Coleman Hawkins - Hollywood Stampede

Although Coleman Hawkins always denied it, he was undoubtedly one of the first and greatest of all jazz saxophonists. Hawkins, born in St. Joseph, Missouri on 21st November, 1904, was quick to point out that he was not the earliest saxophone stylist in jazz but he was nevertheless the first to establish a style on the instrument. His career, from Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds via the Fletcher Henderson band, the years in Europe and the countless club and concert appearances, is too well-known to warrant reiteration. Suffice it to say that when he died in New York City on 19th May, 1969, the jazz world mourned the loss of a true giant. 

The enclosed record presents the dozen titles he made for Capitol at the beginning of 1945 when he was leading a very successful small band. Hawk had not been to Hollywood since the early nineteen-twenties when he visited the west coast with Mamie Smith. Some doubt surrounded his 1945 visit and although he was tentatively booked to appear in the Philharmonic Auditorium, Los Angeles on January 17th it was subsequently discovered that he was still in New York on that date. Eventually he turned up in California and proceeded to thrill west coast jazz audiences with the power of his playing. In every respect the music heard on the enclosed LP is classic Hawkins and classic jazz. *Alun Morgan (liner notes)*

When tenor saxophonist John Coltrane recorded his composition "Giant Steps" in 1959, he created something that changed the way musicians thought about improvisation and harmony. Decades earlier, the man who took the first leaps and bounds with the tenor sax in jazz was Coleman Hawkins.

Before Hawkins arrived on the jazz scene with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in the 1920s, the tenor sax was basically an ensemble instrument — as opposed to a improvisational instrument — mainly providing a link between the clarinets and brass instruments in military bands and big bands. Hawkins had different ideas, and through his virtuosic playing, he put the instrument front and center in the development of jazz. Hawkins' approach to music would later serve as a bridge from the era of big band swing to later developments like bebop. Put simply, Hawkins was a musical pioneer, one of the most versatile and accomplished soloists in jazz history. Hollywood Stampede shows twelve samples of his genius.

When bebop arrived on the scene, many of the musicians of the swing era dismissed it in much the same way that bebop musicians would later dismiss rock 'n' roll. Hawkins, however, was very interested in this new development and often used a mix of bop pioneers in his ensembles. For example, on this 1945 recording of Hawkins' "Rifftide," we hear Sir Charles Thompson (piano) and Allan Reuss (guitar), who both had roots in earlier eras, while the other members of the band — Howard McGhee (trumpet), Oscar Pettiford (bass) and Denzil Best (drums) — were early practitioners of bebop. Hawkins could swing with the best of the boppers. *npr.org*

Side 1

1 - April In Paris

(V. Duke, E. Y. Harburg)

2 - Rifftide

(Coleman Hawkins)

3 - Stardust

(H. Carmichael, M. Parish)

4 - Stuffy

(Coleman Hawkins)

5 - Hollywood Stampede

(Coleman Hawkins)

6 - I'm Through With Love

(M. Malneck, F. Livingston, G. Kahn)

Side 2

7 - What Is There To Say?

(V. Duke, E. Y. Harburg)

8 - Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams

(H. Barris, B. Moll, T. Koehler)

9 - Too Much Of A Good Thing

(C. Hawkins, C. Thompson)

10 - Bean Soup

(Coleman Hawkins)

11 - Someone To Watch Over Me

(G. and I. Gershwin)

12 - It's The Talk Of The Town

(J. Livingston, M. Symes, A. J. Neiburg)

Coleman Hawkins (tenor sax); Howard McGhee (trumpet); Vic Dickenson (trombone [#5, #8]); Sir Charles Thompson (piano); Allan Reuss (guitar); Oscar Pettiford [#1 to #8], John Simmons [#9 to #12] (basses); Denzil Best (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, Ferbruary 23 (#1 to #4), March 2 (#5 to #8), March 9 (#9 to #12), 1945. 

Serge Chaloff - Blue Serge

Today, when Chaloff is remembered (if he is remembered at all), it is as a soloist in Woody Herman's Second Herd. Chaloff's extravagant antics (he was a junkie) drove Herman crazy, but he recognised that there had never been such a complete soloist on his instrument (the baritone saxophone) in jazz, something that still holds good today. Chaloff did not want for a musical education, his father was a pianist and composer and member of the Boston Symphony, while his mother, known as Madame Chaloff, was a renowned piano teacher whose long list of students included Leonard Bernstein, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett. Ironically, Serge was self-taught on baritone saxophone; "Who could teach me?" he once said in an interview with Leonard Feather. Indeed, who could? He was a formidably gifted young musician who, by the time he joined Herman in 1947, had already absorbed the lessons of Charlie Parker and bop into his style. By the time he came to record Blue Serge he had rehabilitated himself from addiction, and was at the peak of his abilities, reflected in what is generally accepted as one of the great jazz albums of all time.

Today, it seems remarkable that Chaloff picked a rhythm section with whom he had never played before (other than Jones, with whom he briefly jammed eight years previously). He simply told everyone to show up at Capitol Towers, no rehearsals, no tunes set, and play. Chaloff's astonishing virtuosity is captured in perfect fidelity, from the softest sub-tone whisper ("I’ve Got the World on a String"), the perfectly weighted middle register tone ("Stairway to the Stars") to the muscular sound of the lower register ("Susie's Blues"). Chaloff not only demonstrates total mastery of his instrument from a technical perspective ("All the Things You Are"), but key is the way he uses that technique in service of melodic invention. Nothing is gratuitous or done for effect, every note seems aesthetically placed to enhance the overall structure of his improvisations. His improvised lines are given a sense of drama through expressively manipulating the tonal properties of the instrument, while his sheer rhythmic drive (his time is perfect) lends a sense of compelling drama to his solos. He deliberately chose tunes that neither he, or his accompanists, were familiar: "We wanted it that way, fresh ideas you see".

Yet despite these challenges, the cohesion of Chaloff's accompanists is flawless – it's almost as if they knew Chaloff was creating something for the ages and they were there to support him – every inch of way. *Stuart Nicholson*

A true lost classic of jazz; heart-stopping baritone saxophone playing. Chaloff's masterpiece is both vigorous and moving... "Thanks For The Memory" is overpoweringly beautiful as Chaloff creates a series of melodic variations which match the improviser’s ideal of fashioning an entirely new song. "Stairway To The Stars" is almost as fine... This important session has retained all its power.

*The Penguin Guide To Jazz*

A real classic in the canon of American postwar jazz – one of the few albums ever cut as a leader by Boston baritone player Serge Chaloff – one of a handful of musicians who really helped move the instrument forward in jazz, and help it take a rightful place next to the expressiveness of the tenor and alto sax! Even though he hardly got a chance to record, Serge was a hell of a player, and one who has both the rich tone of the instrument completely in hand, while also able to move with the fluidity of a much leaner horn – a quality that's augmented here by the fantastic rhythm work from Sonny Clark on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The set's a treasure through and through – from the cool cover image, to the great music within – served up on tunes that include "How About You", "Handful Of Stars", "The Goof And I", "Susie's Blues", and "All The Things You Are". *dustygroove.com*

Side 1

1 - A Handful Of Stars

(Jack Lawrence, Ted Shapiro)

2 - The Goof And I

(Al Cohn)

3 - Thanks For The Memory

(Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin)

4 - All The Things You Are

(Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II)

Side 2

5 - I've Got The World On A String

(Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler)

6 - Susie's Blues

(Serge Chaloff)

7 - Stairway To The Stars

(Matty Malneck, Mitchell Parish, Frank Signorelli)

Serge Chaloff (baritone sax), Sonny Clark (piano), Leroy Vinegar (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Studio, Los Angeles, California, March 14 (#1, #2, #3, #5, #6) and 16 (#4, #7), 1956.

Claude Bolling Jazz All Stars - French Jazz

This fine album presents a side of Claude Bolling that may come as a surprise to those who know the gifted French musician only as the composer-performer of a highly successful mixture of jazz and classical music that has brought him international fame and fortune.

Bolling was an early starter. Born in Cannes in 1930, he began to perform professionally as a jazz pianist at the age of 15. Within a year, he was leading his own band, and in 1948, he made his first recordings as a leader at its helm. Even at this early stage, Bolling showed considerable originality in his approach to the jazz tradition. Those were the glory days of revivalist jazz, when young players, especially in England and France, were doing their level best to copy the sounds of King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton and the Armstrong Hot Five. 

But Bolling’s seven-piece band, while bearing a superficial resemblance to the ordinary "trad" groups, didn’t copy old records, but brought a fresh conception to vintage material. 

Already, the young pianist-arranger had been profoundly touched by the conception of his favorite musician, Duke Ellington, while his approach to the piano was strikingly influenced by Earl Hines. (A bit later on, Art Tatum became Bolling’s other keyboard hero). 

In the decade following World War Il, Paris became something of a Mecca for American jazzmen, and young Claude had the benefit of working and recording with such major figures as Rex Stewart, Roy Eldridge, Buck Clayton, Albert Nicholas, Mezz Mezzrow and Lionel Hampton, among others. And he was honing his arranging and composing skills.

By the mid-50s, when the music on this record was made, Bolling had become a first-class big band writer, though he hadn’t by any means abandoned the small-group approach he’d grown up with. But he had put the New Orleans revival far behind him, and had obviously been listening to, and playing, bebop and cool jazz. His basic inspiration, Ellington, was still to the fore, however, and it is in the Dukish pieces on this album that the 26-year-old Bolling, in my opinion, is at his very best.

*Dan Morgenstern*

Claude Bolling has had a long and multi-faceted career in his native France. It is as a leader of a series of big bands that Bolling is most significant. This LP features Bolling's arrangements in three different settings: with an octet also including trombonist Benny Vasseur and tenor saxophonist Guy Lafitte; in a quintet with trumpeter Christian Bellest and the reeds of Pierre Gosssez (Bernard Verstraete guests on one song on accordion); and, surprisingly, in a septet with Martial Solal taking over for Bolling on piano. The music is often influenced by Duke Ellington, although none of the songs (which include five Bolling originals) are Duke's. Mixing together swing and bop, this is one of Claude Bolling's best jazz sessions. *Scott Yanow*

Side 1

1 - Show Me A Rose

(Thomas Hilliard)

2 - Lorraine Blues

(Claude Bolling)

3 - The Most

(Billy Mure)

4 - In The Sun

(Gray Rains)

5 - Trinette

(Toots Thielemans)

6 - When I Was Young

(Claude Bolling)

Side 2

7 - Nuances

(Claude Bolling)

8 - Gee Lee

(Ted Sommer)

9 - Playera

(Granados, Verstraete)

10 - The Jockey

(Steve Kirk)

11 - In Extremis

(Bolling, Bellest)

12 - French Beat

(Claude Bolling)

#2, #4, #7, #12:

Fernand Verstraete, Fred Gerard (trumpets); Benny Vasseur, Bernard Zacharias, Claude Cousset (trombones); Pierre Gossez (alto sax, tenor sax); Guy Lafitte (tenor sax); Claude Bolling (piano); Alphonse Masselier (bass); Arthur Motta (drums).

#3, #5, #10:

Claude Bolling (conductor, arranger); Roger Guerin (trumpet); Claude Fohrenbach, Pierre Gossez (tenor saxes); Martial Solal (piano); Victor Apicella (guitar); Pierre Michelot (bass); Christian Garros (drums).

Recorded in Paris May 28, 1956.

#1:

Christian Bellest (trumpet), Pierre Gossez (tenor sax), Alphonse Masselier (bass), Arthur Motta (drums), Claude Bolling (arranger).

#6:

Pierre Gossez (clarinet), Claude Bolling (piano), Alphonse Masselier (bass), Arthur Motta (drums), 

#8:

Christian Bellest (trumpet), Pierre Gossez (baritone sax), Alphonse Masselier (bass), Arthur Motta (drums), Claude Bolling (arranger).

#9:

Fernand Verstraete (accordion), Alphonse Masselier (bass), Arthur Motta (drums), Claude Bolling (arranger).

#11:

Christian Bellest (trumpet), Claude Bolling (piano), Alphonse Masselier (bass), Arthur Motta (drums), 

Recorded in Paris May 29, 1956. 

Jazz On The Left Bank & Réunion À Paris

This here is the definition of international jazz, recorded in Paris in 1956 by two relaxed, unpretentious, melodic, and well-rehearsed groups including both American and European jazz musicians. These meetings were documented in two excellent albums: Jazz on the Left Bank and Réunion à Paris.

The remarkably versatile trombonist-writer Billy Byers and pianist Martial Solal wrote these loosely swinging arrangements, and although they took care of one album each, their work blends seamlessly in the hands of a group of consistently professional musicians. Byers playing is satisfying in both albums, while Solal feeds chords almost imperceptibly, with his solos bouncing along effortlessly helped by the propelling force of Benoît Quersin's skilled bass support.

And although the wonderful, cohesive group sound present in these two albums was significantly shaped by Byers and Solal, all their colleagues demonstrate their usual, considerable skill—the competent playing of trumpeter Dick Mills, the full sound and guts of William Boucaya on baritone, as well as the ever-present taste of drummer Wessel Ilcken on Jazz on the Left Bank. Jimmy Deuchar's exciting solo work on trumpet, and Allen Eager's flow of ideas on tenor are stimulated by the rhythm effort of Quersin once again, this time with Kenny Clarke’s drums on Réunion à Paris. The music in these two albums is an invigorating set of flowing originals and arrangements that make an out of the ordinary listening experience. *Jordi Pujol*

Billy Byers and Martial Solal

Jazz On The Left Bank & Réunion À Paris

It's good to hear Billy Byers doing a fair bit of soloing, and he's revealed as a very close disciple of Bill Harris. He's also the author of the most swinging charts here – his arranging talents have never been in question. The other outstanding brassman is predictably Jimmy Deuchar. And here's a magnificent chance to hear the most obscure of the great swingers one more time – the unique Allen Eager on tenor. I've expressed admiration before in these pages for the fine baritone of Mr Boucaya.

Fresh Sounds' recent issues have shown Martial Solal to have been one of the most gifted French arrangers and pianists and this album is further confirmation. His nimble bop solos retain their freshness, unlike some of his charts which have inevitably dated over more than 60 years. Kenny Clarke is as crisp and immaculate on the (2) sides and on the rest the Dutch Wessel Ilcken is impressively inspired. Dick Mills (who he?) is a delicate soloist not at all out of place on these sides, which confirm how good French record companies were at putting together great record sessions more or less at the drop of a hat.

This session is as good but different from the contemporary The Herdsmen Blow In Paris, that wonderful album blessed by a brilliant team of soloists headed up by Bill Perkins and Ralph Burns. The arrangements on that were sketchy and designed for blowing. These are much more organised and tidy.

One of the best tracks is the long Buyer's Blues. I've heard it under another title, but one which now escapes my poor old brain. Eager gets a nice chance to stretch out on this slow blues and you'll tick off the Harris twists and turns one by one as they come forth from Billy. This was the sort of blues tempo Joe Newman loved, and Deuchar's full-toned solo brings echoes of Joe. Good piano throughout this long number. *Nic Jones*

Back in the mid 50s, jazz was THE language of love in France. Here, you get a pair of albums from September 1956 by locals along with American Ex-pats that are as tasty as a Crepes with Nutella.

The first session from September 12 & 14 includes Dick Mills (tp), Billy Byers(tb), William Boucaya (bs, ts), Martial Solal (p), Benoit Quersin (b) and Wessel Ilcken (dr) for a mix of originals and standards. Boucaya's tenor is rich on a swooning "You Don’t Know What Love Is" while his baritone bops on "Patti’s N.Y. Blues". The horns breeze like West Coast Cool on "Salute to Vo" and Byers swings it for "The Long Nite".

Even better is the session with the underrated warm tenor of Allen Eager sitting in with Byers, Martial Solal (p), Quersin and proto-bopping drummer Kenny Clarke. Eager is a mellow master on "Illusion" and smokes like a Montecristo on "Buyer's Blues". Clarke is crisp as he rides the cymbal for Solal on "Kenny's Special" and is kinetic on "Cinerama". The horns are as tight as the Houston Astro infield with Byers' buttery 'bone on "Trianon" and the team is urgent on the charging "Love Me Or Leave Me". Bopping with the beret! *George W. Harris*

1 - Salute To Vo

(A. Roos)

2 - Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

(Romberg, Hammerstein II)

3 - There Will Never Be Another You

(H.Warren, M.Gordon)

4 - Jaguar

(Martial Solal)

5 - The Long Nite

(Billy Byers)

6 - Patti’s N.Y. Blues

(Billy Byers)

7 - I Guess

(Madna)

8 - You Don’t Know What Love Is

(Raye, DePaul)

9 - Sixty-Eight

(Billy Byers)

10 - Leila

(Billy Byers)

11 - Trianon

(Martial Solal)

12 - Kenny’s Special

(Martial Solal)

13 - Illusion

(Martial Solal)

14 - Love Me Or Leave Me

(W.Donaldson, S.Kahn)

15 - Cinerama

(Martial Solal)

16 - Vogue

(Martial Solal)

17 - Buyer’s Blues

(Billy Byers)

#1 to #10 from the album Jazz on the Left Bank

Dick Mills (trumpet), Billy Byers (trombone), William Boucaya (tenor and baritone sax), Martial Solal (piano), Benoît Quersin (bass), Wessel Ilcken (drums).

Arrangements by Billy Byers

Recorded in Paris, September 12 and 14, 1956.

#11 to #17 from the album Réunion à Paris

Jimmy Deuchar (trumpet), Billy Byers (trombone), Allen Eager (tenor sax), Martial Solal (piano), Benoît Quersin (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).

Arrangements by Martial Solal

Recorded in Paris, September 24, 1956.

The Third Herdmen Blow In Paris

These recording sessions respond to the stir generated in Paris among French fans and record producers by the visits of Woody Herman orchestra during their European tour in 1954. Some of the best band's soloists were engaged to record for the French label Vogue.

The Herdsmen recorded two 10'' albums, with personnel changing from one session to the other. The sessions included trumpeter Dick Collins, bass-trumpeter Cy Touff, tenorists Bill Perkins, Dick Hafer, and Jerry Coker, bassist Red Kelly, drummer Chuck Flores, and pianist Ralph Burns — the featured performer for the band’s European tour. Joining them were leading local jazzmen, such as pianist Henri Renaud, guitarist Jimmy Gourley, bass player Jean-Marie Ingrand and drummer Jean-Louis Viale. The sessions were all improvised, without too much time for preparation, but the recordings captured the freshness of the soloists, who all had a balling time. *Jordi Pujol*.

The Herdsmen

Play Paris

Early in 1954, Woody Herman took his Third Herd to Europe. This was the first time Herman had ever played overseas and it was the first time most of Europe had heard the Third Herd. Up until recently, its only records were on Woody’s own small label, Mars, which was not distributed throughout the continent. 

Dick Collins, the young Berkeley trumpet player who was, and is, one of the stars of the Third Herd was an old friend to Paris. He had gone there after World War II to study on the GI Bill under Darius Milhaud, the French composer with whom Dave Brubeck and other modern jazz men have studied at Mills College in Oakland, California. While Collins was in Paris in 1948 and ’49, he met Charles Delaunay, the French critic, author and recording executive and made several sides for him. So it was only natural that on Collins’ return, Delaunay would renew the acquaintance and take the opportunity to make further records.

For the first date, Delaunay assembled Collins, Cy Touff, Bill Perkins, Dick Hafer and Red Kelly from the Herman band and two French musicians, Henri Renaud and Jean-Louis Viale. Perkins describes the date this way: "Delaunay picked us up at the hotel about an hour after we flew in from Germany and rushed us to a real relaxed little upstairs studio and we went to work with nothing more than a few penciled lead sheets — no harmony parts were written as I remember. Although the French musicians did not speak English and viceversa, I remember that it struck me at the time how well we understood each other when it came to the music part of it. They put Cy up on a box to get the bell of his horn even with the mike". 

The second session was made just before the men left for home some weeks later. Coker was commissioned to write an original ("Embarkation") and Perkins recalls Jerry working hard on it backstage at the Vienna concert. Coker, Touff, drummer Chuck Flores and pianist Ralph Burns, who was on the European tour as a featured performer with the band, flew back to Paris to make the date and were joined by Jimmy Gourley, one of the leading French guitarists, and bassist Jean-Marie Ingrand. Burns, who is among the best known modern jazz arrangers and writers and who has done most of the Herman book including "Summer Sequence", is featured on piano. Burns wrote "Wetback on the Left Bank" for Flores, whose nickname is "Wetback". *Liner notes*

Bassist Red Kelly remembers the Woody Herman Third Herd’s triumphal tour of Europe in 1954: "We weren’t used to that kind of adulation. We were treated like rock stars are today. They tried to get the buttons off of our coats and all that stuff". The fans were not alone in their enthusiasm. The French critic and impresario Charles Delaunay herded several of Herman’s sidemen into a recording studio for two small-group sessions that illuminated the talents of saxophonist Bill Perkins, bass trumpeter Cy Toouff, trumpeter Dick Collins, pianist Ralph Burns, and other solist from the band, along with promiment French musicians. These Paris sessions give us stimulating extracurricular music by some of the talented young musicians Herman assembled during one of his greatest periods. *concord.com*

Side 1

01 - The Gypsy

(Billy Reid)

02 - Wetback On The Left Bank

(Ralph Burns)

03 - Embarkation

(Jerry Coker)

04 - Thanks For You

(Tim Whitton)

Side 2

05 - So What Could Be New?

(Tiny Kahn)

06 - Just 40 Bars

(Henri Renaud)

07 - Palm Cafe

(Henri Renaud)

08 - Pot Luck

(Johnny Mandel)

 #5, #6, #7, #8:

Dick Collins (trumpet); Cy Touff (bass trumpet); Bill Perkins, Dick Hafer (tenor saxes); Henri Renaud (piano); Red Kelly (bass); Jean-Louis Viale (drums).

Recorded in Paris, April, 23, 1954.

#1, #2, #3, #4:

Cy Touff (bass trumpet), Jerry Coker (tenor sax), Ralph Burns (piano), Jimmy Gourley (guitar), Jean-Marie Ingrand (bass), Chuck Flores (drums).

Recorded in Paris, May 5, 1954.

#1, #4, #5, #8 from The Third Herdmen Blow In Paris, Vol. 1

#2, #3, #6, #7 from The Third Herdmen Blow In Paris, Vol. 2 

Hubert Fol And His Be-Bop Minstrels

The first French jazzman to embrace bebop with true enthusiasm was without a doubt alto saxophonist Hubert Fol (1925-1995). He took to the new style when he was barely 20 years old, the moment he heard Charlie Parker on record, and he immediately began practicing. His prowess grew rapidly, and soon he had an opportunity to prove himself.

In the summer of 1947, he formed a sextet called "The Be-Bop Minstrels". The name was a clear statement of the stylistic message of the group, and their avant-garde playing impressed Charles Delaunay, who invited them to record for his label, Swing. The group’s first visit to the studios took place on July 4th, and the session resulted in the first bebop sides recorded in France.

Hubert quickly became one of the most capable French bebop players, and most of the great foreign musicians who visited Europe enjoyed playing with him: Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas and Dizzy himself, in addition to Rex Stewart, John Lewis, Kenny Clarke, James Moody, Jimmy Raney and others.

Hubert Fol always had a loyal following in France. For as long as he played, from 1950 until 1964, he was ranked the number one alto saxophonist in Jazz Hot’s yearly poll, making him one of the most honored jazz musicians in France. *Jordi Pujol*

Even the most ardent jazz fan may not know of how strong the bebop movement was in post WWII Paris. Usually, sounds from Sidney Bechet or Django Reinhardt are associated with the French jazz scene, but alto saxist Hubert Fol was one of the first European musicians to get the Charlie Parker bug, and he puree’d it into his own style with likeminded artists such as Raymond Fol-Andre’ Persiany-Rene Urtreger (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass), and ex pat protobopper Kenny Clarke to create a Gaullic interpretation of modern jazz. This two disc set, with intriguing annotation and studio listings, covers Fol’s recordings from 1947-54, and it is a fascinating collection of the steaming sounds that came out of the Left Bank.

Hubert Fol’s alto has a sweeter sound than his inspiration Parker, yet still steaming hot like an early morning baguette in settings ranging from quartets to tentets, mixing bebop standards with originals. With Alan Jeffreys or Dick Collins on the trumpet, the band sizzles with the leader on "Night in Tunisia" and "Boppin' and Oilskin" while the team does a gorgeously relaxed intro to "Lover Come Back to Me". Sparks fly during "I’ve Got Be-Bop" and sway during "Robbin's Nest". 

Fol gets time in the spotlight during quartet sessions with brother Raymond (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass) and Pierre Lemarchand (drums) on a dreamy "Everything Happens to Me", "These Foolish Things" and "Out of Nowhere" mixing modern sounds with a suave tone while floating like a smoke ring during "You Go to My Head", whereas he windsurfs through a breezy "I'll Remember April".

The team flexes their collective muscles on a quintet read of "Half Nelson" and a richly arranged two parter "Ivory Black" while pieces such as "I Only Have Eyes For You" and "Always" with Fol as a sideman are rich bon mots. While bebop and the subsequent genres in its wake have been with us to this very day, there was something about the first generation of boppers that delivered the message with excitement and commitment of discovery, like the difference between hearing tales of heroes of the past and actually living during the time of Sir Lancelot. This one is going to surprise you with how modern these guys sound; no hint of imitation as much as inspiration. *George W. Harris*

*CD 1*

1 - Night In Tunisia

(Gillespie, Papparelli)

2 - Lubie Loo

(Jack Carmen)

3 - Swinging At Lutetia

(Alan Jeffreys)

4 - Making Be-Bop

(Jack Carmen)

5 - I’ve Got Be-Bop

(Hubert Fol)

6 - Hard To Get

(Kenny Clarke)

7 - Ralph Goes

(Ralph Shecroun)

8 - All The Things You Are

(Kern, Hammerstein II)

9 - Boppin' And Oilskin

(Dick Collins)

10 - Lover Come Back To Me

(Romberg, Hammerstein II)

11 - Now, Cut Out

(Jimmy Davis)

12 - Lover Man

(Davis, Ramirez, Sherman)

13 - Indiana

(Miles Davis)

14 - Love In The Sun

(Hubert Fol)

15 - Iambic Pentameter (Epistrophy)

(Kenny Clarke)

16 - Assy Pan Assy

(Hubert Fol)

17 - Robbin's Nest

(Charles Thompson)

18 - Blues 1950

(Aimé Barelli)

19 - Everything Happens To Me

(Dennis, Adair)

*CD 2*

1 - This Fol-ish Thing

(Hubert Fol)

2 - These Foolish Things

(Marvel, Strachey, Link)

3 - Out Of Nowhere

(Green-Heyman)

4 - Lonely Moments

(Mary Lou Williams)

5 - Death Of The Octopus

(Raymond Fol)

6 - Ivory Black (part 1)

(Raymond Fol)

7 - Ivory Black (part 2)

(Raymond Fol)

8 - Half Nelson

(Miles Davis)

9 - I'll Remember April

(Raye, DePaul)

10 - Yardbird Suite

(Charlie Parker)

11 - A Fine Romance

(Kern, Fields)

12 - They Can't Take That Away From Me

(G. and I. Gershwin)

13 - You Go To My Head

(Gillespie, Coots)

14 - Always

(Irving Berlin)

15 - Hallelujah

(Vincent Youmans)

16 - I Only Have Eyes For You

(Warren, Dubin)

17 - I Want To Be Happy

(Youmans, Caesar)

18 - Whispering

(Rose, Schonberger, Coburn)

*CD 1*

#1 to #4: Hubert Fol and His Be-Bop Minstrels

Alan Jeffreys (trumpet), Jack Carmen (trombone), Hubert Fol (alto sax), André Persiany (piano), Emmanuel Soudieux (bass) Benny Bennett (drums).

Recorded in Paris, July 4, 1947.

#5 to #8: Hubert Fol and His Be-Bop Minstrels

Dick Collins (trumpet), Hubert Fol (alto sax), Dave Van Kriedt (tenor sax), André Persiany (piano), Georges Hadjo (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).

Recorded in Paris, March 17, 1948.

#9 to #13: Hubert Fol and His Be-Bop Minstrels

Dick Collins (trumpet), Hubert Fol (alto sax), Michel de Villers [#13](alto sax); Raymond Fol (piano), Alf "Totole" Masselier (bass), Richie Frost (drums).

Recorded in Paris, November 15 (#9 to #12), and 28 (#13), 1948.

#14 to #17: Hubert Fol and His Be-Bop Minstrels

Nat Peck (trombone), Hubert Fol (alto sax), Bernard Peiffer (piano), Jean Bouchety (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).

Recorded in Paris, October 29, 1949.

#18: All Star Français after the 1950 "Jazz-Hot" Référendum

Aimé Barelli (trumpet), Benny Vasseur (trombone), Hubert Rostaign (clarinet), Hubert Fol (alto sax), Jean-Claude Fohrenbach (tenor sax), Michel de Villers (baritone sax), Leo Chauliac (piano), Geo Daly (vibes), Jean Bouchety (bass), Roger Paraboschi (drums), Jo Bartel (vocals).

Recorded in Paris, December 15, 1949.

#19: Hubert Fol Quartet

Hubert Fol (alto sax), Raymond Fol (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass), Pierre Lemarchand (drums).

Recorded live at unidentified location, Paris, 1950.

*CD 2*

#1 to #3: Hubert Fol and His Be-Bop Minstrels

Hubert Fol (alto sax), Raymond Fol (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).

Recorded in Paris, March 3, 1950.

#4 to #7: Raymond Fol and His Orchestra

Christian Bellest, Guy Lognon (trumpets); Nat Peck, Bernard Zacharias, Benny Vasseur (trombones); Hubert Fol (alto sax); Raymond Fol (piano); Pierre Michelot, Roger Dagneres (basses); Roger Paraboschi (drums).

Recorded in Paris, June 28, 1950.

#8, #9: Hubert Fol-Sacha Distel Quintet

Hubert Fol (alto sax), Sacha Distel (guitar), René Urtreger (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass), Baptiste "Mac Kac" Reilles (drums).

Recorded live at the Apollo Théâtre, Paris 12, 1954.

#10: Hubert Fol Sextet

Christian Bellest (trumpet), Hubert Fol (alto sax), Jay Cameron (baritone sax), René Urtreger (piano), Benoit Quersin (bass), Jean-Louis Viale (drums).

Recorded live at the Apollo Théâtre, Paris 12, 1954.

#11 to #13: Hubert Fol Quartet

Hubert Fol (alto sax), René Urtreger (piano), Jean-Marie Ingrand (bass), Jean-Louis Viale (drum).

Recorded in Paris, January 11, 1956.

#14 to #18: Moustache and His Jazz Seven

Guy Longnon (trumpet), Benny Vasseur (trombone), Hubert Fol (alto sax), Geo Daly (vibes), Raymond Fol (piano), Roland Bianchini (bass), Moustache (drums).

Recorded in Paris, 1954.

Joe Newman - Swinging Octets

Joe Newman Octet

All I Wanna Do Is Swing

The band Joe has assembled here is remarkable not merely for its cohesive unity, but for the individual brilliance wich each one of its members demostrates in his solo work —solo work wich is, happily, given to them at frecuent intervals.

Arrangements for this session are the work of Manny Albam, Al Cohn and Ernie Wilkins, all of whom have turned out scores in a great variety of tempos wich serve to showcase the multitudinous talents of Joe and each one of his colleagues.

Whether on mute or open horn, Joe's work is a delight to the ears —not merely because it is sane jazz in the midst of much that today is either overwritten or vacuous, but because it is always swinging, always blown from the top-drawer of inspirations. And it is remarkable tribute to all involved that this session, which ran from midnight to 10 A.M., produced jazz of this highly infectious sort. But in reality, it is undoubtedly true that regardless of the time of day or night, these men, in the midst of such telling arrangements, could not but blow wonderfully —and in these recordings, led and sparked by Joe Newman, they have all obviously engraved some of their most sincere, and jazzdom's most sparkling, efforts. *Jack Lewis and Bill Zeitung (liner notes)*

Newman is an excellent lyrical trumpeter with Count Basie band, and this set shows him off in a comfortable, Basie-inspired setting. The arramgements, by Mannie Albam, Al Cohn and Ernie Wilkins, are all in the Basie idiom — relaxed and swinging. Basie-ites Wilkins and Greene are present, along with bassist Milt Hinton, Cohn on tenor and Nat pierce —a Basie follower— on piano. The style is modern, not "progressive", swing. Solos are extremely tastly all around, and the ensembles are very smooth, and very easy on the ears. Should do okay if demonstrated.

*Billboard, July 30, 1955*

Side 1

1 - Soon

(George and Ira Gershwin)

2 - Limehouse Blues

(Braham, Furber)

3 - Dream A Little Dream Of Me

(Andre, Kahn, Schwandt)

4 - Corner Pocket

(Freddie Green)

5 - If I Could Be With You

(James P. Johnson, Henry Creamer)

6 - It's A Thing Of The Past

(Manny Albam)

Side 2

7 - Pretty Skinny Bunny

(Ernie Wilkins)

8 - Leonice

(Joe Newman)

9 - Jack's Wax

(Al Cohn)

10 - Topsy

(Eddie Durham, Edgar William Battle)

11 - Captain Spaulding

(Al Cohn)

12 - I Could Have Told You

(Arthur Williams, Carl Sigman)

Joe Newman (trumpet), Frank Rehak (trombone), Ernie Wilkins (alto sax), Al Cohn (tenor sax), Nat Pierce (piano), Freddie Green (guitar), Milt Hinton (bass), Shadow Wilson (drums). 

Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, February 8, 1955.

⁂

Joe Newman Octet

I'm Still Swinging

A compelling octet recording – with arrangements by Ernie Wilkins, Al Cohn, and Manny Albam – with a lineup that includes Cohn on tenor, Gene Quill on alto, Urbie Green on trombone, and Freddie Green on guitar! Nice Andy Warhol cover, too! Titles include "Top Hat, White Tie, And Tails", "You Can Depend On Me", "We'll Be Together Again", "It's Bad For Me", "Daughter Of Miss Thing", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Sweethearts On Parade", and "Slats". *dustygroove.com* 

A label or a catch phrase can be a convenient thing, but it rarely tells a rounded story. In the Thirties, in the Swing Era, Benny Goodman was called "King of Swing". As pat labels go, this one was pretty accurate, for it was Goodman who brought on the Swing Era and it was Goodman who, to the general public, was the pre-eminent figure of that era. But Goodman, at that time, was a mover and shaker, not a polisher. It was Count Basie's band, riding onto the scene in the wake of Goodman (and with Goodman's ardent support), which became the epitome of the swing band and turned out ro be the most influential band of the period.

The strength of Basie's influence, after two decades, is widely evident in the playing of numerous small groups today, particularly in recording-groups which have access to genuine, Grade A Basie sidemen. One reason —and a rather basic reason— for the continuing appeal of the Basie manner was aptly summed up by Joe Newman when he was considering the approach to be taken on these numbers.

"I want them to have a swing to them", he said, "to be easy, to be good listening. I want to try to reach the mass of people, and I think the way to do it is with things I'd want to listen to if I were a listener".

There can be little question of what Joe Newman would listen to if he were a listener. For many years he has been an outstanding member of Count Basie's band. He is steeped in the Basie tradition and so are most of the men in his octet.

Freddie Green, a member of the original Basie band who was of enormous importance in creating what has come to be recognized as the typical Basie attack, is generally considered the greatest rhythm guitarist working today. Shadow Wilson has served two stints as Basic's drummer, while Eddie Jones is Basic's current bassist. Al Cohn, though a man of parts of the jazz world, has never achieved Basiedom, but his approach to the tenor sax is patterned to a large degree on that of Basie's Lester Young.

The octet's recruits from the non-Basie world are Urbie Green, a trombonist of such versatility that he has played successfully with Frankie Carle, Jan Savitt and, most notably, Woody Herman; Gene Quill, a rising young alto star who has worked with Claude Thornhill and Charlie Barnet; and Dick Katz, a pianist closely associated with Tony Scott, who effects a remarkable adaptation of his normal, sharply modern style to fit the mood of these performances.

There are other influences besides that of Basie at work here. Joe Newman has a pungent personality of his own which constantly makes itself felt. There are lines reaching out to Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Mildred Bailey. There is even, as we shall see, a badly shredded skein attached to S. J. Perelman. *John S. Wilson (liner notes)*

Side 1

01 - Top Hat, White Tie, And Tails

(Irving Berlin)

02 - You Can Depend On Me

(Hines, Carpenter, Dunlap)

03 - We'll Be Together Again

(Laine, Fisher)

04 - It's Bad For Me

(Cole Porter)

05 - Exactly Like You

(McHugh, Fields)

06 - Shameful Roger

(Manny Albam)

Side 2

07 - The Daughter Of Miss Thing

(Wilkins)

08 - Sometimes I'm Happy

(Youmans, Caesar, Grey)

09 - Sweethearts On Parade

(Newman, Lombardo)

10 - Slats

(Joe Newman, Ernie Wilkins)

11 - Lament For A Lost Love

(Ellington, Bigard, Mills)

12 - Perfidia

(Dominguez, Leeds)

Joe Newman (trumpet), Urbie Green (trombone), Gene Quill (alto sax), Al Cohn (tenor sax), Dick Katz (piano), Freddie Green (guitar), Eddie Jones (bass), Shadow Wilson (drums).

Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, October 3 (#1, #2, #6, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12), and 4 (#3, #4, #5, #7), 1955.

Marty Paich Octet - Tenors West

Marty Paich is one of the unsung heroes of West Coast Jazz. His personal lifestyle had none of the flamboyance and eccentricity of his long-time friend and collaborator Art Pepper’s, and his years of extended labors in the studios make it all too easy to overlook his contributions to jazz. *Ted Gioia*

Marty Paich (1925-1995) became interested in jazz in 1940 when he heard the Jimmy Lunceford band play. As a student of the distinguished Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, he absorbed the fundamentals of harmony and counterpoint. In 1951, with a Masters Degree in Composition he became one of the most sought after arrangers of the music business in the Los Angeles scene. These recordings are not only further evidence of the talent, versatility and imagination of Marty Paich, but also a showcase for the more academic approach to jazz scoring he promoted within the boundaries of the West Coast school of jazz during the mid Fifties. *Jordi Pujol*

West Coast stylings, with marty paich scores and piano, feature the "Four Brothers" sax section sound. Tenors here are Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Cooper, Bob Enevoldsen (also on valve trombone), Harry Klee (also on alto and flute). Jack Du Long is on baritone, etc. None of the contributions is out-standingly different, and there is no program telling who plays where. *Billboard, November 10, 1956*

In 1954, and perhaps as an extension of his time with Shorty Rogers, Marty began his writing experiments for larger small groups or what he would ultimately call "a band within the band". Octets and dek-tettes (10-piece groups) would become the vehicle for such arranging platforms beginning with Tenors West. Paich's work on this recording reflected one of his greatest strengths as an arranger: making relatively small groups sound like full-size orchestras.

Employing Bob Enevoldsen on everything from valve trombone to vibes to tenor saxophone, Harry Klee on bass as well as alto flute using the piano’s upper register to play unison lines in the upper horn or trumpet register, Paich develops orchestral colors that are reminiscent of everything from the Woody Herman four brothers sound (from which, no doubt, the name —Tenors West— is derived) to the yet-to-come Henry Mancini hip, slick and cool Peter Gunn resonances. A trumpet plays under a baritone sax, a bass plays "lead" in a "choir" made up of trumpet, flute and piano, and rhythmic riffs and motifs punctuate backgrounds everywhere. On this recording, Marty is the musical equivalent of a kid in a toy store trying everything in every combination.

In addition to eight originals, Paich especially employs the "four brothers tenor sound" using three tenors and either Harry Klee’s flute or a baritone sax played by Jack Dulong to create beautiful renditions of three standards: "There’s No You", "Take The 'A' Train", and Mulligan’s "Line For Lyons", breathing new life into these familiar melodies with his intriguing arrangements. Incidentally, Conte Candoli on trumpet has never sounded better as his usual, fiery self. Also, if you’ve ever wondered what the “Chet-Baker-side” of Conte would sound like, this is the album to checkout. *Steven Cerra*

Side 1

1 - Tenors West

(Paich)

2 - There's No You

(Adair, Hopper)

3 - The Dragon

(Paich)

4 - Shorty George

(Durham)

5 - Paichence

(Paich)

6 - At The Marti Gras

(Paich)

Side 2

7 - Take The "A" Train

(Strayhorn)

8 - Ballet Du Bongo

(Paich)

9 - Line For Lyons

(Mulligan)

10 - Jacqueline

(Paich)

11 - Con-Spirito

(Paich)

Marty Paich (piano); Conte Candoli (trumpet); Bob Enevoldsen (tenor sax, valve trombone); Harry Klee (flute, alto sax, tenor sax); Jimmy Giuffre [#2, #4, #7, #9], Bob Cooper [#1, #3, #5, #6, #8, #10, #11] (tenor saxes); Jack Du Long (baritone sax); Joe Mondragon (bass); Frank Capp [#2, #4, #7, #9], Art Mardigan [#1, #3, #5, #6, #8, #10, #11] (drums); Jack Costanzo [#8](bongos).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California, February 1 and 2 (#1, #3, #5, #6, #8, #10, #11), and November 10 (#2, #4, #7, #9), 1955.

Johnny Costa - Piano Solos

Johnny Costa (born John Costanza; January 18, 1922 - October 11, 1996) began studying piano when he was 10 after learning to play the accordion. After World War II, he attended college and graduated with two degrees, one in music and the other in teaching. The second was an insurance policy, in case his piano-playing career went flat.

Given the title "The White Art Tatum" by jazz legend Art Tatum, Costa was briefly the musical director of Mike Douglas's weekly TV show in Philadelphia.

But the demands of studio work and touring to promote albums pulled Costa away from his wife and two children. So at the dawn of the '60s, Costa decided to stick closer to home. He played regularly at a Pittsburgh club and appeared on KDKA. Then in 1963, Costa met Fred Rogers through a mutual friend. Rogers was enchanted by Costa's gentle piano wizardry. There was child-like delight in his playing. In 1968, when public broadcaster WQED gave Rogers the green light to move forward with the first 100 episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Rogers offered Costa the job as musical director. Smartly, he let Costa play whatever he wished, as if he were a permanent guest on the show. All of the music would be live. 

He recorded a handful of superb piano albums for Coral in the 1950s, beginning with Johnny Costa Plays Piano Solos. *Marc Myers*

Although Johnny Costa is still a youthful virtuoso, he has been performing ever since he could get his fingers on a few keys. Originally the keys were the keys of an accordion which he played as a child. Born in Arnold, Pennsylvania, a little more than thirty years ago, Johnny began his musical education when he was ten. For seven years he devoted himself to perfecting his technique on the accordion, and then suddently decided to tackle a larger keyboard. He studied piano with Martin Meissler, the same teacher who had instructed Oscar Levant.

After travelling with Tommy Reynolds and other small organizations, he was stopped by the war and became a medical aide. After the armistice, Johnny played in a few night spots but felt that he still had much to learn. He resumed serious musical education -- this time with Nicolai Lopatnikoff at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, from which he received degrees in Composition and Public Education. Shortly afterwards he became Staff Pianist for KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Johnny Costa's playing is a fine blend of pure musicianship and sheer improvisation. His fingers slip easily from lush romantic phrases to subtle syncopation; from moods of quiet meditation to delicate but definitive jazz rhythms. Whatever he plays, he plays with grace and gusto...an enjoyment which is not only communicated but shared between the performer and the listener. *Liner notes*

Side 1

1 - Tenderly

(Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence)

2 - Holiday For Strings

 (David Rose)

3 - Love For Sale

(Cole Porter)

4 - After You've Gone

(Henry Creamer, Turner Layton)

5 - Misty

(Erroll Garner)

Side 2

6 - A Foggy Day

(George and Ira Gershwin)

7 - Stella By Starlight

(Victor Young, Ned Washington)

8 - Lover

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

9 - Autumn In New York

(Vernon Duke)

10 - Hallelujah

(Vincent Youmans, Leo Robin, Clifford Grey)

Johnny Costa (piano), Sandy Block (bass), Jimmy Crawford (drums).

Recorded in New York City, July 18, 1955. 

Eddie Costa • Art Farmer - In Their Own Sweet Way

The word "phenomenon" as outlined in the dictionary, pertains to an exceptional person, things or occurrence, and is frequently used in a banal attempt to give class or distinction to an otherwise colorless performer. Generally, the music trade is apathetic to such inaccurate semantics, but once in a while they solemnly nod in agreement that some newcomer is fully deserving of such accolades. Eddie Costa who recently captured the Down Beat international jazz critics’ poll on both vibes and piano, fits this select category. 

Eddie incorporated his own writing and playing skill with one of the country’s leading jazz talents, trumpeter Art Farmer, who has taken the jazz world by storm as a logical successor to the mantle of Miles Davis with his inspirational attack and conception. Altoist Phil Woods was a featured member of Dizzy Gillespie’s "State Department" band, and displays virility on his instrument that has seldom been heard in the modern idiom. Bassist Teddy Kotick is an extraordinary rhythm man who has been in the employ of some of the greatest names in the trade. Likewise, drummer Paul Motian who, with his infallible time sense, has become one of the most frequently used drummers on the East Coast. Collectively, this is a superior quintet. 

Four originals and three standards comprise the material heard in this set with chart contributions by Costa, Farmer and Woods. The fact that each writer had prior knowledge of the temperament and capabilities of his fellow tradesmen permitted them a wider experimental scope and produced some refreshing ideas. In sum, this highly exciting session. *Liner notes*

Eddie Costa made only a few dates as a leader prior to his sudden death as a result of an automobile accident at the age of 31; this 1957 session is the best of them. Alternating between piano and vibes, Costa leads a quintet that includes Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Teddy Kotick, and Paul Motian, featuring enjoyable interpretations of "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and Dave Brubeck's still fairly new "In Your Own Sweet Way", the latter of which focuses on Costa's vibes and Farmer's muted trumpet, with Woods switching to the piano. Each of the originals by Costa, Woods, and Farmer is stimulating, although they have undeservedly languished in obscurity. *Ken Dryden*

An extremely great session from Eddie Costa and Art Farmer – arguably more so, because the cover and label make you think it's going to be a cheap knockoff! In what is an odd meeting of players, especially for the label, Eddie's piano and vibes meet up with Art's trumpet, the alto of Phil Woods, bass of Teddy Kotick, and drums of Paul Motian – all of whom work together with the fluidity and soulfulness of some of the best Prestige sessions of the time. The horn work is tremendous – and it's hard to remember Woods sounding this great on other albums of the time, really cutting an edge next to Farmer's trumpet – which also has an incredible tone for the album, right up there with his Farmer's Market record. Titles include "Big Ben", "Blues Plus Eight", "Stretch In 'F'", and "Get Out Of The Road".  *dustygroove.com*

Side 1

1 - Get Out Of The Road

(Phil Woods)

2 - In Your Own Sweet Way

(Dave Brubeck)

3 - Big Ben

(Phil Woods)

Side 2

4 - Nature Boy

(Eden Ahbez)

5 - Blues Plus Eight

(Eddie Costa)

6 - I Didn't Know What Times It Was

(Hart, Rodgers)

7 - Stretch In "F"

(Art Farmer)

Eddie Costa (piano [#1, #3, #4, #5, #7], vibes [#2, #6]), Art Farmer (trumpet), Phil Woods (alto sax [#1, #3, #4, #5, #7], piano [#2, #6]), Teddy Kotick (bass), Paul Motian (drums).

Recorded in New York City, July 13, 1957. 

Russ Garcia - Wigville

Captivated by music during his early youth, composer, arranger and conductor Russ Garcia began writing prior to the age of ten and at eleven submitted an arrangement of "Stardust" to be performed by the Oakland Symphony Orchestra. A self-taught instrumentalist, he mastered the trumpet during his junior high school years and gained experience playing nightly at a hotel in San Francisco. After briefly attending San Francisco State University, he would be mentored by Mario Castelnuoyo-Tedesco and launch his career in Hollywood. His break came when he landed a job with NBC Radio as a staff composer and arranger, and following service with the US Army (with whom he was stationed in Europe), he returned to work as a music instructor in a Los Angeles-area school for several years. During the 1950s, Garcia moved onto motion pictures beginning with "Radar Secret Service" (1950), while contributing arrangements to the Charlie Chaplin film "Limelight" (1952) and "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954). He recorded the album "Wigville" (1955) and served as conductor and arranger for Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's album "Porgy and Bess" (1957). This was followed by his acclaimed recording "Fantastica: Music From Outer Space" (1959). Garcia may perhaps be best remembered for his music score to the classic science-fiction film "The Time Machine" (1960) and from 1965 to 1966, he was the main contributor to the TV series "Laredo." After serving as an arranger with bandleader Stan Kenton, he abandoned his career in 1966, purchased a sail boat and with his wife embarked on a trip around the world. He settled in New Zealand after falling in love with the country and served as a conductor for their orchestra. Russ died on November 20, 2011. He was 95.

Wigville it's a tremendous, little-known album. Don't be put off by Russ' talk of tones and scales. It's as brisk and breezy as can be, and far removed from the ponderous Third Stream stuff that would come later from other modal composers. And dig the lineup on the date, the Wigville Band: Pete Candoli and Conte Candoli (trumpets), Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone), Russ Cheever and Charlie Mariano (alto saxes), Bill Holman (tenor sax), Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax), Marty Paich (piano), Max Bennett (bass) and Stan Levey (drums). This formation met only twice: in this recording from 1955 and one year later to accompany the singer Peggy Connelly (Bethlehem Records BCP 53, January, 1956). 

⁂

If someone is interested in what the name of the band owes and what is the meaning of the cover of this very particular album, the answers are given by Marc Myers in the interview he conducted with Russ in 2008  and in the particularities of the slang that it contains:

According to Marc Myers:

Wig or wiggy is slang for "far out" and sort of nutty. Wigville is a faux destination where everyone is wiggy. All of this refers to the far out music Russ recorded on the album. As I recall, they were "tone-rows". 

As for the cover, some art director told an artist that Russ wanted to call the album Wigville. That artist was likely not a "hep cat" and instead of understanding how Russ was using the term figured it was all about wigs people wore on their heads.

As for the original of wiggy, it refers to someone who seems a bit crazy with a odd wig on their head, usually a little askew.

According to Russ Garcia:

The early 1950s It was a good environment because it allowed many of us to do something different and original with arranging. It was an experimental time. I had studied every style of music I could. I took lessons in the Schillinger System, which was mathematical theory for composing. Joseph Schillinger never wrote anything I’d like to hear twice, but I studied it. Then I studied "tone-row" method. I think I was the one of the first arrangers to use tone rows in my 1955 Wigville album.

And what does "tone-rows" mean?: There are 12 notes in an octave. Schoenberg used to put those in a random order and sometimes play them upside down or backward, and he'd build harmonies out of them. But his approach didn't have enough order for me. See, if I can’t sing something I can't write it down after hearing it. And his things are impossible to sing. I also analyzed (Bela) Bartok and other composers. I took tricks from them all and learned to write in every style. That work really paid off. It's probably why I'm still working today.

~A special thanks to Marc Myers~

⁂

The ten tunes presented in this album are Russ Garcia originals. Arranger, leader, composer... Mr. Garcia who is fully versed in all the main systems and schools of music past and present, has attempted to go on from there into a language and style of his own.

The artistry of each of the musicians interpreting these "New Sounds", can only be determinates by listening to them as competent soloists as well as factions in a well integrated group.

Although Mr. Garcia is an academician, as a musician-conductor he display sensitivity, humor, warming and above all, goo taste. Every aspect of this album is designed to satisfy themost discriminating jazz enthusiast. *Jodi Appel (liner notes)*

1 - Rocky Road

2 - Floating

3 - Butter Duck

4 - Mellow Bone

5 - Wigville

6 - Smogville

7 - Livin' It Up

8 - Tone Row

9 - Lovely One

10 - Then The Lid Blew Off

(All compositions by Russ Garcia)

Russ Garcia (conductor); Conte Candoli, Pete Condoli (trumpets); Russ Cheever (soprano sax);  Charlie Mariano (alto sax); Bill Holman (tenor sax); Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax); Max Bennett (bass); Stan Levey (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, February 4, 1955.

Shorty Rogers Quintet - Wherever The Five Winds Blow

In no sense whatsoever has Milton "Shorty" Rogers ever been known heretofore as a windy fellow. He blows trumpet (flugelhorn sometimes) with finesse, taste and feeling rather than with any effort to shatter glass windows; his mannerisms are gentle and exceedingly mellow, while his conversation is soft and generally as lazy as the Mississippi. “Shorty” may well be the only truly southern gentleman from Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 

For this album, however, "Shorty" Rogers quite deliberately turned meteorologist. And he did it without changing his style of anything. 

The Bible will tell you: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth". Until comparatively recent times that was quite true — the movement of air was a mystery. Now, however, while we know a great deal about winds and what they do, we are still not able to predict faithfully what they will do next. 

Such is the nature of the winds, and this, in effect, is "Shorty" Rogers’ adventure into the atmosphere — a stunning musical salute to everywhere that the five winds blow. *Roy Morse (liner notes)*

Clever title serves as a peg on wich Rogers hangs the titles of his five originals compositions that make up the set: "Hurricane Carol", "Breezin' Along In The Trades", "Marooned In A Monsoon", etc. The blowing is not all of that earth-shaking; in fact, with Jimmy Giuffre alternating on tenor sax and clarinet, Rogers sticks pretty close to the "Cooler" side of the West Coast idiom. However, there is a flock of young people who gobble up this kind of package, and they must be accommodated. Terrific cover. *Billboard, March 16, 1957*

Side 1

1 - Hurricane Carol (North Wind)

2 - Breezin' Along In The Trades (South Wind)

3 - Marooned In A Monsoon (East Wind)

Side 2

4 - The Chinook That Melted My Heart (West Wind)

5 - Prevailing On The Westerlies (Fifth Wind)

(All compositions by Shorty Rogers)

Shorty Rogers (trumpet), Jimmy Giuffre (clarinet, tenor sax), Lou Levy (piano), Ralph Pena (bass), Larry Bunker (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, July 2, 1956. 

Charlie Mariano & Jerry Dodgion Sextet - Beauties Of 1918

To quote Shelly Manne, "Charlie Mariano is one of the most underrated if not THE most underrated alto man in the country. I hear him every night on my band and his melodic sense never ceases to amaze me. His lines are beautiful and he solos with great continuity".

It is just as surprising to me as it is to Shelly that Mariano's talent is not recognized as widely as that of some of his contemporaries. The reasons for this apparent lack of acclaim seem contradictory. It can’t be lack of exposure because there are no fewer than five long playing and: two extended play Mariano albums under three different labels in my library. He has been a featured jazz player with every band he has appeared with since his Boston days. In addition to his work with Shelly Manne and His Men during the past three years he has recorded extensively with Hollywood studio groups of varying size and orientation. 

Maybe the explanation of the underrating is his being out of fashion with the people who compile national ratings. This oftentimes has nothing to do with the musician’s playing as related to his overall contribution to jazz, but more his adherence to the currently fashionable manner of performing. It seems silly to rate a man by the fashion of the day (although Coleman Hawkins has suffered from it off and on for years) but that’s the way it appears to be. 

Jerry Dodgion is very likely the musician on this record who will be unknown to most people. I have known Jerry since his late teens. He was born in Richmond, California in 1932. He has worked with every big band I have backed in the bay area. I have watched him grow into the most important alto player in San Francisco, He became THE big band lead alto almost before I realized it. Jerry was also the only jazz flute player in town, and it was this talent that took him to Las Vegas early in 1958 to join Red Norvo’s quintet.

How does it happen that a young San Franciscan suddenly arrives in the ranks of the ‘name’ musicians in Los Angeles? Russ Freeman, who produced this record for WORLD-PACIFIC related it to me this way: "The last time we were in San Francisco, we went to blow at some motel on the outskirts of town one afternoon. There were some other musicians there and we took turns playing. Jerry was there. The afternoon wound up with Charlie and Jerry playing the blues with a rhythm section for about twenty minutes. It was one of the most memorable musical experiences I have ever had, and I wasn’t even playing! 

"When I started working for Dick (Bock), I remembered this combination of Charlie and Jerry, told Dick about it, and we decided to do an album. Charlie and I spent a couple of afternoons picking the tunes, we decided on the instrumentation, picked the players, and that was it". 

The ‘it’ is the record inside this liner which was recorded at Radio Recorders during two afternoon sessions. All of the arrangements were written by Charlie, and the title BEAUTIES OF 1918 just about tells the story. 

All of the tunes were popular during the years that America was engaged in fighting the GREAT WAR. 

Of his playing on this record Mariano said, "I hate to say that this is the best I’ve played because a couple of years from now this will probably seem ridiculous to me, since I expect to keep on improving".

In other words, nearly a decade and some five record albums after his first record session, Charlie Mariano is looking ahead to a better way of things.

I sure do like Charlie Mariano. *Pat Henry (liner notes)*

Pianist Russ Freeman, who produced this record, related it this way: The last time we were (with Shelly Mannes quintet) in San Francisco, we went to blow at some motel on the outskirts of town one afternoon. There were some other musicians there; we took turns playing. Jerry (Dodgion) was there. The afternoon wound up with Charlie and Jerry playing the blues with a rhythm section for about twenty minutes. It was one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had, and I wasnt even playing! The co-leaders, both hard saxists in style, reflect their capable mastery of the work of those they admire. Dodgion likes Phil Woods, and Mariano is more closely Parkerish. I hear Charlie every night on my band, said Shelly Manne, and his melodic sense never ceases to amaze me. His lines are beautiful and he solos with great continuity. *Jordi Pujol*

Side 1

1 - After You've Gone

(Creamer, Layton)

2 - When Johnny Comes Marching Home

(L. Lambert)

3 - Deep River

(H. Burleigh)

4 - Till We Meet Again

(Egan, Whiting)

Side 2

5 - K-K-K-Katy

(J. O'Hara)

6 - 'Til The Clouds Roll By

(Kern, Boldton, Wodehouse)

7 - Over There

(George M. Cohan)

8 - Ja Da

(B. Carolton)

9 - Hello, Central, Give Me No Man's Land

(Lewis, Young, Swartz)

Charlie Mariano (alto sax), Jerry Dodgion (alto sax, flute), Victor Feldman (vibes), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Monty Budwig (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, California, December 10 and 11, 1957.