Jack Montrose and Bob Gordon: A perfect pair

Jack Montrose with Bob Gordon

Arranged/Played/Composed By Jack Montrose

The talent of Jack Montrose (1928-2006) was an exceptional one. He proved to be a prolific writer and a lucid player of his own music, as well as of that of others. But two can play the game of jazz, and one recalls most fondly that Jacks main artery of expression was in the recordings in which he joined soul and sound with his friend Bob Gordon. So inextricable was their relationship of minds, horns, being, that death alone could break it. It did, on a tragic Sunday of August 1955, when Bob met eternity head-on in an automobile. For Jack the shock was intense. He later said Bob was more than just an inspiration, he was my other half and together we formed a musical whole.

*Jordi Pujol*

This was Jack Montrose's first album under his own leadership, recorded for Atlantic in 1955. 

If you have been looking for a recording of West Coast jazz that personifies its high point this just could be it. Tenor saxophonist, arranger, composer, Jack Montrose and baritone saxophonist Bob Gordon represent all the best that West Coast jazz had to offer in 1955. Originally released by Atlantic, this Koch recording is a must particularly for any West Coast jazz enthusiast. Jack Montrose was better known as a superb arranger with an affinity for counterpoint and intelligent orchestration. He has never sounded better on tenor or, more at ease than on this recording. Bob Gordon, a veteran baritone saxophonist and gifted soloist with an original voice tragically was killed in an auto acident shortly before this recording was released. Listening to this session you become aware of the affinity between the two horns which is comparable in my opinion, to some of the best created by Mulligan & Baker, Cohn & Sims, Brubeck & Desmond or, Brookmeyer and Terry. Montrose and Gordon were not only musical partners but, the closest of friends. One can only speculate as to the music they might otherwise have gone on to create together. Gordon most certainly was an artist that would have seriously challanged Gerry Mulligan as the dominant voice on the big horn during the period and, perhaps beyond. Recordings by Gordon are few so, this is a welcome re-issue. The ideal rhythm section comprised of pianist, Paul Moer, bassist, Red Mitchell and, drummer, Shelly Manne were a working unit at the legendary Hermosa Beach, CA club, "The Lighthouse" home of the Sunday Jazz sessions hosted by bassist, Howard Rumsey featuring Shorty Rogers; "Giants".

The sound quality is excellent and original detailed liner notes by Montrose are included. I repeat, this recording is a prime example of some of the best West Coast jazz to be heard in 1955. It is still valid today. *amazon.com*

I like to write in a "chamber group" style because of the intimacy. All the parts are transparent. There is nothing superfluous in chamber music, and there can be nothing 

superfluous. 

Just because a group has four or five instruments, that doesn't make it a chamber group. The thing that brings it about is the feeling of the players and the approach to the music. It's a definite feel that grows from learning to love string quartets. A chamber group supplies me with the essential extremes of dynamics, with the necessary mobility and maneuverability. When I was writing for this album, I was definitely thinking in terms of a chamber group. Not one of the instruments was neglected. My object was to utilize each instrument in its own way. By dynamics, I mean the ability to make a decided contrast; the ability to play fast and soft at the same time, for instance. Nothing is covered up.

A lot of the music in this album is, of course, completely improvised. The purpose of the compositions-arrangements was to establish a mood and organize it. The written parts constitute a framework like an organizational skeleton, within which the improvisation takes place. There should be a strong relation between the two. In the writing, I take special precautions to make a soloist play in a certain mood. I'll take measures to see that the soloist plays in this mood, like backgrounds that force the soloist to remain in that mood. In this album I felt that the soloists were always in the mood of the composition. 

lf it's going to be jazz; there has got to be toom for improvisation. It's not a jazz number if there's no improvisation: jazz is improvisation. When I write something, it isn't jazz in itself, it's merely a composition in the jazz idiom. Jazz is jazz because it's completely unpredictable.

For me, form is dominated by content. When I begin working, my materials at hand — melody, beat — begin to dictate a form. I let them develop logically and develop 

their own form.

The players on this album are the players of my choice. They possess the great individuality required to play a continuous solo line, and the necessary insight which allows 

them to play these lines in relation to the other voices and the entire composition. 

Such a player is Paul Moer, whose ability to accompany is equalled by his talent for interpretation and improvisation.

Such a player is Red Mitchell, who by some caprice of fate has chosen to express his melodic conception through the medium of an instrument whose function is basically 

rhythmic.

Such a player is Shelly Manne — Shelly the melodic, Shelly the musical, Shelly the inventive, Shelly the epitome of good taste.

And such a player was Bob Gordon. His feeling was contagious, his sound indomitable, his time impeccable, the beauty and logic of his thought inexplicable. I learned to write through playing, and it was largely through Bob's influence that I learned how to play.

*Jack Montrose (from the liner notes)*

1 - A Little Duet

(Jack Montrose)

2 - April's Fool

(Jack Montrose)

3 - Dot's Groovy

(Jack Montrose)

4 - I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town

(Frank Weldon, Andy Razaf)

5 - Cecilia

(Harry Ruby, Dave Dreyer)

6 - The News And The Weather

(Jack Montrose)

7 - When You Wish Upon A Star

(Ned Washington, Leigh Harline)

8 - Have You Met Miss Jones

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

9 - Paradox

(Jack Montrose)

Jack Montrose (tenor sax), Bob Gordon (baritone sax),

Paul Moer (piano), Red Mitchell (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, May 11, 1955