Five-Star Collection... Teddy Charles

Teddy Charles Quartet

New Directions

Volume 3

New Directions Volume 3 comes as a direct outgrowth of considerable playing along the new lines indicated in Volumes 1 and 2. On the West Coast during the summer of 1953, Teddy Charles had the opportunity to work with a group of serious and sympathetic musicians, putting into practice the theoretical material and its consequent discoveries initiated in the earlier works by Hall Overton and himself. The fortunate combination of this experience with the talents of "Jolly Roger", Shelly Manne, and Curtis Counce has produced very effective, swinging jazz within a strikingly different medium. It is not a radical departure from what has become conventional jazz playing but is rather an evolution to a jazz style more controlled with regard to form, unity of materials and development while generating through this medium a greater freedom for solo and group improvisation. The restricting of materials to circumscribed limits permits a freedom impossible where all players pull in completely independent directions. Teddy believes by using materials unfamiliar to conventional jazz playing, using conventional materials in unfamiliar ways and using compositional techniques in treating these materials, a cohesive jazz environment is produced which at once liberates the soloist.(...)

Hall Overton's statement, "The challenge of the new materials serves as a spur to greater excitement", has been borne out by the vibrant, electric quality of the music and Teddy Charles through his playing and writing has clearly established himself as one of the important figures of the post bop transition period. *Ira Gitler (from the liner notes)*

This deserves background notes by the musician chiefly responsible for the west coast addition to the Teddy Charles writes: "...In Variations I took the characteristic left hand figure that Bud plays in fast tempos for freeing his right hand for melodic exploration. We used this to negate the usual chord progression, to give instead superimposed tonalities. I used the usual bridge for relief on this familiar pattern... Note bass behind second trumpet chorus — note melodic freedom generated by shifting tonal centers thus allowing the line to go all over...

"Wailing Dervish is by Jolly Roger, also using the tonal center idea with progression on the bridge for contrast and free rhythmic patterns in the interludes. The intro and ending are entirely improvised by the ensemble, and the contrapuntal idea persists throughout.

"Further Out is a composition making use of polytonal lines and chords moving contrapuntally and utilizing the trumpet sound. The elements of the piece are combined to form an harmonic background, suggested linear-wise for the blowing, with a polyphonic bridge. The first short trumpet solo and the two short vibes sections have polytonal environs (note results) and a brief coda resolves the piece.

"Etudiez le Cahier... is linear white-note music (fixed scale idea) with a strong chromatic middle section... In all these the written parts serve only to create the musical environment and as a point of departure for the blowing... The blowing's the thing... There also emerge here individual textures — not a 'blend' which I'm against. Note presence of drums, more lifelike instead of the usual drums-in-the-barrell and bass-overload sound..."

Teddy wrote all but Dervish. Other musicians on the date were Shelly Manne, bassist Curtis Counce and Jolly Roger on trumpet. The rating is for the careful daring of the approach and the excellence of the musicianship. It's another important step. There's still stiffness in the written sections but that's to be expected. Most important, it's valuably challenging to both musicians and lay listeners. And the extraordinary trumpet by Jolly Roger all the way alone merits the stars.

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

Side 1

1 - Variations On A Motive By Bud

(Teddy Charles)

2 - Wailing Dervish

(Shorty Rogers)

Side 2

3 - Further Out

(Teddy Charles)

4 - Etudiez Le Cahier

(Teddy Charles)

Teddy Charles (vibes), Shorty Rogers [as Jolly Roger] (trumpet),

Curtis Counce (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, August 21, 1953

✳✳✳

For those who prefer the digital version, there are several CD editions containing this music. One of them is the 2006 release by the Barcelona-based label Fresh Sound, titled Adventures in California, with some of the best early 1950s modern jazz — recordings that really shook things up on the coast. The bulk of the CD is from Collaboration West, formed from two 10" LP sessions by Charles, both in small-group formations with Shorty Rogers on trumpet, Curtis Counce on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums, plus Jimmy Giuffre on tenor sax on a few bonus tracks. The tunes have more of a West Coast groove than some of Charles's later 1950s work, but their tone and approach still keep things enjoyable and cutting-edge, and honestly, this might well be one of the most impactful pieces of work from 1953 that any of the other musicians were involved in! Titles include "Variations On A Motive By Bud", "Etudiez Le Cahier", "Free", "Evolution", "Wailing Dervish", "Further Out", "Boabalob 1 & 2", and "Margo". Added to those 8 tracks are 4 more that are even more interesting — a bit more hardbop in orientation, and featuring Charles' vibes in a group with Frank Morgan on alto sax, Wardell Gray on tenor, Sonny Clark on piano, and Lawrence Marable on vibes — a real meeting of modernists on tracks that include "So Long Broadway", "Paul's Cause", "The Man I Love", and "Lavonne".

Teddy Charles And The Westcoasters

Adventures in California

In 1952, Teddy Charles, one of the foremost vibists in the jazz scene at the time, became one of the leaders in a new movement away from the cluttered closets of bop to a new and more serious development — a synthesis of jazz and "serious" music. Early in 1953 he moved to the West Coast where he soon had ample opportunity to watch musical developments in the Coast and discover younger players like Frank Morgan, Sonny Clark and Lawrence Marable, who worked together for the first time on these recordings.

Later, the fortunate combination of Charles' experience with the talents of Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, and Curtis Counce produced very effective, swinging jazz within a strikingly different medium. Hall Overton said: "The challenge of the new materials serves as a spur to greater excitement". Charles reached a major achievement with these performances, that clearly established him as one of the important figures of the post bop transition period. *freshsoundrecords.com*

1 - So Long Broadway

(Teddy Charles)

2 - Pauls Cause

(Teddy Charles)

3 - The Man I Love

(Davis, Sherman, Ramirez)

4 - Lavonne

(Sonny Clark)

5 - Variations On A Motive By Bud

(Teddy Charles)

6 - Wailing Dervish

(Shorty Rogers)

7 - Further Out

(Teddy Charles)

8 - Etudiez Le Cahier

(Teddy Charles)

9 - Free

(Teddy Charles)

10 - Evolution

(Teddy Charles)

11 - Margo

(Teddy Charles)

12 - Bobalob

(Teddy Charles)

#1 to #4: Teddy Charles Sextet

from the Prestige 7-inch EP "Teddy Charles' West Coasters" (PR EP 1307)

Teddy Charles (vibes), Frank Morgan (alto sax), Wardell Gray (tenor sax),

Sonny Clark (piano), Dick Nivison (bassa), Lawrence Marable (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, February 20, 1953

#5 to #8: Teddy Charles Quartet

from the Prestige EP "New Directions 3" (PR LP 164)

Teddy Charles (vibes), Shorty Rogers (trumpet), Curtis Counce (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, August 21, 1953

#9 to #12: Teddy Charles Quintet

from the Prestige EP "New Directions 4" (PR LP 169)

Teddy Charles (vibes, piano[#11]), Shorty Rogers (trumpet),

Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax, baritone sax), Curtis Counce (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, August 31, 1953