Five-Star Collection... The Down Beat Five-Star History (Part III)

After exploring both the symbolic ratings of 1946 and the numerical approach introduced in 1951, we now arrive at the reform that would define Down Beat for generations of readers.

This final part revisits the introduction of the magazine's most enduring metric — its hallmark five-star scale.

✤ 1952 ✤

The Star System

Finally, in the May 21, 1952 issue, Down Beat introduced the five-star system — the format that would come to define the magazine's identity for decades. By then, the review department was organized into three distinct sections: Popular, Jazz, and Rhythm & Blues, each with its own criteria and editorial approach.

The new system formalized a crucial distinction. Popular and Rhythm & Blues releases were to be judged by their broad general appeal, while Jazz records — reflecting the magazine's core mission — were evaluated strictly on their musical merit. The editors also devised an additional symbol for popular and R&B items whose musical interest rose above their commercial category.

Here is how Down Beat announced the change:

"Records in the popular and rhythm-and-blues sections are reviewed and rated in terms of broad general appeal. Records in the jazz section are reviewed and rated in terms of their musical merit.

Records in the popular and rhythm-and-blues sections of interest from the musical standpint are marked with a sharp (#), or, if exceptionally interesting, a double sharp (##)".

Ratings:

★★★★★ Excellent (Masterpiece [today])

★★★★ Very Good (Excellent [today])

★★★ Good

★★ Fair

★ Poor

With this clear and durable format — and with its three-tiered review structure firmly in place — Down Beat finally arrived at the rating system that would carry it through the 10-inch and 12-inch LP eras, the CD market, the reissue boom, and well into the digital age.

What was the first Jazz album reviewed that achieved the highest score?

The Amazing Bud Powell!

Bud Powell

The Amazing Bud Powell

Two piano solo sides, four trios and two numbers by a quintet (Fats Navarro, Sonny Rollins and rhythm) are here combined into an LP, justifiably entitled "The Amazing Bud Powell".

Cynics who are inclined to sneer at bop and belittle its accomplishments are hereby advised to spend a few hours browsing over this disc. Congratulations to Blue Note's Alfred Lion for catching Bud at his fabulous best, and to the artist, name of Bacon, who conjured up that brilliant likeness of Bud for the cover. (Blue Note LP 5003.) *(Down Beat, Chicago, May 21, 1954 [5 stars])*

Powell's place in the jazz galaxy can hardly be overstated. He was a genius, the Charlie Parker of piano, and a brilliant composer. He was a contemporary (and friend) of Thelonious Monk, but declared that his greatest influence on piano was Art Tatum. He had a right hand that was described as lightning fast, a dazzlingly melodic way of improvising, and a rhythmic complexity that nonetheless flowed naturally. In the course of his career, Powell’s playing underwent style changes and, near the end, as his health went downhill, there was sometimes a certain raggedness about it — but it was always right.

The Amazing Bud Powell is the product of two separate recording sessions, one of a quintet on August 9, 1949, the other of a trio on May 1, 1951. Originally released on the Blue Note label in 10-inch LP form, the album, not surprisingly, has been re-released a number of times. 

Along with Powell on the 1949 date are the pioneering bop trumpeter Fats Navarro, a 20-year-old Sonny Rollins on tenor sax, bassist Tommy Potter, and drummer Roy Haynes. The trio date in 1951 included bassist Curley Russell and drummer Max Roach.

As the leader on both the recording dates, Powell's playing is naturally showcased. But what a treat to hear Fats Navarro — a bebop icon who died way too young — along with Sonny Rollins and Roy Haynes, both of whom are still alive, still playing, and whose evolving approaches to the music we’ve been able to witness over all these years. Not to mention Max Roach, who many consider to have been the greatest drummer in jazz history.

The original Powell compositions recorded here are bebop classics, and wonderful to hear. But the album also more than does justice to compositions by Bird, Dizzy and Monk as well as some hand-picked gems from the Great American Songbook.

I'm hardly the first to note that this is bop at its highest level. And if you have any real interest in jazz, this album belongs in your collection. Be warned, though: Bud Powell can be addictive. ("Betcha can’t hear just one!"). *Terry MacDonald (seacoastjazz.org)*

Side 1

1 - Un Poco Loco

(Bud Powell)

2 - Over The Rainbow

(E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Harold Arlen)

3 - Ornithology

(Bennie Harris)

4 - Wail

(Bud Powell)

Side 2

5 - A Night In Tunisia

(Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli)

6 - It Could Happen To You

(Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen)

7 - You Go To My Head

(J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie)

8 - Bouncing With Bud

(Bud Powell)

#1, #5:

Bud Powell (piano), Curley Russell (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#2, #6:

Bud Powell (solo piano)

#3, #4, #7, #8:

Fats Navarro (trumpet), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax),

Bud Powell (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Roy Haynes (drums).

Recorded at WOR Studios, New York City,

August 9, 1949 [other source gives August 8, 1949] (#3, #4, #7, #8)

and May 1, 1951 (#1, #2, #5, #6)

The CD containing these recordings is a digital replica of the 12" LP issued two years later.

Appropriately, it too was "awarded" five stars… While Bud’s solo "Over The Rainbow" is not included, the disc is rounded out by alternate takes and additional tracks not found on the original 10" LP.

Bud Powell

The Amazing Bud Powell • Volume 1

In view of the importance of this album historically, and the fact that four of its tracks have never been released previously, this part-reissue set gets listed here. Loco, one of Bud's most striking performances, is shown here in genesis. Infidels, never released on LP before, has Fats Navarro, Sonny Rollins, Tommy Potter, and Roy Haynes. Like Theme, Wail, and Bouncing with Bud (which have the same personnel and were previously on 10'' LPs), Infidels was recorded in 1949.

It Could Happen is a hitherto unreleased alternate master as is the first Tunisia. Both, like Loco and Parisian Thoroughfare, were cut in 1951 with Curly Russell and Max Roach. Ornithology with Potter and Haynes dates back to 1949. Thoroughfare, never released before, is an earlier version of the original Bud recorded for Clef. This is the first volume of two Blue Note 12'' Powell LPs. Blue Note has also repackaged in 12'' form albums by Sidney Bechet (BLP 1201), Jay Jay Johnson (BLP 1605) and Miles Davis (BLP 1501). All are recommended. Remastering has been done by Rudy Van Gelder. *Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, April 18, 1956 [5 stars])*

1 - Un Poco Loco (1st take)

(Bud Powell)

2 - Un Poco Loco (2nd take)

(Bud Powell)

3 - Un Poco Loco

(Bud Powell)

4 - Dance Of The Infidels

(Bud Powell)

5 - 52nd St. Theme

(Thelonious Monk)

6 - It Could Happen To You (alternate master)

(Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen)

7 - A Night In Tunisia (alternate master)

(Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli)

8 - A Night In Tunisia

(Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli)

9 - Wail

(Bud Powell)

10 - Ornithology

(Bennie Harris)

11 - Bouncing With Bud

(Bud Powell)

12 - Parisian Thoroughfare

(Bud Powell)

#1, #2, #3, #7, #8, #12:

Bud Powell (piano), Curley Russell (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#6:

Bud Powell (solo piano)

#4, #5, #9, #10, #11:

Fats Navarro (trumpet), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax),

Bud Powell (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Roy Haynes (drums).

Recorded at WOR Studios, New York City,

August 9, 1949 [other source gives August 8, 1949] (#4, #5, #9, #10, #11)

and May 1, 1951 (#1, #2, #3, #6, #7, #8, #12)

After The Amazing Bud Powell • Volume 1 came The Amazing Bud Powell • Volume 2, a logical next step for the Blue Note label.

It, too, received five stars — reason enough to leave the story here, and to pick it up again next year.

For now… a pause...

The Punta del Este lighthouse points me in the right direction for summer vacation... 

Best wishes to everyone for the upcoming 2026!

Will back in February...

◈◈◈

Five-Star Collection... The Down Beat Five-Star History (Part II)

In the previous post, we revisited the origins of Down Beat's first attempt to formalize its record-rating system through simple note symbols.

In this second part, we turn to the moment when the magazine tried to sharpen its critical tools with a short-lived but revealing experiment:

✤ 1951✤ 

A Brief Experiment in Precision:

Down Beat's 1951 One-to-Ten Rating Scale

By 1951, Down Beat felt the need for greater nuance in its reviews. The solution was a short-lived numerical scale running from 1 to 10, an attempt to introduce finer gradations of quality at a moment when the LP era was just beginning to reshape listening habits.

Here we revisit that transitional system and reproduce the magazine’s statement explaining its purpose and scope.

In the January 26, 1951 issue, the section "What’s On Wax"—written by Jack Tracy, Pat Harris, and George Hoefer—introduced a far more precise numerical scale ranging from 1 to 10.

Each reviewer assigned a score, and the final rating printed in the review was the average of the three.

The announcement read:

"With this issue, Down Beat inaugurates a new system for rating records. It is our hope that it will be of increased value to you in helping you choose those records you plan to add to your own collection.

Records are rated by each of the three reviewers on a scale of 1 to 10, with the rating increasing with the quality of the record. The final veredict is an average of the individual scores and will be found in front of the tittles listed at the head of each review. Albums will continue to be judged as a whole, with individual comments on those sides meriting them".

It was a clear attempt to bring greater objectivity and consistency to Down Beat's expanding review section.

Which was the first artist reviewed who received the highest score?

None... throughout the entire period that this criterion was applied, no record reached the level of excellence.

The only one who came close was Lee Koniz with 9 points.

p

Lee Konitz 

9 - Rebecca

7 - Ice Cream Konitz

Jack: Lee delicately and feelingly picks his way through Rebecca (My Old Flame). He's backed only by Billy Bauer's guitar. Beautifully done, thoughtfully expressive, it's some of Lee's best recorded ballad work to date. Ice Cream has Bauer, Arnold Fishkin, drummer Jeff Morton, and pianist Sal Mosca backing Lee. It's uptempo, with Lee fleet but not as fertile as usual, and Bauer and Mosca taking choruses. 

Rating: Rebecca—9; Ice Cream—7.

George: Lee's Rebecca is a note of beauty rare in the field of jazz. The delicacy of his alto tone and phrasing is brought out in bold relief by Bauer's sympathetic guitar. The side is a study in perfect execution. Ice Cream, a Konitz original, is typical Tristano fare without the participation of Lennie. Sal Mosca takes over the piano and closes the side with a sprightly solo. Nothing outstanding happening, but nice listening. 

Rating: Rebecca—9; Ice Cream Konitz—7.

Pat: Konitz' dainty alto, cool just to the point of chillness, but not quite, traces tastefully through Konitz. Note the smooth way Sal Mosca's piano takes over after Billy Bauer's solo on this one. Rebecca, named after Lee's baby daughter, is a fine fatherly tribute. Very lovely and delicate, Lee manages to be sunny and wistful at the same time. (New Jazz 834.)

Rating: Rebecca—8; Ice Cream—7

The restored version of these tracks was included on one of the CDs in the Original Jazz Classics series.

Lee Konitz

With Tristano, Marsh And Bauer

Subconscious-Lee

Of the Lennie Tristano "school" of music, which predated the Lennie Tristano School of Music, Lee Konitz is the outstanding "pupil". Naturally Lennie's music had a great influence on Lee. Other influences are lesser and have been more completely absorbed in to the mainstream of his playing. For instance, in his rhythmic figures you can hear Charlie Parker (Bird left very few untouched and unmoved,) but whatever sources Lee has drawn on have been integrated beautifully into his personal expression. His style and sound are both highly personal. The point of excellence as an individual voice is a signal triumph for any artist.

The three sessions in this LP show Lee off in many different ways with quintet, quartet and duo. The interplay with Tristano, duetting with Billy Bauer and unisons and exchanges with Warne Marsh are all self-illuminating examples of Lee's early work in this graphic collection of Konitz.

Incidentally, the Subconscious-Lee session not only launched Lee's career but was the first recording date of this company. New Jazz was then the label. *Ira Gitler (liner notes)*

One of THE key records in the Konitz school — a full length Prestige album that brings together important material from sessions originally issued on 10" LPs! The lineup here is virtually the Konitz school — with shifting lineups that include Billy Bauer on guitar, Lenny Tristano or Sal Mosca on piano, and Warne Marsh on tenor — all working as airily and fluidly as Konitz himself! How Lee managed to achieve such unity with his groups here will forever be a mystery to us — as will the freshness of the work at the end of the 40s, especially given that it's still arguably more "modern" than much of the jazz it inspired in years to come! Titles include "Progression", "Subconscious-Lee", "Rebecca", "Sound-Lee", "Fishin Around", "Palo Alto", "Ice Cream Konitz", "You Go To My Head", and "Tautology".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

1 - Progression

(Konitz)

2 - Tautology

(Konitz)

3 - Retrospection

(Tristano)

4 - Subconscious-Lee

(Konitz)

5 - Judy

(Tristano)

6 - Marshmallow

(Marsh)

7 - Fishin' Around

(Marsh)

8 - Tautology

(Konitz)

9 - Sound-Lee

(Konitz)

10 - Rebecca

(Konitz)

11 - You Go to My Head

(Coots, Gillespie)

12 - Ice Cream Konitz

(Konitz)

13 - Palo Alto

(Konitz)

#1 to #5:

Lee Konitz (alto sax), Billy Bauer (guitar), Lennie Tristano (piano),

Arnold Fishkin (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in New York City, November 1, 1949

#6 to #9:

Lee Konitz (alto sax); Warne Marsh (tenor sax); Sal Mosca (piano);

Arnold Fishkin (bass); Denzil Best [#6, #7], Jeff Morton [#8, #9] (drums).

Recorded in New York City, September, 1949

#9 to #13:

Lee Konitz (alto sax), Billy Bauer (guitar), Sal Mosca (piano),

Arnold Fishkin (bass), Jeff Morton (drums).

Recorded in New York City, July 4, 1950

Five-Star Collection... The Down Beat Five-Star History (Part I)

Before this year's final post, it may be helpful to take a brief look at the history of how Down Beat has judged music over the years and how it eventually arrived at its classic five-star system, which we have used so far for the series we came up with to pay tribute to the publication's celebrated reviewers.

Throughout its long history, Down Beat not only chronicled the evolution of jazz— it also refined the very tools it used to evaluate recordings. Between 1946 and 1952, the magazine tried three different rating systems, each one formally announced to readers in its pages.

What follows is the first part (of three) of that sequence, along with the original texts that introduced each change.

✤ 1946 ✤ 

How Down Beat First Retooled Its Rating Method:

The 1946 Note-Symbol System

When Down Beat entered the postwar era, it sought a clearer, more flexible way to judge the rapidly growing stream of new releases. In early 1946, the magazine abandoned its older, loosely defined evaluation practices and introduced a system based on musical note symbols—a concise visual code meant to give readers an immediate sense of a record’s merit.

What follows is a simple presentation of that first experiment, along with the original editorial text that announced the change.

The first attempt at a consistent rating system appeared in the May 20, 1946 issue, in Michael Levin's section "Diggin' the Discs with MIX".

Down Beat introduced a simple visual code based on eighth notes, giving readers a quick sense of the reviewer's verdict. The scale ran as follows:

♪♪♪♪ — Tops

♪♪♪ — Tasty

♪♪ — Pleasing

♪ — Boring

The magazine presented the new system with this note of caution to readers:

"For the first time, Down Beat is using symbols to tell you at a glance something about each record reviewed by 'Mix', who, of course, is Michael Levin. One word of caution about their use: review symbols are as bad as B's used to be on grammar school report cards; namely, drawing the fine lines between a fair and a good record is a difficult process. A 4 note rating one week might draw only 3 notes if issued the following week, solely because the whole group of releases the next week might be better on an average. No critic can carry comparative ratings from week to week, save in an approximate fashion".

The system was short–lived, but it marked Down Beat's first effort to formalize its critical criteria.

Which was the first artist reviewed who received the highest score?

Coleman Hawkins!

Coleman Hawkins All-American Four

♪♪♪ Make Believe

♪♪♪♪ Just One of Those Things

First chorus here is a sample of liquid, lovely Coleman with no squawking or reaching for high ones. Same goes for the Wilson chorus that follows. Hawk comes on again and can’t top himself. It’s a topnotch side. Flipover has that fantastically crystalline left hand of Theodore Wilson at a fast bounce tempo, with Hawk's following chorus getting a trifle tangled in the middle; though the way Wilson plays on this side would be enough to scare anybody—everything and not an ounce extra is there (Keynote 1317).

*Michael Levine (Down Beat, May 20, 1946)*

The restored version of these tracks was included on one of the CDs in The Chronogical Classics series.

Coleman Hawkins

The Chronogical • 1944

It is one of the lucky coincidences in jazz history that Coleman Hawkins was in truly stupendous 1944/45, and that at the same time many small, new record-companies entered business, managing to entice the saxophonist into recordings so frequently — and almost always music of everlasting quality.

This volume of the recordings of Coleman Hawkins, presented in chronological order, opens with a fine set for the Keynote label. Hawk's perfect combination of virtuosity and swing is evident on the fast "Flame Thrower" and "Cattin'", his combination of elegance and finesse on the ballads. The boppish "Disorder" is followed by another one of the saxophonist's intricate compositions, plus "Rainbow Mist" a rather free improvisation of "Body And Soul". Less familiar but equally thrilling, the "Saxtet" session pairs Hawk with Georgie Auld and Ben Webster for some hot blowing. On "Pick Up Boys", a simple yet effective riff, Charlie Shavers first launches an unusually gruff Ben Webster, then Georgie Auld and Hawkins, into some sizzling solo work. The next four recordings, by the "Sax Ensemble", offer magnificent solos by Hawkins, Byas and Harry Carney. Tab Smith's efforts, on the other hand, are rather strange, his bizarre playing culminating in a curious run at the end of "Sunny Side". He later recorded a similar version of this same number under his own name. The CD ends with a set of unusually relaxed performances by Hawkins, backed by Teddy Wilson, John Kirby and Sid Catlett. Although recorded a bit off-microphone, Wilson's elegant playing has rarely been more impressive, his work on "Don't Blame me" rivaling his unforgettable 1937 solo version of this same song. *Anatol Schenker, July 1995 (from the liner notes)*

During the mid-'40s Coleman Hawkins was hitting another peak, seasoned by many years in big bands both in the States and Europe. He wasn't out of fashion during those early bop years, either, as he often played with the music's young Turks; their sound was a mix of the big band era's refined combo swing and bop's new, angular energy. This Classics disc captures some of the tenor great's best sides from the period, including an early bop milestone featuring Dizzy Gillespie and Don Byas ("Disorder at the Border") and tracks with Ben Webster and a variety of small bands graced by the likes of Byas, Teddy Wilson, Harry Carney, and Cozy Cole. Essential listening.

*Stephen Cook (allmusic.com)*

1 - Flame Thrower

(Hawkins)

2 - Imagination

(Burke, Van Heusen)

3 - Night And Day

(Porter)

4 - Cattin' At Keynote

(Lim)

5 - Disorder At The Border

(Hawkins)

6 - Feeling Zero

(Hawkins)

7 - Rainbow Mist

(Hawkins)

8 - Pick-Up-Boys

(Feather)

9 - Porgy

(Fields, McHugh)

10 - Uptown Lullaby

(Feather)

11 - Salt Peanuts

(Gillespie, Clarke)

12 - On the Sunny Side Of The Street

(Fields, McHugh)

13 - Three Little Words

(Ruby, Kalmer)

14 - Battle Of The Saxes

(Hawkins)

15 - Louise

(Whiting, Robin)

16 - Make Believe

(Kern, Hammerstein II)

17 - Don't Blame Me

(McHugh, Fields)

18 - Just One Of Those Things

(Porter)

19 - Hallelujah

(Robin, Grey, Youmans)

Coleman Hawkins (tenor sax) with:

#1 to #4:

Teddy Wilson (piano), Israel Crosby (bass), Cozy Cole (drums).

Recorded in New York City, February 17, 1944

#5 to #7:

Leo Parker, Leonard Lowry (alto saxes); Don Byas, Ray Abrams (tenor saxes);

Budd Johnson (baritone sax); Clyde Hart (piano); Oscar Pettiford (bass); Max Roach (drums)

Recorded in New York City,  February 22, 1944

#8 to #11:

Charlie Shavers (trumpet), Georgie Auld (alto sax, tenor sax),

Ben Webster (tenor sax), Hy White (guitar),

Bill Rowland (piano), Israel Crosby (bass), Specs Powell (drums).

Recorded in New York City, May 17, 1944

#12 to #15:

Tab Smith (alto sax), Don Byas (tenor sax),Harry Carney (baritone sax),

Johnny Guarnieri (piano),  Al Lucas (bass),  Sidney Catlett (drums).

Recorded in New York City, May 24, 1944

#16 to #19:

Teddy Wilson (piano), John Kirby (bass), Sidney Catlett (drums).

Recorded in New York City, May 29, 1944

Five-Star Collection... Silver and Blakey

Horace Silver

Horace Silver Trio • Vol. 2 / Art Blakey with Sabu

Almost a year has elapsed since the release of his first Horace Silver long playing record (Blue Note LP 5018). The year has seen new horizons open up for the brilliant 25-year-old pianist from Norwalk, Conn. While his LP debut was winning the plaudits of reviewers and fans, Horace enlarged his audience in Birdland and the country's other leading jazz clubs, playing with Lester Young and other noted combos. In recent months he has been allied with a new group formed by Art Blakey, the phenomenal drummer featured with him in the present set of selections.

On the six piano solos in this new LP, they are based on popular songs of a few years ago. Endowing them with his original rhythmic and harmonic changes when he embroiders the melody in the opening chorus, he proceeds to improvise on the chord pattern of the tune, and in each case the overall result, in effect, is as personal as if he had woven the fabric himself instead of merely cutting the cloth.

The other three piano solos are Silver originals.

A final word for the Third Man of this unique set of performances. Percy Heath has been praised many times before, both in our Blue Note comments and in every publication that deals with jazz. Never has his work been more discreet and dependable than in his accompaniments to Horace's solos here. A Heath bass performance is a study in metronomic stability. The Horace Silver Trio is indeed an equilateral triangle. *(from the liner notes)*

One of the most consistently energizing of the younger pianists, vigorously backed by Percy Heath and Art Blakey. Also included are the Blakey drum solo and the Blakey-Sabu duet previously starred (Down Beat, May 19). It pains my flinty, New England soul to give another five-star rating this month, but Mr. Silver cannot be denied. I assure you that five-star ratings are pried from me only after fierce struggling, but there is simply an unusual quantity of better-than-good original jazz being issued these days. *Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, July 14, 1954 [5 stars])*

Art Blakey - Sabu 

★★★★★ Message from Kenya

★★★★★ Nothing But the Soul

Soul is a dynamically absorbing solo by Blakey. On Kenya, Art is joined on conga drums and vocal by Sabu (Luis Martinez). The story of the number, according to Leonard Feather's notes for a forthcoming album in which it will be included, "was first told to Art by Moses Mann, a Nigerian drummer who worked in this country with Pearl Primus. The evocation, voiced dramatically in a mixture of Spanish and Swahili, tells of a hunter whose cries celebrate the news that he has captured more game than any other hunter in the village, in order to convince the girl he loves of his prowess".

It’s an exciting performance with or without the courtship bit. Sabu is 24, works usually with El Diablo, but has recorded before with June Christy, Dizzy, and Mary Lou Williams. He's also played with Valdés, Morales, and Señor Charles Parker. Sabu recently returned from Al Romero's expedition to South America on which Don Elliott was also included. This is his first large-scale record break, and he surely wails. (Blue Note 1626) *Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, May 19, 1954)*

Side 1

1 -  How About You

(Burton Lane, Ralph Freed)

2 - I Remember You

(Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger)

3 - Silverware

(Horace Silver)

4 - Message From Kenya

(Art Blakey)

Side 2

5 - Opus De Funk

(Horace Silver)

6 - Nothing But The Soul

(Art Blakey)

7 - Buhaina

(Horace Silver)

8 - Day In Day Out

(Johnny Mercer, Reuben "Rube" Bloom)

#1, #2, #3, #5, #7, #8:

Horace Silver (piano), Percy Heath (bass), Art Blakey (drums).

#4:

Art Blakey (drums), Sabu (congas).

#6:

Art Blakey (solo drums).

Recorded at WOR Studios, New York City, November 23, 1953

Five-Star Collection... Shelly Manne

Shelly Manne

Shelly Manne And His Men • Vol. 2

Continuing the West Coast workshop idea begun in Shelly Manne's first album, six leading jazz composers were asked to write the music for this set. Since the first album featured reeds, we felt it might be interesting to explore the possibilities of the brass sound. Each composer was given complete freedom within the limits of the instrumentation.

Each was asked, also, to state briefly something about his composition. *(from the liner notes)*

Shelly Manne's second Contemporary album, out of print since the 10-inch LP era, is one of the definitive statements of West Coast jazz aesthetics. It highlights adventurous musical structures and an unusual septet featuring four brass and rhythm, glows with sonorities no less bold for their intimacy, and is suffused with outstanding musicianship and subtle swing. The compact drive this music often achieved is particularly evident in the contributions of Bob Cooper and Marty Paich, while the beauty of Bill Holman's "Lullaby" captures a similar capacity for tenderness. Pieces by Jimmy Giuffre, Jack Montrose, and Shorty Rogers reveal the more complex notions cultivated in Los Angeles during the Fifties. Each track contains notable contributions from the talented cast, with Manne demonstrating how he helped to redefine the possibilities for jazz drummers in this period. *concord.com*

One of the most important LPs of the year. Bob Cooper, Jimmy Giuffre, Bill Holman, Jack Montrose, Marty Paich, and Shorty Rogers have each contributed an original exploring the possibilities of brass sounds in the context of extended form in jazz. Recorded in Hollywood in December, 1953, and March, 1954, the musicians included Ollie Mitchell, Don Fagerquist, Shorty Rogers, Bob Enevoldsen, Paul Sarmento, Russ Freeman, Marty Paich, Joe Mondragon, and Shelly Manne. Each composer, moreover, has written a brief but clear exposition of his work in the notes. The important thing at the moment is not to fix firm value judgments on the worth of each work nor to argue aimlessly about whether this is "jazz" or not. Here are some of the directions in which jazz will inevitably evolve and these are unusually absorbing beginnings. Everyone concerned with this LP, including engineer John Palladino and supervisor Lester Koenig, deserves full praise. The notes, by the way, are the most articulately valuable of the year — because they were written by the musicians directly involved in the session. *Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, July 14, 1954 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - Dimension In Thirds

(Marty Paich)

2 - Shapes, Motion, Colors

(Shorty Rogers)

3 - Alternation

(Jimmy Giuffre)

Side 2

4 - Divertimento For Bass And Rhythm

(Bob Cooper)

5 - Lullaby

(Bill Holman)

6 - Etude De Concert

(Jack Montrose)

#1, #2, #3:

Ollie Mitchell (first trumpet), Shorty Rogers (second trumpet),

Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone), Paul Sarmento (tuba),

Russ Freeman (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, December 18, 1953

#4, #5, #6:

Don Fagerquist (first trumpet), Shorty Rogers (second trumpet, flugelhorn),

Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone), Paul Sarmento (tuba),

Marty Paich (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, March 17, 1954

Five-Star Collection... Laurindo Almeida

Laurindo Almeida

Laurindo Almeida Quartet

Featuring Bud Shank

Laurindo Almeida was born Sept. 2, 1917 in São Paulo, Brazil. He played on the staff of Radio Mayrink Veiga in Rio de Janeiro and led his own orchestra at the Casino da Urca in Rio. He came to the United States in 1947 to join the Stan Kenton orchestra as featured guitar soloist. His extraordinary taste, beauty of sound and remarkable timing, almost without parallel among guitarists, gained him quick recognition throughout North as well as South America. 

This group of recordings effectively displays the current trend in broadening the jazz music horizons to include the folk music of other cultures as a basis for re-interpretation. 

The interesting cohesion of native Brazilian music with American jazz forms presents here an unusual excursion into modern sounds. This collection combines the talents of brilliant Brazilian guitar virtuoso, Laurindo Almeida, playing an unamplified Spanish Concert Guitar (finger style), and the bright jazz alto of ex-Stan Kenton-star Bud Shank. 

The compositions, with the exception of "Noctambulism", written by Harry Babasin, and "Hazardous", written by Dick Hazard, stem from the pens of composers from Almeida's native Brazil. "Tocata" was written expressly for this record session by one of Brazil's foremost classical composers, Radámes Gnattali. 

Harry Babasin, bass, and Roy Harte, drums, complete the quartet. Babasin is best known for his work with the Woody Herman Second Herd, the Benny Goodman orchestra and small band jazz groups. Most recently he collaborated with Oscar Pettiford in a group of recordings featuring Pettiford and himself playing cello duets. Roy Harte is well known for his work in the past with the Boyd Raeburn and Les Brown orchestras, and the Howard Rumsey Lighthouse All Stars.

*(from the liner notes)*

A valuably unusual collection. The freshly interacting lines are handled by Almeida and ex-Kentonite Bud Shank on alto, with Harry Babasin on bass and Roy Harte on drums. Brazilian-born Almeida is a master of the unamplified Spanish concert guitar and for years many jazz guitarists have admired his classical finger-style skill. The chance to hear him at length is alone worth the album, but there is a great deal more.

Each side is a carefully constructed small composition (four of the composers are from Brazil). But there are sections in each — least in Hazardous — that have the free feel of jazz improvisation and during these parts, Babasin and Harte provide an underlying jazz pulsation. So I expect that either the composers made provision for improvisation or Shank and Almeida inserted the interludes. The result, however you define it, justifies the statement in the notes: "...the interesting cohesion of native Brazilian music with American jazz forms presents here an unusual excursion into modern sounds".

After several listenings, I feel both the need and desire to hear this even more thoroughly. There is a refreshing lack of pretentiousness, but as simple as the lines and construction appear, they grow in emotive meaning with each hearing — as with Flamenco songs and dances though these so far seem to me to lack the depth of Flamenco music.

Shank blows with authoritative distinction. Babasin and Harte are excellent. Only objection is to the recording itself which could have had more bass and drums definition. Congratulations to Pacific Jazz on a legitimately different approach to contemporary sounds and structures.

*Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, March 10, 1954 [5 stars])*

1 - Tocata

(Radamés Gnattali)

2 - Hazardous

(Richard "Dick" Hazard)

3 - Cariñoso

(Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho  ~ a.k.a Pixinguinha)

4 - Nonô

(Romualdo Peixoto)

5 - Noctambulism

(Harry Babasin)

6 - Blue Baião

(Humberto Teixeira, Luiz Gonzaga)

Laurindo Almeida (guitar), Bud Shank (alto sax), 

Harry Babasin (bass), Roy Harte (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, September, 1953

Five-Star Collection... Gerry Mulligan

Gerry Mulligan

Gerry Mulligan And His Ten-Tette

Gerry Mulligan is one of the inventors of the contemporary jazz form, and his early promise experimenting with small forward-looking groups achieves fruition with this extensive exhibit of his art. Gerry is that rare phenomenon — a truly originative talent. Everything he does is unique and he has the unalterable courage to do as he "hears" fit. With it all, there is no restraining self-consciousness. Quite the contrary, Gerry is irresistibly "full of malarkey!" There’s an impishness about both him and his music that lends great charm.

He's a young composer who somehow combines the restless intensity of a serious and sensitive composer with the levity of a leprechaun. And it's all here in the music.

Gerry's early background in the music field is surprisingly orthodox. He even arranged for Tommy Tucker and Elliot Lawrence, but he quickly espoused the modern sounds and "gigged" around New York with the small coterie of musicians that spearheaded the search for new and interesting things to say in jazz. He helped to organize, write for, and play on one of the milestones of modern jazz, the Miles Davis "Move" record date for Capitol.

But here, perhaps for the first time, he has been given carte blanche — freedom to express himself without limitation. (...)

The moods and feelings captured here range all the way from something resembling a German Salvation Army Band playing on a Heidelberg street corner — with a beat — to the reckless abandon of a Deep South Revivalist meeting. But all the way, it's ingenious, challenging, and warm. This is what jazz is coming to. In fact, it's here! *Gene Norman (from the liner notes)*

Gerry's dectet (two trumpets, bone, French horn, alto, two baritones, tuba, bass, drums) eschews atonality, polytonality, polyphony, and pretension, goes in for strictly jazz sounds that begin where Miles Davis' famous Capitol sessions (also partly organized by Mulligan) left off.

The rich diversity of orchestrated tonal hues is what gives this set its fifth star. The solos, though secondary, are almost completely, and justifiably, monopolized by Mulligan and Chet Baker. Gerry switches to piano on three tunes, including the attractive Ontet. Latter is based on the last chorus of Godchild, which he scored for the Davis date.

Of the other originals Walking Shoes has the warmest flavor, a legit blues quality with a semisatirical end; Westwood has Gerry’s most eloquent baritone solo and Flash the most variety, with some great Bud Shank alto, and delightful ensemble accents in the last chorus. Simbah is a simple riff thing with a strangely Gershwin-esque quality in the first release.

If you're already bored by the Mulligan foursome, this set is the perfect restorative.

*Down Beat (Chicago, October 7, 1953 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - Rocker

(Gerry Mulligan)

2 - Walking Shoes

(Gerry Mulligan)

3 - Simbah

(Gerry Mulligan)

4 - Ontet

(Gerry Mulligan)

Side 2

5 - Westwood Walk

(Gerry Mulligan)

6 - A Ballad

(Gerry Mulligan)

7 - Taking A Chance On Love

(Vernon Duke, John La Touche, Ted Fetter)

8 - Flash

(Gerry Mulligan)

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax, piano [#4, #7, #8]); Chet Baker, Pete Candoli (trumpets);

Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone); John Graas (french horn);

Ray Siegel (tuba); Bud Shank (alto sax); Don Davidson (baritone sax); 

Joe Mondragon (bass); Chico Hamilton [#1, #2, #5, #6], Larry Bunker [#3, #4, #7, #8] (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Recording Studios, Hollywood, California,

January 29 (#1, #2, #5, #6) and January 31 (#3, #4, #7, #8), 1953