Herbie Mann - Flute Mann • Salute To The Flute

The flute, an honorable pastoral spirit in the classical orchestra and chamber groups, is only beginning to be more than glancingly accepted by jazz critics. The jazz musicians, always more hospitable and curious than the critics, have, with rare exceptions, not objected to its increasing inclusion in jazz record sessions and regular combos and orchestra. There have been, however, several dourly skeptical writers, most notably in England, who feel the flute is not capable of projecting all the heat and urgency of elemental jazz. 

It is absurd (it seems instantly axiomatic to me) to proscribe any instrument as being inherently alien to jazz. It is the player, after all, who is transmitting the message; the instrument is his means, and if his message is heated and urgent, it will get through. In any case, an increasing number of jazz musicians, especially within the past four and five years, have become intrigued with and soon assured on the instrument; and it is not at all outré to bring a flute to a jam session on an average gig. 

A majority of the jazz flutists, however, utilize the instrument secondarily. Frank Wess of the Basie and Jerome Richardson, for example, are primarily tenors although their transformation of the flute into a vessel afire may eventually make the flute their first instrument. Buddy Collette distributes his calm skills about equally among the clarinet, alto, tenor and flute. Bud Shank is still an altoist first and Sam Most continues to concentrate on the clarinet although both have become flute-facile too. Bobby Jaspar of the J. J. Johnson quintet is regarded by his colleagues as a tenor who, on the side, plays warm, singing flute.

Mann, on the other hand, although a professional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist, can be considered the first of the younger jazzmen to regard the flute as his major instrument. Born in Brooklyn on March 16, 1930, he gained experience during three years with an Army band in Trieste and first became known on the jazz scene through his work with the Mat Mathews combo in 1953 and 1954. He started playing flute as well as other reeds with Mat, and as he explains the context at the time, "it was impossible for me to be influenced by any other flute player then, because there were hardly any. I had that advantage. I had heard and been impressed by Harry Klee's flute on a Mary Ann McCall album in the early '50's, but it has been a trumpet player, Miles Davis, who has actually been my one major influence on flute". *Nat Hentoff (liner notes)*

This Columbia LP (a 1981 reissue of an Epic album titled Salute to the Flute) found flutist Herbie Mann accompanied for the first time by a big band on five of the nine selections. Prior to 1959, virtually all of Mann's recordings were bop-oriented, and this one is no exception. Whether it be "Little Niles", "When Lights Are Low", "Beautiful Love" or even "Old Honky Tonk Piano Roll Blues", Mann proves to be an excellent bop soloist; other important players on this date include trumpeter Joe Wilder, altoist Anthony Ortega, pianist Hank Jones, guitarist Joe Puma and bassist Oscar Pettiford. This LP will be a difficult one to find. *Scott Yanow*

The best of the plethora of Mann sets that have hit the market recently. With the aid of excellent musicians, in example, Hank Jones, Anthony Ortega, Joe Puma, Oscar Pettiford, Joe Wilder, Urbie Green, etc., and arrangements by A. K. Salim and Gigi Gryce, the flutist is heard in big, medium-sized and small band contexts, and the music is at once pleasant, interesting, and provides adequate blowing space. Set should be appealing to jazz coterie, and those not so heavily oriented as well. Try "Little Niles" and "A Ritual" as demo bands. *Billboard, October 28, 1957*

Side 1

1 - When The Lights Are Low

(Benny Carter)

2 - Little Niles

(Randy Weston)

3 - Old Honkie Tonk Piano Roll Blues

(Herbie Mann)

4 - Pretty Baby

(A. K. Salim)

Side 2

5 - Beautiful Love

(Victor Young, Wayne King, Egbert Van Alstyne)

6 - Hip Scotch

(Joe Puma)

7 - Song For Ruth

(Herbie Mann)

8 - Noga's Nuggets

(Oscar Pettiford)

9 - A Ritual

(Herbie Mann)

Herbie Mann (flute, alto flute); Bernie Glow, Don Stratton, Joe Wilder (trumpets); Urbie Green, Chauncey Welsch (trombones); Anthony Ortega (alto sax); Dick Hafer (alto and tenor sax); Dave Kurtzer (tenor sax); Sol Schlinger (baritone sax); Joe Puma (guitar); Hank Jones (piano); Oscar Pettiford (bass); Gus Johnson [#1, #3, #5, #6, #8, #9]), Philly Joe Jones [#2, #4, #7] (drums).

Recorded in New York City, April 18 (#2, #4, #7) and April 29 (#1, #3, #5, #6, #8, #9), 1957. 

The Third Herdmen Blow In Paris

These recording sessions respond to the stir generated in Paris among French fans and record producers by the visits of Woody Herman orchestra during their European tour in 1954. Some of the best band's soloists were engaged to record for the French label Vogue.

The Herdsmen recorded two 10'' albums, with personnel changing from one session to the other. The sessions included trumpeter Dick Collins, bass-trumpeter Cy Touff, tenorists Bill Perkins, Dick Hafer, and Jerry Coker, bassist Red Kelly, drummer Chuck Flores, and pianist Ralph Burns — the featured performer for the band’s European tour. Joining them were leading local jazzmen, such as pianist Henri Renaud, guitarist Jimmy Gourley, bass player Jean-Marie Ingrand and drummer Jean-Louis Viale. The sessions were all improvised, without too much time for preparation, but the recordings captured the freshness of the soloists, who all had a balling time. *Jordi Pujol*.

The Herdsmen

Play Paris

Early in 1954, Woody Herman took his Third Herd to Europe. This was the first time Herman had ever played overseas and it was the first time most of Europe had heard the Third Herd. Up until recently, its only records were on Woody’s own small label, Mars, which was not distributed throughout the continent. 

Dick Collins, the young Berkeley trumpet player who was, and is, one of the stars of the Third Herd was an old friend to Paris. He had gone there after World War II to study on the GI Bill under Darius Milhaud, the French composer with whom Dave Brubeck and other modern jazz men have studied at Mills College in Oakland, California. While Collins was in Paris in 1948 and ’49, he met Charles Delaunay, the French critic, author and recording executive and made several sides for him. So it was only natural that on Collins’ return, Delaunay would renew the acquaintance and take the opportunity to make further records.

For the first date, Delaunay assembled Collins, Cy Touff, Bill Perkins, Dick Hafer and Red Kelly from the Herman band and two French musicians, Henri Renaud and Jean-Louis Viale. Perkins describes the date this way: "Delaunay picked us up at the hotel about an hour after we flew in from Germany and rushed us to a real relaxed little upstairs studio and we went to work with nothing more than a few penciled lead sheets — no harmony parts were written as I remember. Although the French musicians did not speak English and viceversa, I remember that it struck me at the time how well we understood each other when it came to the music part of it. They put Cy up on a box to get the bell of his horn even with the mike". 

The second session was made just before the men left for home some weeks later. Coker was commissioned to write an original ("Embarkation") and Perkins recalls Jerry working hard on it backstage at the Vienna concert. Coker, Touff, drummer Chuck Flores and pianist Ralph Burns, who was on the European tour as a featured performer with the band, flew back to Paris to make the date and were joined by Jimmy Gourley, one of the leading French guitarists, and bassist Jean-Marie Ingrand. Burns, who is among the best known modern jazz arrangers and writers and who has done most of the Herman book including "Summer Sequence", is featured on piano. Burns wrote "Wetback on the Left Bank" for Flores, whose nickname is "Wetback". *Liner notes*

Bassist Red Kelly remembers the Woody Herman Third Herd’s triumphal tour of Europe in 1954: "We weren’t used to that kind of adulation. We were treated like rock stars are today. They tried to get the buttons off of our coats and all that stuff". The fans were not alone in their enthusiasm. The French critic and impresario Charles Delaunay herded several of Herman’s sidemen into a recording studio for two small-group sessions that illuminated the talents of saxophonist Bill Perkins, bass trumpeter Cy Toouff, trumpeter Dick Collins, pianist Ralph Burns, and other solist from the band, along with promiment French musicians. These Paris sessions give us stimulating extracurricular music by some of the talented young musicians Herman assembled during one of his greatest periods. *concord.com*

Side 1

01 - The Gypsy

(Billy Reid)

02 - Wetback On The Left Bank

(Ralph Burns)

03 - Embarkation

(Jerry Coker)

04 - Thanks For You

(Tim Whitton)

Side 2

05 - So What Could Be New?

(Tiny Kahn)

06 - Just 40 Bars

(Henri Renaud)

07 - Palm Cafe

(Henri Renaud)

08 - Pot Luck

(Johnny Mandel)

 #5, #6, #7, #8:

Dick Collins (trumpet); Cy Touff (bass trumpet); Bill Perkins, Dick Hafer (tenor saxes); Henri Renaud (piano); Red Kelly (bass); Jean-Louis Viale (drums).

Recorded in Paris, April, 23, 1954.

#1, #2, #3, #4:

Cy Touff (bass trumpet), Jerry Coker (tenor sax), Ralph Burns (piano), Jimmy Gourley (guitar), Jean-Marie Ingrand (bass), Chuck Flores (drums).

Recorded in Paris, May 5, 1954.

#1, #4, #5, #8 from The Third Herdmen Blow In Paris, Vol. 1

#2, #3, #6, #7 from The Third Herdmen Blow In Paris, Vol. 2