Jazz For The Screen ★ Leith Stevens (III)

Leith Stevens

"Jazz in the Movies" Collection

The Interns

Hell To Eternity

Late in the 1950s and early in the 1960s, jazz ceased to be merely background music in movie theaters and became the dramatic pulse of urban, wartime, and psychologically charged narratives.

For this new chapter of Jazz For The Screen, we once again turn to the music of the distinguished film and television composer Leith Stevens, a child prodigy who was already performing professionally at the age of 11, accompanying vocalists in the Kansas City area, and who made his debut as an orchestra leader at 16.

For this third installment, we delve into a compilation that brings together on a single disc two original soundtracks from the early 1960s: The Interns (1962) and Hell To Eternity (1960).

The great appeal of this album lies not only in the compositions, but also in its extraordinary roster of performers. The sessions brought together some of Hollywood's finest studio musicians and West Coast jazz luminaries, including Pete Candoli, Milt Bernhart, Bob Enevoldsen, Ted Nash, Lou Levy, Barney Kessel, Joe Mondragon, and Shelly Manne, among others. The result is a work that moves between exuberant swing, sophisticated cool jazz, and passages of high dramatic tension, demonstrating how a first-rate roster of jazz musicians could elevate any motion picture production.

The Interns follows the professional and personal lives of a group of young medical interns at a busy urban hospital during their first year of training. Throughout the year, the interns must face complex ethical dilemmas, personal anguish, furtive romances, and the extreme pressures of the medical profession. The soundtrack perfectly reflects this emotional roller coaster, alternating festive moments and urban jazz with tense passages accompanying emergencies in the operating room.

Hell To Eternity tells the remarkable true story of Guy Gabaldon, a young American of Hispanic descent who was adopted, before World War II, by a family of Japanese immigrants in Los Angeles. When war breaks out in the Pacific, Gabaldon enlists in the Marines and is sent to the bloody Battle of Saipan. Drawing on his command of the Japanese language and his understanding of Japanese culture, he accomplishes a legendary feat: persuading more than a thousand Japanese soldiers and civilians to surrender, thereby preventing a massacre. Leith Stevens' score uses jazz and martial orchestration to underscore the tension of combat, the clash of cultures, and the protagonist's psychological drama.

The Interns

Music by Leith Stevens and Stu Phillips

(Originally issued on Colpix SCP-427)

1 - Plasma, Scotch And?

 (Leith Stevens)

2 - Toss Me A Scalpel

(Leith Stevens)

3 - I'm Inhibited

(Leith Stevens)

4 - Lovely Lora

(Leith Stevens)

5 - Doctor, Doctor!

(Stu Phillips)

6 - Sugar Bush Cha Cha

(Leith Stevens)

7 - Wild Party

(Stu Phillips)

8 - Yah, Yah, Yah

(Leith Stevens)

9 - Intern Fever

(Stu Phillips)

10 - Pitcher Of Martinis

(Leith Stevens)

11 - Intern Bash

(Stu Phillips)

12 - Happy New Year

(Leith Stevens)

Leith Stevens and his Orchestra including jazz soloists:

Conrad Gozzo, Pete Candoli (rumpets); Milt Bernhart (trombone);

Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone);

Ted Nash (alto sax); Ronny Lang (flute, alto sax);

Gene Cipriano (tenor sax); Barney Kessel (guitar). 

Organ, piano, vibes, bass and drums (unidentified).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, 1962

Hell To Eternity

Music by Leith Stevens

(Originally issued on Warwick W 2030)

13 - Iron Petticoat

14 - Bright Boot

15 - Last Leave

16 - Hey, Honey, Go! Go! Go!

17 - Here, Chick Chick Chick

18 - Two Down And One To Go

19 - Three Quarts

20 - On the Double

21 - This Is The Place

22 - Famika

23 - Petes Theme

24 - Little Girl

(All compositions by Leith Stevens)

Orchestra conducted by Leith Stevens, including jazz soloists: 

Conrad Gozzo, Cappy Lewis, Pete Candoli (trumpets); Milt Bernhart (trombone);

Ted Nash (alto sax); Heinie Beau (clarinet, alto sax); Plas Johnson (tenor sax);

Lou Levy (piano); Joe Mondragon (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

String ensemble (unidentified).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, 1960

Jazz For The Screen ★ Leith Stevens (II)

Leith Stevens

Private Hell 36

To continue our Jazz For The Screen series, here is another gem composed and conducted by Leith Stevens in 1954, following his pioneering work on The Wild One.

About the Music:

If there is one soundtrack that represents the refoundational landmark of jazz in film noir, it is Private Hell 36. This work is considered one of the first Hollywood orchestral scores written entirely in a modern jazz idiom, setting the standard for the 1950s crime and detective sound.

Originally released by Coral Records, the Private Hell 36 album is a masterly compendium of West Coast Jazz. Stevens dispensed with traditional romantic symphonism to create an oppressive, nocturnal, and urban atmosphere, utilizing small ensembles and a big band packed with stellar soloists from the Los Angeles scene.

The music stands out for its sharp brass motifs, melancholic cool-sax passages, and rhythmic figures that accentuate the paranoia and unbridled ambition of the characters. Tracks like "Private Hell 36", "Lilli", or "Joshua" showcase the perfect balance between sophisticated arrangements and the improvisational power of its soloists.

About the Film:

Directed by action cinema master Don Siegel and produced/co-written by pioneer Ida Lupino, Private Hell 36 is a tense film noir police drama. The plot follows two Los Angeles police detectives, Cal Bruner (Steve Cochran) and Jack Farnham (Howard Duff), who investigate a stolen money trail following a fatal shootout. During the pursuit of the suspect, they recover a substantial sum of uncounted cash.

Temptation strikes when Bruner, dazzled by Lizabeth (Ida Lupino)—a stunning nightclub singer with a voracious appetite for the high life—decides to keep a portion of the stolen money and drags along his partner Farnham, a family man tormented by guilt. From that moment on, mutual distrust, blackmail, and their own department's investigation turn cabin number 36 (the "Private Hell" of the title) into a claustrophobic setting where crime will exact its toll.

◈◈◈

Some things are expressed best by jazz music, but some music that is not jazz is played properly only by jazz musicians. Our definitions of "jazz" may differ. To some the term applies only to the primitive New Orleans product; to others, perhaps, it encompasses the "swing" and "bop" eras as well. More and more, in a world where the horizons of tolerance and knowledge push past old barriers, l’enfante terrible—bop—has, turned around and extended its hand to tradition, so to speak. The bop experimentalists in Minton’s Harlem Playhouse back in the early ’forties instinctively sought and arrived at many of the same devices with which the "serious" contemporary school was concerning itself. But the jazzman’s devices eventually demanded form to give them meaning and permanence, especially as larger ensembles became involved. The longhair harmonists and contrapuntalists came in for intense study, and Jazz’s own Duke Ellington was found to be not so old hat after all.

So-called "Progressive Jazz" developed from the incorporation of the new jazz or bop devices in definite architectural-musical structures, or in freer tone poems employing written and improvised jazz in logical, dramatic sequence and juxtaposition.

For some reason, the most intense creative activity in these directions has erupted on the West Coast. Perhaps it’s the clement climate, or the general youthful open-mindedness, or some sense of stability created by fruitful film employment, or perhaps it has been the proximity of such monumental influences as the schools of Schoenberg, Milhaud, and Toch. At any rate, technical skill as well as invention are flourishing as never before, and dozens of interesting provocative discs bear testimony to the talents of such jazz men as Shorty Rogers, John Graas, Milt Bernhardt, Jim Giuffre, and Bud Shank.

Now Leith Stevens—composer, conductor and perennial jazz pioneer—has successfully injected Progressive Jazz into an idiom never noted particularly for innovation. Suddenly, in a commercial, first-magnitude film, we have not the usual lush, soporific string backgrounds, but highly original jazz-based tone-painting that has singular meaning for the age in which the action transpires. PRIVATE HELL 36 is actually the second successful application of such material by the venturesome Stevens—the first having been his extremely appropriate scoring for THE WILD ONE in 1953, which, incidentally, employed several of the same musicians featured in these performances. *Bill Simon (from the liner notes)*

Off Note:

The music was originally released as a 10-inch Coral LP in 1954 (Coral CRL 56122). However, for a 1959 edition (Coral CRL 757283), the record label took the original 1954 mono recording of Private Hell 36, placed it in the center channel, and overdubbed it in stereo by adding vibraphone, bongo, and tambourine tracks (panned to the left and right).

This innovative approach was an ingenious way to preserve the original beauty of the music while technologically adapting it to the late-1950s stereo craze.

However, the 1959 Coral liner notes and official credits did not individually credit the session musicians who recorded those vibraphone and percussion overdubs.

Unlike the original 1954 track—where Shelly Manne handled the original drums and percussion—the names of the performers who added the skin drums, tambourine, and vibraphone to the 1959 stereo mix are omitted from both the album's personnel listings and the label's discographical archives.

This post presents both versions of the soundtrack for comparison: the original 1954 mono release (a vinyl rip of modest sound quality) alongside the 1959 stereo restoration featuring the added percussion and vibraphone overdubs.

Side 1

1 - Private Hell 36

2 - Havana Interlude

3 - Easy Mood

Side 2

4 - Daddy, Long Legs

5 - Joshua

6 - Lilli

7 - Dance Of The Lilliputian

8 - Private Blues

(All compositions by Leith Stevens)

Shorty Rogers, Pete Candoli, Charles Grifford, Carlton McBeath (trumpets);

John Graas (french horn); Paul Sarmento (tuba);

Milt Bernhart, Harry Betts (trombones); Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone);

George Roberts (bass trombone); Sal Franzella (alto sax, clarinet);

Lennie Niehaus [as Leonard Niehaus] (alto sax); Bob Cooper, Jimmy Giuffre (tenor saxes);

Bob Gordon (bass clarinet, baritone sax); Bud Shank (bass sax);

Claude Williamson (piano); Joe Mondragon (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, September 3, 1954

The modern sounds that inspired Leith Stevens

Gene Norman Presents 

Gerry Mulligan and Shorty Rogers

Modern Sounds

After exploring Leith Stevens' gem Jazz Themes From The Wild One in our previous post—and the intrigue surrounding its potential mark on the Lighthouse All-Stars—it's time to take a step back toward the original source of that inspiration. Today's feature is an essential volume in West Coast discography that brings together, in an indispensable "two-in-one", two of the genre's sonic pillars: Shorty Rogers' celebrated Modern Sounds (which inspired Stevens upon Marlon Brando's own recommendation) and a foundational work by the Gerry Mulligan Ten-Tette from 1953. A double reissue whose historical significance is best captured through the lens of specialized criticism and its original liner notes.

In two sporty little band concerts, The Shorty Rogers Giants and The Gerry Mulligan Tentette each ante up a half dozen pieces of Middle-Period Modern to make up this 2-in-1 pack. Like any pair of aces back-to-back Mulligan and Rogers stand to gain from the coupling.

Part of the gain is the chance to introduce followers of either to the other's work; part is the opportunity for side-by-side comparison. Comparison proves that Shorty and Gerry are neither startlingly similar nor sharply opposed.

One of the things they have in common is a certain lightheartedness in their music. Humor in music can be shallow, but neither of these aces could be counted as an out-and-out joker in that sense because their hearts, while light, are warm and whole. That's the long suit for Rogers and heart is a quality of Mulligan's, too. (...)

As to the dates themselves, each seems to have offered its leader a chance to put into play a pet project, and the results, in both cases, altered the look of jazz a little. Both composers chose to employ the oft-neglected middle-sized group: Rogers took eight, Mulligan took ten. But there is a difference in approach that goes beyond the gap of two: prior to these dates Mulligan had been connected with some of the earliest incidences of chamber voicing; Rogers, on the other hand, was identified with more orthodox band music. Here, the roles are reversed: Rogers has the chamber, Mulligan the dance-derivative sound; the octet is a big combo, the Tentette a little band. (...)

Shorty's date, when it was first released, hit like a bombshell. Now that the Forward Look in jazz has become respectable the music is no longer controversial, but simply pleasing and solid. The Tentette was a bit blanketed by the hullabaloo over the then new and startling Mulligan quartet, but the record was always quite popular with musicians, who considered it a sleeper, and reportedly it is a favorite of Mulligan's. Since then, its real worth has steadily become more widely known. The Rogers date is easily locatable in relation to what went before and what followed; it was a step in the journey. The Mulligan date is less datable; it stands alone; there is nothing quite like it. (...)

Although it's common to come upon lists, made out by thoughtful people, of the "Ten Books" or the "Ten Records" they would take to a desert island, perhaps it is false to assume that anyone is ever really confronted with the problem. But if so, this record—highly portable, compact—would seem to have been expressly constructed for a little fudging on the quota, a neat chance to slip in the equivalent of a bonus eleventh.

For the stay-at-home, the bonus—beyond just good listening—is the chance to compare Rogers' and Mulligan's compositions with versions by other bands and by their own smaller groups—like PoPo, the tune that Rogers still uses for a set ending, and many of Mulligan's best-loved songs, like Walking Shoes. (...)

And any jazz-follower can rest assured these sides will remain meaningful, rewarding, and fashionable for some time to come. This big record is full of surprise caches, opening up like a deluxe Boy Scout Knife to reveal more happy gadgets with every handling. Actually, "scout knife" is too skimpy a symbol; Mulligan and Rogers cast together make a handsome two-edged sword that cuts clean either way you swing it. *Will MacFarland (from the liner notes)*

On the heels of Miles Davis' style-defining release Birth of the Cool, Shorty Rogers and Gerry Mulligan chimed in with their own important cool jazz records, placing the music in its future West Coast home in the process. Modern Sounds brings together some of these seminal recordings, including a 1951 set by Rogers and His Giants and a 1953 date by Mulligan and His Tennette. Rogers' outfit includes then future West Coast stars like alto saxophonist Art Pepper, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Giuffre, pianist Hampton Hawes, and drummer Shelley Manne, among others. Each soloist gets plenty of room to stretch out on a set including four Rogers originals; Pepper particularly shines on a fine rendition "Over the Rainbow," while Giuffre deserves special mention for his sparkling original "Four Mothers." Save for Vernon Duke's "Taking a Chance on Love," the second half of this collection includes all Mulligan originals. Similar to Rogers' fine work, these cuts bounce along on airy and subtly complex arrangements. Joining Mulligan are standout soloists like trumpeters Chet Baker and Pete Candoli, alto saxophonist Bud Shank, and drummer Chico Hamilton. Highlights include "Westwood Walk," "A Ballad," and "Rocker" (this last cut having originally been cut as part of the Birth of the Cool sessions). A very enjoyable set taking in the beginnings of West Coast jazz. *Stephen Cook (www.allmusic.com)*

1 - Four Mothers

(Jimmy Giuffre)

2 - Didi

(Shorty Rogers)

3 - Sam And The Lady

(Shorty Rogers)

4 - Popo

(Shorty Rogers)

5 - Over The Rainbow

(Arlen, Harburg)

6 - Apropos

(Shorty Rogers)

7 - Westwood Walk

(Gerry Mulligan)

8 - Simbah

(Gerry Mulligan)

9 - Walking Shoes

(Gerry Mulligan)

10 - Rocker

(Gerry Mulligan)

11 - A Ballad

(Gerry Mulligan)

12 - Taking A Chance On Love

(Duke, Latouche, Fetter)

13 - Flash

(Gerry Mulligan)

14 - Ontet

(Gerry Mulligan)

#1 to #6

Shorty Rogers and His Giants:

Shorty Rogers (trumpet), John Graas (french horn), Gene Englund (tuba),

Art Pepper (alto sax), Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax),

Hampton Hawes (piano), Don Bagley (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, October 8, 1951

#7 to #14

Gerry Mulligan and His Ten-Tette:

#7, #9, #10, #11

Chet Baker, Pete Candoli (trumpets); Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone);

John Graas (french horn); Ray Siegel (tuba); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Don Davidson (baritone sax); Gerry Mulligan (baritones sax);

Joe Mondragon (bass); Chico Hamilton (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, January 29, 1953

#8, #12, #13, #14

Chet Baker, Pete Candoli (trumpets); Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone);

John Graas (french horn); Ray Siegel (tuba); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Don Davidson (baritone sax); Gerry Mulligan (baritones sax, piano [#12, #13, #14]);

Joe Mondragon (bass); Larry Bunker (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, January 31, 1953

Five-Star Collection... Art Pepper

Art Pepper

Art Pepper + Eleven

A Treasury Of Modern Jazz Classics

In a period when the qualifications for having one's own jazz album remains nebulous, it's been all the more astonishing that Art Pepper has been in charge of so few. Pepper has grown remarkably in imagination and emotional depth in the past few years as was hotly clear in Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section (Contemporary 3532, Stereo 7018). In this new, uniquely integrated set, Pepper receives a differently challenging framework from Marty Paich than he — or most other soloists — has yet received on records. And Art responds with consistent brilliance.

What Paich has done has been to provide more than just accompaniment for Art. He has integrated the resilient band backgrounds with Art's playing in a way that stimulates Pepper but doesn't obstruct the improvisatory flow of his ideas. Paich was able to accomplish this fusion because he knows Pepper's style well through several years of association, including dates on which Marty was pianist for Art. (...)

The programmatic concept of the album is also challenging to both Pepper and Paich. These are twelve established modern jazz standards — music directly out of the jazz experience, written by jazzmen. They're part of that growing body of thoroughly indigenous jazz material to which player-writers like Jelly Roll Morton, Kid Ory, Duke Ellington, and in more recent years, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk, John Lewis and others have contributed.

Pepper and Paich collaborated on selecting these twelve songs. "We treated them with a great deal of respect", Paich emphasizes. "The tune itself is there all the time. Unlike, for example, doing jazz versions of Broadway shows, with these jazz standards you don't have to alter and extend the chords and make other changes for jazz purposes". (...)

In essence, Art Pepper + Eleven demonstrates, first of all, how mature a soloist Art Pepper has become. It also reemphasizes how much of their own material jazzmen have to work with, and helps considerably in making known Marty Paich's qualifications as a particularly knowledgeable and sensitive jazz arranger. *Nat Hentoff (from the liner notes)*

This is a highly satisfactory album for which Marty Paich, who conducts and did the arranging, deserves a full measure of credit.

The tunes read like a jazz hit parade of the '40s and '50s, and Paich has treated them with the reverence and seriousness they deserve while still retaining wit and a freshness of view. Pepper, in the context of this group, turns out one of his best performances on record. As an altoist, he immediately assumes his place again in the front rank with the added virtue of successfully escaping the tyranny of Charlie Parker’s spirit and still keeping that full-blown swing. He is surprisingly sensitive and moving on clarinet (Anthropology of all things!), and if he ever gets seriously down to work on that instrument as his major, there's room to believe he might be the one to bring it up to the point of development of the other solo horns.

On tenor he is a solidly swinging, tough-minded soloist, but it is on alto, still, that he shines. The whole album is in excellent taste, the solos by Freeman here and there are a gas, too, and Lewis provides a fine, swinging foundation. 

*Ralph J. Gleason (Down Beat, February 18, 1960 [5 stars])*

1 - Move

(Denzil Best)

2 - Groovin' High

(Dizzy Gillespie)

3 - Opus de Funk

(Horace Silver)

4 - 'Round Midnight

(Monk, Williams)

5 - Four Brothers

(Jimmy Giuffre)

6 - Shaw Nuff

(Gillespie, Parker)

7 - Bernie's Tune

(Leiber, Stoller, Miller)

8 - Walkin' Shoes

(Gerry Mulligan)

9 - Anthropology

(Gillespie, Parker)

10 - Airegin

(Sonny Rollins)

11 - Walkin' (original take)

(Richard Carpenter)

12 - Walkin' (alternate take 1)

(Richard Carpenter)

13 - Walkin' (alternate take 2)

 (Richard Carpenter)

14 - Donna Lee (original take)

(Charlie Parker)

15 - Donna Lee (alternate take)

(Charlie Parker)

Art Pepper (alto sax, tenor sax [#1, #5, #11], clarinet [#9, #12, #13]) with:

Pete Candoli [#3, #4, #8, #10], Jack Sheldon, Al Porcino [#1, #2, #5 to #7, #9, #11 to #15] (trumpets);

Herb Geller [#3, #4, #8, #10], Bud Shank [#2, #6, #9, #14, #15], Charlie Kennedy [#1, #5, #7, #11 to #13] (alto saxes);

Dick Nash (trombone); Bob Enevoldsen (tenor sax, valve trombone); Vincent DeRosa (French horn);

Bill Perkins [#2, #3, #4, #6, #8 to #10, #14, #15], Richie Kamuca [#1, #5, #7, #11 to #13] (tenor saxes);

Med Flory (baritone sax); Russ Freeman (piano); Joe Mondragon (bass); Mel Lewis (drums).

Recorded at Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, California, March 14 (#3, #4, #8, #10),

March 28 (#2, #6, #9, #14, #15) and May 12 (#1, #5, #7, #11, #12, #13), 1959.

Five-Star Collection... Shelly Manne

Shelly Manne

Shelly Manne And His Men • Vol. 2

Continuing the West Coast workshop idea begun in Shelly Manne's first album, six leading jazz composers were asked to write the music for this set. Since the first album featured reeds, we felt it might be interesting to explore the possibilities of the brass sound. Each composer was given complete freedom within the limits of the instrumentation.

Each was asked, also, to state briefly something about his composition. *(from the liner notes)*

Shelly Manne's second Contemporary album, out of print since the 10-inch LP era, is one of the definitive statements of West Coast jazz aesthetics. It highlights adventurous musical structures and an unusual septet featuring four brass and rhythm, glows with sonorities no less bold for their intimacy, and is suffused with outstanding musicianship and subtle swing. The compact drive this music often achieved is particularly evident in the contributions of Bob Cooper and Marty Paich, while the beauty of Bill Holman's "Lullaby" captures a similar capacity for tenderness. Pieces by Jimmy Giuffre, Jack Montrose, and Shorty Rogers reveal the more complex notions cultivated in Los Angeles during the Fifties. Each track contains notable contributions from the talented cast, with Manne demonstrating how he helped to redefine the possibilities for jazz drummers in this period. *concord.com*

One of the most important LPs of the year. Bob Cooper, Jimmy Giuffre, Bill Holman, Jack Montrose, Marty Paich, and Shorty Rogers have each contributed an original exploring the possibilities of brass sounds in the context of extended form in jazz. Recorded in Hollywood in December, 1953, and March, 1954, the musicians included Ollie Mitchell, Don Fagerquist, Shorty Rogers, Bob Enevoldsen, Paul Sarmento, Russ Freeman, Marty Paich, Joe Mondragon, and Shelly Manne. Each composer, moreover, has written a brief but clear exposition of his work in the notes. The important thing at the moment is not to fix firm value judgments on the worth of each work nor to argue aimlessly about whether this is "jazz" or not. Here are some of the directions in which jazz will inevitably evolve and these are unusually absorbing beginnings. Everyone concerned with this LP, including engineer John Palladino and supervisor Lester Koenig, deserves full praise. The notes, by the way, are the most articulately valuable of the year — because they were written by the musicians directly involved in the session. *Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, July 14, 1954 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - Dimension In Thirds

(Marty Paich)

2 - Shapes, Motion, Colors

(Shorty Rogers)

3 - Alternation

(Jimmy Giuffre)

Side 2

4 - Divertimento For Bass And Rhythm

(Bob Cooper)

5 - Lullaby

(Bill Holman)

6 - Etude De Concert

(Jack Montrose)

#1, #2, #3:

Ollie Mitchell (first trumpet), Shorty Rogers (second trumpet),

Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone), Paul Sarmento (tuba),

Russ Freeman (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, December 18, 1953

#4, #5, #6:

Don Fagerquist (first trumpet), Shorty Rogers (second trumpet, flugelhorn),

Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone), Paul Sarmento (tuba),

Marty Paich (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, March 17, 1954

Five-Star Collection... Gerry Mulligan

Gerry Mulligan

Gerry Mulligan And His Ten-Tette

Gerry Mulligan is one of the inventors of the contemporary jazz form, and his early promise experimenting with small forward-looking groups achieves fruition with this extensive exhibit of his art. Gerry is that rare phenomenon — a truly originative talent. Everything he does is unique and he has the unalterable courage to do as he "hears" fit. With it all, there is no restraining self-consciousness. Quite the contrary, Gerry is irresistibly "full of malarkey!" There’s an impishness about both him and his music that lends great charm.

He's a young composer who somehow combines the restless intensity of a serious and sensitive composer with the levity of a leprechaun. And it's all here in the music.

Gerry's early background in the music field is surprisingly orthodox. He even arranged for Tommy Tucker and Elliot Lawrence, but he quickly espoused the modern sounds and "gigged" around New York with the small coterie of musicians that spearheaded the search for new and interesting things to say in jazz. He helped to organize, write for, and play on one of the milestones of modern jazz, the Miles Davis "Move" record date for Capitol.

But here, perhaps for the first time, he has been given carte blanche — freedom to express himself without limitation. (...)

The moods and feelings captured here range all the way from something resembling a German Salvation Army Band playing on a Heidelberg street corner — with a beat — to the reckless abandon of a Deep South Revivalist meeting. But all the way, it's ingenious, challenging, and warm. This is what jazz is coming to. In fact, it's here! *Gene Norman (from the liner notes)*

Gerry's dectet (two trumpets, bone, French horn, alto, two baritones, tuba, bass, drums) eschews atonality, polytonality, polyphony, and pretension, goes in for strictly jazz sounds that begin where Miles Davis' famous Capitol sessions (also partly organized by Mulligan) left off.

The rich diversity of orchestrated tonal hues is what gives this set its fifth star. The solos, though secondary, are almost completely, and justifiably, monopolized by Mulligan and Chet Baker. Gerry switches to piano on three tunes, including the attractive Ontet. Latter is based on the last chorus of Godchild, which he scored for the Davis date.

Of the other originals Walking Shoes has the warmest flavor, a legit blues quality with a semisatirical end; Westwood has Gerry’s most eloquent baritone solo and Flash the most variety, with some great Bud Shank alto, and delightful ensemble accents in the last chorus. Simbah is a simple riff thing with a strangely Gershwin-esque quality in the first release.

If you're already bored by the Mulligan foursome, this set is the perfect restorative.

*Down Beat (Chicago, October 7, 1953 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - Rocker

(Gerry Mulligan)

2 - Walking Shoes

(Gerry Mulligan)

3 - Simbah

(Gerry Mulligan)

4 - Ontet

(Gerry Mulligan)

Side 2

5 - Westwood Walk

(Gerry Mulligan)

6 - A Ballad

(Gerry Mulligan)

7 - Taking A Chance On Love

(Vernon Duke, John La Touche, Ted Fetter)

8 - Flash

(Gerry Mulligan)

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax, piano [#4, #7, #8]); Chet Baker, Pete Candoli (trumpets);

Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone); John Graas (french horn);

Ray Siegel (tuba); Bud Shank (alto sax); Don Davidson (baritone sax); 

Joe Mondragon (bass); Chico Hamilton [#1, #2, #5, #6], Larry Bunker [#3, #4, #7, #8] (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Recording Studios, Hollywood, California,

January 29 (#1, #2, #5, #6) and January 31 (#3, #4, #7, #8), 1953

Les Brown's Men

On June 15, 1955, Down Beat magazine profiled the members of Les Brown's orchestra in an article titled "Here's The Lineup Of The Les Brown Ork". The four protagonists of the album presented below were introduced as follows:

RONNY LANG [a.k.a. Ronnie Lang], 25, alto sax, was bom in Chicago, but first started playing in Los Angeles with Hoagy Carmichael's Teenagers. Ronny also worked with Earle Spencer, Dick Pierce, Ike Carpenter, and Skinnay Ennis. He joined Les in 1949 and played with him for a year before being drafted. Ronny rejoined Les in 1953. He is married, has one child, and stays in shape by playing tennis and golf.

RAY SIMS, 34, trombone, started playing at 15. Ray, brother of Zoot Sims, worked for Don Briggs, then with Giggie Royse in Honolulu until the war. He was in the army

three years. Ray also played for Jerry Wald, Bobby Sherwood, and Benny Goodman, before joining Les. "I love to watch and play baseball", says Ray.

DAVE PELL, 30, tenor sax, bass clarinet, oboe, and English horn, played with the bands of Bob Astor, Bobby Sherwood, and Tony Pastor before going to the coast to join the Bob Crosby show. Dave had a small group around L.A. for a few years, and recorded an album for Trend Records with an octet made up of the nucleus of the Brown band which proved to be a big success. Since then, the group recorded two more albums for Trend and one for Atlantic Records. When the Les Brown band has open dates, Dave has no trouble booking the group for jazz concerts and teenage dances. In his "spare time", Dave maintains a photography studio and an advertising and publicity office in Hollywood. He is married, and his wife is expecting a child.

DON FAGERQUIST, 28, trumpet, started his career in music back in his home town, Worcester, Mass. Don studied with local teachers and played in his high school band. He has been associated with the following orchestras: Mal Hallett, Gene Krupa, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, and a small combo with Anita O'Day, before joining Les Brown.

Don enjoys his record collection, and keeps in trim by swimming. He has two children: Tom, 8, and Donna June, 2.

Ronny Lang • Ray Sims • Dave Pell • Don Fagerquist

The Les Brown All Stars

The Les Brown All Stars are actually three groups — the Dave Pell Octet, Ronny Lang Saxtet and Don Fagerquist Nonet — comprised for the most part of members or alumni of Brown's popular and long-lived Band of Renown and encircling on this anthology from the mid-'50s three numbers by Zoot Sims' older brother, trombonist Ray, with string section. Pell's group, the precursor to the others, is heard on three tracks, as are the Fagerquist and Lang groups.

Pell, who joined Brown's band in 1948, formed his crowd-pleasing octet five years later. While the first group was made up entirely of personnel from the Band of Renown, others soon were enlisted, such as baritone saxophonist Bob Gordon, pianist Paul Smith and bassist Joe Mondragon, who are among the performers here. Pell is the common denominator in all three groups, manning the front line with Gordon and tenor giants Sims and Bill Holman in Fagerquist's nine-piece ensemble, with altos Lang and Bob Drasnin in the former's Saxtet.

The music, much of it taken from the Great American Songbook and neatly arranged by the likes of Holman, Marty Paich, Shorty Rogers and Wes Hensel, never strays far from Brown's dance-oriented philosophy (as Pell says, music that was "danceable and yet still had a jazz feel ). It's cheerful music that swings breezily along behind buoyant solos by Pell and the others. Pell, a remarkably durable musician who made his professional debut in 1941 plays a "happy tenor" that would put a smile on almost anyone's face. If you've heard Zoot or Bob Cooper, the tenors who perhaps came closest to Pell in style and temperament, if not in sound, you'll know what I mean.

*Jack Bowers (allaboutjazz.com)*

Four of Les Brown's most talented stars... leading four gifted groups through stimulating jazz performances! 

You may, quite rightfully, be bothered about the title "All-Stars" being applied to almost every musical group of more than four pieces. And then along comes a unit which has every right to use the title, and all of a sudden you feel sorry for the ones that try to bluff.

Such a group is the entire Les Brown Orchestra — a facile, skilled, sharpshooting gang of musicians who know what to do when jazz time rolls around.

A number of Brown's men lead bands in this album, augmented by a few sturdy West Coast jazzmen who are in complete rapport with them. See if you don't agree that this collection puts the phrase "All-Stars" back in the position where it belongs — a signification of strength and quality that corresponds to "sterling" on silver. *Jack Tracy (liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - Mike's Peak

(Shorty Rogers)

2 - Thou Swell

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

3 - The Way You Look Tonight

(Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields)

4 - You Don't Know What Love Is

(Don Raye, Gene De Paul)

5 - The Man I Love

(George and Ira Gershwin)

6 -Sorta Moonlight

(Wes Hensel, Ronny Lang)

Side 2

7 - Love Is Just Around The Corner

(Lewis E. Gensler, Leo Robin)

8 - Klump Jump

(Marty Paich)

9 - My Funny Valentine

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

10 - Love Me Or Leave Me

(Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn)

11 - Let's Fall In Love

(Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler)

12 - Poopsie

(David Pell)

#1, #8, #12: Dave Pell Ensemble

Dave Pell (tenor sax), Bob Gordon (Baritone sax), Ray Sims (trombone),

Don Fagerquist (trumpet), Tony Rizzi (guitar), Paul Smith (piano),

Joe Mondragon (bass), Ralph Peña (bass [#8]), Jack Sperling (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Melrose Studios, Hollywood, California,

June 15 (#1, #12) and June 17 (#8), 1955

#2, #6, #10: Ronny Lang Saxtet

Ronny Lang, Bob Drasnin (alto saxes); Dave Pell, Abe Aaron (tenor saxes);

Butch Stone (baritone sax); Donn Trenner (piano); Buddy Clark (bass); Bill Richmond (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Melrose Studios, Hollywood, California, June 23, 1955

#3, #5, #7: Don Fagerquist Nonette

Don Fagerquist (trumpet); Bill Holman, Dave Pell, Zoot Sims (tenor saxes);

Bob Gordon (baritone sax); Vernon Polk (guitar); Donn Trenner (piano);

Buddy Clark (bass); Bill Richmond (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Melrose Studios, Hollywood, California, June 21, 1955

#4, #9, #11: Ray Sims With Strings

Ray Sims (trombone, vocal [#11]), Ronny Lang (flute), Corky Hale (harp),

Donn Trenner (piano), Buddy Clark (bass), Bill Richmond (drums).

[String section led by Les Brown but unidentified personnel]

Recorded at Capitol Melrose Studios, Hollywood, California, June 27, 1955

Art Pepper and Sonny Redd: Two talents reunited

Art Pepper • Sonny Redd

Two Altos

Art Pepper • Sonny Redd is an album by American alto saxophonists Art Pepper and Sonny Redd. The four standards which appear on the album were recorded in Los Angeles with West Coast-jazz musicians between 1952 and 1954, whilst the two originals were recorded at Van Gelder Studio, in 1957. Regent Records, a subsidiary of Savoy Records, released these recordings in 1959. 

Following in the tradition of great alto saxophonists, a great star of today and a new star of today match their talents in a combination album of what's new and good in modern jazz. Following a tradition on the horn that featured such luminaries as Johnny Hodges, Don Redman, and Benny Carter... the alto saxophone was completely revamped, revitalized, and revved up under the influence of the late Charlie Parker. "Bird's" genius transformed this smaller member of the virile saxophone family into a thing of perfect beauty. He hastened its pace, transformed its tone, and gave a sky-high new horizon for its possibilities that has been untouched yet!

Perhaps the finest star on this horn today is Art Pepper. A bird-inspired disciple who has developed his own powerful voice, Art's allegiances have been with the so-called "West Coast" school of jazz, but he's a mighty swinger! 

Two tracks are extended vehicles for the combo led by young alto star Sonny Redd. A Detroiter, recently in New York, he has stirred great interest with his emotional, fiery alto style.

*Alan Stein (from the liner notes)*

Two of our favorite 50s alto talents together on one LP — both players who handle their instrument better than most of their contemporaries, and always with a unique and personal sound! The album offers four tracks by Art Pepper — recorded with groups that include Hampton Hawes on piano, Larry Bunker on drums, Jack Montrose on tenor, and either Russ Freeman or Claude Williamson on piano — and two tracks by Sonny Redd, recorded with a quintet that includes Pepper Adams on baritone, Doug Watkins on bass, Wynton Kelly on piano, and Elvin Jones on drums — more of a Prestige lineup than a Regent one, and really remarkable for the set. The Redd tracks — "Watkins Products" and "Redds Head" — are the longer and more enticing numbers on the set — but we should also say that we love Pepper's work for Regent, and think it's some of his best – and find his tracks pretty darn nice, too. Titles by Pepper include "Deep Purple", "Everything Happens To Me", "These Foolish Things", and "What's New". *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

1. Deep Purple

(Robbins, Parish)

2. Watkins Production

(Doug Watkins)

3. Everything Happens To Me

(Dennis, Adair)

4. Redd's Head

(Sonny Red)

5. These Foolish Things

(Maschwitz, Link, Strachey)

6. What's New

(Haggart, Burke)

#1, #6: Art Pepper Quintet

Art Pepper (alto sax), Jack Montrose (tenor sax),

Claude Williamson (piano), Monty Budwig (bass), Paul Ballerina (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, August 25, 1954

#2, #4: Sonny Redd Quintet

Sonny Redd (alto sax), Pepper Adams (baritone sax),

Wynton Kelly (piano), Doug Watkins (bass), Elvin Jones (drums).

Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey, November 12, 1957

#3: Art Pepper Quartet

Art Pepper (alto sax), Russ Freeman (piano), Bob Whitlock (bass), Bobby White (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, March 29, 1953

#5: Art Pepper Quartet

Art Pepper (alto sax), Hampton Hawes (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass), Larry Bunker (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, March 4, 1952

Liberty Records • Jazz in Hollywood Series (IV)

Abe Most Quintet

Mister Clarinet

✤Liberty LJH 6004✤

Abe Most (February 27, 1920 – October 10, 2002) was a swing clarinetist and alto saxophonist who is known for his performances and recordings of the works of Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. He began his career in 1939 as a member of Les Brown's big band. After serving three years in the US Army during World War II from 1942-1945, he became a member of Tommy Dorsey's big band.

Most made a few albums with smaller labels, including Superior (1946), Trend (1954), Annunciata (1978) and Camard (1984). He was a studio musician for seven decades, playing on albums by Earth, Wind & Fire, Ted Gärdestad, Dick Haymes, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, and Dory Previn among others. He can also be heard playing on the soundtrack of the film "How to Marry a Millionaire". He is the older brother of jazz musician Sam Most. *library.ucsb.edu*

Mister Clarinet stands out due to its emphasis on swing music and showcases Abe leading a quintet made up of prominent musicians from that time. The twelve tracks featured on the album highlight Most's remarkable versatility and skill on the clarinet. This album is well-regarded for its sophisticated performances and the high standard of its arrangements, reinforcing Abe Most's status as an exceptional swing clarinetist. *worthpoint.com*

He's a jazz clarinet player and he's the Most! And Abe is his first name. 

He stands 6 ft. 2 in — weighs 15 stone. He’s good-natured, guileless, easy-going and always smiling. As so many of the Hollywood musicians say: "Of all the guys around, Abe is the friendliest and the happiest". 

But. one Christmas Day he cried his eyes out. It was December 25, 1929. He was nine. For three years Jack Teagarden had been his idol. Naturally, young Abe Most wanted Santa to give him a trombone, and he'd "gotten a clarinet instead". 

"You see, things weren't too good in Dad's hat business", Abe told me. And the still youthful Pop Most chimed in: "Yes, licorice sticks were much cheaper than slip horns". 

Anyway, it seems that little Abe soon dried his eyes. He quickly transferred his affections from Big T (Jack Teagarden) to BG (Benny Goodman) and settled down to learn the intricacies of the Boehm system. He practised to good effect, as is amply evidenced on the fascinating new recordings by Abe with his own group of Hollywood jazz stars. 

The accomplished Abe was born, of Russian parents, in New York. Immediately on leaving high school he formed his own jazz quartet, a clarinet-accordion-guitar-bass group. 

However, the California sun lured Abe back. He returned to Hollywood to rejoin Les Brown. The Most clarinet was heard with the Brown band on the Bob Hope and other radio and TV shows emanating from the West Coast.

In 1950, Abe left Les to go to the 20th-Century Fox film studios as their jazz clarinettist. 

Nevertheless, Abe and his friend Buddy de Franco have their own mutual admiration society. Abe was, actually, Buddy's successor in Tommy Dorsey's band. 

Abe has studied extensively under the Schillinger system. He composes and arranges everything played by the group.

You will find that it is not, in any way music for profound study. But it is music for consummate enjoyment. It's modern jazz with a completely unpretentious approach — a swinging, ebullient sound that expresses the personality of its creator — articulate ABE (the) MOST.

*Howard Lucraft (liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - Let's Fall In Love

(Arlken, Koehler)

2 - There's A Small Hotel

(Rodgers, Hart)

3 - You Go To My Head

(Coots, Gillespie)

4 - Smoke Rings

(Gifford, Washington)

5 - The Lively Ghost

(Abe Most)

6 - Myrtha

(Abe Most)

Side 2

7 - Lady Is A Tramp

(Rodgers, Hart)

8 - Little Girl Blue

(Rodgers, Hart)

9 - Makin' Whoopee

(Kahn, Donaldson)

10 - Stuffed Olives

(Abe Most)

11 - What Is There To Say

(Harburg, V. Duke)

12 - Mr. Caddis Thorpe

(Abe Most)

Abe Most (clarinet), Tony Rizzi (guitar),

Paul Smith (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass), Larry Bunker (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, August 1955

Shorty Rogers And André Previn - Collaboration

It really seems that West Coast musicians will never cease to surprise us. They had a propensity for launching themselves into the wildest enterprises, taking enormous musical risks, with an air of nonchalance totally their own. The album Collaboration could well be the most impressive of all such carefree excursions; it is, at the very least, unique of its kind. 

The rules of this particular game seem innocuous at the outset, but have an unexpected sting in their tail. Take nine musicians, of whom two — among the best in California — double as instrumentalists and arrangers. Ask this same nonet to perform charts by each of the two arrangers in Strict alternation. Too easy so far, so now impose the condition that for each standard scored by the one, the other must reply with an original composition constructed around the same harmonies! A challenge to which Shorty Rogers and André Prévin respond magnificently.

Milton "Shorty" Rogers symbolises single-handed that magnificent wave of renewal that swept across the West Coast in the early 'fifties. Everything that bore his signature-whether as trumpeter, arranger or supervisor-possessed a certain distinction. His spell as artistic director at RCA produced many quite irreplaceable albums. André Prévin, for his part, is a musician who defies all categorisation. For many years he worked for MGM, composing the music of films such as Vincente Minnelli's "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", Ranald McDougall’s "Subterraneans" and Richard Brook’s "Elmer Gantry". Today he reigns triumphant as conductor of some of the world's leading symphony orchestras.

Undaunted by the daring concept of this project, Shorty Rogers and André Prévin set joyously about their task, juggling eagerly with contrasts and camparisons. They humorously nod acknowledgement to classical music: the shadow of Stravinsky glides over "You Do Something to Me", while Bud Shank and Bob Cooper execute a magnificent fugue passage on "Some Antics".

The vitality, invention and sheer mastery exhibited in this album almost obscure the fact that "Collaboration" originated as little more than a lighthearted wager! *Alain Tercinet*

Shorty Rogers And André Previn

Collaboration

For this slightly unusual LP Shorty Rogers and Andre Previn split the arranging chores in a somewhat competitive fashion. Rogers arranges a standard and then that is followed by a Previn original based on the same chord structure. This procedure is followed until the halfway point of the date when they reverse roles. As performed by a nonet featuring Rogers' trumpet, Previn's piano, altoist Bud Shank, Bob Cooper on tenor, baritonist Jimmy Giuffre, trombonist Milt Bernhart and a rhythm section, the result is a dead heat with some fine swinging solos on tunes (and variations) of such songs as "It's DeLovely", "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" and "You Do Something To Me". This will be a difficult album to locate. *Scott Yanow*

Here's a jazz set that should sell at a snappy rate over the next few months. If features, for the first time together, two top arrangers, having a go at each other in a sort of jazz arrangers battle. Shorty Rogers does a take-off on three of André Previn's arrangements, and vice versa. It ends up a stimulating, and oft-times exciting platter. The sidemen, all first-rate modernist, include Bud Shank on alto, Jimmy Giuffre on baritone, Milt Bernhart on trombone and Shelly Manne on drums. The boys turn out some mighty listenable jazz on both Rogers and Previn wear their arranging laurels proudy. Liner notes are good and the cover attractive. Crazy wax this, and a potent release. *Billboard, February 12, 1955*

1 - It's Delovely

(Cole Porter)

2 - Porterhouse

(André Previn)

3 - Heat Wave

(Irving Berlin)

4 - 40.° Below

(André Previn)

5 - You Stepped Out Of A Dream

(Nacio Herb Brown, Gus Kahn)

6 - Claudia

(André Previn)

7 - You Do Something To Me

(Cole Porter)

8 - Call For Cole

(Shorty Rogers)

9 - Everything I've Got (Belongs To You)

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

10 - Some Antics

(Shorty Rogers)

11 - It Only Happens When I Dance With You

(Berlin)

12 - General Cluster

(Shorty Rogers)

Shorty Rogers (trumpet); Milt Bernhart (trombone); Bud Shank (alto sax, flute); Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax); André Previn (piano); Al Hendrickson [#3 to #6, #9 to #12], Jack Marshall [#1, #2, #7, #8] (guitars); Curtis Counce [#4, #6, #10, #12], Joe Mondragon [#1 to #3, #5, #7 to #9, #11] (basses); Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California, March 30 (#3, #5, #9, #11), June 14 (#4, #6, #10, #12) and September 14 (#1, #2, #7, #8), 1954.

***

and now... time for Punta del Este...

~ will back on December 20 ~

Shorty Rogers - Afro-Cuban Influence

Afro-Cuban music is probably the only musical import to come to America and become an integral part of our own music. The pulsating rhythms of Africa and Cuba 

have been liberally sprinkled into our pop music. It has influenced our religious and spiritual songs. It has found its way into our folk tunes. But nowhere has it left such an indelible mark as in the jazz music of our country — an art form that was essentially bred in America and which we now export with great pride throughout the world.

Without going into all the causes and effects, the term "Afro-Cuban Jazz" has been in use here for many years. Many great American bands have made use of its exciting musical colors — Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton and Dizzy Gillespie, to mention a few, are American-born musicians whose bands have come under the Afro-Cuban influence. Bands like those of Tito Puente, Machito and Perez Prado are also exciting examples of basically Afro-Cuban groups influenced by our native 

American jazz. Whichever way you look at it, the simplest way to describe the result is "Afro-Cuban Jazz".

This album is the result of collaboration by Carlos Vidal, Modesto Duran and myself. The three of us have always been fascinated by the richness, the moods, the color, the variety and the often wild excitement that Afro-Cuban music generates.

Throughout this album, we have given free reign to our impulses, fully conscious that we were leaning on, and affected by, what is perhaps the most dominant single factor in American music today — the AFRO-CUBAN INFLUENCE. *Shorty Rogers (liner notes)*

Shorty Rogers acknowledges the influence of Afro-Cuban music on this RCA Victor date, with a big band that is augmented by no fewer than eight Latin percussionists, along with drummer Shelly Manne. The leader is heard on flügelhorn exclusively. The entire first side of the record is devoted to "Wuayacañjanga Suite", a collaborative work by Rogers, Carlos Vidal, and Modesto Duran. Although the vocal segments can grow tiresome quickly, the variety within this extended suite is compelling. The flip side salutes earlier Afro-Cuban compositions by a number of jazz masters. His percolating arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie's "Manteca" is stretched out considerably, while the less well-known Duke Ellington-Juan Tizol piece "Moon Over Cuba" demonstrates the lyrical dimension of this style. Bud Powell's thrilling "Un Poco Loco" is played at a furious tempo, with a brilliant exchange between the individual horns and brass. Sadly, none of the soloists are identified on this highly recommended LP, which has been reissued overseas as Manteca Afro-Cuban Influence, but it has not reappeared in the U.S. *Ken Dryden*

A wonderful album of Latin grooves from Shorty! The record is one of his best, and features a whopping array of percussionists — including Carlos Vidal, Modesto Durán, and Mike Pacheco all coming into play with Shorty's west coast style of arrangements, tweaked greatly here to pick up an Afro Cuban sound. Players include Bud Shank, Bill Holman, Frank Rosolino, Herb Geller, and Bob Cooper — and the album is very similar to Perez Prado's Voodoo Suite álbum, which was also recorded for RCA around the same time. Includes the cuts "Un Poco Loco", "Manteca", "Viva Puente", and the extended suite "Wuayacañjanga".  *dustygroove.com*

Side 1

1 - Wuayacañjanga (Suite)

(Vidal, Durán, Rogers)

Side 2

2 - Manteca

(Fuller, Gillespie, Pozo)

3 - Moon Over Cuba

(Duke Ellington, Juan Tizol)

4 - Viva Puente

(Shorty Rogers)

5 - Un Poco Loco

(Bud Powell)

Shorty Rogers (flügelhorn); Al Porcino, Buddy Childers, Ed Leddy, Don Fagerquist, Ray Triscari (trumpets); Frank Rosolino, Harry Betts (trombones); Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone); George Roberts, Kenny Schroyer (bass trombones); Bud Shank (flute, alto sax); Herb Geller (alto sax); Bob Cooper (oboe, tenor sax); Bill Hood (tenor sax, baritone sax); Chuck Gentry (baritone sax); Joe Mondragon (bass); Shelly Manne (drums); Frank Guerrero (timbales); Carlos Vidal (conga); Modesto Durán, Luis Miranda (conga, percussion); Mike Pacheco (bongos); Juan Cheda (bongos, vocal); Manuel Ochoa Kaskara (vocal, percussion); Sirelda González (maracas, vocal).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, California, June 19 (#1) and June 26 (#2, #3, #4, #5), 1958.

Marty Paich - Paich-Ence

One of the best-known arrangers of the post-World War II era, Marty Paich had much stronger jazz credentials than many of his peers, thanks to his active presence on the West Coast scene during the '50s. Paich was born in Oakland, CA, on January 23, 1925; he started out as a pianist, and was performing professionally at age 16. Along with the up-and-coming Pete Rugolo, he wrote arrangements for local bandleader Gary Nottingham. Tapped for military service in 1943, he continued to arrange while serving as the leader of the Army Air Corps band through 1946. Following his discharge, he used the G.I. Bill to further his musical education, enrolling at UCLA to study arranging under Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (who also helped train Nelson Riddle). He earned a master's degree from the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music in 1951, and quickly found work in the industry as both an arranger and pianist, working with Jerry Gray and Dan Terry early on.

Paich soon graduated to higher-profile gigs, playing and arranging for Shelly Manne and Shorty Rogers over 1953-1954, and also serving a stint as Peggy Lee's accompanist and musical director. He led his own groups as well, and in 1955 he began recording for a succession of labels that included Mode, Tampa, Candid, Warner and RCA Victor. He also toured with Dorothy Dandridge, and arranged (and performed on) the soundtrack to the Disney film Lady and the Tramp (1955). During the mid- to late '50s, Paich wrote arrangements for a who's who of West Coast jazz, including Chet Baker, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, Dave Pell, and Stan Kenton, among others. Perhaps his most notable work came with Mel Tormé, whom he often backed with a ten-piece group dubbed the Dek-tette; the pairing resulted in the classic album Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-tette, plus numerous other high-quality sessions through 1960. Additionally, Paich contributed the arrangements to altoist Art Pepper's 1959 masterpiece Art Pepper + Eleven: Modern Jazz Classics. Paich's work for both Tormé and Pepper reflected one of his greatest strengths as an arranger: making relatively small groups sound like full-size orchestras.

By the close of the '50s, Paich had already begun to branch out from his West Coast roots, arranging material for Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day, and big-band leader Terry Gibbs. Around 1960, he elected to move away from his own recording career to focus on arranging for pop (and sometimes jazz) vocalists. Over the course of the decade, he worked with the likes of Ray Charles, Lena Horne, Helen Humes, Al Hirt, Andy Williams, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Astrud Gilberto, and Mahalia Jackson, among many others. He also composed music for films (including some animated Hanna-Barbera projects) and television shows, winning an Emmy for his work on Ironside. In the late '60s, he served as musical director on a succession of variety shows, including The Glen Campbell Good-Time Hour, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (as Nelson Riddle's successor), and The Sonny and Cher Show.

After the early '70s, Paich's activity began to tail off, though he still worked sporadically as an orchestra conductor and string arranger, both on movie soundtracks and for artists like George Benson, Carly Simon, Elton John, and Kenny Loggins. He also helmed Sarah Vaughan's Songs of the Beatles project in 1980. In the late '80s, Paich reunited with a resurgent Tormé, reorganizing the Dek-tette for a series of highly acclaimed recordings and tours. He also continued to work on soundtracks into the '90s, frequently as a conductor and musical supervisor. Colon cancer claimed Paich's life on August 12, 1995. *Steve Huey*

Marty Paich

Paich-Ence • The Unique Orchestral Sound

Complete Recordings As A Leader (1955–1956)

Marty Paich (1925-1995) became interested in jazz in 1940 when he heard the Jimmy Lunceford band play. As a student of the distinguished Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, he absorbed the fundamentals of harmony and counterpoint. In 1951, with a Masters Degree in Composition he became one of the most sought after arrangers of the music business in the Los Angeles scene.

These recordings, the first he did as a leader, are not only further evidence of the talent, versatility and imagination of Marty Paich, but also a showcase for the more academic approach to jazz scoring he promoted within the boundaries of the West Coast school of jazz during the mid Fifties.

*Jordi Pujol*

1 - Tempo De Sylva

(Marty Paich)

2 - Tomjean

(Marty Paich)

3 - Stranger In The Rain

(Marty Paich)

4 - Kentucky Blue Grass

(Marty Paich)

5 - Tenors West

(Marty Paich)

6 - Paich-Ence

(Marty Paich)

7 - Con-Spirito

(Marty Paich)

8 - The Dragon

(Marty Paich)

9 - Jacqueline

(Marty Paich)

10 - At The Marty Gras

(Marty Paich)

11 - Ballet Du Bongo, (part I)

(Marty Paich)

12 - Ballet Du Bongo, (part II)

(Marty Paich)

13 - Take The "A" Train

(Ellington, Strayhorn)

14 - Line For Lions

(Gerry Mulligan)

15 - There's No You

(Adair-Hooper)

16 - Shorty George

(Basie, Durham)

17 - Times Square

(Marty Paich)

18 - Coldwater Canyon Blues

(Marty Paich)

19 - Four Blow Fours

(Marty Paich)

20 - Lonely Time

(Marty Paich)

#1 to #4: from Jazz Music For The Birds And The Hep Cats (Bethlehem BCP-6039)

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bob Enevoldsen (valve tronbone), Bob Hardaway (tenor sax), Marty Paich (piano), Tony Rizzi (guitar), Max Bennett (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, CA, January 15, 1955.

#5 to #12: from The Marty Paich Octet Vol.10 (Gene Norman Presents GNP-153)

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone), Harry Klee (flute, tenor sax, alto sax), Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Jack Du Long (baritone sax), Marty Paich (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass), Art Mardigan (drums), Jack Costanzo (bongoes [#11, #12]).

Recorded at Capitol Melrose Studios, Los Angeles, CA, February 1 and 2, 1955 [other source gives November 9, 1955.]

#13 to #16: from Tenors West (Gene Norman Presents GNP-21)

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone), Harry Klee (flute, tenor sax), Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax), Jack Du Long (baritone sax), Marty Paich (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass), Frank Capp (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Melrose Studios, Los Angeles, CA, November 10, 1955.

#17 to #20: from Modern Jazz Gallery (Kapp KXL-5001)

Conte Candoli, Don Fagerquist, Ed Leddy (trumpets); Francis Fitzpatrick, Bobby Burgess (trombones); Herb Geller (alto sax); Richie Kamuca, Bill Perkins (tenor saxes); Marty Berman (baritone sax); Marty Paich (piano); Joe Mondragon (bass); Mel Lewis (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, California, October 23, 1956.