Lighthouse All-Stars Collection XI

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars

Jazz Structures

This album represents a fundamental turning point and, in many ways, the conclusion of the canonical corpus of the Lighthouse All-Stars recordings. Although it fits chronologically into the Lighthouse All-Stars Collection series, its nature demands a dual interpretation: on one hand, it belongs to the band's main line; on the other, as Howard Rumsey himself did not participate as a session musician, the record functions as a natural heir to the Lighthouse Series that the All-Stars produced for the Liberty label.

Unlike the recordings captured in the effervescent atmosphere of the club in Hermosa Beach, Jazz Structures sought an almost "architectural" clarity. To achieve this, Rumsey moved the project to United Recording Corp. in Hollywood. Under the technical direction of Bill Putnam, the studio environment allowed for a technical precision impossible to reach in a live setting, capturing Bob Cooper’s complex arrangements with absolute fidelity. The use of specialized microphones and the controlled acoustics of United Recording provided this work with a unique sonic texture within the group's discography.

It is worth noting that while this album marks the end of a formal era, the legacy of the Lighthouse All-Stars — with or without Howard Rumsey in their ranks — extends through many more recordings. Much of that material, generally recorded live and featuring top-tier special guests (Miles Davis, Art Pepper, Stan Getz), is currently scattered across official releases and valuable unreleased recordings that we will be discovering in the near future.

It was over 12 years ago that bassist Howard Rumsey left the Stan Kenton Orchestra and, in his own words, "decided to find a permanent home for the music of jazz on the west coast". Today, the Howard Rumsey All-Stars, based at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California, are internationally famous. As Stan Kenton says today: "Much credit must go to Rumsey as a pioneer and an enlightened promoter for the best in jazz". For the past five years, composer-tenorist Bob Cooper (or "Coop" as he is affectionately known) has been a leading member of Rumsey's Lighthouse group.

"Les Novros, head of Graphic Films, wanted to have jazz as the background music for his A BUILDING IS MANY BUILDINGS picture", Howard Rumsey tells. "This is a color documentary film showing the construction of the new Union Oil building in downtown Los Angeles".

"Novros wanted mostly improvisation originally", Rumsey continues. "I arranged for Bob Cooper to do the score and he took off like a bird. 'Coop' was so impressed by the calibre of the film that he went a lot further, musically, than we had planned".

"The score is a mixture of classical and jazz", Rumsey concludes, "and I think that 'Coop' really outdid himself!". (from the liner notes)

One of the most exciting jazz bands of the musically fertile '50s and '60s, Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars performed a wide variety of styles ranging from standard bebop and post-bop to the cool West Coast style. The band also included several first-rate arrangers and composers, with Jimmy Giuffre and Bob Cooper receiving special mention. The band also included many of the top musicians of the West Coast jazz scene that boasted the likes of Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino (who are featured here), Bud Shank, Bill Perkins, Victor Feldman and Stan Levey, to name but a few. This particular release showcases the versatility of this exciting group. Jazz Structures reveals both the complexity of the compositions and precision of the arrangements. All of the charts were written, arranged and conducted by Bob Cooper. The album features the music that Cooper scored for Les Novros documentary A Building Is Many Buildings, where the construction of the new "Union Oil Building" in Los Angeles is described in this film. *Jordi Pujol*

Side 1

1 - Genesis (Pt. II)

2 - Architectonics

Directional Suite 

3 - Introduction

4 - a) Impulse

5 - b) Automatons

6 - c) Impulsion (Pt. 1)

7 - c) Impulsion (Pt. 2)

Side 2

Directional Suit

(continued)

8 - d) Complexus

The Worker 

9 - a) Rain Blues

10 - b) In The Morning

11 - c) Quittin' Time

12 - Edifice

(All compositions by Bob Cooper)

#1 to #8 and #10:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), 

Buddy Collette (bass clarinet [#2], baritone sax [#1, #3 to #8]),

Bud Shank (alto sax [#1,#8 ], B-flat clarinet [#2], flute [#3 to #8]),

Victor Feldman (piano, vibes, tambourine, conga, boo-bams and bongos [#2 to #8]),

Monty Budwig (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

#9, #11, #12:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone),

Buddy Collette (bass clarinet [#9], baritone sax [#12]),

Bud Shank (alto sax [#12], alto flute [#9, #11]),

Joe Castro (piano), Larry Bunker (vibes), Red Callender (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

Howard Rumsey (leader)

Recorded at United Recording Corp., Hollywood, California,

November 21 (#1, #2), November 22 (#3 to #7) and November 29 (#8 to #12), 1960.

Note:

When analyzing the "Directional Suite" in the liner notes, the following peculiarity is noted:

""This particular music depicts workers driving little electric carts", Bob Cooper remembers. "Victor Feldman plays boo-bams here. They're a kind of tuned bongo. After more effusive drum work by Stan Levey, there's simultaneous jazz improvisation. The separation of this collective invention is particularly remarkable in the stereo version of this album".

Consequently, both versions (monaural and stereo) are presented here to

allow for comparison and to appreciate the specific sonic detail described.

Liberty Records • Lighthouse Series (III)

Max Roach And Stan Levey

Drummin' The Blues

Lighthouse Series • Volume 3

The art of jazz drumming has come a long way since the day of the bass drum player in the marching bands of ole New Orleans. Today we have come to expect a drummer to be an excellent technician, a well rounded percussionist, capable of improvising as well as any solo instrumentalist in any musical aggregation. It would take a very thick book to discuss the requirements of being a jazz drummer, and even then, it would be necessary to interpret the printed word through skins, sticks, cymbals and mechanical contrivancesin order to express yourself and your feeling for the music.

No doubt about it, drums and drummers are popular subjects; whether you're an avid jazz enthusiast or bandleader, it is always interesting to hear and compare notes on the way different drummers play.

Among my personal favorites are two very good friends — two wonderful guys, each representing the moder idiom in the best possible manner: Max Roach and Stan Levey.

⁂

When they expressed the desire to do this album, it was may great pleasure (and Liberty's) to be able to record it. However this is where the parallel ends, because, although they are the best of friends, great believers in the other's playing, they both display what every good jazz musician strives for — his own distinct musical personality. Care to compare? *Howard Rumsey (liner notes)*

Stan and Max are about as unlikely a pair as you could imagine — both jazz drummers, but one with a cooler, more laidback sound (Levy), the other with a harder, more full-on and bop driven approach (Roach). This set features each drummer alternating track to track — supporting a core group with Bill Perkins on tenor, Conte Candoli on trumpet, and Frank Rosolino on trombone. Given that such a setting is more Levy's territory than Roach's, he actually fits in a bit more with the sound — but even on the Roach tracks, the west coast jazz vibe pervades — so don't expect a super-huge change in the style. Titles include "Breadline Blues", "Facts About Max", "Royal Garden Blues", "The Count's Blues", and "Blues In The Night". *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

1 - Facts About Max

(Marty Paich)

2 - Milano Blues

(Bob Cooper)

3 - Swingin' The Blues

(Count Basie, Eddie Durham)

4 - Breadline Blues

(Dick Shreve)

5 - Bye Bye Blues

(Lown, Gray, Bennett, Hamm)

6 - Blues In The Night

(H. Arlen, J. Mercer)

7 - Royal Garden Blues

(C. Williams, S.Williams)

8 - The "Count's" Blues

(Conte Candoli)

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Bill Perkins (tenor sax [#1, #3, #6, #8]), 

Bob Cooper (tenor sax [#2, #4, #5, #7]), Frank Rosolino (trombone),

Dick Shreve (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass),

Max Roach (drums [#1, #3, #6, #8]), Stan Levey (drums [#2, #4, #5, #7]).

#1, #3, #6, #8:

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, March, 1957

#2, #4, #5, #7:

Recorded at "The Lighthouse", Hermosa Beach, California, March 1957

Liberty Records • Lighthouse Series (II)

Bill Perkins And Richie Kamuca

Tenors Head-On

Lighthouse Series • Volume 2

To anyone familiar with the jazz scene, the names BILL PERKINS and RICHIE KAMUCA mean fresh tenor excitement at its grooviest and innovating best. This album more than successfully combines these two major talents in a free-swinging, right-from-the-head session. And I am sure that you will find the spontaneous, contrapuntal interplay of the horn players, as well as the material utilized, most interesting.

Please keep in mind that no written arrangements were used... which as you know, makes for wonderful, easy-to-listen-to jazz brimming with spirit, emotion and spontaneity. 

⁂

This album was not merely happenstance. It was a long time in the making. It actually started back in '54 when Richie and Perk were blowing for Woody. They spent a lot of time practicing together, exchanging ideas and discussing tenor men... mostly "Pres". That groundwork really became apparent that first Sunday evening I heard them blending their crazy sounds at the Lighthouse. Right then it was decided to blend them with a rhythm section, and this album is the culmination of that idea.

It was a genuine thrill to be in on this one, and considering the fact the entire opus was recorded in one session and a half hour overtime is in itself conclusive that it was a wonderfully cohesive experience for all concerned... Drop the diamond, relax, and join the group.

*Howard Rumsey (liner notes)*

A killer date from two of the hippest tenors of the west coast scene in the 50s — Bill Perkins and Richie Kamuca — both musicians who worked in the cool school, but could also come across with plenty of soul! The album's got both tenors working head on — hitting counterpoint modes at times, but also opening up more freely at others — showing the balance between composition, arrangement, and improvisation that made the scene so great at the time — yet executed with a bit more depth of feeling, as we'd expect from Perkins and Kaumca. Rhythm is from the trio of Pete Jolly on piano, Red Mitchell on bass, and Stan Levey on drums — and titles include "Spain", "Pick A Dilly", "Oh! Look At Me Now", "Don't Be That Way", and "Blues For Two".

*Dusty Groove, Inc.*

Side 1

1 - Cotton Tail

(Harry Brewer)

2 - I Want A Little Girl

(W. S. Stevenson)

3 - Blues For Two

(K. Mitchell)

4 - Indian Summer

(B. Gregory)

Side 2

5 - Don't Be That Way

(Goodman, Sampson, Parrish)

6 - Oh! Look At Me Now

(J. Bushkin, J. DeVries)

7 - Spain

(Jones, Kahn)

8 - Pick A Dilly

(Al Cohn)

Bill Perkins, Richie Kamuca (tenor saxes); Pete Jolly (piano);

Red Mitchell (bass); Stan Levey (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, July, 1956

Liberty Records • Lighthouse Series (I)

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars

Host Charlie Persip And His Jazz Statesmen

Double Or Nothin'

Lighthouse Series • Volume 1

One of the few albums ever cut as a leader by crack drummer Charlie Persip — and a great record that you might have missed because Howard Rumsey's name is bigger on the cover than Charlie's! The album's one of Rumsey's "Lighthouse Series" sides of the 50s — but it's a lot harder-driving and more energy-filled than most of the other Lighthouse-related sides coming out of LA at the time. Half the record features Charlie's group — a set of east coasters that includes Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, and Wynton Kelly — and the other part features some of the players from that ensemble mixing it up with drummer Stan Levey and other LA talents that include Frank Rosolino, Conte Candoli, Bob Cooper, and others. In all, the album's a great meeting of east and west coast hardbop styles — with short driving tracks that include "Reggie Of Chester", "Celedia", "Moto", "The Champ", and "Wildwood". *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

Double or Nothin' promises a creative East Coast-meets-West Coast musical confrontation, but never delivers. Ace trumpet men Conte Candoli, based in California, and Philly-born Lee Morgan, then making his first impression on the jazz world, headline this 1957 session that grew out of a Charlie Persip gig at the legendary Pacific Coast club the Lighthouse. These two all-star groups belie the assumptions made at the time about the differences between the East and West Coast sounds (with underlining racial assumptions). Both trumpet players draw heavily on Dizzy Gillespie for inspiration, and both saxophonists (Benny Golson and Bob Cooper) are more indebted to swing master Lester Young than to any bebop saxophonist. Indeed, the contrast between the two is one of the pleasures of the session. Golson's lines are blurry and oblique, while Cooper's are finely etched and to-the-point. Both are also more noted for their writing skills, which are also on display here. Though the listener may expect such a jam session would feature usual blowing vehicles, here the music is largely original or of more recent vintage (though two [Golson's "Stablemates" and Horace Silver's "Quicksilver"] were destined to become standards). While the repertoire is refreshing, it leads to tentative performances on the tracks in which the two groups interact. The solos have awkward pauses between phrases, and loquacious soloists such as Morgan and trombonist Frank Rosolino rely on pet turns of phrase. The strongest playing comes on the tracks when the Morgan group and the Lighthouse All-Stars play as separate units. *David Dupont*

1 - Reggie Of Chester

(Benny Golson)

2 - Stablemates

(Benny Golson)

3 - Celedia

(Benny Golson)

4 - Moto

(Bop Cooper)

5 - The Champ

(Dizzy Gillespie)

6 - Blues After Dark

(Benny Golson)

7 - Wildwood

(Gigi Gryce)

8 - Quicksilver

(Horace Silver) 

#1: 

Lee Morgan (trumpet), Benny Golson (tenor sax),

Wynton Kelly (piano), Wilfred Middlebrooks (bass), Charles Persip (drums).

#2:

Lee Morgan (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Benny Golson (tenor sax),

Dick Shreve (piano), Red Mitchell (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

#3:

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Bob Cooper (tenor sax),

Wynton Kelly (piano), Wilfred Middlebrooks (bass), Charles Persip (drums).

#4:

Lee Morgan, Conte Candoli (trumpets); Frank Rosolino (trombone);

Benny Golson, Bob Cooper (tenor saxes); Dick Shreve (piano),

Red Mitchell (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

#5:

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Bob Cooper (tenor sax),

Dick Shreve (piano), Red Mitchell (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

#6:

Lee Morgan (trumpet), Benny Golson (tenor sax),

Wynton Kelly (piano), Red Mitchell (bass), Charles Persip (drums).

#7:

Lee Morgan, Conte Candoli (trumpets); Frank Rosolino (trombone);

Benny Golson, Bob Cooper (tenor saxe); Wynton Kelly (piano);

Wilfred Middlebrooks (bass); Charles Persip (drums).

#8:

Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone), Bob Cooper (tenor sax),

Dick Shreve (piano), Red Mitchell (bass), Stan Levey (drums).

Recorded at Liberty Studios, in Hollywood, California,

February 14 (#2, #4) and 27 (#1, #3, #5 to #8), 1957

Liberty Records • Lighthouse Series (0)

Liberty Records was founded in 1955 in Hollywood by Simon Waronker. He liked lush orchestral music and the label´s catalog was in the beginning filled with movie music, big bands. In 1957, Liberty acquired Pacific Jazz Records, and in mid 1960s they also acquired Blue Note Records. A few years later Liberty was sold to the owner of United Artists Records, who in 1971 dropped the Liberty name. But in 1980, a new owner, EMI, dropped United Artists name and revived the Liberty name.

More information about its history and associations with other record labels can be found on sites like bsnpubs.com or friktech.com.

But there is one very particular partnership about which there is Little — if any — information. It is documented only in the press release published by Billboard on April 13, 1957, which announced:

"In a move to solidify its position in the jazz market, Liberty Records has signed Howard Rumsey to a long-term pact in a dual capacity. Rumsey, credited with being one of the pioneer's of the West Coast jazz movement, will henceforth handle all artist and repertoire chores on all of the company's future jazz efforts, and in adition will record with the Lighthouse All-Stars.

According to Vice President Jack Ames, Rumsey will be given free rein with the Lighthouse series of albums to create and develop new ideas and talent for the firm". 

Bassist Howard Rumsey initiated a jazz program at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, California, in 1949. His Lighthouse All-Stars performed every night, typically hosting a 12-hour jam session on Sundays. Although Rumsey eventually created his own record label, Lighthouse Records, the primary recording outlet for the Lighthouse All-Stars was Lester Koenig's record company, Contemporary Records.

Hence, the aforementioned partnership between Rumsey and Liberty Records is interesting, given that the "project" only had three volumes released.

It is this rare and obscure trilogy that will motivate the next three OUTLET JAZZ posts.

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