Five-Star Collection... The Concert Jazz Band (I)

In late 1960, Gerry Mulligan shaped one of the most ambitious projects of his career: the Concert Jazz Band, an orchestra that, in the midst of the economic decline of big bands, openly defied the market conditions of the jazz scene at the time. Far from any retrospective gesture, the ensemble proposed a reformulation of modern orchestral language, transferring to the expanded format the principles of textural clarity, counterpoint, and interaction that Mulligan had developed in his pianeless formations since the early 1950s.

The initial support of the project was made possible thanks to an agreement with Norman Granz, producer of Verve Records, who guaranteed the financial backing necessary to keep an orchestra of these characteristics active. Within this framework, and in a remarkably brief span of time —between May 1960 and December 1961—, the Concert Jazz Band established the complete core of its discographic production.

In chronological order, this corpus can be reconstructed from five titles that are considered the main body of work of the orchestra:

The Concert Jazz Band — sessions from May and July 1960 in New York, Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band on Tour — recordings from the October–November 1960 tour in the United States and Europe, Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band at the Village Vanguard — recorded on December 11, 1960 in New York, Gerry Mulligan Presents a Concert in Jazz — sessions from July 1961 at Webster Hall, and Gerry Mulligan '63 — recorded in December 1962.

Viewed in this way, the project appears as a complete arc that coordinates studio, tour, and live documentation, allowing one to follow the evolution of the ensemble from its initial formulation to its point of maximum elaboration.

This artistic development, however, was abruptly interrupted by non-musical factors. Granz's sale of Verve to MGM put an end to the financing scheme that made the orchestra viable, forcing its dissolution shortly after the 1961 sessions, at the very moment when the group had reached its highest degree of cohesion and aesthetic definition.

Contemporary critical reception not only accompanied this process, but also consecrated it. In the pages of DownBeat magazine, three of these recordings obtained the maximum rating of five stars: the debut album The Concert Jazz Band, reviewed by Don DeMicheal in the December 8, 1960 issue; the live recording at the Village Vanguard; and Gerry Mulligan '63, whose assessment underscores the level of integration achieved by the orchestra in its final stage. Read together, these reviews trace a sort of critical arc that accompanies the trajectory of the group: from the initial affirmation of its viability, through the confirmation of its effectiveness live, to its consecration as one of the most accomplished orchestral achievements of modern jazz.

In that sense, the Concert Jazz Band asserts itself as one of the most unique orchestral formulations of its time, and one of the last great reformulations of the big band language in 20th-century jazz; although its existence was brief, the recordings it left behind still allow us today to perceive, with remarkable clarity, the creative impulse that gave it birth.

Without prejudice to focusing later on the two remaining productions that complete this corpus, let us dedicate the next three entries to examining the albums from this pentalogy that were honored by DownBeat magazine with its highest rating...

Gerry Mulligan

The Concert Jazz Band

In deciding on the instrumentation for the new band that makes its album debut here, Gerry Mulligan says: "I wanted the same clarity of sound and interplay of lines that I had in the smaller groups. 

"We have a clarinet in the reed section, not primarily for a clarinet-lead effect but for a sound contributing to the ensemble in general. As for the soloists, I wanted to use just a few men for the bulk of the solo work, so that they would be heard enough for the audience to become familiar to their styles."

What he has built, says Gerry, is essentially a concert band —a jazz band for listening— and it was on this premise that the band's first tour was arranged by Norman Granz for the fall of 1960. 

Further words are unnecessary. The album delivers its own exciting message: that this is the best new jazz orchestra of the year. *Leonard Feather (from the liner notes)*

Big bands in jazz have generally been of two sorts. The first reflects the thinking of such men as Fletcher Henderson and Don Redman, that of three sections –brass, reeds, rhythm –working as individual units within the whole, sometimes together, other times in opposition or in response to each other. While this concept is definitely tied to early jazz, it has stronger affiliations with brass bands and European music; and while there is room for individual contributions in the form of solos, the main emphasis is on group cohesion. The arranger is the controller. The major function of such bands is to provide dance music.

The other big-band concept stems from the thinking of Duke Ellington. The three sections are present as in the other, and the arranger is still important. But the individual members are not subservient to either section or pen. The part must fit the man, not vice versa. The spirit is that of a small jazz group, although the context is that of a big band. The brilliance and colors of numerous instruments can be achieved when desired, but –and this is the crucial difference between the two concepts –the creativity, freedom, and interaction of individuals found in small groups is retained. Such bands produce music the primary function of which is to stimulate the listener's ear, not his feet.

The Mulligan band is firmly in the Ellington camp. It is not an Ellington imitation, though Sweet and Low is a deep bow in Duke's direction, but reflects the feel, the spirit of Ellington –the feel, the spirit of small group jazz.

More specifically, it is an extension and expansion of Mulligan's concept as we've come to know it through his quartet and sextet: the combination of extremes –simplicity with complexity, cool intellectualism with hot-blooded emotion, sophistication with guts.

Because of these many facets and of the variety of emotional experience the band offers, I feel this is the most important big band in jazz today. (In person the impact of the band is even greater than on this album. It is unfortunate that Mulligan intends to disband, but the band is scheduled to reorganize later in 1961.)

It is not a blasting band; in many ways it is reminiscent of the Claude Thornhill Band when Gil Evans was writing for it. Attention is paid to blend, control, and dynamics. By using another baritone in the sax section, Mulligan retains fulness behind his solos. The brass is usually voiced close, giving it a subdued, almost muffled sound. Even in the shout choruses the brass keeps it head and depth.

Lewis and Clark, the rhythm section on all but one track and the one that toured with the band, are superlative. The rhythm is always firm yet never too tight. These two are the source of the band's relaxation. They push the whole band but do it unobtrusively. What Lewis plays fits so well and logically that at times the listener might miss his contribution, but on careful listening, you realize he's kicking everybody. Lewis is the Dave Tough of his time –a drummer felt more than heard.

The main soloists on the record are Mulligan, Brookmeyer, and Sims.

Mulligan builds his solos with more care than he has in some time. Each phrase relates to the next; each solo is like a story. He plays well on all tracks, but his most touching work is on Valentine and the lovely Django Reinhardt ballad Manoir de Mes Reves.

Brookmeyer's playing is the best I've heard him do. He seems to have found his true element in this band. Wit and melodiousness he always had, but here there's a fire that wasn't burning so brightly in the past. He has a gusty, burry, wonderful solo on his own arrangement of Advantage; in one place his fill over the saxes is nothing but a breathy slur –no brass sound, just breath.

Sims hasn't as much blowing room on the record as he has in person –he doesn't play in the section but is featured on a couple of tunes each set –but he has a meaty solo on Bweebida Bobbida.

This is one of the best records of 1960.

*Don DeMicheal (Down Beat, December 8, 1960 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - Sweet And Low

(Harry Warren, Al Dubin)

2 - Bweebida Bobbida

(Gerry Mulligan)

3 - Manoir De Mes Rêves (Django's Castle)

(Django Reinhardt)

4 - You Took Advantage Of Me

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

Side 2

5 - Out Of This World

(Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)

6 - My Funny Valentine

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

7 - Broadway

(Henry Woode, Teddy McRae, Bill Bird)

8 - I'm Gonna Go Fishin'

(Duke Ellington, Peggy Lee)

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax); Don Ferrara, Conte Candoli, Nick Travis (trumpets [#1 to #7]);

Don Ferrara, Danny Stiles, Phil Sunkel (trumpets [#8];

Wayne Andre (trombone); Alan Raph (bass trombone);

Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone); Dick Meldonian (alto sax); Gene Quill (alto sax, clarinet);

Zoot Sims[#1 to #7], Jim Reider [#8] (tenor saxes); Gene Allen (baritone sax, bass clarinet); 

Buddy Clark [#1 to #7], Bill Tackus [#8] (basses):

Mel Lewis [#1 to #7], Dave Bailey [#8] (drums).

Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York City, May 21 [#8],

July 25 [#1 to #4] and July 27 [#5 to #7], 1960

✤✤✤✤

For those who prefer the digital version of the Concert Jazz Band's debut album, there are several options. One of them is the one presented by the Poll Winners Records label titled The Concert Jazz Band • The First Album.

This edition brings together the complete original Gerry Mulligan LP, The Concert Jazz Band (Verve V6-8388), which marked the discographic debut of this extraordinary big band formation. Its tracks feature the presence of stellar figures such as Zoot Sims, Bob Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill, Mel Lewis, and, of course, Mulligan himself. As a bonus, the disc incorporates all surviving tunes from the band’s second studio session —recorded in between the three sessions that made up the original LP—, as well as three tracks recorded live in Milan, four months after completing the album.

Gerry Mulligan

The Concert Jazz Band

The First Album

1 - Sweet And Low

(Harry Warren, Al Dubin)

2 - Bweebida Bobbida

(Gerry Mulligan)

3 - Manoir De Mes Rêves (Django's Castle)

(Django Reinhardt)

4 - You Took Advantage Of Me

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

5 - Out Of This World

(Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)

6 - My Funny Valentine

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

7 - Broadway

(Henry Woode, Teddy McRae, Bill Bird)

8 - I'm Gonna Go Fishin'

(Duke Ellington, Peggy Lee)

9 - I Know, Don't Know How

(Gerry Mulligan)

10 - Barbara's Theme

(Johnny Mandel)

11 - Sweet And Slow (first version)

(Harry Warren, Al Dubin)

12 - Out Of This World (first version)

(Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)

13 - Go Home (live in Milan, 1960)

(Ben Webster)

14 - Apple Core (live in Milan, 1960)

(Gerry Mulligan)

15 - Barbara's Theme (live in Milan, 1960)

(Johnny Mandel)

#1 to #8:

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax); Don Ferrara, Conte Candoli, Nick Travis (trumpets [#1 to #7]);

Don Ferrara, Danny Stiles, Phil Sunkel (trumpets [#8]);

Wayne Andre (trombone); Alan Raph (bass trombone);

Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone); Dick Meldonian (alto sax); Gene Quill (alto sax, clarinet);

Zoot Sims[#1 to #7], Jim Reider [#8] (tenor saxes); Gene Allen (baritone sax, bass clarinet); 

Buddy Clark [#1 to #7], Bill Tackus [#8] (basses):

Mel Lewis [#1 to #7], Dave Bailey [#8] (drums).

Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York City, May 21 [#8],

July 25 [#1 to #4] and July 27 [#5 to #7], 1960

#9, #10, #11, #12:

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax); Don Ferrara, Danny Stiles, Phil Sunkel (trumpets);

Wayne Andre (trombone); Alan Raph (bass trombone); Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone);

Dick Meldonian (alto sax); Gene Quill (alto sax, clarinet); Jim Reider (tenor sax);

Gene Allen (baritone sax, bass clarinet); Bill Tackus (bass); Dave Bailey (drums).

Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York City, June 1, 2 and 3, 1960

#13, #14, #15:

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax); Don Ferrara, Conte Candoli, Nick Travis (trumpets);

Wayne Andre (trombone); Alan Raph (bass trombone); Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone);

Bob Donovan (alto sax); Gene Quill (alto sax, clarinet); Zoot Sims, Jim Reider (tenor saxes);

Gene Allen (baritone sax, bass clarinet); Buddy Clark (bass): Mel Lewis (drums).

Recorded live at Teatro Lirico, Milan, Italy, November 14, 1960

Five-Star Collection... Art Farmer

Art Farmer

Modern Art

The young jazz musician — if he is at all serious about making his self-expression a vocation with meaning to others beside himself — has to learn a lot.

He must first, of course, know his horn, know it until, to paraphrase Yeats, it's difficult to tell where the musician ends and the horn begins. He must battle the problems of technique until his fingers execute what he thinks as he thinks, no matter how challenging or difficult the thought. And to stay fed in contemporary music, the young jazzman will be confronted with a greater variety of challenges than all of King Arthur's court dreamt of.

He must be able to read — not only precise commercial arrangements for diverse record dates but the new and unexpected turns of the growing number of modern jazz writers.

He must, unless he limits himself to only one idiom and one familiar group of players, be able to improvise over a wide and sometimes dizzying range of conditions.

When — and if — he has mastered all this, his basic problem begins. He must find himself, must be — relatively — "original." Once he has achieved enough skill to be noticed at all, the critics are likely to start calling him 'electric' or 'derivative'; other hornmen respect him but wait to hear what he's doing that they haven't heard before; and most important of all, he himself becomes intensely concerned about releasing and developing his own "voice." It's at this point that the good, skillful players become separated from the others who go beyond proficiency to become the major stylists, the musicians who influence other musicians.

Art Farmer, after a long apprenticeship, has matured into one of the few trumpet players of his generation who is individual and who indicates a capacity for growth that will also make him an influence. Through the years, Art has sharpened his technique so that he can — and has — handled all manner of assignments from the funky, driving, soul-flexing of the Horace Silver Quintet through the polyphonic play of the Gerry Mulligan quartet to jagged experimental scores at Brandeis University, Carnegie Hall and Cooper Union.

While absorbing all this experience — and much more — Art has consistently enlarged and strengthened his own musical personality until he now cannot be accurately categorized as a member of any "school" but his own. In addition to a tone that he has deepened and burnished through the years, his conception has become a direct reflection of himself. Like the man, it is thoughtful; lyrical unto — at times — a brooding introspectiveness; intensely emotional; and devoid of superfluity. *Nat Hentoff (from the liner notes)*

Here, through eight tracks covering two sides of an LP, is a set that must rank among the finest, most musical, most stimulating, and most satisfying of the year.

Three Down Beat new stars — Farmer, Golson, and Evans — literally shine with a creative brilliance that, at times, is just unbelievable. I found, too, that this quintet greets a ballad not as something to be bulled through or played with, but as a vehicle for lyrical expression. In fact, if there is one word which sums up this LP it could well be "lyrical."

Some tracks are simply beautiful. Farmer, Golson, and Evans play with warmth and deep feeling on Darn That Dream, The Touch of Your Lips, and Like Someone in Love. Every track has some superlative playing, but I found that these were extraordinary. Perhaps because the tunes are ballads and are treated as such. When jazzmen can make their horns sing as these men do, it is a rare and moving experience in jazz. The older generation of players could do it, and very well. Some of our generation can, but mostly they tend to fall into devices or tricks with time to get through the tune.

Hear, for instance, the lovely muted fills Art blows behind Golson's soulful, melodic playing of Someone in Love, then Farmer's flowing muted solo, and Benny's Hawk-like coda.

Farmer has been maturing steadily as a musician. He is interested in music and in learning. He absorbs and builds on what he has absorbed, rather than parroting it back because it happens to be hip or in the current idiom. I feel, on the basis of his performance here and of in-person hearings lately, that he is certainly one of the very few young players today who will have a great deal to do with molding the future of jazz. The often abused phrase, a major talent, must be applied to this man.

Golson, too, has come along handsomely in the last year or so. His one written contribution here, Fair Weather, is another of those melodic, oddly nostalgic themes which he creates so well. His playing is imaginative and bright, and he turns what could be a hip phrase into something quite fresh almost as a matter of course.

Evans, yet another increasingly important jazzman, displays again the workings of a creative mind. Note his solos on Weather, Breeze, and I Love You.

Addison Farmer and Dave Bailey give the soloists firm and pulsing support. Bailey, as usual, is tasteful and affirmative in his work.

The stereo version just brings more life into this excellent performance. Don’t miss this one.

*Dom Cerulli (Down Beat, January 8, 1959 [5 stars])*

1 -  Mox Nix

(Art Farmer)

2 - Fair Weather

(Benny Golson)

3 - Darn That Dream

(James Van Heusen, Eddie DeLange)

4 - The Touch Of Your Lips

(Ray Noble)

5 - Jubilation

(Junior Mance)

6 - Like Someone In Love

(James Van Heusen, Johnny Burke)

7 - I Love You

(Cole Porter)

8 - Cold Breeze

(Wade Legge)

Art Farmer (trumpet), Benny Golson (tenor sax),

Bill Evans (piano), Addison Farmer (bass), Dave Bailey (drums).

Recorded at Nola's Penthouse, New York City, September 10, 11 and 14,1958

Howard McGhee And Phil Porter - Two Rare And Unique Recordings

Howard McGhee (1918 – 1987), among young jazz adepts unjustly almost forgotten today, was a reliable man if you're following his steadily flowing recorded output between 1942 & 1948, which were the heydays of the bebop era. And "Maggie", so his nickname in musicians’ circles, was in the middle of it all. He was not phrasing as "mathematically" like his great successor and friend Theodore "Fats" Navarro, or the next in the line, Clifford Brown, affectionately called "Brownie" by his friends and fans, but he could express his ideas as fast, and as eloquently as the two other trumpet geniuses.

During 1945-1949, Howard McGhee was one of the finest trumpeters in jazz, an exciting performer with a sound of his own, who among the young bop players, ranked at the top with Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. The "missing link" between Roy Eldridge and Fats Navarro (Navarro influenced Clifford Brown who influenced most of the post-1955 trumpeters), McGhee originally played clarinet and tenor, not taking up trumpet until he was 17. He worked in territory bands, was with Lionel Hampton in 1941, and then joined Andy Kirk (1941-1942), being featured on McGhee Special. McGhee participated in the fabled bop sessions at Minton's Playhouse and Monroe's Uptown House, modernizing his style away from Roy Eldridge and towards Dizzy Gillespie. He was with Charlie Barnet (1942-1943), returned to Kirk (where he sat next to Fats Navarro in the trumpet section), and had brief stints with Georgie Auld and Count Basie before traveling to California with Coleman Hawkins in 1945; their concise recordings of swing-to-bop transitional music (including "Stuffy," "Rifftide," and "Hollywood Stampede") are classic. McGhee stayed in California into 1947, playing with Jazz at the Philharmonic, recording and gigging with Charlie Parker (including the ill-fated "Lover Man" date) and having an influence on young players out on the Coast. His Dial sessions were among the most exciting recordings of his career, and back in New York he recorded for Savoy and had a historic meeting on record with Navarro in 1948 on Blue Note.

Eventually, drugs began to affect McGhee's career. He traveled on a USO tour during the Korean War, recording in Guam. McGhee also had sessions for Bethlehem (1955-1956) but was inactive during much of the '50s. He recorded some strong dates for Felsted, Bethlehem, Contemporary, and Black Lion during 1960-1961, and on a quartet outing for United Artists (1962), but (with the exception of a Hep big band date in 1966) was largely off records again until 1976. He had a final burst of activity during 1976-1979 for Sonet, SteepleChase, Jazzcraft, Zim, and Storyville, but by then, McGhee was largely forgotten and few knew about his link to Fats Navarro and Clifford Brown.

Phil Porter (1944 – 2015) born in Boston and raised in Charlton and Somerville. He graduated Somerville High School with the Class of 1961 and attended Boston University.

Phil began his music career in Boston at the age of 16 as a professional pianist and organist. By the age of 19 he had recorded his first two jazz album and had performed at the Newport Jazz Festival. 

In 1971, Phil started rehearsing with the jazz-rock band, Chase. Within a few months, the band signed a record deal and moved to Chicago to record Chase, their first album on the Epic label. As a member of the band Chase, he earned a gold record, received a Grammy nomination, and performed on the Johnny Carson Show and at Carnegie Hall. After many years of performing throughout the U.S. and worldwide, he returned to the Boston area and continued his music career locally, including as the organist for the Bruins and Celtics at the Boston Garden. He was a member of Local 535 of the Boston Chapter of the American Federation of Musicians. He settled in Lynn to raise his family and lived in Andover prior to moving to Haverhill where he served as a volunteer for Merrimack Valley Hospice.

When Howard McGhee reappeared in 1962, after being away from the stage for 10 years due to narcotic use, Paul Wimley offered him the opportunity to record four titles for the Argo label with Gene Ammons (House Warmin'! by Howard McGhee and The Blazers). Confidential. But in the process, George Wein produced two quartet sessions in the fall of 1962 for United Artists, the first with piano, the second with organ. 

That's when the meeting between McGhee and Porter took place. Howard McGhee appears there in full possession of his means, with a warm and coppery timbre that is very personal and atypical of a time when trumpets were more willingly "distorted". 

Howard and Phil met only twice and those recordings, already considered rare and obscure today, are the reason for this post.

Howard McGhee

Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out

&

House Warmin'!

A contemporary of Dizzy Gillespie, Howard McGhee was one of the most stimulating trumpeters of the bop era. Although personal problems sidelined him for part of the 50s, his great experience compensated for much of the time lost when he made his comeback in the early 60s. In fact, on Nobody Knows You When Youre Down and Out, recorded in 1962, McGhee sounds even better than before - engaging and emotional without compromising his strength while supported by two excellent rhythm sections, one with pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Art Taylor, and the other with organist Phil Porter, bassist Larry Ridley and drummer Dave Bailey.

On the second album included here, House Warmin'!, recorded a few months earlier. McGhee shares the front line with tenorman Gene Ammons. The rhythm section includes the quasi-urbane sound of guitarist Jake Fisher, bassist Barney Richmond and drummer Willie Mashburn, who have an essential role in building a program reflecting the infinite variety to be found in the rhythm-and-blues field. *Jordi Pujol*

You may not have ever heard of Howard McGhee, but at one time he was one of the top notch bebop trumpeters, up there with Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. He’s on Charlie Parker’s notorious “Lover Man” date, and actually had a bebop hit (is that an oxymoron?) with Coleman Hawkins with "Stuffy" in the mid 40s. He lived the life of a bebopper in more ways than one, as drugs caught up with him and sidelined him for awhile. The two recording sessions on this disc find him working on his comeback, and the music is surprisingly good.

Nobody Knows When You're Down And Out is a '62 session featuring McGhee with a trio backing, either with piano or organ, and includes Art Taylor/dr, and Ron Carter/b. The B3 band has McGhee in a bluesy mood with a desultory title track and version of  "Lonely Town" that will make you want to keep away from sharp objects. He alternates between agonizing Harmon mutes and sleek open horn, actually mixing it up in the same song as in the fascinating "Canadian Sunset". He's quite lyrical on "Tenderly" and "Fly Me To The Moon" and his tone holds up well. The House Warmin’! session is a hot jam with Gene Ammonts/ts, Jake Fisher/g, Barney Richmond/b, Willie Mashburn/d and a guy named Waco on bongos. Hey, it’s the 60s! Ammons smokes like a Romeo e Juliet on "Jazz with a Beat" and McGhee revives his old charms on "Muggin' McGhee" and the title tune. If you want to hear a rhythm team that is in sync, just give an ear to "Jivin' Around". That'll keep you going for awhile. *George W. Harris*

1 - Nobody Knows When You're Down And Out

(Cox)

2 - Lonely Town

(Bernstein)

3 - Secret Love

(Fain, Webster)

4 - Why Run Away

(Spencer)

5 - Canadian Sunset

(Heywood)

6 - Blue Bell

(McGhee)

7 - Tenderly

(Gross, Laurence)

8 - Fly Me To The Moon

(Howard)

9 - Satin Doll

(Ellington, Strayhorn)

10 - Blue Duende

(McGhee)

11 - Jazz With A Beat

(Winley, Paul)

12 - Muggin' McGhee

(Winley, Paul)

13 - House Warmin'

(Winley, Paul)

14 - Jivin' Around

(Winley, Paul)

#1 to #10: from Nobody Knows You When Youre Down and Out

(United Artists Records UAJS 15028)

#4, #5, #7, #10

Howard McGhee (trumpet), Jimmy Jones (piano), Ron Carter (bass), Art Taylor (drums).

Recorded in New York City, September, 1962.

#1, #2,  #3, #6, #8, #9

Howard McGhee (trumpet), Phil Porter (organ Hammond B3), Larry Ridley (bass), Dave Bailey (drums).

Recorded in New York City, October, 1962.

#11 to #14: from Howard McGhee and The Blazers - House Warmin'! (Argo LPS 4020)

Howard McGhee (trumpet), Gene Ammons (tenor sax), Jake Fisher (guitar), Barney Richmond (bass), Willie Mashburn(drums), Waco (bongos).

Recorded at Bell Sound Studio, New York City, probably May 1962.

***

Phil Porter

Introducing Phil Porter And His Organ

It was a snowy night in February, 1963, when jazz trumpeter Howard McGhee, jazz producer George Wein, a German Shephard dog named Sage and I climbed into Wein's car in New York. Our destination was the little town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, 200 miles from New York and 30 miles west of Boston. 

Our purpose was to hear a 19 year old organ player named Phil Porter, and we were going on the strength of a one night stand McGhee had played with Porter in Boston nine months earlier.

To go back to the beginning, I had just brought McGhee and Wein together to make the trumpeter's first LP under his own name in several years. Both men, it turned out, had the same idea — find a good swinging jazz organist and utilize him to showcase McGhee's virtuosity. At this point Howard remembered the boy who had left such a strong impression. "He's only a kid but he can play the hell out of an organ, especially on blues!" 

That was enough to set me hunting and, through two Boston organ afficionados, John Sdoucos and Fred Taylor, Porter was located a couple of days later and we set off in the snow to hear him. What should have been a four hour trip turned into more than five and we finally walked into the club about midnight. 

We were almost crushed to find a rock and roll band at work, with about five bored customers sitting around looking like anything was better than going home. However, smiling at us from behind the Hammond was a good-looking young blonde boy complete with crew cut, and Howard confirmed that this was, indeed, Phil Porter. 

After about ten minutes, Wein managed to shoo the rest of the band off the floor and told him to play some. Two or three pieces later and we felt he had what Howard wanted, but there was one more test. He had already chosen some of the material for the date and one of the pieces was the old Bessie Smith blues "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out". At this point he dropped the tune on the music rack in front of Porter and asked him if he knew the tune. He didn't but we told him to sight read it and away he went. Half a dozen choruses of blues later we had ourselves an organist. 

Within two weeks the album was completed, but even before it was through, United Artists Records president Art Talmadge had attended the sessions, heard Phil Porter and he was under contract to make his own recordings as well. This is the first of his efforts, and he is ably guided throughout by his mentor, McGhee. In fact, his rock and roll days ended shortly after the first McGhee date when he joined McGhee's combo with which he is still on tour.

For this album, producer Wein worked very closely with Phil in the selection of material, but he allowed him: the real delight of selecting his own musicians for the dates. It was decided to use two slightly different groups, with Kenny Burrell added on guitar for several numbers. On trumpet, naturally, he chose McGhee, who also did all the arrangements. He chose tenor saxist Harold Ousley "because he has that big bluesy sound I like", plus what he calls the "All-American rhythm section", Paul Chambers on bass and Arthur Taylor on drums. 

At this point in his young life, everything is green lights and straight ahead for Phil Porter, but he is already developing into something of a philosopher. As we sat listening to the playback on this album in George Wein's office one day, Phil turned to us with a sly grin and said: "Do you remember the name of that club where you first heard me with the rock and roll group? It was called The Escape — and it sure turned out that way!". *Bob Messinger (liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - C Jam Blues

(Duke Ellington)

2 - Hard Times

(Phil Porter)

3 - Moonlight In Vermont

(K. Suessdorf, J. Blackburn)

4 - There Will Never Be Another You

(M. Gordon, H. Warren)

5 - What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue

(T. F. Waller, H. Brooks, A. Razaff)

6 - Blue Dilemma

(Phil Porter)

Side 2

7 - Molly Belle

(Phil Porter)

8 - That's All

(Brandt, Haymes)

9 - Conversation

(Phil Porter)

10 - Candlelight

(Phil Porter)

11 - Diane

(E. Paree, L. Pollack)

Phil Porter (organ Hammond B3), Howard McGhee (trumpet), Harold Ousley (tenor sax), Kenny Burrell (guitar), Paul Chambers (bass), Art Taylor (drums).

Recorded in New York City, probably April 1963.

Gerry Mulligan - Presenting The Gerry Mulligan Sextet

Gerry Mulligan is a tall (6'1"), thin (145 lbs.), young man with light red hair, pale skin, and an intense dedication toward all that interests him in life. Nothing interests him more than music. At the age of twenty-eight Gerry has been a professional musician for twelve years. In that time of constantly writing for big bands and small he has never written an uncommissioned piece of music. Simultaneously he has become a world famous baritonist, for it may be truly said that on baritone saxophone Gerry Mulligan has no peer.

Gerry’s ever present nemesis is a fear of musical stagnation and boredom, and this has served to drive him to move his talents from band to band, playing with and writing for various instrumentations. It was because of this drive that last year, at the completion of a successful concert tour, Gerry disbanded the quartet and took six months off to sit down, regain his perspective, and see what it was he wanted to do next. Gerry’s Sextet is the product of that introspective period. It brings together Bob Brookmeyer and Jon Eardley, each of whom has served as the other horn in the Quartet; a bright new rhythm section consisting of Dave Bailey on drums and Peck Morrison on bass, and adds to this the tang of Zoot Sims’ ever-swinging tenor saxophone playing. Crowning the group is Gerry’s forceful and persuasive musicianship showing itself in his writing and in his playing, both, as ever, warm, intimate, compelling.

Gerry detests having an audience told whether or not a record is good, preferring that his audience judge for themselves. This we leave you to do, merely saying that all who were concerned with the making of this album are delighted with the results.

The Sextet has played nearly all the jazz clubs on the eastern seaboard, completed a concert tour through many of the eastern and mid-western cities, and is scheduled to do a European tour. Then Gerry will undoubtedly retire again, seeking the direction of the next step in his musical journey. I am sure that he himself does not know exactly what it will be. But one thing is sure; more music will be coming from Gerry Mulligan. Much more. *Liner notes*

The short-lived Gerry Mulligan sextet of 1955-56 recorded three albums before disbanding. This particular out-of-print LP features baritonist Mulligan, trumpeter Jon Eardley, valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims on tenor performing such songs as "Nights at the Turntable", "Broadway", "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "Bernie's Tune". Fun swinging music that is still quite accessible. *Scott Yanow*

Side 1

1 - Mud Bug

(Lloyd)

2 - Sweet And Lovely

(Arnheim, LeMare, Tobias)

3 - Apple Core

(Mulligan)

4 - Nights At The Turntable

(Mulligan)

Side 2

5 - Broadway

(Woode, McRae, Bird)

6 - Everything Happens To Me

(Adair, Dennis)

7 - The Lady Is A Tramp

(Rodgers, Hart)

8 - Bernie's Tune

(Mulligan)

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax, piano), Jon Eardley (trumpet), Zoot Sims (tenor sax), Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone), Peck Morrison (bass), Dave Bailey (drums).

Recorded in New York City, September 21 and 22, 1955.