immediate creative catalyst across the jazz community. For the musicians and arrangers of the day, Mancini’s work was not merely a fleeting piece of television repertoire, but a modern, dynamic, texture-rich canvas that begged for reinvention. The recording studio transformed into a laboratory of cross-pollinated responses where West Coast jazz, New York circles, and commercial studios engaged in a dialogue around the exact same rhythmic pulse, giving rise to a fascinating constellation of tribute albums such as those by bassist Aaron Bell, trumpeters Conte Candoli and Joe Wilder, saxophonist Ted Nash, drummers Shelly Manne and Frankie Capp, and the orchestral vision of arranger Ray Ellis.

However, before exploring the multiple interpretations and replicas that sprouted from that seed, it is imperative to pause at the original source. Next, the focus shifts exclusively to the two volumes that ignited the spark and rewrote the rules of the game: the recordings that Henry Mancini himself conceived alongside the titans of the West Coast to give definitive shape to the sonic universe of Peter Gunn.

Currently the music director of Spartan Productions, Mancini can now claim the distinction of being the first musican to compose modern jazz for the sound track of a filmed television series.

The music in this album offers an excellent sampling of the sounds you're likely to hear any Monday eve when Peter Gunn swings into action on NBC-TV. The musicians are the same jazzmen who are heard to outstanding advantage in all the programs. Here are some of them: Drummer Jack Sperling and bassist Rolly Bundock state the show's forceful opening motif, Fallout! The raw-sounding trumpet belongs to Pete Candoli, a veteran of the Woody Herman and Stan Kenton bands. Dreamsville, which might be subtitled "a love refrain for hipsters," features a moving alto sax solo by Ted Nash; his brother Dick can be heard dueling with fellow trombonist Milt Bernhart on Session at Pete's Pad. Saxist Ronnie Lang, who, in common with most of the musicians here, is a graduate of the Les Brown band, wields a bulging baritone on Sorta Blue. Other soloists at Mother's, the nitery where Peter Gunn hangs his Brooks Brothers jacket, are vibist Larry Bunker and pianist Johnny T. Williams.

This music is Peter Gunn's kind of jazz. I think you'll find that it's your kind, too.

*Blake Edwards (excerpt from the original liner notes of "The Music from Peter Gunn")*

MORE MUSIC FROM "PETER GUNN" is straight from the talented pen of the "original". It sparkles and swings. It has all the changes of mood, feeling and innuendo which make great drama and great jazz. Here are imaginative themes and improvisations, interpreted by some of the world's finest jazz artists. Here is big band jazz with the impact of tear gas or the delicacy of a fadeout kiss.

Each selection in this album is from a different episode of the "Peter Gunn" NBC-TV series. The titles are derived from the incidents or characters which inspired the themes. They are varied, descriptive and exciting. They are great compositions played by great musicians.

That seems to be the best way to describe this album . . . great!

*Bill Olofson (excerpt from the original liner notes of "More Music from Peter Gunn")*

When Blake Edwards and Henry Mancini teamed up for Peter Gunn in the fall of 1958, they didn't just score a stylish new TV detective series; they fundamentally changed the sound of American television. Before Peter Gunn, small-screen drama relied heavily on generic stock library cues or sweeping classical arrangements left over from Hollywood's golden age. Mancini shattered that mold by embedding authentic West Coast Jazz straight into the show's DNA. Powered by a relentless, driving guitar-and-piano ostinato, the score gave urban mystery a sleek, modern swagger, turning the fictional Mother's night club into a living, breathing cathedral for cool jazz.

Crucially, Mancini didn't use pale imitations; he brought the real titans of the Los Angeles scene into the studio—monsters like Shelly Manne, Pete Candoli, Ted Nash, Bud Shank, Victor Feldman, and a young John Williams on keys. Their legitimate swing and real-time improvisation gave every scene an unscripted urgency. Of course, this didn't emerge from a total vacuum. Cinema had already laid the groundwork for jazz as a dramatic language through landmark scores like Alex North's A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Elmer Bernstein's The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and Miles Davis's modal masterpiece for Louis Malle's Ascenseur pour l'échafaud. Even on screen, Mancini himself had just tested these waters by weaving jukebox jazz, rockabilly, and Afro-Cuban rhythms into Orson Welles's The Touch of Evil (1958)—which served as a direct incubator for what he was about to unleash on television.

Yet Mancini was the first to fully integrate this sound into the weekly fabric of the small screen. The payoff was monumental. The Music from Peter Gunn became a massive commercial phenomenon, staying on the Billboard charts for over two years and walking away with the very first Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1959. Overnight, it proved to studio executives that a modern jazz instrumental album could be a blockbusting asset. Almost instantly, a wave of jazz-heavy TV scores followed in its wake, from 77 Sunset Strip and Count Basie’s arrangements for M Squad to Elmer Bernstein’s work on Johnny Staccato. By bringing the West Coast sound to millions of living rooms every week, Mancini redefined the atmosphere of crime drama and paved the way for future giants like Lalo Schifrin, Quincy Jones, and Oliver Nelson.

Henry Mancini

The Music From Peter Gunn

and

More Music From Peter Gunn

The Music from Peter Gunn is a soundtrack album to the TV series Peter Gunn, composed and conducted by Henry Mancini, and released in January 1959 by RCA Victor (LPM/LSP-1956). It was the first album ever to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1959. The album was followed by More Music from Peter Gunn, released on RCA Victor (LPM/LSP-2040) in July 1959. In 1998, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The opening theme music is notable for its combination of jazz orchestration with a straightforward rock 'n roll beat. In his autobiography Did They Mention the Music? Mancini stated: "The Peter Gunn title theme actually derives more from rock and roll than from jazz. I used guitar and piano in unison, playing what is known in music as an ostinato, which means obstinate. It was sustained throughout the piece, giving it a sinister effect, with some frightened saxophone sounds and some shouting brass. The piece has one chord throughout and a super-simple top line".

The Music from Peter Gunn was selected by the Library of Congress as a 2010 addition to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

This CD collects most of the material Mancini wrote for the late-'50s, noir-ish TV drama Peter Gunn (RCA has two separate volumes out that cover all 24 tracks). The innovative and appropriate jazz soundtrack includes arrangements by Pete Candoli, Maxwell Davis, and Bob Florence and features some of the best Los Angeles session players of the time (Bud Shank, Russ Freeman, Red Mitchell, etc.). Mancini takes up from his earlier soundtrack for Orson Welles' Touch of Evil with brass-heavy, crime jazz tunes like "Fallout!" and rock & roll swing numbers like Spook!" and the title-track. The bulk of the material, though, is in a cool, West Coast jazz vein, including brisk swingers like "Blue Steel" and breezy and mid-tempo cuts like "Goofin' at the Coffee House." Also included are the kind of sleepy-eyed lounge cuts Mancini excelled at, like "Dreamsville," "A Quiet Gass," and "Soft Sounds." This is an excellent collection and one that ranks with Mancini's other fine film and TV work from the '50s and '60s. *Stephen Cook (allmusic.com)*

≈The Music From Peter Gunn≈

1 - Peter Gunn

2 - Sorta Blue

3 - The Brothers Go To Mother's

4 - Dreamsville

5 - Session At Pete's Pad

6 - Soft Sounds

7 - Fallout!

8 - The Floater

9 - Slow And Easy

10 - A Profound Gass

11 - Brief And Breezy

12 - Not From Dixie

(All compositions by Henry Mancini)

#1, #2, #7, #9, #12:

Ray Linn, Pete Candoli, Frank Beach, Uan Rasey (trumpets),

Milt Bernhart, Dick Nash, Jim Priddy, Karl DeKarske (trombones);

Vince DeRosa, John Cave, Dick Perissi, John Graas (french horns),

Ronnie Lang (tenor sax), Ted Nash (flute, alto sax), Victor Feldman (vibes),

John Towner Williams (piano), Bob Bain (guitar);

Rollie Bundock (bass), Jack Sperling (drums); Henry Mancini (arranger,coductor).

#4,#5: 

Ray Linn, Pete Candoli, Frank Beach, Uan Rasey (trumpets),

Milt Bernhart, Dick Nash, Jim Priddy, Karl DeKarske (trombones);

Vince DeRosa, John Cave, Dick Perissi, John Graas (french horns),

Plas Johnson (tenor sax), Ted Nash (flute, alto sax), Larry Bunker (vibes),

John Towner Williams (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar);

Rollie Bundock (bass), Jack Sperling (drums); Henry Mancini (arranger,coductor).

#3, #6, #8, #10, #11:

Dick Nash (trombone), Ronnie Lang (baritone sax), Vic Feldman (vibes),

John Towner Williams (piano), Bob Bain (guitar),

Rollie Bundock (bass), Jack Sperling (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, August 26 (#1), August 31 (#2, #4, #5, #7, #9, 12)

and September 4 (#3, #6, #8, #10, #11), 1958

≈More Music From Peter Gunn≈

13 - Walkin' Bass

14 - Timothy

15 - Joanna

16 - My Manne Shelly

17 - Goofin' At The Coffee House

18 - Odd Ball

19 - Blue Steel

20 - The Little Man Theme

21 - Spook!

22 - A Quiet Gass

23 - Lightly

24 - Blues For Mother's

(All compositions by Henry Mancini)

#16, #22, #23:

Pete Candoli (trumpet), Dick Nash (trombone), Ted Nash (tenor sax, flute),

Ronnie Lang (baritone sax), John Towner Williams (piano), Victor Feldman (vibes),

Bob Bain (guitar), Joe Mondragon (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

#13, #17, #18, #20, #21:

Conrad Gozzo, Pete Candoli, Graham Young, Frank Beach (trumpets); 

Dick Nash, Jim Priddy, Hoyt Bohannon, Karl DeKarske (trombones); 

Paul Horn (alto sax, flute); Ted Nash (tenor sax, flute, piccolo); 

Plas Johnson, Gene Cipriano (tenor saxes); Ronnie Lang (baritone sax);

John Towner Williams (piano); Victor Feldman (vibes);

Bob Bain (guitar); Rollie Bundock (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

#14, #15, #19, #24:

Conrad Gozzo, Pete Candoli, Graham Young, Frank Beach (trumpets); 

Dick Nash, Jim Priddy, John Halliburton, Karl DeKarske (trombones); 

John Cave, John Graas, Dick Perissi, Vince DeRosa (french horns);

Paul Horn (alto sax, flute); Ted Nash (tenor sax, flute, piccolo);

Gene Cipriano (tenor sax); Ronnie Lang (baritone sax);

John Towner Williams (piano); Larry Bunker (vibes);

Bob Bain (guitar); Rollie Bundock (bass); Alvin Stoller (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, February 17 (#16, #22, #23), 

March 5 (#13, #17, #18, #20, #21) and  March 6 (#14, #15, #19, #24), 1959

Cool Blends (VIII) - Broadway Panorama

Bud Shank–Bob Cooper Quintet

Chico Hamilton Quintet

Stu Williamson Quartet

Russ Freeman Trio

•

Jazz Swing Broadway

The manner in which jazz groups are encouraged to adopt the showtunes of Broadway as a starting point for inspiration is resulting in some happy marriages and some unfortunate mismatches. This album show that ordinary tunes often are given an extended life, and the superior ones set forth in fresh flights of fancy. As a convenient way to assimilate the divergent styles and schools of jazz, they illustrate an important coincidental part of this trend. Four West Coast groups examine numbers from Li'l Abner ("Namely You", "Love in a Home", "Progress Is the Root of All Evil"), My Fair Lady ("I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face", "Show Me"), Damn Yankees ("Two Lost Souls"), The Most Happy Fella ("Joey, Joey, Joey"), Bells Are Ringing ("Just in Time", "Independent", "The Party's Over"), and Happy Hunting ("I'm a Funny Dame", "Mutual Admiration Society").

The Bud Shank–Bob Cooper Quintet sticks closest to musical-comedy conventions; the Chico Hamilton Quintet shifts the emphasis to quiet chamber music; and the Stu Williamson Quartet and Russ Freeman Trio are both paced by drummer Shelly Manne in vital inventions. Produced by pianist Russ Freeman, the record shows the considerable variety in groups lumped together in one school. *Edward Tatnall Canby (Audio [Record Revue], May 1958)*

Bright lights and music! The excitement and color of a first-night crowd, matched with the enthusiasm and richness of jazz! Jazz Swings Broadway—with twelve perfect reasons for staying. Spotted across the album you'll find the finest tunes, ballads and jumpers, from six hit Broadway shows—MY FAIR LADY, LI’L ABNER, DAMN YANKEES, THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, BELLS ARE RINGING and HAPPY HUNTING—showcased at their finest by four of the West Coast's top jazz groups. So light up the marquees, Broadway—Jazz is here! *(from the liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - Mutual Admiration Society

(Matt Dubey, Harold Karr)

2 - I'm A Funny Dame

(Matt Dubey, Harold Karr)

3 - Namely You

(Johnny Mercer, Gene de Paul)

4 - The Party's Over

(Betty Camden, Adolph Green, Julie Styne)

5 - Two Lost Souls

(Richard Adler, Jerry Ross)

6 - Love In A Home

(Johnny Mercer, Gene de Paul)

Side 2

7 - Progress Is The Root Of All Evil

(Johnny Mercer, Gene de Paul)

8 - I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face

(Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Lowe)

9 - Show Me

(Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Lowe)

10 - Joey, Joey, Joey

(Frank Loesser)

11 - Independent

(Betty Camden, Adolph Green, Julie Styne)

12 - Just In Time

(Betty Camden, Adolph Green, Julie Styne)

#1, #5, #8, #12

The Bud Shank–Bob Cooper Quintet:

Bud Shank (alto sax, flute), Bob Cooper (tenor sax, oboe),

Claude Williamson (piano), Don Prell (bass), Chuck Flores (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California, February 18, 1958

#2, #9

The Chico Hamilton Quintet:

Fred Katz (cello), Paul Horn (tenor sax, alto sax, clarinet, flute),

John Pisano (guitar), Carson Smith (bass), Chico Hamilton (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, August 12, 1957

#3, #6, #7, #11

The Stu Williamson Quartet:

Stu Williamson (trumpet), Russ Freeman (piano),

Monte Budwig (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, August 12, 1957

#4, #10

The Russ Freeman Trio:

Russ Freeman (piano), Monty Budwig (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, August 12, 1957

Jazz For The Screen ★ Elmer Bernstein

 "Jazz in the Movies" Collection
•
Elmer Bernstein
The Music From "Staccato"
and
The Music From "The Man With The Golden Arm"

No need to worry too much about the origins of these two sessions. Although composed and played specifically for a movie and a television series, the jazz shines through and most of it will stand as music for just listening to under any circumstances. The first session, made for the Johnny Staccato television programmes featuring a jazz loving private tec, features some striking trumpet solo work throughout by Pete Candoli. A small group within the big orchestral setting plays several tracks with typical trumpet and sax solos supported by rhythm section. "The Jazz At Waldo's" is a standout piece, as you might expect; jazz-club swinging stuff this, with Shelly Manne prominent in the rhythm section and as soloist. "One Before Closing" and "MacDougal Street Special" come across very well as small-group jazz combo selections with Kessel and Candoli playing crisply in solo.

Slightly less interesting is the atmospheric music composed by Bernstein for the Golden Arm film, which readers of a certain age will remember as a feature for Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak. Sweeping strings underline some of the sad moments in the movie and the dramatic ones have the theme blasting out in heavily accented chords. Manne is once again heavily featured, playing well as he provides the drum sounds and pulsing syncopation of the main theme to emphasise the main characters ambition to become a jazz drummer. The theme is catchy and will bring back memories of the film as it appeared in the 1950s. Shorty Rogers has some good moments on flugel, Manne is all over the score from beginning to end and the central "Clark Street" theme is memorable if only because it repeats so often it becomes ingrained in the brain! This is two LPs on one CD but if in any doubt I would suggest it is a good buy for the Johnny Staccato music alone.

*Derek Ansell (Jazz Journal)*

A few months ago, I stumbled across some very cool soundtracks from 60s Juvenile Delinquent movies such as College Confidential and Crime in the Streets that had guys like Maynard Ferguson and Conte Condoli in the studios delivering some wonderfully moody and hip sounds. The Spanish reissue label Fresh Sound Records just put out a couple more of these delights, and theyre even better!

This CD has music conducted and composed by Elmer Bernstein, the man who gave us the famous Great Escape and Magnificent Seven theme songs. This time, he goes deeper into the darkness with arrangements by West Coast cooler Shorty Rogers and delivers the definitive 50s sounds on the definitive 50s jazz movie, The Man With The Golden Arm, which included a stellar performance by Frank Sinatra. The band is completely all star: Shorty Rogers, the Condoli Brothers, Buddy Childers, Frank Rosolino, Bob Cooper, Jimmy Giuffre, Pete Jolly, Lou Levy and Shelly Mann are just a sampling of the names that blow dry winds on tunes such as "Frankie Machine" and "The Fix". The unforgettable theme song weaves in and out of many of the tunes, and since Sinatra is playing the role of a drummer, Manne gets to be spotlighted in order to display just how stylish and versatile he was.

Johnny Staccato, which featured John Cassavettes, was just as sinister, with the likes of Red Mitchell, Larry Bunker, Barney Kessel and Milt Bernhart in an orchestra that is the music version of film noir on "Night Mood" and "Walk a Lonely Street". This stuff needs to be revised by todays cats! *George W. Harris (jazzweekly.com)*

Music from "Staccato"

Elmer Bernstein

(Originally issued on Capitol ST1287)

1 - Staccato's Theme 

2 - Thinking Of Baby 

3 - Poi and Juice 

4 - Night Mood 

5 - Deadly Game 

6 - The Jazz At Waldo's 

7 - Greenwich Village Rumble 

8 - Like Having Fun 

9 - One Before Closing 

10 - Walk a Lonely Street 

11 - MacDougal Street Special 

12 - Pursuit

(All compositions by Elmer Bernstein)

Elmer Bernstein (conductor)

#1, #2, #5, #7:

Don Fagerquist, Pete Candoli, Uan Rasey, Conrad Gozzo (trumpets);

Ted Nash, Ronny Lang (alto saxes); Gene Cipriano, Dave Pell (tenor saxes);

Marty Ruderman, Sylvia Ruderman (flutes); George Roberts (bass trombone);

Milt Bernhart, Dick Nash, Joe Howard (trombones); Chuck Gentry (baritone sax);

Vince De Rosa, Dick Perissi (french horns); Philip Stephens (tuba);

John T. Williams (piano); Barney Kessel (guitar); Bob Bain (rhythm guitar);

Red Mitchell (bass); Shelly Manne (drums); Lou Singer (percussion).

#4, #8, #10, #12:

Pete Candoli, Don Fagerquist (trumpets); Ted Nash (alto sax);

Gene Cipriano (tenor sax); Dick Nash, Si Zentner (trombones);

}John T. Williams (piano); Larry Bunker (vibes); Barney Kessel (guitar);

Bob Bain (rhythm guitar); Red Mitchell (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

#3, #6, #9, #11:

Pete Candoli (trumpet), John T. Williams (piano), Larry Bunker (vibes),

Barney Kessel (guitar), Red Mitchell (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Tower Studio "B" Hollywood, California,

August 4, August 5 and August 8, 1959

Music from "The Man With The Golden Arm"

Elmer Bernstein

(Originally issued on Decca DL78257)

13 - Clark Street: 

• The Hop

• Homecoming

• Antek's 

14 - Zosh 

15 - Frankie Machine 

16 - The Fix 

17 - Molly 

18 - Breakup:

• Fight

• Louie's

• Burlesque

19 - Sunday Morning 

20 - Desperation 

21 - Audition 

22 - The Cure:

• Withdraw

• Cold

• Morning 

23 - Finale

(All compositions by Elmer Bernstein)

Elmer Bernstein (conductor)

#13, #15, #16, #18 (Louie's)

Elmer Bernstein Jazz Orchestra:

Pete Candoli, Conte Candoli, Ray Linn, Buddy Childers (trumpets);

Shorty Rogers (flugelhorn); Milt Bernhart, Frank Rosolino, Harry Betts,

Ray Sims, Jimmy Henderson, Al Henderson, George Roberts (trombones);

Dick Perissi (french horn); Bud Shank (alto sax, flute); Jerome Kasper (alto sax);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax, flute, oboe); Jack Montrose (tenor sax);

Jimmy Giuffre (clarinet, baritone sax); Sam Rice (tuba); Chauncey Haines (novachord);

Pete Jolly, Lou Levy (pianos); Ralph Peña (bass);

Shelly Manne (drums); Milt Holland, Lee Previn (percussion).   

#14, #17, #18 (Fight), #19, #20, #22, #23

Elmer Bernstein Sympfony Orchestra:

Bob Fleming, Cecil Read (trumpets); Joe Eger, Fred Fox (french horns);

Martin Ruderman, Sylvia Ruderman (flutes); Mitchell Lurie, Nick Fera (clarinets);

Arnold Koblenz (oboe); Jerome Kasper (alto sax);

Jack Marsh, Fowler Friedlander (bassons); Anatol Kaminsky (violin);

Armand Kaproff (cello); Abe Luboff, Peter Mercurio (basses);

Ray Turner (piano); Shelly Manne (drums);

plus

11 violins, 3 violas, and 2 cellos (all unidentified).

#18 (Burlesque):

Bud Shank (alto sax), Pete Jolly (piano), Shelly Manne (drums).   

#21

Shorty Rogers and His Giants:

Ray Linn, Pete Candoli, Conte Candoli, Buddy Childers (trumpets); 

Shorty Rogers (flugelhorn); Milt Bernhart, Harry Betts, Frank Rosolino (trombones);

George Roberts (bass trombone); Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax);

Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Bill Holman, Jack Montrose (tenor saxes); 

Lou Levy (piano); Ralph Peña (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).   

Recorded at RKO Studio, Hollywood, California,

September 22, November 23 and November 25, 1955

Cool Blends (VII) - Dutch Panorama

Cool Jazz From Holland

The First Dutch Modern Jazz Recordings

1955 ~ 1957

In the late 1940s, a new generation of jazz musicians emerged in the Netherlands. They had begun modeling their music on the bebop style, the "modern jazz" with which Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie had revolutionized the American scene. However, the general misunderstanding of the new style due to their limited access to the original recordings hindered its spread among jazz enthusiasts. These early alliances of local musicians with bebop rarely had enough support from local fans, and there wasn't much interest from record companies either. It took time for listeners to understand what the new style entailed, and bebop became a source of controversy, dividing the ranks of jazz fans into modernists and traditionalists.

Starting in 1954, as the flame of bebop slowly faded, modernists began to get caught up in the West Coast jazz craze. Suddenly the scene was activated and several engaging groups of different line-ups began to appear. They managed to deliver competent performances punctuated with notable solos to critical acclaim and good reception from fans. This new interest resulted in the first Dutch recordings of modern jazz in 1955, that saw the light in 1956 on the Columbia 10-inch album "Jazz from Holland", an indisputable example of the level reached by Dutch musicians who favored the cool, more relaxed West Coast sound, relying more on composition and arrangements than bebop free style improvisation. This initial recording effort by Bovema's Gerry Oord inspired producer Michiel de Ruyter to record the best Dutch small groups and bands for a three-volume series of LPs titled "Jazz Behind the Dikes", as well as several EP singles released between 1955 and 1957 by Philips. The Dutch magazine "Rhythme" boasted that thanks to their "top performances", the featured combos received international praise from "jazz connoisseurs on all four continents of the world".

This 2-CD set contains all of these historic recordings for your listening pleasure. *Jordi Pujol*

In a blindfold test of any of the 52 selections included on the two-CD set Cool Jazz From Holland, even the most dedicated collectors of 1950s jazz would never guess that the music was recorded in Holland by Dutch musicians. While many of the European groups that tried to record bebop during 1945-50 sounded a bit awkward as they sought to learn the new music, there is no such difficulty heard on these performances from 1955-57. Whether these were the very first Dutch recordings of what was at the time modern jazz (there were some earlier isolated sessions), certainly these musicians were ready in 1955 to be permanently documented.

There were three stages in the development of European jazz. First the musicians had to learn jazz, then they mastered the prevailing American styles, and finally they developed some of their own innovators. In the 1950s most Europeans modern jazz artists were very much in the second stage, becoming quite adept at playing West Coast cool jazz and bebop. The innovators (other than a select few such as Django Reinhardt) would not arrive until the mid-1960s and the rise of the avant-garde.

While singer Rita Reys became a star and would later record with some Americans (including Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers), such Dutch musicians as altoists Karel Reys and Tony Vos, pianists Rob Madna, Rob Pronk (who sounds a bit like Russ Freeman and also doubles on trumpet), Stido Alstrom, Frans Elsen, and Pim Jacobs, baritonist Herman Schoonderwalt (also playing clarinet and alto), and tenor-saxophonist Harry Verbeke show on these recordings that they were on the level of their American counterparts and deserve to be discovered by today’s jazz listeners.

This is a very generous two-CD set with nearly 160 minutes of music. All of the selections originally on two 12-inch Lps, three 10-inch Lps, and eight 7-inch Eps (other than one vocal number left out due to lack of space) are included and reissued in chronological order including the three albums in the Jazz Behind The Dikes series. In addition to a page of notes from the reissue’s producer Jordi Pujol, all of the original liner notes are included in the 28-page booklet.

Do not even hesitate to pick up this valuable, fascinating and very musical set. It gives one an opportunity to discover a lot of talent that has always been largely unknown to Americans.

*Scott Yanow (Los Angeles Jazz Scene)*

European jazz of the 1950s has long fascinated me. World War II killed and injured tens of millions of people and seriously damaged countries' infrastructure, economies and the emotions of surviving populations. And yet, the optimism in these newly freed countries, supported by America's financial and military security, put them on track to recovery. As early as the late 1940s, modern jazz, with its improvisational expression and emphasis on the individual, became one of the few diversions that Europeans found in sync with the new spirit of freedom and a bright tomorrow.

Young European musicians who came of age in the late 1940s and at the dawn of the 1950s fell in love with American bebop and cool jazz recordings brought over by touring American musicians and then released there by European distributors. Once European musicians deciphered how to play modern jazz, dozens of great arrangers and artists emerged and united to form groups, recording on newly established European labels in London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm and elsewhere. The quality of the jazz remains remarkably excellent.

When we think of 50s jazz in Europe, we often think of artists such as the UK's Ronnie Scott, Victor Feldman, Johnny Dankworth, Tony Crombie and Jack Parnell; Belgium's Bobby Jaspar, Fats Sadi, René Thomas, Toots Thielemans, Jack Sels and Francy Boland; France's Henri Renaud, Roger Guérin, Pierre Michelot, Maurice Vander and Sacha Distel; and Sweden's Lars Gullin, Rolf Ericson, Arne Domnérus, Ake Persson, Gunnar Svensson and Rolf Blomquist. Plus dozens of others, including young jazz musicians from Germany, Italy and Austria.

Now, we have a new box on jazz in the Netherlands between 1955 and 1957. Released last month, Cool Jazz From Holland is a two-CD set with a 28-page booklet that details the Dutch contribution with small group and big band recordings of Bop and of Cool Jazz prominent on America's West Coast. The set features one fabulous harmony-rich, driven recording after the next. In fact, there are no bad tracks on this box. All 52 tracks are fabulous. You can listen from start to finish without ever skipping over any of the songs. And if I gave you a blindfold test, you'd swear I was playing you jazz recorded in Hollywood or New York in the '50s.

I last posted about Dutch jazz nearly a year ago when I wrote about Rob Madna and Frans Wieringa. This new box features Madna and includes groups led by Rob Pronk, Wessel Ilcken, Tony Vos, Stido Alstrøm, Rita Reys, Herman Schoonderwalt, Frans Elsen and Pim Jacobs. I've already listened to this set five times and love every minute of it. Cool Jazz From Holland is one of my favorite historical sets of the year. The tracks were issued years ago on a variety of albums that are long out of print. This box brings this great music into the present and proves that the Netherlands was at the forefront of the European jazz movement.

What's most remarkable is the Dutch passion for the West Coast's relaxed sound. That's likely a result of Dutch musicians falling in love with the breezy, sophisticated quality of Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Russ Freeman and others. As readers of my book, Why Jazz Happened know, I've always viewed West Coast jazz and its popularity as the product of Los Angeles optimism and musicians' upward mobility in the 50s. It turns out that the West Coast sound reflects the optimism of anyone who feels gloriously free and happy to be alive.

*Marc Myers (www.jazzwax.com)*

*CD 1*

1 - Easy To Love

(Cole Porter)

2 - Indiana

(Hanley, MacDonald)

3 - Roxy

(Rob Pronk)

4 - Royal Mixed

(Jerry van Rooyen)

5 - Sonny Boy

(Jolson, DeSylva, Brown, Henderson)

6 - Static Test

(Rob Pronk)

7 - You Hi To My Ho

(Tony Vos)

8 - Souvenir

(Mathisen, Rosenkrantz)

9 - First Date

(Rob Madna)

10 - All God's Chillum

(Jurmann, Kahn)

11 - My Funny Valentine

(Rodgers, Hart)

12 - A Dandy Line

(Jack Montrose)

13 - Jean

(Stido Alstrøm)

14 - Stido's Extract

(Stido Alstrøm)

15 - Herman's Hanky

(Jerry van Rooyen)

16 - Nowhere

(Frans Elsen)

17 - Wailing For Weelink

(Dick Bezemer)

18 - For Minors Only

(Jerry van Rooyen)

19 - I Should Care

(Cahn, Stordahl, Weston)

20 - There'll Never Be Another You

(Warren, Gordon)

21 - Young Peter

(Tony Vos)

22 - A Rainy Holiday

(Henk Vos)

23 - Second Date

(Rob Madna)

24 - Stan The Wailer

(Rob Madna)

25 - Papernote

(Rob Madna)

26 - The Universe

(Rob Madna)

27 - All The Things You Are

(Kern, Hammerstein II)

#1, #2:

The Rob Madna Quartet

Karel Reys (alto sax), Rob Madna (piano), Dick Bezemer (bass), Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Recorded in Amsterdam, January 7, 1955

#3, #4: 

Dutch All Stars

Ack Van Rooyen, Jerry Van Rooyen (trumpets); Karel Reys (alto sax);

Toon van Vliet (tenor sax); Herman Schoonderwalt (baritone sax);

Rob Pronk (piano); Dick Bezemer (bass); Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Recorded in Amsterdam, January 7, 1955

#5, #6:

The Rob Pronk Trio

Rob Pronk (piano), Dick Bezemer (bass), Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Recorded in Amsterdam, January 7, 1955

#7, #8:

The Tony Vos Quartet

Tony Vos (alto sax), Henk Vos (piano), Børge Ring (bass), Fred Gilhuys (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, January 14, 1955

#9, #10:

The Rob Madna Trio

Rob Madna (piano), Dick Bezemer (bass), Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, January 17, 1955

#11, #12: 

The Wessel Ilcken Combo featuring Rita Reys

Jerry Van Rooyen (trumpet [#12], piano [#11]), Dick Bezemer (trombone),

Toon van Vliet (tenor sax), Chris Bender (bass),

Wessel Ilcken (drums), Rita Reys (vocal #11).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, January 17, 1955

#13, #14:

The Stido Alstrøm Trio

Stido Alstrøm (piano), Hans Weelink (bass), Jan Goedkoop (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, January 23, 1955

#15, #16:

The Herman Schoonderwalt Septet

Koos van Beurden (trumpet), Tony Vos (alto sax),

Flip van Glabbeek (tenor sax), Herman Schoonderwalt (baritone sax),

Rein Verbeek (piano); Børge Ring (bass), Fred Gilhuys (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, July 13, 1955

#17 to #20:

The Wessel Ilcken Combo featuring Rita Reys

Jerry van Rooyen (trumpet), Toon van Vliet (tenor sax), Rob Madna (piano),

Dick Bezemer (bass), Wessel Ilcken (drums), Rita Reys (vocals [#19, #20]).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, August 16, 1955

#21, #22:

The Tony Vos Quartet

Tony Vos (alto sax), Henk Vos (piano), Børge Ring (bass), Fred Gilhuys (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, August 22, 1955

#23 to #26:

The Rob Madna Trio

Rob Madna (piano), Dick Bezemer (bass), Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, August 25, 1955

#27:

The Frans Elsen Quartet

Frans Elsen (piano), Robby Pauwels (guitar), Chris Bender (bass), Cees See (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, August 31, 1955

◈

*CD 2*

1 - Dufti Chris

(Ira Kriss)

2 - Mops

(Frans Elsen)

3 - Autumn In New York

(Vernon Duke)

4 - Gone With The Wind

(Wrubel, Magidson)

5 - Moonlight In Vermont

(Suessdorf, Blackburn)

6 - It's Alright With Me

(Cole Porter)

7 - I'll Wind

(Arlen, Koehler)

8 - But Not For Me

(George and Ira Gershwin)

9 - The Beauty Of The Ball

(Cees Smal)

10 - Bobby Tale

(Cees Smal)

11 - Lady Bird

(Tadd Dameron)

12 - Just A Kickshaw

(Ruud Jacobs)

13 - The Goofer

(Robert Pronk)

14 - Jeepers Creepers

(Warren, Mercer)

15 - First Fig

(Rob Madna)

16 - The Teacher

(Rob Madna)

17 - Like Someone In Love

(Van Heusen, Burke)

18 - Lady Elisabeth

(Tony Vos)

19 - Sem

(Frans Elsen)

20 - Don't Get Sad

(Frans Elsen)

21 - Queen

(Stido Alstrøm)

22 - Meditation

(Stido Alstrøm)

23 - If You're So Smart, How Come You Ain't Rich?

(Norman, Friedman, Bishop)

24 - Lemonade

(Gray, Jordan)

25 - School Days

(Cobb, Edwards)

#1, #2, #3:

The Frans Elsen Quartet

Frans Elsen (piano), Robby Pauwels (guitar), Chris Bender (bass), Cees See (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, August 31, 1955

#4 to #8:

Rita Reys with The Wessel Ilcken Quintet

Rita Reys (vocals), Ack Van Rooyen (trumpet), Herman Schoonderwalt (baritone sax),

Rob Madna (piano), Dick Bezemer (bass), Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, February 16, 1956

#9, #10:

The Diamonds

Cees Smal (valve trombone), Harry Verbeke (tenor sax),

Wim van Beelen (piano), Henk de Jong (bass), Tony Funke-Küpper (drums).

Recorded in Amsterdam, February 28, 1956

#11, #12: 

The Pim Jacobs Three

Pim Jacobs (piano), Ruud Jacobs (bass), Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, October 29, 1956

#13, #14: 

The Wessel Ilcken All Stars

Rob Pronk, Ack van Rooyen, Jerry van Rooyen (trumpets); Rudy Bosch (trombone);

Piet Noordijk (alto sax); Toon van Vliet, Ruud Brink (tenor saxes);

Herman Schoonderwalt (baritone sax); Rob Madna (piano);

Dick van der Capelle (bass); Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, October 29, 1956

#15, #16: 

The Rob Madna Trio

Rob Madna (piano), Ruud Jacobs (bass), Ruud Pronk (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, November 2, 1956

#17, #18: 

The Tony Vos Quartet

Tony Vos (alto sax), Henk Vos (piano), Børge Ring (bass), Fred Gilhuys (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, December 12, 1956

#19, #20:

The Frans Elsen Quintet

Herman Schoonderwalt (alto sax [#19], clarinet [#20]), Frans Elsen (piano),

Robby Pauwels (guitar), Eddy de Has (bass), Cees See (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, January 30, 1957

#21, #22:

The Stido Alstrøm Sextet

Jan Morks (clarinet), Coen van Nassou (vibes), Stido Alstrøm (piano),

Flip Willemsen (guitar), Dick van der Capellen (bass), Hank Brink (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, February 3, 1957

#23, #24, #25: 

The Wessel Ilcken Combo

Ado Broodboom (trumpet), Karel Reys (alto sax), Toon van Vliet (tenor sax),

Pim Jacobs (piano), Ruud Jacobs (bass), Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Recorded at Phonogram in the Hof van Holland Studio, Hilversum, June 5, 1957

◈

Five-Star Collection & Jazz For The Screen ★ Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Jazz Track

The 1958 Jazz Track album compilation is made up of two unrelated studio sessions. The first side is devoted to ten songs composed by Miles Davis for the soundtrack to the French film "L'Ascenseuer Pour l'Echafaud", with pianist René Urtreger, tenor saxophonist Barney Wilen, bassist Pierre Michelot, and drummer Kenny Clarke joining the trumpeter. Unfortunately, the music isn't particularly memorable, in spite of the best efforts of the musicians. The slower numbers seem rather sterile; while even the fast pace of "Sur l'Autoroute", featuring the leader's muted horn, leaves little in the way of a lasting impression.

The second side represents only a portion of the May 26, 1958, studio session with Bill Evans, John Coltrane, and Cannonball Adderley that has since been reissued in full on CD. The softly stated treatment of "On Green Dolphin Street", with Davis' muted trumpet, Evans' impeccable accompaniment, and Jimmy Cobb's tasteful brushwork is masterful, though Adderley and Coltrane quickly shatter that mood following their respective entrances. The waltz-time treatment of "Fran Dance" (Davis' recasting of "Put Your Little Foot Right Out") is fine, though the clear highlight of the record is the gorgeous arrangement of "Stella by Starlight," which Adderley sits out. This album is now a mere historical footnote since more complete editions of both sessions have been reissued.

A strange anomaly in the Miles Davis catalogue is this half-and-half LP released by Columbia in 1959. Jazz Track got its name in part from side A, which constituted much of the soundtrack music he created with a Parisian quintet in December 1957 for Louis Malle's first feature film, Ascenseur pour l’echafaud (released in the U.S. initially as Frantic, and later as Elevator to the Gallows.) With not enough music to fill more than one side of an LP, Columbia picked three tracks for the B-side from a remarkable Miles session from midsummer 1958—remarkable for featuring the Bill Evans-Cannoball Adderley-John Coltrane lineup proving their mettle on three tracks: "Green Dolphin Street", "Fran-Dance", and "Stella by Starlight". (As Kind of Blue fit into a modal concept, it can be argued these three performances are the best example of what Miles' famous 1958 sextet was capable of with more standard repertoire in the studio).

Jazz Track was released just a few months after Kind of Blue and before Sketches of Spain, and was unfairly overshadowed by the immediate popularity of each, and the fact that both were more cohesively thematic. In combining sessions conceived for different purposes and with different lineups, Jazz Track as an album was neither fish nor fowl. As well, that the music from Elevator to the Gallows—now acknowledged as a groundbreaking effort by both jazz and cinema historians—was first released in the US so perfunctorily is due as much to the film's limited potential in the American market, as it is to the mostly modal music being undervalued. And yet—without the modal tryout that yielded Elevator to the Gallows soundtrack, no Kind of Blue. One opened the door to the other. *milesdavis.com*

The recording [side 1] was made at night in a Paris radio studio and the atmosphere was very relaxed. The musicians watched the principal scenes of the film and improvised as they watched. It is important to stress the improvisatory nature of the music as it is most unusual to allow any degree of freedom to musicians recording a score where it is so essential to attain perfect synchronisation.(...)

The other side of this LP finds Davis with a group in more orthodox vein. Many American listeners have been impressed by the strong potential for individual development in tenor saxist John Coltrane's playing during the past couple of years and will be particularly interested in his solos on this session.

Bill Evans is another comparative newcomer whose piano work has attracted the attention of both fans and critics, and few other young musicians will be watched so attentively in the next year to see whether the promise will be fulfilled. Julian "Cannonball" Adderley is by now an established star in his own right and his many fans will not be disappointed by his work on this record.(...)

Davis' courage in sticking to his own path at a time when it was fashionable to follow whoever was currently in vogue has paid off both in public acclaim and in individual development. Yet it is unlikely that he will be satisfied with his work for any great length of time as he is an artist who is always modest about his playing. Most critics and

enthusiasts do not share Davis' slight evaluation of so much of his own work, for to them the records he has been making are amongst some of the finest of the past few years. Perhaps we may hope that this score may lead more film producers to re-evaluate the inherent possibilities in utilizing jazz in this medium.  *Albert McCarthy (from the liner notes)* 

An absolutely fascinating release, this album offers Miles with a group in France, doing the score to a French motion picture. It was improvised in a dark studio while the picture was shown. Side two is the product of a session recorded in New York. It features Davis' quintet of the period right after Jimmy Cobb replaced Philly Joe Jones, when Bill Evans was still a member of the group.

Both sides concentrate on the lyricism that pervades the best Davis’ playing, even though the motion picture music is overladen with that ugly sound of pain that comes through in his work with almost equal frequency. The French group is completely dominated by Miles, though Wilen manages to play very well in his brief solos and Klook’s brushes are delightful. But it is Miles one remembers from these tracks; he conveys the concentrated beauty and stark drama of, say, Billie Holiday. His sadness is devastating here, just as his lyricism is exquisite and the pain of his beauty almost insupportable. Some of the very best, if not the best, Miles solos are contained on the Elevator side of the LP.

The New York date is top-notch Davis of recent vintage. The other horns stand on an equal basis with the leader, and the rhythm section brings to the totality of the sound an element of vitality that is lacking in the French session. Adderley’s robust and lusty wailing is in sharp contrast to Miles’ lyric intensity (of the sort he got on Bye, Bye, Blackbird) and Coltrane’s dynamic thrusts.

Jimmy Cobb, who has, I'm sure, surprised everybody by the major league manner in which he took over a most difficult chair, was new in the band at this time and did not sound as free and as natural as he came to sound later. However, there is no group in modern jazz that can stand comparison with any of the various Miles Davis groups of the past three or four years. This LP is unquestionably top priority.

The notes, by the way, are by that well-known propagandist for Miles Davis and modern jazz, Albert McCarthy of the Old Bakehouse, Back Road East, St. Ives, Cornwall, England.

*Ralph J. Gleason, Down Beat, December 10, 1959 [5 stars])*

Off Note:

The track "Fran-Dance" is also known by its original name "Put Your Little Foot Right Out". It is a traditional folk melody that Miles Davis took and adapted to the language of modern jazz. When it was included for the first time on the album Jazz Track, it was renamed "Fran-Dance" as a dedication and love letter to his then partner (and future wife), dancer Frances Taylor.

From "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud"

1 - Générique

(Miles Davis)

2 - L'assassinat De Carala

(Miles Davis)

3 - Sur L'autoroute

(Miles Davis)

4 - Julien Dans l'ascenseur

(Miles Davis)

5 - Florence Sur Les Champs-Elysées

(Miles Davis)

6 - Diner Au Motel

(Miles Davis)

7 - Evasion De Julien

(Miles Davis)

8 - Visite Du Vigile

(Miles Davis)

9 - Au Bar Du Petit Bac

(Miles Davis)

10 - Chez Le Phonographe Du Motel

(Miles Davis)

✳

11 - On Green Dolphin Street

(N. Washington, B. Kaper)

12 - Fran-Dance (a.k.a. Put Your Little Foot Right Out)

(L. Spier)

13 - Stella By Starlight 04:51

(N. Washington, V. Young)

#1 to #10:

From Ascenseur pour l'échafaud

(Side 1)

Miles Davis (trumpet), Barney Wilen (tenor sax),

René Urtreger (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).

Recorded in Paris, December 4 and 5, 1957

#11, #12, #13:

(Side 2)

Miles Davis (trumpet), Julian "Cannonball" Adderley(alto sax), John Coltrane (tenor sax),

Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums).

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studios, New York City, May 26, 1958

Jazz For The Screen ★ Stanley Wilson and Skip Martin

"Jazz in the Movies" Collection

•

Stanley Wilson 

The Music From "M Squad"

and

Skip Martin

The Music "Mike Hammer"

Mike Spillane's Mike Hammer stories were the 10-minute egg of hard-boiled crime fiction. The NBC television series, with Darren McGavin just a little too clean-cut as the tec, pulled a fair few punches, but the theme music didn't. Skip Martin's soundtrack packed a punch like a lead sap. M Squad was a Lee Marvin vehicle, usually driven at reckless speed, and you wouldn't have known where to put your money in a catchweight between Hammer and Lt. Frank Ballinger. There are some pretty good eggs in the studio bands here. The M Squad Theme was by Basie, of course, and a good few of the arrangements and themes by Benny Carter (nice alto playing, too), though Stanley Wilson took care of the rest with snap-brim professionalism.

This is the work that kept many a jazz guy solvent during the later 1950s and 1960s when the big bands weren't touring to any great extent and pop was beginning to hustle the market. It's inch-perfect, by-the-book arranging and playing, but the material is raw enough to give these cues a raw immediacy. Only a cynic draws a hard line between commercial music and art. If these were day-job gigs for West Coast musicians, no one got their cigar out till the shift was done. Hammer Blow sums it up perfectly. *Brian Morton (Jazz Journal)*

A few months ago, I stumbled across some very cool soundtracks from '60s Juvenile Delinquent movies such as College Confidential and Crime in the Streets that had guys like Maynard Ferguson and Conte Candoli in the studios delivering some wonderfully moody and hip sounds. The Spanish reissue label Fresh Sound Records just put out a couple more of these delights, and they're even better!

The Music from M Squad had the show starring Lee Marvin (or is it James Coburn? Were they twins?) backed by an orchestra conducted by Stanley Wilson performing tunes penned by Count Basie, Johnny Williams and Benny Carter. Carter plays alto here as well, along with Don Fagerquist (trumpet), Rosolino (trombone) and Alvin Stoller (drums) and Dick Nash (trombone) included in the studio orchestra. You're gonna LOVE the "M Squad Theme", and "The Juke Box" isn't too far behind. The music from Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is arranged and conducted by Skip Martin, and boasts a reed section of Bud Shank, Paul Horn, Gus Bivona, Ted Nash and Bob Cooper as well as a rhythm section of Larry Bunker (drums), Red Mitchell (bass), Jimmy Rowles (piano) and Barney Kessel (guitar). The band swings as crisply and as hard as anything that Woody Herman was doing at the time, and the solos, while short and to the point, snap like snow peas. You can feel the asphalt under your feet on "Lenox Avenue Strut" while the brew of Folgers is sniffed on "Coffee House". When did TV lose its musical edge? *George W. Harris (jazzweekly.com)*

Music from "M Squad"

Stanley Wilson

(Originally issued on RCA Victor LSP-2062)

1 - M Squad Theme

(Count Basie)

2 - The Chase

(Johnny Williams)

3 - The Search

(Benny Carter)

4 - Phantom Raiders

(Benny Carter)

5 - Lonely Beat

(Stanley Wilson)

6 - The Juke Box

(Benny Carter)

7 - The Mugger

(Benny Carter)

8 - The Discovery

(Johnny Williams)

9 - The Late Spot

(Stanley Wilson)

10 - The Cha-Cha Club

(Stanley Wilson)

11 - A Lady Sings The Blues

(Stanley Wilson, Sonny Burke)

12 - The End

(Johnny Williams)

Stanley Wilson (conductor)

#1, #2, #5, #9, to #12:

Ray Linn, Don Fagerquist, Maurie Harris (trumpets);

Joe Howard, Pete Carpenter, Dick Nash (trombones);

George Roberts (bass trombone); Benny Carter (alto sax);

John T. Williams (piano); Red Mitchell (bass);

Alvin Stoller (drums); Larry Bunker (bongos [#10]); 

Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, California, March 16 and 20, 1959

#3, #4, #6 to #8:

Frank Beach, Don Fagerquist, Maurie Harris (trumpets); 

Milt Bernhart, Frank Rosolino, Pete Carpenter (trombones);

George Roberts (bass trombone); Benny Carter (alto sax);

John T. Williams (piano); Joe Mondragon (bass); Alvin Stoller (drums).

Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, California, March 18, 1959

Music from "Mike Hammer"

Skip Martin

(Originally issued on RCA Victor LSP-2140)

13 - Riff Blues (Theme)

14 - Corn Pone Woman 

15 - Coffee House 

16 - Bad Guys 

17 - Black Night 

18 - Back Home 

19 - Night Crowd 

20 - Summer Mood 

21 - Like Mike 

22 - Morning After

23 - Lenox Avenue Strut

24 - Hammer Blow 

(All compositions by Skip Martin)

Lloyd "Skip" Martin (conductor)

#13, #14, #16, #18:

Conrad Gozzo, Don Fagerquist, Dale McMickle, Frank Beach (trumpets);

Dick Nash, Frank Rosolino, Dick Noel, Tommy Pederson (trombones);

Bud Shank, Paul Horn (alto sax, flute); Gus Bivona (clarinet, tenor sax);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Chuck Gentry (baritone sax); Jimmy Rowles (piano);

Barney Kessel (guitar); Red Mitchell (bass); Irv Cottler (drums); Ralph Hansell (tympani).

Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, California, September 21, 1959

#19, #20, #22, #24:

Pete Candoli, Don Fagerquist, Frank Beach (trumpets);

Dick Nash, Frank Rosolino, Dick Noel, Tommy Pederson (trombones);

Bud Shank, Ted Nash (alto saxes); Gus Bivona (clarinet, tenor sax);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Barney Kessel (guitar); Jimmy Rowles (piano);

Red Mitchell (bass); Larry Bunker (drums); Melbourne Pedesky (tympani).

Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, California, September 22, 1959

#15, #17, #21, #23:

Frank Beach (trumpet), Joe Howard (trombone), Paul Horn (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Chuck Gentry (baritone sax), Richard Cornell (vibes),

Barney Kessel (guitar), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Red Mitchel (bass), Irv Cottler (drums).

Recorded at RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, California, September 23, 1959

Five-Star Collection... Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson

Buddy DeFranco

and

Oscar Peterson

Play George Gershwin

Most musicians when asked to give a list of their favorite composers will usually have at the top, or near the top of the list George Gershwin. They feel that Gershwin wrote in such a fashion that it gives them the most room for improvisation. You will always find that when people are asked to do albums of various composers, invariably Gershwin is on the list. (Singers, of course, are different, since they must consider lyrics as well as melody, but instrumentally, Gershwin is the boy for most musicians.)

Buddy DeFranco has recorded many albums for me and for two years has been insisting that he be allowed to do a Gershwin album, and this is it. After completing a tour with Jazz At The Philharmonic, Buddy had an opportunity to play with and listen to Oscar Peterson every night for several weeks and he insisted besides that Oscar Peterson be included in this album.

In this album, then, Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson play Gershwin, with their jazz approach. Skip Martin arranged "I Got Rhythm", "I Was Doing All Right", and "The Man I Love", and the arrangements by Russ Garcia were "It Ain’t Necessarily So", "Bess", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "S’ Wonderful", "Strike Up The Band", "Porgy", and "They Can’t Take That Away From Me". *Norman Granz (liner notes)*

I regretfully have had to agree the last couple of years with those persons who complained that Buddy DeFranco's magnificent skill and improvisatory sense were dulled by his "cold" sound — that his music was lacking in emotion.

I knew it was not always so — I had heard him numerous times with the sextet Count Basie headed four years ago, and had heard his clarinet sound like a torch rather than an icicle.

Now comes this LP on which he, Oscar Peterson, and a large orchestra (including 14 strings) cruise joyfully through Gershwin, and it is the DeFranco I think of when I place his name in the clarinet slot in Down Beat's annual critics poll.

Perhaps it was the stimulus of Peterson, who has developed into one of the most capable and listenable pianists in all jazz. Perhaps it was the cushion afforded by the orchestra, which allowed Buddy to relax and not worry about carrying the entire load himself. At any rate, here is some of the tastiest music of this or any other year.

I Was Doing All Right is the best example of DeFranco's "new look"— he offers a pulsing, penetrating solo; Benny Goodman’s influence on him is much in evidence on Strike Up, where he and Oscar romp joyfully in counterlines before Buddy flashes off; Man I Love is some more superbly melodic pensiveness from Buddy preceding a doubletime offering from Pete, with Someone getting the reverse treatment — Oscar opens meditatively, then DeFranco kicks it up to comfortable blowing tempo.

Buddy is at home on this record and I suspect it is going to win him more fans and friends than most of his other discs put together.

By me, it's a gasser. *Jack Tracy (Down Beat, April 20, 1955 [5 stars])*

1 - I Wants To Stay Here (a.k.a Porgy)

2 - I Was Doing All Right

3 - 'S Wonderful

4 - Bess, You Is My Woman Now

5 - Strike Up The Band

6 - They Can't Take That Away from Me

7 - The Man I Love

8 - I Got Rhythm

9 - Someone To Watch Over Me

10 - It Ain't Necessarily So

11 - I Wants To Stay Here (a.k.a Porgy) (alternate take)

12 - Someone to Watch over Me (alternate take)

 

(All compositions by George Gershwin)

Buddy DeFranco (clarinet), Oscar Peterson (piano)

Herb Ellis (guitar), Ray Brown (bass), Bobby White (drums).

Russ Garcia Orquestra:

Harry Betts, Nick DiMaio, Murray McEachern, Dick Noel (trombones);

Dick Perissi (french horn); Jack Dumont (alto sax);

H.C. Gunkler (alto sax, flute); Julie Jacobs (tenor sax, oboe, english horn);

Marty Berman (baritone sax, bass clarinet);

Sam Caplan, David Frisina, Saul Grant, Henry Hill, Don Lube,

Ricky Marino, Mischa Russell, Ralph Schaefer, Eudice Shapiro, Marshall Sosson (violins);

Louis Kievman, Virginia Matewski (violas); George Neikrug, Kurt Reher (cellos).

Russell Garcia (arranger,conductor).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California,

December 6 (#1, #3, #4, #9 to #12) and December 7 (#2, #5 to #8), 1954