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... Michel Legrand

Michel Legrand

With Thirty-One American's Greatest Jazzmen

Featuring Miles Davis

Legrand Jazz

Among the many members of a diverse (it is international) and loyal (they have bought more than one million of his LP's) I Like Legrand Society, are those jazz musicians and arrangers who have, by chance mostly, come within earshot of Legrand recordings.

This brilliant young Frenchman has, with remarkable skill, charm, invention and wit, refreshingly introduced a new kind of musicianship into that too often banal and staggeringly prolific area of popular art that we categorically label "mood music", and the French, closer to the mark, call musique légère.

In many of his previous collections, Legrand has not only made frequent and startlingly¹ original use of the jazz musician as a soloist, but, by virtue of his dynamic ensemble scoring and happy understanding of what a rhythm section is supposed to do, has often managed to make his large orchestra swing in the best tradition of Basie, Lunceford, Ellington and (big band) Gillespie.

Michel Legrand (a multi-prize-winning graduate of the Paris Conservatoire) loves jazz with none of the tame enthusiasm, tinged with condescension of the academically oriented "serious" composer. His arrangements pointedly avoid the meaningless trickery of those highly skilled (and successful) popular arrangers who, from time to time, invest their work with "jazz feeling". Michel, still in his twenties, loves jazz with an almost boyish enthusiasm, with, if not a firsthand knowledge of its growth and environment, the kind of passionate devotion and astonishing erudition that European fans are wont to have. His feelings for several important jazz figures border on idolatry.

In the past, however, Legrand's jazz activities have been limited by both the nature of the recording assignments he has been given and the fact that in Paris, despite the liveliness of that city's jazz scene, the optimum conditions for producing a large-scale jazz figures border on idolatry.

And so, while on a visit to the United States in May and June of 1958, Michel Legrand recorded his first jazz LP. The writing was done during the first three weeks of June. The repertoire was chosen from the works of eleven important jazz composers, and the musicians, many of them familiar to Legrand only through their recordings, were selected from among the best then in New York.

Each arrangement was created with two major factors taken into consideration: 1) the styles and techniques of the participating instrumentalists and 2) the structure and mood of the original compositions.  

(...)

In almost every sense, Legrand Jazz must be considered "experimental". Yet, with all of its daring, with all of its surprises and moments of flashing virtuosity, it stays within the bounds of jazz. The beat, the spontaneity, the indefinable spirit of jazz is there. This album is the first work of a truly important new voice in a wilderness where new voices are all too often disembodied. We're looking forward to much more from this powerful, sincere and stimulating prodigy.

*Nat Shapiro (liner notes)*

Note ¹ : In the original 1958 liner notes, the word "startingly" appears. This seems to be a typographical error for "startlingly", which has been corrected in later reissues of the album.

The Michel Legrand we knew as the leader of a huge recording band for Columbia Records' mood music series here turns his hand to jazz with excellent, often startling results. The strength is in the soloists, for whom he wrote mostly ensemble heads and tails, and some interesting inside figures. The rest, they blew.

The roster is impressive, covering most of the modern greats and near-greats.

The Miles sides are superb. The writing is imaginative, tinged with the languid air of Gil Evans at his most soulful, and yet with something more. Django is a moving piece, brilliantly scored, and played by Davis with a cry of anguish. Midnight is short and fragile. Wild Man is a truly contemporary treatment of the Jelly Roll tune, rich with modern writing and blowing.

The trombone sides, solo-wise least effective of the lot, are brightened by the prodding masculinity of Webster's horn. He saves Rosetta and is tremendous on Blue And Sentimental. The trombones have Don't Get Around Much to themselves as a choir, with strong overtones of Kenton in the voicing.

The trumpet sides have highs and lows, but in the soloing more than the writing. In A Mist is an extremely curious treatment of the wispy Beiderbecke song, but it has Rehak's best solo on it. The ending is like running into Jack The Ripper in the mist. The trumpet chases in Tunisia almost, but not quite, crackle into open fire.

While hardly experimental writing, Legrand's scoring is more than a wrap-up of the tunes in an acceptable order for X number of horns. Instead, it is extremely skillful probing (with the exception —Mist — noted) of the vitals of a song, and the careful polishing of a setting for the solo horns. There are many, many rewarding moments on the set, and it’s to be hoped that this doesn't comprise all of Legrand jazz. The scene, it appears, can use a dash of continental spice about now.

*Dom Cerulli, (Down Beat, March 19, 1959 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - The Jitterbug Waltz

(Thomas Waller)

2 - Nuages

(Django Reinhardt)

3 - Night In Tunisia

(John Gillespie, Frank Paparelli)

4 - Blue And Sentimental

(Mack David, Jerry Livingston, William Count Basie)

5 - Stompin' At The Savoy

(Andy Razaf, Benny Geodman, Chick Webb, Edgar M. Sampson)

6 - Django

(John Lewis)

Side 2

7 - Wild Man Blues

(Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton)

8 - Rosetta

(William Henri Woode, Earl Hines)

9 - 'Round Midnight

(Thelonius Monk)

10 - Don't Get Around Much Anymore

(Sidney Keith Russell, Duke Ellington)

11 - In A Mist

(Bix Beiderbecke)

#1, #6, #7, #9:

Michel Legrand (conductor, arranger),

Miles Davis (trumpet), Herbie Mann (flute), Betty Glamann (harp),

Barry Galbraith (guitar), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Phil Wood (alto sax),

Jerome Richarson (baritone sax, bass clarinet), Eddie Costa (vibes),

Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Kenny Dennis (drums). 

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studios, New York City, June 25, 1958

#2, #4, #8, #10:

Michel Legrand (conductor, arranger);

Herbie Mann (flute); Ben Webster (tenor sax);

Frank Rehak , Billy Byers, Jimmy Cleveland, Eddie Bert (trombones);

Mayor Holley (bass, tuba); Hank Jones (piano);

George Duvivier (bass); Don Lamond (drums).  

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studios, New York City, June 27, 1958

 

#3, #5, #11:

Michel Legrand (conductor, arranger);

Ernie Royal, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Joe Wilder (trumpets);

Frank Rehak,y Jimmy Cleveland (trombones); Gene Quill, Phil Woods (alto saxes);

Seldon Powell (tenor sax); Teo Macero (baritone sax); James Buffington (french horn);

Don Elliot (vibes); Nat Pierce (piano); Milt Hinton (bass); Osie Johnson (drums).

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studios, New York City, June 30, 1958 

Leonard Feather Presents… ★1959★

Leonard Feather Presents

One World Jazz

Through the miracles of modern recording science, fifteen of the world's leading jazzmen meet for the first time in this unique and exciting intercontinental jam session. Seven musicians in New York, four in Paris, three in London and one in Stockholm play together to make not only a scientific, but a musical point: Jazz Is An International Language.

⁂

Although there has never before been an album of this kind, its motivation and objective were logical and desirabie. For the first time in recording history, a group of leading American musicians has joined forces with some of the top artists in other countries for an international jam session, for release in monophonic and stereophonic sound.

The idea sprang from a conversation in the spring of 1959 with Irving Townsend. When I mentioned a projected business trip to Europe and suggested that there were several fine musicians in England and France who had been heard too rarely on records in the United States, we first discussed a plan to record a separate session in each country. Suddenly a more provocative concept emerged: why not, said Irving, record them together? 

Though obviously feasible, the suggestion ealled tor long-range planning. Nat Shapiro of Columbia’s international division started setting up contacts in London and Paris. Then the plan was extended when I suggested that the musicians would be offered a stimulating challenge if they could work in the company of Americans. For geographical or technical reasons, this had never before been possible. 

The device employed was simple. A seven-piece group was assembled in New York, and on the evening of May 19, 1959, we recorded the six tracks you hear in this album. But on that evening they sounded curiously different. There were long passages left open in which only the rhythm section played. Thus there would be no need for any awkward attempts to splice conflicting ideas, match tempos, coordinate rhythm sections at home and abroad; on the contrary, the foreign musicians would have the unprecedented opportunity to be supported by the kind of American rhythmic background with which they had often expressed a desire to work.

The musicians chosen for the New York session are all well known to the Europeans who were later to enjoy their company.

⁂

It may be apt to conclude with a remark made by Jo Jones when, after I had returned from Europe with the results of this undertaking safely boxed in, he listened to the tapes and heard the startling additions that had so radically aitered the original session.

"You know what you should do?" he said. "You should send a copy of this record to the United Nations. Why, this says more about people getting together, listening to each other and understanding one another, than all of eg over at the U.N. building could ever say!"

I hope Jo was right. *Leonard Feather (from liner notes)*

Years before Frank Sinatra sang his "over the phone" set of Duets in the mid 90s, Columbia tried a similar "not all there in the studio" approach with this album of jazz played by American and international artists selected for the project. Tapes were made in New York with a lot of space in between the main soloists. These tapes were then flown overseas, where players in three cities played on top of the tapes, dubbing in solos that sound like they were part of the group. A decent enough idea technologically, we guess — but why would anyone want to subject jazz to such conditions? European players include Ronnie Ross, Roger Guerin, Stephane Grappelly, Åke Persson and Roy East — and the tunes include "Big Ben's Blues", "International Blues", "Nuages", and "Cotton Tail". *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

Side 1

1 - Cotton Tail

(Duke Ellington)

2 - Misty

(Burke, Garner)

3 - Big Ben's Blues

(Model)

Side 2

4 - International Blues

(Leonard Feather)

5 - Nuages

(Django Reinhardt)

6 - In A Mellow Tone

(Duke Ellington)

First session, (basic tape with spaces for additional sessions):

Clark Terry (trumpet), J.J. Johnson (trombone), Ben Webster (tenor sax),

Hank Jones (piano), Kenny Burrell (guitar), George Duvivier (bass), Jo Jones (drums).

Recorded in New York City, May 19, 1959

Second session, (additions to first session):

Roy East [#1, #3, #4, #6] (alto sax), George Chisholm (trombone),

Ronnie Ross [#3, #4, #6] (baritone sax).

Recorded in London, England, June 22, 1959

Third session, added:

Åke Persson [#4](trombone).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, June 30, 1959

Final session, (additions to the tape):

Roger Guerin (trumpet), Bob Garcia [#1] (tenor sax),

Martial Solal [#3, #4] (piano), / Stéphane Grappelli [#2, #4, #5] (violin).

Recorded in Paris, France, July 3, 1959

Buddy Bregman - Swinging Kicks

Buddy Bregman is one of the most ubiquitously industrious arrangers in the music industry. He has scored several major TV series and spectaculars, and is in musical charge of the new Eddie Fisher program on NBC-TV. He has written film scores, including Jerry Lewis’ Delicate Delinquent, and he also has charted the music for Jerry Lewis’ stands at the Palace and in Las Vegas. For Verve, he has written for Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby and a sizable number of other artists of demandingly varying styles and idioms. 

This set is a special project for Buddy, because "it’s the first album I’ve had under my own name that I think is good jazz. It’s as good jazz as I can write".

Buddy conducted the date in addition to doing the writing. Some of the tracks are short and episodic because this is, after all, a score for a quickly moving film, but connecting all the episodes emotionally is a guttiness and an almost graphic skein of the neon-shapes and fears and hard hopes that begin to circulate in any big city after about nine o’clock at night. *Nat Hentoff (Liner notes)*

Best known as an arranger for singers and for commercial sessions, Buddy Bregman led one full-fledged jazz instrumental date, Swinging Kicks. Because many of the selections are brief (seven are under two minutes) and due to the intriguing titles, this seems a bit like a soundtrack to a film that was never made. However, few of the tracks seem truncated and there are some excellent solos along the way, particularly from Ben Webster, Conte Candoli, Herb Geller, Bud Shank, and Paul Smith. The personnel changes from cut to cut, ranging from a 19-piece big band with screaming trumpet playing from Maynard Ferguson and Conrad Gozzo to various combos, a Ben Webster/André Previn duet on "Kicks Is in Love", and a rapid workout for Paul Smith on "Go Kicks". Bregman uses some of the top West Coast jazz players and various musicians who were on Verve at the time, with Stan Getz making a guest appearance on "Honey Chile". Recommended. *Scott Yanow*

Side 1

1 - Wild Party

2 - Melody Room

3 - Bada Blues

4 - Kicks Swings

5 - Melody Lane

6 - Lost Keys

7 - Go Kicks

8 - Gage Flips

Side 2

9 - Derek's Blues

10 - Mulliganville

11 - Terror Ride

12 - The Flight

13 - Tom's Idea

14 - Melodyville

15 - Honey Chile

16 - End Of Party

17 - Kicks Is In Love

(All compositions by Buddy Bregman)

Buddy Bregman (arrangements and conductor).

#1, #3, #6, #8, #9, #11, #12, #13, #16:

Maynard Ferguson, Conrad Gozzo, Ray Linn, Pete Candoli (trumpets); Lloyd Ulyate, Frank Rosolino, Milt Bernhart, George Roberts (trombones); Ben Webster, Bob Cooper, Georgie Auld (tenor saxes); Bud Shank, Herb Geller (alto saxes); Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax); Al Hendrickson (guitar); Joe Mondragon (bass); Paul Smith (piano); Alvin Stoller (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, December 20, 1956

#2, #4, #5, #7, #10, #14, #15:

Conte Candoli (trumpet); Frank Rosolino (trombone), Bud Shank (alto sax), Stan Getz [#15] (tenor sax), Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax), Al Hendrickson (guitar), Joe Mondragon (bass), Paul Smith (piano); Stan Levey (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, December 18, 1956.

#17:

André Previn (piano), Ben Webster (tenor sax).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, December 20, 1956.