Lighthouse All-Stars Collection XXIX ★ Jazz On Television (II)

The relationship between jazz and television enjoyed its golden age in the mid-fifties in Los Angeles. Far from the rushed pace of conventional variety shows, network KABC-TV launched Stars of Jazz in 1956, a pioneering program hosted by pianist and composer Bobby Troup. The show not only offered live performances with sound quality and lighting unprecedented for the time, but it also treated jazz with an almost pedagogical respect—explaining arrangements, introducing the musicians, and documenting the effervescence of the West Coast scene in real time.

However, those broadcasts ran the risk of being forgotten in the television network archives. It was in the mid-seventies when the label Calliope Records took on a fundamental task of sound archaeology: rescuing the audio tapes and transcriptions from the Stars of Jazz broadcasts to release them on vinyl for the first time under the Sessions, Live series.

Through Calliope's catalog, the sessions recorded between 1956 and 1958 on the Hollywood soundstages came to light officially, allowing fans to hear unique takes, exclusive arrangements for television, and reunions of musicians that were never captured on traditional studio albums.

In this second post dedicated to jazz on the small screen, the label's two albums featuring Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars—the central leitmotif of this series—will be presented.

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Sessions, Live

Lighthouse All-Stars

Julie London

Bud Shank

and

Chris Connor

(Calliope CAL-3030)

THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL STARS were led by Howard Rumsey, a former member of the Stan Kenton organization.

In 1949, Howard walked into a nightclub in Hermosa Beach, Calif. and sold the management on booking his group for a trial basis.

The result was a fifty two week gig for the next nine years.

Former members of the Lighthouse All Stars have included Shelly Manne, Jimmy Giuffre, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers and Bud Shank.

Featured guest soloists on these sessions were Bob Cooper, oboe; and Bud Shank, flute on The Nearness of You.

Viva Zapata features the trumpet and pen of Shorty Rogers.

Here's the All Stars, a group that epitomized the sound of West Coast jazz during the fifties.

MISS JULIE LONDON is also featured on side one.

Julie made her first singing debut on local radio in California at the age of three. She impersonated Marlene Dietrich singing Falling In Love Again.

In 1947, Life magazine named Julie the most promising young acting find of that year. On February 18, 1957 she made the cover of Life, only this time she was Julie London, singing star.

Julie's biggest hit was Cry Me A River in 1955.

THE BUD SHANK QUARTET kick off side two.

Bud plays alto and baritone sax plus the flute. He was born in Dayton, Ohio on May 27, 1926, and was regarded as the most important West Coast flutist during the late fifties and sixties.

CHRIS CONNOR hails from Kansas City, Missouri and was a former vocalist with Stan Kenton during the fifties. *(original liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - All The Things You Are

(Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II)

2 - The Nearness Of You

(Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington)

3 - Free And Easy

(Henry Mancini, Bobby Troup)

4 - Midnight Sun

(Lionel Hampton, Sonny Burke, Johnny Mercer)

5 - Viva Zapata!

(Shorty Rogers)

#1, #2, #4, #5:

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars:

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), 

Bob Cooper (tenor sax, oboe [#2]), Bud Shank (alto sax, flute [#2])

Vince DeRosa (french horn), Victor Feldman (piano, vibes),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Stan Levey (drums), Jack Costanzo (bongós, percusión [#5])

#3, #4:

Julie London (vocals) with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars

Jimmy Rowles replaces Victor Feldman on piano.

Recorded live on "Stars of Jazz", KABC-TV (Channel 7),

Los Angeles, California, May 19, 1958

Side 2

6 - Crazy Rhythm

(Irving Caesar, Joseph Meyer, Roger Wolfe Kahn)

7 - Lover Man

(Jimmy Davis, Ram Ramirez, James Sherman)

8 - 'S Wonderful

(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)

9 - Love Walked In

(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)

10 - The Lamp Is Low

(Peter DeRose, Bert Shefter, Maurice Ravel)

#6, #7, #10

Bud Shank Quartet:

Bud Shank (alto sax, flute), Claude Williamson (piano),

Don Prell (bass), Chuck Flores (drums).

#8, #9

Chris Connor (vocals) with The Bud Shank Quartet

Recorded live on "Stars of Jazz", KABC-TV (Channel 7),

Los Angeles, California, November 26, 1956 (#6, #7, #10) and May 27, 1957 (#8, #9)

Off Note:

The dates printed on the original LP liner notes are incorrect. This type of chronological mismatch was very common among independent catalog and reissue labels during the 1970s, such as Calliope Records.

Working with magnetic tapes from television broadcasts and kinescope transcriptions salvaged nearly two decades after their original air date, the label frequently relied on imprecise handwritten notes on the master tape boxes or misplaced production indices from KABC-TV. Lacking the cross-referenced data from the Stars of Jazz production logs known today, Calliope lumped under the wrong date of November 5, 1956, what were actually two completely separate broadcasts recorded months apart (the Bud Shank Quartet set on November 26, 1956, and Chris Connor's set on May 27, 1957). An archival oversight that takes nothing away from the extraordinary historical value of these salvaged sessions.

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Sessions, Live

Lighthouse All-Stars

June Christy

and

Jimmy Giuffre

(Calliope CAL-3035)

THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL STARS were led by Howard Rumsey, a former member of the Stan Kenton organization.

In 1949 Howard walked into a nightclub in Hermosa Beach, California and sold the management on booking his group for a trial basis.

The result was a fifty two week gig for the next nine years.

Former members of the Lighthouse All Stars have included Shelly Manne, Jimmy Giuffre, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers and Bud Shank.

JUNE CHRISTY was the voice of Stan Kenton's band. She replaced Anita O'Day and became one of the most popular female vocalists during the late forties and fifties.

JIMMY GIUFFRE hails from Dallas, Texas and plays clarinet, tenor sax and flute.

He played a major role as clarinetist, saxophonist and personality in the groups of both Shorty Rogers and Shelly Manne during the fifties.

NELLIE LUTCHER started playing the piano around the middle of World War I.

She performed mostly on the West Coast and became a favorite at the Interlude Club on Sunset Strip. *(original liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - Somebody Loves Me

(George Gershwin, Ballard MacDonald, B.G. DeSylva)

2 - Sunday Mood

(Bob Cooper)

3 - I Want To Be Happy

(Vincent Youmans, Irving Caesar)

4 - That's All

(Bob Haymes, Alan Brandt)

5 - Witch Doctor

(Bob Cooper, Bob Gioga)

#1, #2, #5

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars:

Frank Rosolino (trombone), Bob Cooper (tenor sax, oboe [#2]),

Victor Feldman (piano, vibes, conga [#5]),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

#3, #4

June Christy (vocals) with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars

Lou Levy replaces Victor Feldman on piano.

Recorded live on "Stars of Jazz", KABC-TV (Channel 7),

Los Angeles, California, March 3, 1958

Side 2

6 - Gotta Dance

(Jimmy Giuffre)

7 - Four Brothers

(Jimmy Giuffre)

8 - Blue Skies

(Irving Berlin)

9 - The Nearness Of You

(Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington)

10 - Two Kinds of Blues

(Jimmy Giuffre)

#6, #7, #10

The Jimmy Giuffre Three:

Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax, clarinet), Jim Hall (guitar), Ralph Peña (bass).

#8, #9

Nellie Lutcher (piano, vocals), Ray Brown (bass), Alvin Stoller (drums).

Recorded live on "Stars of Jazz", KABC-TV (Channel 7),

Los Angeles, California, January 7, 1957 (#6, #7, #10) and March 18, 1957 (#8, #9)

Off Note:

Once again, the documentation printed on the original Calliope Records cover presents notable discrepancies with the actual content on the tapes. For labels dedicated to rescuing radio and television material during the 1970s, it was common practice to work with broadcast tape duplicates that lacked accurate technical logs or carried confusing handwritten notes on the master boxes.

While Side 1 accurately places the Lighthouse All-Stars and June Christy performance on the March 3, 1958 broadcast, Side 2 suffers from an obvious cataloging oversight. The printed date of February 18, 1957 actually corresponds to an episode of Stars of Jazz featuring James Clay, Toni Harper, and Lorraine Geller—none of whom appear on this LP. Calliope mistakenly lumped under that single date two shows recorded more than two months apart: The Jimmy Giuffre Three session from January 7, 1957, and Nellie Lutcher’s vocal set from March 18, 1957 (backed by the station’s rhythm section rather than Giuffre's trio). An editorial slip that, while requiring historical clarification, does not lessen the magnificent audio testimony of these broadcasts.

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