Trumpet Conclave (I)

Conte Candoli • Nick Travis • Dick Sherman

Bernie Glow • Phil Sunkel • Don Stratton • Al De Risi

Cool Gabriels 

One of the rather surprising developments in the jazz field over the past few years has been the comparative neglect of that most venerated of jazz instruments, the trumpet. Since about 1950, when jazz started its upward climb toward its present pinnacle of popularity and prosperity, there have been scores of jazz albums issued featuring saxes, pianos, guitars and trombones, but comparatively few featuring cool horns. In order to somewhat rectify what appears to be an unfair situation for 

modern trumpet players, and to show how enjoyable cool trumpets can sound, this album was conceived. Since it was to be a showcase for cool horn men, it had to show off many different styles of trumpet, and it had to feature both wellknown modern trumpeters as well as rising young horn men who were just beginning to obtain recognition for their work. In addition, it had to display these "Cool Gabriels" both as soloists and in ensemble, to prove the versatility of the men and their instrument. In all these respects, this album of cool horns has succeeded admirably.

*Radio Corporation of America, 1956 (liner notes)*

This rare and longtime hard-to-find album was conceived to show how enjoyable cool trumpets can sound. Featured "Cool Gabriels" are Conte Candoli, Nick Travis, Don Stratton, Bernie Glow, Phil Sunkel, Al de Risi and Dick Sherman. The tune contained in this album were selected specifically to give each "Gabriel" a chance to show his stuff and also to demonstrate the various moods that could be brilliantly exemplified wit a trumpet ensemble. The fun that the musicians had making these recordings is apparent on every selection, including the Gerry Mulligan tunes, the clever Al Cohn items 'Cupcake' and 'Spooky', John Benson Brooks' devilish 'Nick', Paul Selden's somber 'Something Blue', and Elliot Lawrence's ligh compositions. *Jordi Pujol*

Cool Gabriels is a trumpet conclave with Conte Candoli, Nick Travis, Dick Sherman, Don Stratton, and Phil Sunkel soloing over a background of alternating lead trumpets Bernie Glow and Al De Risi, Elliot Lawrence, Burgher (Buddy) Jones, Sol Gubin, and themselves. Glow solos on "Arms". The writing is by Lawrence, Al Cohn, Paul Selden, Gerry Mulligan (arranged by Lawrence), and John Benson Brooks. The scoring is clean, always flowing, and sometimes quite ingratiating.

The solos are also of a consistently controlled and assured level while the ensemble playing is sharp and alive. Yet there is little here that really clutches the emotions, little that is nakedly beneath the surface. It's like a good issue of a well-produced slick magazine — Time, let's say. For a more earthy, more deeply wailing trumpet meeting, try Savoy's Top Brass under Ernie Wilkins' direction. But this isn't a dull set by any means. It just doesn't let go enough. There are two takes of "The Swingin' Scot". A complete solo chart is helpfully provided.

*Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, November 28, 1956)*

Side 1

1 - Five O'Clock Shadow

(Lawrence, Reichner)

2 - Cupcake

(Al Cohn)

3 - Mostly Latin

(Elliot Lawrence)

4 - Something Blue

(Paul Selden)

5 - The Swingin' Scot (part 1 and part 2)

(Elliot Lawrence)

6 - Love Is Just Around The Corner

(Leo Robin, Lewis Gensler)

Side 2

7 - Elevation

(Elliot Lawrence, Gerry Mulligan)

8 - Spooky

(Al Cohn)

9 - Happy Hooligan

(Gerry Mulligan)

10 - Each Other's Arms

(Lawrence, Glenn, Reichner)

11 - Nick

(John Benson Brooks)

#1, #7, #8, #9:

Nick Travis, Bernie Glow, Conte Candoli, Don Stratton (trumpets);

Elliott Lawrence (piano); Burgher "Buddy" Jones (bass); Sol Gubin (drums).

#2, #3, #4, #6:

Nick Travis, Al De Risi, Conte Candoli, Don Stratton, Dick Sherman (trumpets);

Elliot Lawrence (piano); Burgher "Buddy" Jones (bass); Sol Gubin (drums).

#5, #10, #11:

Nick Travis, Bernie Glow, Conte Candoli, Don Stratton, Phil Sunkel (trumpets);

Elliott Lawrence (piano); Burgher "Buddy" Jones (bass); Sol Gubin (drums).

Recorded in New York City, June 1 (#1, #7, #8, #9),

June 12 (#2, #3, #4, #6) and June 14 (#5, #10, #11), 1956

Sam Most... ★1955★

Sam Most

I'm Nuts About The Most.... Sam That Is!

East Coast Jazz N°9

Here is a modern group with its own sound playing familiar standards. Sam Most had a definitive purpose in mind when he decided upon the clarinet or flute, guitar, baritone sax, and rhythm combination. The result of this wedding is a fresh, sometimes fragile, yet cohesive sound that is modern without being, in the contemporary sense, "far out". It's an easy-to-listen-to sound that could not be offensive even if it were the neophyte's first contact with modern jazz.

*Creed Taylor (liner notes)*

⁂

Just sit back, relax and listen to the inventiveness of each soloist, whose appearance on each piece is varied. We think you will hear jazz improvisation at it best! I would like to express my gratitude to all the musicians who helped make this album for their exellent cooperation and sensitive work. Each one, I'm sure, is well know to every ardent modern jazz admirer. *Sam Most (liner notes)*

Sweet flute work from the great Sam Most — a player who really shone brightly during his 50s recordings for Bethlehem Records — of which this is one of the best! Sam's got a mean, lean quality to his solos — a mode that rivals that of Frank Wess on the instrument at the time, and may well beat Herbie Mann — able to step lively on more boppish numbers, but step back into these soulful lines at just the right moments. The rest of the group has a tight feel too — modern, but a bit playful too — with Marty Flax on baritone, Barry Galbraith on guitar, Billy Triglia on piano, and Oscar Pettiford on bass. Titles include "Deed I Do", "Broadway", "Smiles", "Don't Worry Bout Me", "How Deep Is The Ocean", and "Tea For Two".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

1 - Cherokee

(Noble)

2 - Don't Worry 'Bout Me

(Koehler, Bloom)

3 - What A Difference A Day Made

(Grever, Adams)

4 - How Deep Is The Ocean

(Berlin)

5 - Falling In Love With Love

(Rodgers, Hart)

6 - Rose Room

(Williams, Hickman)

7 - Smiles

(Chaplin, Turner, Parsons)

8 - Broadway

(Woode, McRae, Bird)

9 - Tea For Two

(Caesar, Youmans)

10 - 'Deed I Do

(Hirsch, Rose)

Sam Most (flute, clarinet); Marty Flax (baritone sax); 

Barry Galbraith (guitar); Billy Triglia (piano);

Burgher Jones [#1 to #4,  #8], Oscar Pettiford [#5 to #7, #9, #10] (basses);

Bobby Donaldson [#1 to #4,  #8], Osie Johnson [#5 to #7, #9, #10] (drums).

Recorded in New York City, March 29 (#1 to #4,  #8),

and between March/April (#5 to #7, #9, #10), 1955

The Four Brothers - Together Again!

What does the term "Four Brothers"? mean to you? If you are under twenty-one, its significance may be a little vague, though you must be aware that the phrase has some magic connotation as a part of jazz history. If you are in your late twenties or over, you can hardly be unaware of the particular style of saxophone voicing that earned this nickname in the Woody Herman band of the late 1940s. 

In either event, there are some facts about the "Four Brothers" style that have been buried with the rapid evolution of jazz — facts that nobody bothered to point out at the time because the value of this style to jazz could not then be clearly projected. 

In their first incarnation, the brothers were Herbie Steward, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Giuffre and Stan Getz, all playing tenor saxophones.

The idea of reuniting the four original Brothers, of recreating the much imitated sound in its original form, arose in a conversation between Elliot Lawrence and Vik’s Bob Rolontz. Zoot and Al were in town; Herbie was flown in from the West Coast to make the session and Serge, still in a wheel chair after a serious operation, took a plane from Boston. For the rhythm section, Elliot’s piano was flanked by the Brothers’ original Herman Herd colleague, Don Lamond, and by the fine bass of Burgher (Buddy) Jones from Hope, Arkansas, an associate of Elliot’s for several years.

The date began at three in the afternoon on February 11, and except for a two-hour dinner break, continued until one A. M. the same night. 

The Four Brothers - Together Again! perhaps more than any of these remembrances of things past, offers swinging testimony that nostalgia, sometimes a merely narcissistic emotion, can indeed be a wonderfully vital factor in the creation and preservation of great music. *Leonard Feather (Liner notes)*

The original "Four Brothers" as heard in the 1947-48 Woody Herman Orchestra were tenors Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Herbie Steward and baritonist Serge Chaloff. In 1948 Al Cohn replaced Steward. In 1957 for this "reunion" session Getz was not available so instead Sims, Steward, Cohn and Chaloff were contacted. Accompanied by a rhythm section that includes pianist Elliott Lawrence, they naturally revived "Four Brothers" but otherwise mostly played newer songs by Gerry Mulligan, Manny Albam (who provided the date's arrangements), Lawrence, Cohn and Sims. Due to his bad health, Chaloff did not play many of the ensemble passages (Charlie O' Kane filled in) but he did take all of the solos; this would be his final recording. The music overall is quite enjoyable and Sims, Cohn and Steward show how much they had grown during the previous decade. *Scott Yanow*

Side 1

1 - Four And One Moore

(Gerry Mulligan)

2 - So Blue

(Al Cohn)

3 - The Swinging Door

(Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan)

4 - Four In Hand

(Manny Albam)

5 - A Quick One

(Al Cohn)

Side 2

6 - Four Brothers

(Jimmy Giuffre)

7 - Ten Years Later

(Al Cohn)

8 - The Pretty One

(Elliot Lawrence)

9 - Aged In Wood

(Al Cohn)

10 - Here We Go Again

(Manny Albam)

Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Herbie Steward (tenor saxes); Serge Chaloff, Charlie O' Kane (baritone saxes); Elliot Lawrence (piano); Burgher Jones (bass); Don Lamond (drums).

Recorded in New York City, February 11, 1957.