Leonard Feather Presents… ★1959★

Leonard Feather Presents

One World Jazz

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

⁂

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

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

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

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

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

⁂

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

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

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

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

Side 1

1 - Cotton Tail

(Duke Ellington)

2 - Misty

(Burke, Garner)

3 - Big Ben's Blues

(Model)

Side 2

4 - International Blues

(Leonard Feather)

5 - Nuages

(Django Reinhardt)

6 - In A Mellow Tone

(Duke Ellington)

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

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

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

Recorded in New York City, May 19, 1959

Second session, (additions to first session):

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

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

Recorded in London, England, June 22, 1959

Third session, added:

Åke Persson [#4](trombone).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, June 30, 1959

Final session, (additions to the tape):

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

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

Recorded in Paris, France, July 3, 1959

Leonard Feather Presents… ★1957★

There’s a Curious irony in the fact that of the thousands of jazz albums now flooding the record stores, this is the first LP to be released with bop as its main theme. The wheel has come full circle. Bop became an epithet by the end of the decade, the victim of keyhole columnists who identified it not with music but with eccentricities of clothes, personality and personal habits. Today we can examine the scene in truer perpective and observe that Bop is simply the way most people play jazz in 1959, including the "new star" awards winners in the Down Beat critics' poll.

Among the neglected elements in Bop were not people but tunes — some of the original and exciting compositions that emerged with the first of bop creativity. They were tunes you heard played along 52nd Street; tunes that spoke with a crisp, biting accent expressed in long, unison lines, leaving the harmonic moorings to the rhythm section. All the tunes you'll hear in this LP were products of the men and groups of that day, 'though only Ornithology has become a jazz standard. The others have rarely been re-recorded and a couple have been in oblivion for years.

The music on these sides evokes the atmosphere of a typical set at one of the old 52nd Street clubs, even to the fast two-chorus treatment of the "52nd Street Theme" that invariably ended every set.

To those for whom these performances represent long-overdues revivals, the music on this LP is bound to fill a gap in your collection. If your interest is minly in the instrumentalists, these sides represent an introduction to themes that belong in every jazz library. Either way they should provide a cogent reminder that the music we used to call bop, wich today is an important part of the whole jazz, endowed us with a wealth of material, of ideation and new creation that has a lasting place in the story of jazz. *Leonard Feather (liner notes)*

Leonard Feather Presents Bop 

[a.k.a. Leonard Feather Presents 52nd Street]

This pair of 1957 studio sessions features two separate groups, with alto saxophonist Phil Woods, pianist George Wallington, and bassist Curly Russell involved in both dates, with most of the music drawn from the works of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Trumpeter Idrees Sulieman and drummer Denzil Best join them on the first five selections. Wallington and Woods share the solo spotlight following the scatted group introduction to the pianist's "Lemon Drop" (one of many bop variations of "I Got Rhythm"), while Sulieman also gets a taste. Woods and Sulieman re-create the magic of Parker and Gillespie in a snappy take of "Ornithology". Sulieman switches to muted trumpet for an equally enjoyable take of "Anthropology". The quintet changes for the last five tracks, with Thad Jones on trumpet and Art Taylor on drums. It is not clear who contributed the little-boy vocal to "Salt Peanuts", but it does not distract from this potent arrangement. Taylor's effective drumming powers the cooking version of "Shaw 'Nuff". The next to last track is incorrectly listed as "Billie's Bounce"; it is actually "Now's the Time". Nothing groundbreaking takes place during these bop sessions, but the playing is at a consistently high level. This Mode LP has been reissued by VSOP and the Japanese CD label Tofrec, sometimes under the title Leonard Feather Presents Bop. *Ken Dryden*

1 - Little Benny

(Benny Harris)

2 - Be Bop

(Dizzy Gillespie)

3 - Lemon Drop

(George Wallington)

4 - Ornithology

(Charlie Parker, Benny Harris)

5 - Anthropology

(Charlie Parker)

6 - Salt Peanuts

(Dizzy Gillespie)

7 - Groovin' High

(Dizzy Gillespie)

8 - Shaw' Nuff

(Dizzy Gillespie)

9 - Billie's Bounce

(Charlie Parker)

10 - Hot House / 52nd Street Theme

(Tadd Dameron / Thelonious Monk)

Idrees Sulieman [#1 to #5], Thad Jones [#6 to #10] (trumpets);

Phil Woods (alto sax); George Wallington (piano); Curly Russell (bass);

Denzil Best [#1 to #5], Art Taylor  [#6 to #10] (drums).

Recorded in New York City, August 1957

Leonard Feather Presents… ★1956 • 1958★

 In the late 1950s, Leonard Feather (1914-1994), a jazz historian and critic, and occasional composer, and pianist and bandleader Dick Hyman (1927) had an influence on American jazz that bordered on mastery.

The two men owed their success to their almost encyclopedic knowledge of all the successive styles, from the beginning. Thus they formed an all-star group bringing together the cream of East Coast musicians, at a time when cool jazz was flourishing in California.

This album brings together three sessions recorded between 1956 and 1958 by a brilliant ensemble, capable of showcasing inspired soloists, served by Dick Hyman's subtle and effective arrangements. The latter, who also wrote several compositions with Feather, is the cornerstone of groups propelled by rhythms of astonishing flexibility. As for the value of the soloists, a single glance at the composition of these combos is enough to get an idea. Virtuosity and inspiration are the order of the day, not to mention the audacity and innovations, both on the melodic and rhythmic levels. Finally, it is necessary to underline the relevance of a booklet which provides a most complete insight into the whole. *Jacques Aboucaya*

Leonard Feather & Dick Hyman

East Coast All Stars

This musical journey features four captivating East Coast All Stars jazz ensembles, guided in collaboration by the talented Leonard Feather and Dick Hyman, who, through their compositions and arrangements, present a diverse repertoire brimming with stimulating solos.

The first session highlights a six-piece unit, boasting a front line drawn entirely from the Count Basie band: Thad Jones, Benny Powell, and Frank Wess. From the rhythmic vitality of "The Goof 'n' I" to the refined elegance of "Beverly Hills" and the timeless charm of "The Sidewalks of New York", each track exemplifies the ensemble’s cohesion and the creativity of soloists.

Delving into the Hi-Fi Suite, Feather and Hyman lead two nine-piece orchestras on a sonic exploration. With contributions from Joe Newman, Jerome Richardson, Benny Powell, and Don  Elliot, the orchestrations offer a captivating blend of textures and tones, with various reed instruments providing a fascinating display of soundscapes, from the inventive "Feedback Fugue" to the lively "Squawker" and the flavorful "Hi-Fi Pie".

The subsequent line-up showcases the rhythmic intricacies of "Bass-Reflex", the melodic allure of "Tweeter", the resonant depths of "Woofer", and the ethereal beauty of "Reverberation". Here, Thad Jones, Benny Powell, Oscar Pettiford, Jerome Richardson, Frank Wess, and Bill Barber deliver compelling solo performances.

Concluding this set, the fourth All Stars band presents a dynamic rendition of Jay Livingston’s "Keep It Simple", arranged by Dick Hyman. Featuring all horns in a captivating six-minute workout, the ensemble's virtuosity shines through, offering a fitting conclusion to this exciting musical journey. *Jordi Pujol*

1 - The Goof 'n' I

(Al Cohn)

2 - Beverly Hills

(Leonard Feather)

3 - The Sidewalks Of New York

(Lawlor, Blake, P.D.)

4 - Here's Pete

(Pete Rugolo)

5 - Feedback Fugue

(Feather, Hyman)

6 - Squawker

(Leonard Feather)

7 - Hi-Fi Pie

(Leonard Feather)

8 - Bass-Reflex

(blues in 5/4, P.D.)

9 - Tweeter

(Feather, Hyman)

10 - Woofer

(Feather, Hyman)

11 - Reverberation

(Feather, Hyman)

12 - Keep It Simple

(Livingston, Evans)

#1 to #4: from the album West Coast Vs. East Coast (MGM Records E3390)

Thad Jones (trumpet), Benny Powell (trombone), Frank Wess (tenor sax, flute),

Dick Hyman (piano, organ), Oscar Pettiford (bass), Osie Johnson (drums).

Recorded in New York City, January 1956

#5 to #11, from the album Hi Fi Suite (MGM Records E3494)

#5 to #7: 

Joe Newman (trumpet), Benny Powell (trombone), Jerome Richardson (alto sax, piccolo), 

Frank Wess (tenor sax, flute), Romeo Penque (baritone sax, clarinet), Dick Hyman (piano),

Oscar Pettiford (bass), Osie Johnson (drums), Don Elliott (vibes, miscellaneous percussion).

Recorded in New York City, June 16, 1956

#8 to #11:

Thad Jones (trumpet), Benny Powell (trombone), Bill Barber (tuba [except on #8]),

Jerome Richardson (alto sax, piccolo), Frank Wess (tenor sax, flute),

Phil Bodner (baritone sax, oboe), Dick Hyman (piano),

Oscar Pettiford (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).

Recorded in New York City, July 11, 1956

#12: from the album Oh, Captain! (MGM Records E3650)

Art Farmer (trumpet), Jimmy Cleveland (trombone), Sahib Shihab (alto sax, baritone sax),

Tony Scott (clarinet, baritone sax), Jerome Richardson (tenor sax, baritone sax, alto flute),

Dick Hyman (piano), Milt Hinton (bass), Osie Johnson (drums).

Recorded in New York City, February 14, 1958

Leonard Feather Presents… ★1954★

Jimmy Raney, Sonny Clark and Jazz Club U.S.A.

Jimmy Raney (August 20, 1927 – May 9, 1995) was an American jazz guitarist born in Louisville, Kentucky, known for his work from 1951 to 1952 and then from 1953 to 1954 with the Red Norvo trio (replacing Tal Farlow) and, during the same time period, with Stan Getz. In 1954 and 1955, he won the Down Beat Critics' Poll for guitar. Raney worked in a variety of jazz mediums, including cool jazz, bebop, post bop, hard bop, and mainstream jazz.

In 1946, he worked for a time as guitarist with the Max Miller Quartet at Elmer's in Chicago, his first paying gig. Raney also worked in the Artie Shaw Orchestra and collaborated with Woody Herman for nine months in 1948. He also collaborated and recorded with Buddy DeFranco, Al Haig and later on with Bob Brookmeyer. In 1967, alcoholism and other professional difficulties led him to leave New York City and return to his native Louisville. He resurfaced in the 1970s and also did work with his son Doug, who was also a guitarist. His other son Jon is a jazz pianist and maintains a website, The Raney Legacy devoted to Jimmy and Doug Raney.

Raney lived with Ménière's disease for thirty years, a degenerative condition that led to near deafness in both ears, although this did not stop him from playing. He died of heart failure in Louisville on May 10, 1995. His obituary in The New York Times called him "one of the most gifted and influential postwar jazz guitarists in the world".

Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.

Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of Pittsburgh. 

While visiting an aunt in California at age 20, Clark decided to stay and began working with saxophonist Wardell Gray. Clark went to San Francisco with Oscar Pettiford and after a couple months, was working with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco in 1953. Clark toured the United States and Europe with DeFranco until January 1956, when he joined The Lighthouse All-Stars, led by bassist Howard Rumsey.

Wishing to return to the east coast, Clark served as accompanist for singer Dinah Washington in February 1957 in order to relocate to New York City. In New York, Clark was often requested as a sideman by many musicians, partly because of his rhythmic comping. He frequently recorded for Blue Note Records as one of their house musicians, playing as a sideman with many hard bop players.

Clark died in New York City on January 13, 1963 (aged 31). The official cause was listed as a heart attack, but the likely cause was a heroin overdose.

Jazz Club U.S.A. was a weekly radio program that aired from 1950 to 1952. Hosted by jazz critic and producer Leonard Feather, it aired on the U.S. government-sponsored Voice of America network. Jazz Club U.S.A. did a remarkable job of presenting all forms of jazz, from slave-era spirituals to bebop, from Dixieland to swing, all presented as American music.

In 1954, Feather turned the Jazz Club U.S.A. "brand" into a series of concerts in Europe. One of the featured performers was guitarist Jimmy Raney, then voted "number one guitarist" by the French publication "Jazz Hot".

Raney's presence in Europe was recorded on several recordings. The ones we will present here are Jimmy Raney and Sonny Clark meeting for the first and only time.

Let's remember them...

Jimmy Raney All Stars

Leonard Feather Presents

Jazz Club U.S.A. In Sweden

This 10" album features two Jimmy Raney quintets backed by some of the highlights of the Sweden jazz scene at the time. But what makes these sessions so famous is the appearance of Sonny Clark on Side 1. Clark only has a solo choir on each track, and the overall impression of these sessions is "melancholic, relaxed, mellow chamber jazz music".

Leonard Feather composed "Jumping For Jane". This brightly boppish piece has a neat arrangement in wich the tenor sax of Gösta Theselius sounds spry, and in his opening measures Clark gives surprising acnowledgement to Lennie Tristano. There is also room for a splendid agile guitar solo, beside contributions from Mitchell and Leighton.

Raney's clever and complex "Invention" was, according to Leonard Feather, recorded with very little trouble by a group of musicians who had never seen it before. An intrincate, ingenious line, it is notable for the close rapport between Raney and Theselius and a beautiful pithy piano passage by Sonny whose firm comping is a great foundation for Theselius and Raney. Jimmy is particularly mellow and melodic, showing us the attribute conveyed by the tittle. The flowing fours by Theselius and Raney are an early example of Bebop Esperanto. By 1954 this music was universal. *Mark Gardner*

Side 1

1 - Invention

(Jimmy Raney)

2 - Jumping For Jane

(LeonardFeather)

Side 2

3 - Indian Summer

(Victor Herbert)

4 - Darn That Dream

(Jimmy Van Heusen, Eddie DeLange)

Jimmy Raney (guitar), with

#1, #2:

Gösta Theselius (tenor sax), Sonny Clark (piano), Simon Brehm (bass #1),

Red Mitchell (bass #2), Elaine Leighton (drums).

#3, #4:

Putte Wickman (clarinet); Bengt Hallberg [as Bengt Halberg] (piano),

Red Mitchell (bass), Elaine Leighton (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, January 13, 1954

✤✤

Jimmy Raney Quartet

Leonard Feather's Jazz Club U.S.A. Presents

Jimmy Raney Visits Paris

As part of Leonard Feather's "Jazz Club U.S.A". European tour in early 1954, guitarist Raney is presented in the fine company of pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Red Mitchell and drummer Bobby White. The music on this date, as well as the recording quality, is superb for its time. Raney and Mitchell had worked together in Red Norvo's trio, while Clark and White were the rhythmic anchors in Buddy DeFranco's group. One can't help but compare the sensitive yet energetic approach that Raney and Clark have toward their respective instruments. Both musicians have a truly artful touch with very clear articulation, never sounding hurried or arbitrary, or getting in the other's way. There are some lovely quartet interpretations of standard tunes, plus a piano trio rendition of "Once In a While". Listen to Red Mitchell's bass take the melody on "You Go to My Head" supported by Clark and Raney's sympathetic comping. *Lee Bloom*

1 - Stella By Starlight

(Young, Washington)

2 - Pennies From Heaven

(Johnson, Burke)

3 - You Go To My Head

(Coots, Gillespie)

4 - Yesterdays

(Kern)

05 - There'll Never Be Another You

(Kern)

06 - Body And Soul

(Green)

07 - Once In A While

(Green, Edwards)

Sonny Clark (piano), Jimmy Raney (guitar), Red Mitchell (bass), Bobby White (drums).

Recorded in Paris, France, February 6, 1954

Leonard Feather Presents… ★1952 • 1954★

Hot Versus Cool

Have any of your friends ever bothered you with questions about the difference between Hot Jazz and Cool Jazz? Or Dixieland and Birdland? Traditional and Modern? Moldy Pig and Bop?

Whether you’re a square or already aware, you’ll find the performances in this album the perfect answer.

To point up the differences between these two sharply contrasted schools of jazz —long recognized by musicians but ignored or misunderstood by the public— two bands were assembled at Birdland, the famous Broadway jazz spot, and both were let loose on the same four tunes.

The Birdlanders, representing the cool jazz contingent, were playing on their home grounds, but to even things up we invited a bunch of Dixieland fans to be present at Birdland that night. As you'll hear from the applause on the records, there was no prejudice in the audience; they seemed equally enthused over beth groups.

Heading the modernist faction is John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, a product of Cheraw, S.C., who rose in the mid-1940’s to become an international symbol of what was then known by the disarming name of bop, but has since evolved into acceptance as Cool Jazz.

Leading the Dixielanders is Jimmy McPartland, the amazingly youthful veteran whose horn was a highlight of 1927-8 recordings by pioneers like McKenzie & Condon’s Chicagoans, Ben Pollack’s orchestra, the Wolverines, and Benny Goodman’s first recording combo.

Whether your tastes in jazz run to the hot or cool, whether or not you can define Dixieland Jazz or Birdland Jazz in words, you’re bound to find something of major interest in the music on these records. And, incidentally, it ought to help settle a lot of arguments!

*Leonard Feather (liner notes)*

Cats Versus Chicks

Although the musicians on this unique session aimed at contrast rather than contest, comparison instead of competition, the fact remains that this is, in effect, a four-round fight for the terry-weight championship.

In one corner, from Detroit, Michigan, and from Terry Gibbs’ Quartet, weighing 105 pounds, wearing brown mallets and, no doubt, a terrycloth gown, we have Miss Terry Pollard, one of the youngest and swingingest new stars on the jazz scene.

In the other corner, from St. Louis, Mo. and from Duke Ellington’s Orchestra (plus previous experience with Count Basie and Charlie Barnet), weighing 185 pounds and blowing some of the most personal and delightful jazz trumpet around, we have the redoubtable Clark Terry.

The officials’ score cards read as follows:

Referee Leonard Feather gives round 1 to the cats, 2 and 4 to the chicks, round 3 even.

Nat Hentoff of Down Beat gives round 1 to the cats, 2 and 3 to the chicks, round 4 even.

Judge Barry Ulanov of Metronome (who insists he is no male chauvinist) gives all four rounds to the men. 

Result: a split decision in favor of the chicks. 

What is your verdict? *(from liner notes)*

Leonard Feather Presents

Hot Versus Cool

And

Cats Versus Chicks

Hot Versus Cool - A Battle Of Jazz

1 - How High The Moon

(Lewis, Hamilton)

2 - How High The Moon

(Lewis, Hamilton)

3 - Indiana

(Hanley, McDonald)

4 - Indiana

(Hanley, McDonald)

5 - Muskrat Ramble

(Kid Ory)

6 - Muskrat Ramble

(Kid Ory)

7 - Battle Of The Blues

(unknow)

8 - Battle Of The Blues

(unknow)

Cats Versus Chicks - A Jazz Battle Of The Sexes

9 - Cat Meets Chick

(Leonard Feather)

10 - Cat Meets Chick

(Leonard Feather)

11 - Mamblues

(Williams)

12 - Mamblues

(Williams)

13 - The Man I Love

(George and Ira Gershwin)

14 - The Man I Love

(George and Ira Gershwin)

15 - Anything You Can Do

(Irving Berlín)

#1, #8: Dizzy Gillespie's Cool Jazz Stars

Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Don Elliott (mellophone, trumpet), Dick Cary (trumpet added #8),

Buddy DeFranco (clarinet), Jimmy McPartland (clarinet added #8), Ray Abrams (tenor sax),

Ronnie Ball (piano), Al McKibbon (bass), Max Roach (drums)

#2, #4 [as Edmond Hall And The Hot Jazz Stars], #5, #7: Jimmy McPartland's Hot Jazz Stars

Jimmy McPartland (cornet), Vic Dickenson (trombone), Edmond Hall (clarinet),

Dick Cary (piano, trumpet), Jack Lesberg (bass), George Wettling (drums).

#3, #6: Buddy De Franco And The Cool Jazz Stars

Buddy DeFranco (clarinet), Don Elliott (mellophone), Ray Abrams (tenor sax),

Ronnie Ball (piano), Al McKibbon (bass), Max Roach (drums)

Recorded live at Birdland, New York City, November 24 1952

#9, #11, #14: Clark Terry And His Septet

Clark Terry (trumpet), Lucky Thompson (tenor sax), Urbie Green (trombone),

Horace Silver (piano), Tal Farlow (guitar), Percy Heath (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums).

#10, #12, #13: Terry Pollard And Her Septet

Terry Pollard (vibes), Norma Carson (trumpet), Beryl Booker (piano),

Mary Osborn (guitar), Bonnie Wetzel (bass), Elaine Leighton (drums), Corky Hecht (harp)

#15: Clark Terry And His Septet and Terry Pollard And Her Septet 

Recorded in New York City, June 2 1954

Leonard Feather Presents… ★1954★

Leonard Feather Presents Cool Europe

Jutta Hipp and Mike Nevard

Not so many years ago, just about all Good jazz available on records could be categorized in terms of what part of America it came from. We had New Orleans jazz, Chicago jazz, Kansas City jazz. The music that came from overseas was just an occasional oddity that usually tried, with indifferent success, to emulate one of these forms.

Since then, the walls have come tumbling down. With our American music solidly established as not merely a regional or even a national phenomenon the interchange of ideas has had a salutary effect on the quality of the music produced both here and abroad.

A few years ago it was the Swedish jazzmen who surprised us with their effective assimilation of the modern jazz idiom. More recently, England and Germany have produced a little network of gifted musicians capable of the most advanced and inspired Brand of modern jazz improvisation.

The musical breezes wafted across the Atlantic for our delectation by the Cool Europeans are a relaxed and refreshing zephyr for jazz fans in search of someting new.

*Leonard Feather (liner notes)*

It's apparent from this excellent package that Americans no longer have a complete monopoly of the jazz medium. Perhaps modern or "cool" jazz simply has more traditional forms. At any rate, the pianist Jutta Hipp is a first-rate inventive artist, and her cohorts Emil Mangelsdorff, alto sax, and his brother Albert on trombone, could play in any fast local company.

The Britishers, too, show talent, especially the trumpeter, Albert Haall, pianist Ralph Dollimore and bassist Johnny Hawksworth. It's absorbing modern jazz regardless of geography, and may be offered as such. *Billboard, April 30, 1955*

Side 1

Jutta Hipp And Her German Jazzmen

1 - Simone

(Mangelsdorff)

2 - Lover Man

(Ramirez, Sherman)

3 - Cool Dogs

(Freund)

4 - Diagram

(Olsen)

5 - Anything Goes

(Porter)

6 - Brotherly

(Mangelsdorff)

7 - Yogi

(Freund)

8 - If I Had You

(Shaphiro, Campbell, Cennelly)

#1, #3, #5, #7:

Emil Mangelsdorff (alto sax), Joki Freund (tenor sax),

Jutta Hipp (piano), Hans Kresse (bass), Karl Sanner (drums).

#2, #4: 

Jutta Hipp (piano), Hans Kresse (bass), Karl Sanner (drums).

#6: 

Albert Mangelsdorff (trombone), Emil Mangelsdorff (alto sax),

Jutta Hipp (piano), Hans Kresse (bass), Karl Sanner (drums).

#8:

Albert Mangelsdorff (trombone), Hans Koller (tenor sax),

Jutta Hipp (piano), Shorty Roeder (bass), Karl Sanner (drums).

Recorded in Frankfurt, West Germany, April 13, 1954.

Side 2

Mike Nevard's British Jazzmen

9 - I'll Remember April

(Rraye, DePaul, Johnston)

10 - Deep Purple

(DeRose, Parish)

11 - Rhumblues

(Feather)

12 - Two Sleepy People

(Carmichael, Loesser)

13 - Amalgam

(Olsen)

#9, #12, #13:

Albert Hall (trumpet), Don Rendell (tenor sax), Harry Klein (baritone sax),

Ralph Dollimore (piano), Johnny Hawksworth (bass), David Murray (drums).

#10, #11:

Johnny Donkworth (alto sax), Don Rendell (tenor sax),

Ralph Dollimore (piano), Johnny Hawksworth (bass), Allan Ganley (drums).

Recorded in London, early 1954

Leonard Feather's Swingin' Swedes - New Sounds From Sweden Vol.1

Almost all recordings in Sweden in the 1950s were issued on EPs, the little 7" 45rpm album. The leading record label was Metronome, which released about 500 albums during the decade, most of them jazz records.

In the 1950s Sweden was kind of the center of European jazz. Lots of gifted musicians had plenty of venues to play, and could make their living on jazz. Jazz was still the young people´s music, and there were huge and interested audiences. There were radio programs, special jazz magazines and also jazz features and reviews in weekly magazines and daily newspapers. And there were an abundance of jazz records.

Many Americans visited the country, played in concerts and clubs and made recordings with the domestic stars. The best Swedish musicians became wellknown over the jazz world.

First time Swedish jazz draw public attention abroad was at the jazz festival in Paris in 1949. A Swedish group with Arne Domnérus and Putte Wickman among others, made great success in several concerts and became one of the French public's favorites, despite competition from stars such as Charle Parker and Miles Davis.

The success led to magazine features and radio programs in both Europe and the United States. In USA, Leonard Feather started playing Swedish jazz records in his program "Jazz at its best", and other stations followed. Records from Metronome reviewed in the American jazz press.

Leonard Feather arranged recordings in Stockhom in 1951 with the young Swedish modernists. They were issued the same year in USA on this 10" LP (Prestige 119). In Sweden the recordings were issued on Cupol 78s. *birkajazz.se*

The eight performances on this record are the product of a trip made to Sweden to investigate the glowing reports I had heard about that country's modern jazz. 

Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Roy Eldridge and many other visitors to Stockholm came home raving about the musicians presented here. 

All but one of the Swingin’ Swedes, by the way, were voted No. 1 on their respective instruments in the first national poll conducted by the Swedish jazz magazine ESTRAD.

Four of the numbers are played by a seven-piece band. This group gets a bigger and cleaner sound than most groups of its kind, thanks to the musicians' fine ensemble interpretation of four arrangements written by the brilliant Gösta Theselius, who won the ESTRAD award as top arranger.

Maybe these eight numbers will give you a pretty clear picture of why more and more people are agreeing that outside the U.S., Sweden is producing the best modern jazz to be heard anywhere. As they would say at Birdland: man, it's a crazy country! *Leonard Feather (liner notes)*

Side 1

1 - The Daring Young Swedes (On The Flying Trapeze)

(arr. Gösta Theselius)

2 - Moonlight Saving Time

(Kahal, Richman)

3 - Swedish Butterfly

(GöstaTheselius)

4 - Meet Me Tonight In Birdland

(Williams)

Side 2

5 - Rain On The Roof

(Ann Ronell)

6 - A Handful Of Stars

(Lawrence, Shapiro)

7 - The Swedish Music This Side Of Heaven

(Feather)

8 - September Serenade

(Dizzy Gillespie)

#2, #5:

Putte Wickman (clarinet), Reinhold Svensson (piano), Rolf Berg (guitar), Simon Brehm (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

#1, #6:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Arne Domnérus (alto sax), Lars Gullin (baritone sax), Reinhold Svensson (piano), Simon Brehm (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, June 28, 1951.

#3:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Arne Domnérus (alto sax), Carl-Henrik Norin (tenor sax), Lars Gullin (baritone sax), Bengt Hallberg (piano), Simon Brehm (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

#4:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Arne Domnérus (alto sax), Lars Gullin (baritone sax), Toots Thielemans (harmonica), Bengt Hallberg (piano), Simon Brehm (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

#7:

Åke Persson (trombone), Carl-Henrik Norin (tenor sax), Bengt Hallberg (piano), Simon Brehm (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

#8:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Åke Persson (trombone), Arne Domnérus (alto sax), Lars Gullin (baritone sax), Bengt Hallberg (piano), Simon Brehm (bass), Jack Norén (drums).

Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, July 4, 1951.