The Al Belletto Sextet - Whisper Not

Once upon a time —back in the second half of the 50s— the Al Belletto Sextet enjoyed great popularity for playing "modern jazz for listening and dancing". Today, though, not many remember them.

Their story began in December 1952, when New Orleans-born Belletto, who was already an accomplished alto saxophonist and clarinet player, decided to form his own quintet. In just two years, and with the enthusiastic support of bandleader Stan Kenton, Belletto’s fine formation was immortalized by Capitol Records in its series "Kenton Presents Jazz", because they played —in Kenton's own words— "as one voice with a seemingly infinite variety of colors and shadows".

Each musician performed skillfully, and except for the drummer, they all doubled on more than one instrument. In addition, although Jimmy Guinn was the group's featured singer, each member also pitched in for some interesting five-way vocals remindful of the Four Freshmen. The group became a sextet early in 1955 with the addition of a bass player. "The bass was swapped too often, and the outfit's driving arrangements required a constant in the rhythm backing", Belletto mentioned. "We tried for the sound of a big band, using a six-piece lineup".

All their versatility, combined with the group's obvious eagerness to succeed and please, sat very well in many music spots over the country, and the charts by Mel Tormé, Nat Pierce, Neal Hefti, Johnny Mandel, and Shorty Rogers, plus some excellent material from band members, paved the way for the commercial success they went on to enjoy. *Jordi Pujol*

Whisper not... rather, shout from the housetops that this is an instrumental and vocal group that continues to justify and expand its critical and popular acclaim. Here, Belletto brings his group's musical personality to its finest point of development in this exciting new collation. There are lively original compositions plus a generous helping of standard favorites showcased in fresh, sparkling surroundings.

Virtually everyone agrees that Al Belletto plays with constantly increasing warmth, charm, and cohesion of musical conception. Al, of course, still leads the pack on alto sax. Jimmy Guinn, trombone; Willie Thomas, trumpet; Fred Crane, piano and baritone sax; and Tom Montgomery on drums remain the hard core of the team. Bassist Kenny O’Brien has been added to the group and his fat, rhythmic drive adds materially to the sextet's swinging sound.

Of the selections in this album, a full half dozen are delightful treatments of well-established pop and jazz favorites. Each one has been placed in a crisp new context. The remaining tracks are Belletto group originals, highlighting the sextet's remarkable ability to develop its own tangents in the area of "cool" jazz, and still retain a mellow, relaxed approach that appeals even to the most casual listener. And in this album, the band is offered an unusual amount of "blowing" room-ample opportunity to develop a complete story on each number. *(Liner notes)*

A very cool album from this overlooked combo on Capitol — a group who have a wonderfully colorful blend of sounds, and work here with more space for strong solos than you might expect! Al Belletto leads the group on alto — and other players include Jimmy Guinn on trombone, Willie Thomas on trumpet, Fred Crane on piano and baritone sax, Tom Montgomery on drums, and Kenny O'Brien on bass. Al's sense of arranging is great — with modern tonal elements, ala Gigi Gryce — and although there's a few harmony vocal numbers, the set's a lot more instrumental than their debut — and really beautiful overall. *dustygroove.com*

Side 1

1 - Falling In Love With Love

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

2 - Whisper Not

(Benny Golson)

3 - Cross Your Heart

(Lewis E. Gennsler)

4 - Lover Man

(Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson)

5 - 'Deed I Do

(Fred Rose, Walter Hirsh)

Side 2

6 - All For Blues

(Lennie Sinisgalli)

7 - Sunday

(Miller, Krueger, Conn, Stein)

8 - Rudy Tootie

(Dave Figg)

9 - What's New?

(Bob Haggart, Johnny Burke)

10 - 64

(Nat Pierce)

Al Belletto (alto sax, vocals), Willie Thomas (trumpet, vocals), Jimmy Guinn (trombone, vocals), Fred Crane (piano, baritone sax, vocals), Kenny O’Brien (bass, vocals), Tom Montgomery (drums, vocals).

Recorded in New York, July 16 (#1, #4, #5, #6), 17 (#2, #10), 18 (#3, #7), and 19 (#8, #9), 1957.