Five-Star Collection... Shelly Manne

Shelly Manne

Shelly Manne And His Men Play Peter Gunn

Peter Gunn is an adult mystery with a different kind of hero: a private eye who is literate, suave, well-groomed, and —digs jazz. The weekly show hit the NBC-TV network September 22, 1958, and zoomed to a success which is, in part, the result of its jazz score, composed and arranged by Henry Mancini, known as Hank to the leading jazz stars in the Los Angeles area who have played for his soundtracks. Since November 1958, Shelly Manne and Victor Feldman have been regular members of the band which records the show's score. When Shelly became enthused about the idea of recording an album of Mancini originals from Peter Gunn, he invited Feldman to appear with him as a guest star. (...)

In Shelly Manne, Mancini has an ideal interpreter for the Peter Gunn music. In recent years Manne's talent has matured and developed so that today he is recognized as the most melodic and inventive of drummers, as well as one of the great swinging drummers of jazz history. For the past three years he has won first place in all three major jazz popularity polls — Playboy, Down Beat and Metronome. 

When Shelly and Mancini discussed the recording of this album, Mancini urged him to feel free to use the compositions as points of departure for creating personal jazz performances.

The album was done at one all night session which began at 6 Monday evening, January 19th, with Peter Gunn, and finished at 7:30 the next morning with Fallout. Improvisation with six men is not easy. It takes musicians who are experienced and skilled, as well as great jazz blowers. (...)

For jazz musicians to be free to express themselves, and to make personal statements, they need the kind of relaxed atmosphere not commonly found in recording studios. The average record date takes but three hours. But, like a barbecue fire which always seems to be glowing at its best after you've removed the steaks, jazz record dates usually begin to develop a "feeling" just as the three-hour time limit is up. At Contemporary we've tried to break this time barrier by scheduling sessions of at least six or nine hours. In the case of Peter Gunn we took four three-hour sessions and as a result an exceptionally close rapport was achieved; each musician felt free to contribute his ideas and suggestions came so thick and fast Shelly was often in the position of a moderator at a heated Town Hall session. That The Men were able to approach each of Mancini’s pieces with a fresh, spontaneous and valid conception is a tribute to their outstanding talents, as well as to the vitality of Mancini's provocative new jazz themes. *Lester Koenig (from the liner notes)*

It looks like The Drummer has done it again. From a sales standpoint this modern jazz treatment of Hank Mancini’s music from Peter Gunn television crime series is sure to equal, even possibly surpass, the great success of the Manne-Previn My Fair Lady enterprise of 1956.

Viewed as a jazz set, moreover, this tentet of tunes and variations is notable for two main reasons: the inspired drive and purposefulness of the group (with guest Feldman added to capture some of the identifying sound of the TV underscore); and the superlative solo work, principally by Geller and Candoli.

Alto and open trumpet achieve a most attractive blend on Floater, but it is not until Geller gets moving in his powerful solo that the real excitement begins. The altoist is consistently stimulating throughout the album, reaching an apex of musical achievement with his long, emotional solo on Dreamville toward the record's close.

Candoli, also, whether muted (as on Sorta Blue) or open (on Slow And Easy and others) plays with an authority and sureness of conception rarely heard before in his playing.

Feldman is always effective on either vibes or marimba. The latter instrument is used primarily for effect, which brings one to an essential characteristic of much of the album. There is more than a hint of the exotic to some of the tunes, due to Manne's feeling that Mancini's music demanded special treatment. Fallout for example, is more of a mood piece than a vehicle for blowing. But in the particular instance the idea proves a good one, providing breathing space (via piano and bass dominance) in between the more extroverted tracks.

The title tune is aptly almost rock and roll in basic conception, just as the television theme opens on a heavily accented guitar figure. (Gunn, backed with the slow and funky blues, Slow And Easy, has been released by the company in a bid for the single market. For single play, however, the blues was abbreviated).

Of Manne, Freeman, and Budwig there is little that can be said beyond their ideal function as a rhythm team and their individuality as solo contributors. Manne impressed with especial brilliance in his playing on Breezy, a smeary, dirty line with a rippling, yet somehow angular, solo by Freeman. Budwig has developed into one of the more distinctive bassists in jazz from the standpoint of fundamental tonal quality, which conveys the essence of real jazz sound.

This album could well become one of the top jazz LPs of 1959.

*John A. Tynan (Down Beat, March 5, 1959 [5 stars])*

1 - Peter Gunn

2 - The Floater

3 - Sorta Blue

4 - The Brothers

5 - Soft Sounds

6 - Fallout

7 - Slow And Easy

8 - Brief And Breezy

9 - Dreamsville

10 - A Profound Gass

(All compositions by Henry Mancini)

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax), Victor Feldman (vibes, marimba),

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

Recorded at Contemporary Records Studio, Los Angeles, California, January 19 and 20, 1959