Jazz For The Screen ★ Leith Stevens Or Lighthouse All-Stars?

Leith Stevens' All Stars

Jazz Themes

From

The Wild One

No picture — and no music — could have a more appropriate title than "The Wild One", for this is the story of hot blooded youth — particularly of the wild, half-inarticulate and violent leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club. This leader, Johnny, played by Marlon Brando, lives, it seems only to get his gang into trouble. (...)

Decca is fortunate to be able to present the pulsing music which emphasizes the action of "The Wild One". It is written, arranged, and played by Leith Stevens and his All Stars. Leith Stevens was one of the first leaders and arranger-composers to foster jazz music over the air on radio. He led the orchestra on the original CBS Saturday Night Swing Show. This was the time of the revival of jazz music. Raymond Scott's Quintet started on that show, and, curiously enough, one of the performers in the house band — a trombone player — was the now famous comedian, Jerry Colonna. Although not generally known as one of the "fathers" of Jazz, Leith Stevens has always had a great fondness for it. This is exemplified by the brilliant performance and the equally brilliant ensemble heard on these recordings. *(from the liner notes)*

A missing link in the Lighthouse All-Stars collection?

Although conceived as a soundtrack recording for the motion picture The Wild One, this LP does not officially appear within the discography of the Lighthouse All-Stars; nevertheless, this recording belongs, in both spirit and execution, to the same musical nucleus that defined the Lighthouse sound in the early 1950s. Issued under the name "Leith Stevens' All Stars", the album reflects a logic typical of the Hollywood film industry: the music is credited to the composer responsible for the soundtrack—in this case, Leith Stevens—even when the actual musical realization is carried out by a clearly identifiable group of jazz musicians. It is now also known that, in reality, all the arrangements were done by Shorty Rogers.

Leith Stevens (1909–1970), a central figure in mid-century Hollywood film scoring, developed a distinctive approach that incorporated elements of modern jazz into dramatic cinema. His work includes scores for films such as Destination Moon (1950), Private Hell 36 (1954), The James Dean Story (1957), and Julie (1956), among many others. Stevens' use of progressive jazz created an innovation in film-music history, and he was particularly attentive in selecting the right musicians for his projects. For The Wild One, he turned to the interpretative skill of the outstanding young trumpeter and conductor Shorty Rogers. Shorty's collaboration with Stevens on film scores produced some of the most compelling background music of the era, representing one of the earliest instances of this approach in cinema and marking the beginning of a jazz trend in dramatic film scoring.

As Shorty Rogers recalls in Roy Carr's The Hip: Hipsters, Jazz and the Beat Generation (p. 91), his involvement in The Wild One originated through the direct intervention of Marlon Brando, who had heard his album  Modern Sounds:

"For a long time, the Lighthouse was the focal point for jazz in LA, the West Coast equivalent of Birdland, except that a lot of movie people were always dropping by. Composer Leith Stevens was a regular and through him I got to work on "The Wild One".

Brando had control over the soundtrack and he asked Stevens for suggestions. Stevens gave him some current LPs including my "Modern Sounds" ten-inch for Capitol. ‘I want that guy,’ Brando told Stevens after he'd heard the album. So Stevens composed the themes and I arranged them in exactly the same way I would have done for Stan Kenton's orchestra or my own Giants".

From another perspective, trombonist Milt Bernhart's testimony, from a telephone interview conducted on November 12, 1999, indicates that, through Shorty Rogers' connection with the Lighthouse, most of the musicians were hired to play for the score of Marlon Brando's film The Wild One:

"…We got our first chance to work in a studio playing all of the score for a motion picture because no one less than Marlon Brando had heard an album of Shorty's, The Giants, not the Lighthouse group but heard Shorty's album, on Capitol, and when they were talking about music for a picture called 'The Wild One', they had already assigned a man to do the score, Leith Stevens, who was a staff writer, a good one, but no background in jazz per-se and Brando opened up in a meeting and said listen to this. So they listened to it and I don't think any of the music department knew anything about Shorty, nor did they intend to. Before it was over he was assigned to the picture and then because of that the door opened to the rest of us. So that was the first time I worked on a movie out of the Lighthouse".

In this way, Jazz Themes From The Wild One can be understood as a natural extension of the Lighthouse universe: a recording conceived under external conditions—contracts, credits, and production requirements—but performed by the same group of musicians who, night after night, shaped one of the most active centers of jazz in Los Angeles. 

Hence the question and the reasonable doubt posed at the beginning… Wouldn't this be one of the Lighthouse All-Stars masterpieces that wasn't? 

It is also worth noting that, in the original Decca release credits, some of these musicians appear under slightly altered names—Shorty Rogers as "Roger Short" and Shelly Manne as "Manny Shell"—a common practice at the time, likely reflecting contractual constraints rather than artistic choices.

Heard in this context, the album reveals itself not merely as a soundtrack, but as a peripheral—yet fully authentic—document of the Lighthouse sound in its transition into the Hollywood studio system.

It is fitting, then, that Jazz Themes From The Wild One should also mark the beginning of a new series, Jazz For The Screen, a collection of film and television soundtracks, dedicated to exploring the many ways in which jazz musicians, arrangers, and composers brought their music to the world of film and television. From feature films to television productions, the series will trace a broader history of jazz composed and recorded for the screen, and the often fascinating encounters between the world of jazz and the demands of the studio.

Side 1

1- The Wild One

2 - Lonely Way

3 - Beetle

4 - Blues For Brando

Side 2

5 - Hotshoe

6 - Windswept

7 - Scramble

8 - Chino

(All compositions by Leith Stevens)

#1, #3, #7, #8

Shorty Rogers [as Roger Short], Maynard Ferguson (trumpets);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Bud Shank (alto sax); Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax); 

Russ Freeman (piano); Carson Smith (bass); Shelly Manne [as Manny Shell] (drums). 

#2, #4, #5, #6

Shorty Rogers [as Roger Short] (trumpet); Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Bud Shank (alto sax, tenor sax), 

Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax, baritone sax), Milt Bernhart (trombone),

Russ Freeman (piano), Carson Smith (bass); Shelly Manne [as Manny Shell] (drums). 

Recorded in Hollywood, California, October 2, 1953

Lighthouse All-Stars Collection XXV ★ with Gerry Mulligan

Gerry Mulligan

Swing House

Gerry Mulligan On The West Coast 

Rare Ands Unissued Recordings • 1952

✤✤

More Mulligan at The Lighthouse

At the end of 1951, fleeing police pressure in New York, Gerry Mulligan embarked on a journey to the West Coast that would permanently reshape his career and the sound of modern jazz. Freshly arrived in Los Angeles, the saxophonist split his creative focus between commercial discipline—crafting dance arrangements for the Stan Kenton Orchestra—and the absolute freedom of the local club scene. It was in these informal settings that the passion and tape recorder of Bob Andrews captured, on an amateur yet historically invaluable basis, the very jam sessions that document Mulligan's transition toward worldwide acclaim and the birth of his legendary piano-less quartet. This crucial historical testament is beautifully captured by Ken Poston in the original liner notes:

At the end of 1951 Gerry Mulligan decided to leave New York and head west to Los Angeles. The vice squad had started putting heavy pressure on jazz musicians and Gerry didn’t want to put up with it any longer. His girlfriend, Gale Madden, had paved the way for Gerry to write arrangements for Stan Kenton once they got to Los Angeles. In the middle of the winter they left Manhattan and hitchhiked all the way to the west coast.

Once there they moved into the Harvey Hotel and Gerry fulfilled his writing assignment for Kenton. He also began sitting in around town at whatever jam sessions he could find. There were three places in particular that he frequented; the Showtime, in the San Fernando Valley, the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach and the Haig in the mid-Wilshire district.

Most of the recordings on this collection were made by Bob Andrews, jazz fan, record store owner and amateur recording engineer. In 1952 he had just started to take his tape recorder to local jazz clubs and although nothing has materialized from the Showtime he did capture Gerry Mulligan several times at the Lighthouse and the Haig. In addition to the jam session recordings we’ve included a few of the lesser heard dance arrangements he wrote for Kenton in 1952.

This is an important historical document because it captures Gerry just a few months after his arrival in Los Angeles and follows his progress up to the point he forms the piano-less quartet. Although he had many accomplishments by the time he came to Los Angeles, he was far from a household name in the jazz world. By the end of the year he had gained world wide attention and was instrumental in establishing the west coast jazz phenomenon.

*Ken Poston (from the liner notes)*

1 - Indiana

(James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald)

This is the earliest of the Bob Andrews recordings that captured Gerry Mulligan sitting in around Los Angeles. This was actually recorded on a Saturday night and features Mulligan joining the Lighthouse rhythm section.

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax), Frank Patchen (piano)

Howard Rumsey (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded live at the Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, May 10, 1952

2 - Robbins' Nest

(Illinois Jacquet, Sir Charles Thompson)

"Robbins' Nest" features Mulligan sitting in with the Lighthouse All Stars at one of the legendary Sunday sessions at the Lighthouse.

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax); Shorty Rogers (trumpet);

Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Cooper (tenor saxes); Frank Patchen (piano);

Howard Rumsey (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded live at the Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, June 1, 1952

3 - Tiny's Blues

(Tiny Kahn)

Two nights later Mulligan was running the off-night jam session at the Haig and on this occasion Gerry played the tenor as opposed to the baritone. Tiny's Blues has been issued a few times over the years but always with the incorrect date. This recording comes from Bob Andrews original reel which has the recording date documented on the box.

Gerry Mulligan, Dave Pell (tenor saxes), Ted Ottison (trumpet);

Paul Smith (piano); Joe Mondragon (bass); Billy Wilson (drums).

Recorded live at The Haig, Los Angeles, June 3, 1952

4 - Rose Room

(Art Hickman, Harry Williams)

Bob Andrews captured Gerry once again the following week at the Haig. Gerry ran things from the bandstand but it was an open session for anyone who wanted to play. On this particular occasion both Conrad Gozzo and Gene Roland dropped by.

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax); Conrad Gozzo, Gene Roland (trumpets);

Jimmy Rowles (piano); Howard Roberts (guitar); Joe Mondragon (bass); Unknown (drums).

Recorded live at The Haig, Los Angeles, June 10, 1952

5 - It's Sand Man

(Ed Lewis)

The jam sessions at the Lighthouse worked a little different than those at the Haig. Howard Rumsey invited specific guests although he did allow others to sit in throughout the day. This is the working Lighthouse All Stars with Andy Lambert subbing for Rumsey.

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax), Shorty Rogers (trumpet),

Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax), Milt Bernhart (trombone),

Frank Patchen (piano), Andy Lambert (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded live at the Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, June 14, 1952

6 - Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

(Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler)

More from the June 14 session. Aaron Sachs and Tommy Potter were both in town with Earl Hines band and Howard recruited them to come down for the session.

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax), Aaron Sachs (clarinet),

Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax), Frank Patchen (piano),

Tommy Potter (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded live at the Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, June 14, 1952

7 - Get Happy / Utter Chaos

(Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler / Gerry Mulligan)

Red Norvo came in as the featured attraction and the house piano was put into storage. Instead of continuing the jam session format on Tuesday nights Gerry formed his own group and the "piano-less quartet" was born. Gerry handpicked the group from musicians he had played with around town and included Chet Baker at the suggestion of Bob Whitlock. This recording was not made by Bob Andrews, but by another fan that sent the tape to Mulligan many years later. August 1952 is the date written on the tape box although it's possible it comes from a bit later. If it is August of 1952 it would be right at the beginning of the quartet.

Gerry Mulligan Quartet:

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax), Chet Baker (trumpet),

Bob Whitlock (bass), Chico Hamilton (drums).

Recorded live at The Haig, Los Angeles, August, 1952

8 - Bweebida Bobbida

(Gerry Mulligan)

In October of 1952 Shorty Rogers had been a regular member of the Lighthouse All Stars for a year. Shorty had recorded under his own name, separate from the All Stars, and was really beginning to make a name for himself. Howard Rumsey used to allow him to take nights off from the Lighthouse so he could lead his own band for special engagements. During the fall Shorty formed a super group that included both Mulligan and Chet Baker as well as Art Pepper and Wardell Gray. The Mulligan group had completed their first engagement at the Haig and recorded their first sides for the new Pacific Jazz label. This Shorty Rogers group did at least two engagements. The first was a Gene Norman concert at The Rendezvous Ballroom, which was released on two LAJI members only CDs. This engagement took place at the 5-4 Ballroom in south central Los Angeles.

Shorty Rogers and His Giants:

Shorty Rogers, Chet Baker (trumpets); Art Pepper (alto sax);

Wardell Gray (tenor sax); Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax);

John Graas (french horn); Hampton Hawes (p);

Joe Mondragon (bass); Lawrence Marable (drums).

Recorded live at 5-4 Ballroom, Los Angeles, October 10, 1952

9 - Too Marvelous For Words

(Richard A. Whiting, Johnny Mercer)

"Too Marvelous for Words" was featured a few times by the Kenton Orchestra including this 1952 broadcast of the Bob Snydor Show. The original handwritten score is dated February 4, 1952.

Stan Kenton Orchestra:

Buddy Childers, Maynard Ferguson, Conte Candoli, Don Dennis, Ruben McFall (trumpets);

Bob Burgess, Frank Rosolino, Keith Moon, Bill Russo (trombones);

George Roberts (bass trombone);  Dick Meldonian, Vinnie Dean (alto saxes);

Lee Elliott, Bill Holman (tenor saxes); Bob Gioga (baritone sax);

Stan Kenton (piano); Sal Salvador (guitar) Don Bagley (bass) Stan Levey (drums).

Bob Snydor Show, Bristol, Connecticut, July 13, 1952

10 - All The Things You Are

(Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II)

"All the Things You Are" was featured regularly during the New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm period and was a feature for Buddy Childers. This recording comes from a Concert in Miniature broadcast from September of 1952. The original score is dated March 9, 1952.

Stan Kenton Orchestra:

Buddy Childers, Maynard Ferguson, Conte Candoli, Don Dennis, Ruben McFall (trumpets);

Bob Burgess, Frank Rosolino, Keith Moon, Bill Russo (trombones);

George Roberts (bass trombone); Lee Konitz, Vinnie Dean (alto saxes);

Bill Holman, Richie Kamuca (tenor saxes); Bob Gioga (baritone sax);

Stan Kenton (piano); Sal Salvador (guitar); Don Bagley (bass); Stan Levey (drums).

Concert in Miniature, Fort Sheridan, Illinois, September 2, 1952

11 - Dancing In The Dark

(Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz)

"Dancing in the Dark" wasn't played often but had stayed in the book for many years. It was one of the earliest arrangements Gerry wrote not long after his arrival in Los Angeles. The original score is dated January 19, 1952.

Stan Kenton Orchestra:

Jack Sheldon, Frank Higgins, Billy Catalano, Bob Ojeda, Bud Brisbois (trumpets);

Billy Smiley, Archie LeCoque, Kurt Larsen, Jim Amlotte, Bob Olson (trombones);

Steve Perlow, Bill Perkins, Lennie Niehaus, Bill Trujillo, Bill Robinson (reeds);

Stan Kenton (piano); Red Kelly (bass); Jerry McKenzie (drums).

Holiday Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois, October 10, 1958

12 - Where Or When

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

"Where or When" is another dance arrangement that stayed in the book for a long time. The original score is dated January 19, 1952.

Stan Kenton Orchestra:

Frank Huggins, Bud Brisbois, Rolf Ericson, Joe Burnett, Roger Middleton (trumpets);

Archie LeCoque, Kent Larsen, Jimmy Knepper (trombones);

Jim Amlotte, Bill Smiley (bass trombones); Lennie Niehaus (alto sax);

Bill Trujillo, John Bonnie (tenor saxes); Billy Root, Sture Swenson (baritone saxes);

Stan Kenton (piano); Scott LaFaro (bass); Jerry McKenzie (drums).

County Fair Building, Ukiah, California, February 26, 1959

13 - Begin The Beguine

(Cole Porter)

The original score to "Begin the Beguine" is dated March 1952. Gerry never said much about his dance charts for Kenton other than joking he was given "dogs work." He did however make special note of Begin the Beguine since Artie Shaw was one of his early idols.

Stan Kenton Orchestra:

Bud Brisbois, Dalton Smith, Bill Chase, Danny Nolan, Rolf Ericson (trumpets);

Bob Fitzpatrick, Kent Larsen, Bill Smiley (trombones);

Jim Amlotte, Bob Knight (bass trombones); Lennie Niehaus (alto sax);

Bill Trujillo, Ronnie Rubin (tenor saxes); Jack Nimitz, Marvin Holladay (baritone saxes);

Stan Kenton (piano); Peter Chivily (bass); Jimmy Campbell (drums); Mike Pacheco (percussion).

Enlisted Mens Club, Barstow, California, January 30, 1960

Lighthouse All-Stars Collection III

Howard Rumsey

Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars

Volume 1 

★ Sunday Jazz A La Lighthouse • Vol. 1 ★

This album is the first of a series of releases that are aimed to satisfy the many requests we have had for some SUNDAY JAZZ a la LIGHTHOUSE.

It was almost four years ago that John Levine decided to present Jazz in concert form — that is, for listening only — in the Southern California seashore club, The Lighthouse. Hermosa Beach is the ideal locale for such a year-around presentation, because although it is remote enough to be "goiung somewhere", it is situated in a fast-growing South Bay area so that more people live closer to it every year.

Sunday Jazz was a feature from the very inception of our concert policy and the popularity of the afternoon and evening concerts led into what is now our most popular feature of the week — a continuous concert from 2 p.m. to 2 a. m. every Sunday throughout the year.

The recorded efforts of our Lighthouse All-Stars as they pace themselves through this extraordinary concert with the many sounds of the room — the tinkling of glasses, the extemporaneous laughter, even the occasional ring of a cash register — go to make up this interesting forty-five minutes of Sunday Jazz designed to let our friends, all over the world, bring the music and, in fact, the Lighthouse itself, into own home.

HAPPY LISTENING! *Howard Rumsey (from the liner notes)*

One of the earliest sets issued under the name of the Lighthouse All-Stars — that hip assemblage of west coast players headed by bassist Howard Rumsey — hardly a household name on his own, but well-remembered for all the great work done at this famous club! The lineup is a who's who of key players on the west coast at the time — Shorty Rogers and Maynard Ferguson on trumpet, Jimmy Giuffre and Bob Cooper on tenor, Hampton Hawes on piano, Milt Bernhart on trombone, and Shelly Manne on drums — and some tracks are a bit longer than usual, offering up freer solo space than you're likely to get on other west coast dates — a key contribution of the All-Stars recording mode. *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

1 - Four Others

(Jimmy Giuffre)

2 - All The Things You Are

(Hammerstein, Kern)

3 - Creme de Menthe

(Jimmy Giuffre)

4 - Viva Zapata!

(Shorty Rogers)

5 - Bernie's Tune

(Leiber, Stoller, Miller)

6 - Solitaire

(Bill Russo)

7 - Morgan Davis

(Shorty Rogers)

8 - La Soncailli

(Jimmy Giuffre)

Maynard Ferguson, Shorty Rogers (trumpets);

Milt Bernhart (trombone); Bob Cooper, Jimmy Giuffre (tenor saxes);

Frank Patchen [#1, #3 to #6], Hampton Hawes [#2, #7, #8] (piano); Howard Rumsey (bass);

Shelly Manne (drums); Carlos Vidal (conga drums [#4]).

Recorded live at The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, California, February 21, 1953

Lighthouse All-Stars Collection II

 The very first Lighthouse All-Stars recordings

Howard Rumsey (1917–2015) occupies a central place in the history of West Coast jazz—not primarily as a virtuoso bassist, but as a visionary organizer, bandleader, and catalyst for a community of musicians who helped define the modern jazz sound of Southern California in the 1950s. Before becoming synonymous with the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, Rumsey had worked with major bands led by Stan Kenton, Charlie Barnet, and Barney Bigard, experiences that grounded him firmly in the professional jazz world of the 1930s and 40s. Yet it was his work as an impresario and resident bandleader that would secure his lasting legacy.

In May 1949, Rumsey persuaded the owner of the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, California, to allow Sunday afternoon jam sessions. What began as informal gatherings soon evolved into one of the most important regular jazz venues in the United States. Musicians from the Los Angeles scene—along with visiting players—would perform extended sets that could stretch from late afternoon into the night, attracting beachgoers, dedicated jazz fans, and fellow musicians alike. These sessions became a focal point for what would soon be labeled “West Coast Jazz.”

Out of these weekly performances emerged a more defined ensemble known as the Lighthouse All-Stars. The earliest late-1940s formation included local players such as Teddy Edwards, Sonny Criss, Hampton Hawes, Frank Patchen, Bobby White, and Keith Williams, with Rumsey on bass. It is important to note, however, that no known commercial or publicly documented recordings exist of this original late-1940s lineup. Their significance lies in their live presence and in the groundwork they laid, rather than in any surviving discography.

Only in the early 1950s, once the group's personnel evolved to include figures such as Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, and Shelly Manne, did the Lighthouse All-Stars begin recording commercially. Independent labels—including Skylark and the Lighthouse Record Company, and later Contemporary Records—issued recordings that carried the Lighthouse sound far beyond Hermosa Beach. These records helped codify an aesthetic often associated with West Coast jazz: arranged yet flexible, cool in tone but rhythmically vital, and marked by a strong sense of ensemble interplay.

Rumsey’s true achievement was the creation of a sustained musical environment. By maintaining a regular platform for experimentation and performance, he fostered a scene in which arrangers, improvisers, and composers could refine a distinctly West Coast approach to modern jazz. Even without recorded evidence of its earliest incarnation, the name Lighthouse All-Stars came to represent one of the foundational institutions of postwar American jazz, and Howard Rumsey remains its indispensable architect.

The story truly begins to crystallize once the band entered the studio. As we begin the Lighthouse All-Stars Collection, we turn to the earliest recordings of the Lighthouse All-Stars.

The Early Skylark and Tampa EPs: The Lighthouse All Stars, Maynard Ferguson, Charlie Shavers set brings together some of the earliest commercial recordings associated with Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars, issued originally on the Skylark and Tampa labels in the early 1950s. Although Howard Rumsey is not credited as leader on the session documents, this material represents the first recordings of the Lighthouse All-Stars with Rumsey firmly at the musical core of the ensemble, at a moment when the group was just beginning to define its sound.

Cut at Capitol Records on March 26, 1952, the personnel on the key tracks includes Shorty Rogers (trumpet), Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax), Milt Bernhart (trombone), Frank Patchen (piano), Shelly Manne (drums) and Howard Rumsey on bass, with guests such as Vivien Garry on vocals. These sessions—released as a Skylark EP originally titled Jam Session 2 and later repackaged on Tampa LPs—offer a fascinating early glimpse of the Lighthouse ensemble just as it was coalescing into one of the defining groups of the West Coast jazz scene.

Shorty Rogers And The Lighthouse All Stars

Though often overshadowed by the better-known Contemporary Records albums that followed, this program is historically significant: it captures the Lighthouse All-Stars at the threshold of their commercial recording career, rooted in the post–jam-session culture Rumsey had nurtured at the Hermosa Beach club, and points toward the broader recognition the band would soon achieve.

These early recordings of the Lighthouse All-Stars are featured on the following CD:

Shorty Rogers And The Lighthouse All-Stars

Maynard Ferguson Octet

Charlie Shavers Octet

Early Skylark And Tampa EPs

The three recordings that make up this program were originally released on the Skylark and/or Tampa Records labels in the early to mid-1950s. We have included three EPs that are not necessarily related to each other in this program to complete the release of Skylark and early Tampa jazz recordings on VSOP RECORDS. Bob Scherman, a child prodigy who became a record producer and composer, created the Skylark and Tampa Records labels during the early 1950s. Skylark was the label that Bob Scherman used to release recordings between 1951 and 1955, when the label was collapsed into Tampa Records. Practically every Skylark jazz recording had been re-issued as a Tampa release by 1955. (There are several singles that we will add to upcoming releases, and albums by Bill Donati that include jazz material that will be digitally released in the future.)

Bob Scherman participated in and supervised all activities of Skylark and Tampa, but he had help. Much of the studio work was shared by Dick Taylor, who had worked with Bob Scherman on some of his earlier efforts connected with his publishing work. Bob had set up his publishing company, Webster Music, to provide demo services for songwriters, as well as to promote his own compositions. He brought in Dick Taylor to manage many of the demo recording sessions, and later to act as contractor for some of the Skylark sessions, and some of the early Tampa sessions, as well.

 

The first set of recordings on this album consists of recordings that were made on March 26, 1952 at Capitol Records. They are or at least appear to be the first recordings credited to the Lighthouse All Stars. Side 1 consists of "M.B.B." or "More Big Boy", and Side 2 consists of a medley which includes "You Know I'm In Love With You", "Whispering" and "I Get A Kick Out of You" performed by Vivien Garry. The first release of this material on Skylark Records (apart from single 78s) was an EP entitled "Jam Session 2" Skylark 12.   This same material was later re-released as Tampa LP 12 "Shorty Rogers and the Lighthouse All Stars", with a cover designed by Maurice Childs, (that is the cover used for this album.)

The second set of recordings on this album consists of a program that appeared on an EP originally entitled "Jam Session 1" released as Skylark SK11. Side 1 featured Paul Nero's "Cool Canary Blues" and Side 2 was devoted to a jam on "Sweet Georgia Brown". Both selections are fairly long, coming in at around 13 minutes and 40 seconds each and feature extended solos by each player. "Sweet Georgia Brown" was also released on Skylark EP100 as by a Lighthouse All Stars group with the same personnel. The actual recording date is not certain although it would appear contemporaneous with the "Jam Session 2" material, judging by the personnel and the Hot Canary-Cool Canary connection. The labels on the various releases of this material suggest that the original leader was violinist Paul Nero, whose actual name was Kurt Polniarof (not to be confused with saxophonist Klaus Doldinger who goes by the same name). Paul Nero was a very in-demand violinist for pop and jazz sessions, whose extensive work invites comparisons with the careers of Harry Bluestone and Felix Slatkin. He presented himself very much as a fiddler rather than a violinist and his playing is often compared to that of Eddie South or Stuff Smith. He composed a number of works based upon his original composition, "The Canary", including "The Hot Canary" by Stan Kenton featuring Maynard Ferguson on Capitol, Paul Weston on Capitol Records, Florian Zabach on Decca, Ella Fitzgerald with Sy Oliver on Decca and "The Cool Canary Blues" offered here. Portions of these live recordings were used to create the live portions of "M.B.B" and the Vivien Garry medley. The Maynard Ferguson "Jam Session 1" material is lengthy and was actually recorded live, in contrast to the "Jam Session 2" sides. While it is likely that originally the group was led by Paul Nero, most releases on Skylark credit it to Maynard Ferguson. He had recently recorded Paul Nero's "Hot Canary" with Stan Kenton for Capitol, and was very much identified with that recording. There are nice solos by Maynard Ferguson, Bob Cooper, Abe Most, Tony Rizzi and Paul Smith.

After the two "Jam Sessions 1" selections, we have included the original versions of "Big Boy" which were released as "Big Boy Part 1" and "Big Boy Part 2" on Skylark 538, both sides presented here as one track. As is evident, "M.B.B." is simply a combination of both parts 1 and 2 with additional live material added in to give the impression that the material was recorded live in a club. These are the essential components of every version of "M.B.B." and "Big Boy" released on Skylark and Tampa. It is interesting to note that there are many fans of this recording, especially among those who were alive and on the West Coast when this recording was first released. Today, there is still some question as to whether "Big Boy" and "M.B.B." were intended to be received as a tribute to the rhythm and blues honking saxophone style of playing that was enjoying popularity at the time or whether they were intended as parody. Opinions are divided, and each is welcome to form their own.

The final EP included on this release was originally released as Skylark 103 Charlie Shavers:"Jazz". The common link between all of these musicians is the post-war Tommy Dorsey band, in particular the period between September, 1946 and June, 1947 when all were sidemen in that aggregation and, at times, in the Clambake Seven. The material performed is also a bit earlier in style from the two other Skylark sessions featured on this album. All four selections are of average length for a 78 of that period, with no extended solos. Two of the selections are adaptations of popular classical works, one is a tin pan alley standard ("Three Little Words"), and one an original work devoted to musicians union head, James Petrillo. The selection devoted to James Petrillo, head of the musicians' union, also suggests that this was recorded during the late 1940's when his iron-fisted control of recorded music gave rise to the 1942 and 1948 recording bans. This material features clarinetist Abe Most, and he may have had something to do with both the Jam Session 1 material and these Charlie Shavers recordings being released on Skylark and Tampa, since his solos are showcased, at least on the Charlie Shavers' sides. Tony Rizzi is also on this recording, making him the only musician to perform on all three recordings presented here. *from the liner notes*

1 - M.B.B

(Giuffre, Rogers)

2 - Jam Session Medley

a) You Know I'm In Love With You

(Brandt)

b) Whispering

(Schoemberger)

c) I Get A Kick Out Of You

(Porter)

3 - Cool Canary Blues

(Paul Nero)

4 - Sweet Georgia Brown

(Berney,Pinkard)

5 - Big Boy, Part 1 & Part 2

(Giuffre, Rogers)

6 - Three Little Words

(Kalmar, Ruby)

7 - Pet-rill-o

(Shavers)

8 - Choppin' Up Chopin

(Chopin, Shavers)

9 - La Traviata

(Verdi, Shavers)

#1, #2, #5:

Shorty Rogers (trumpet), Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax), Milt Bernhart (trombone),

Frank Patchen (piano), Tony Rizzi (guitar [#2b]), Howard Rumsey (bass),

Shelly Manne (drums), Vivien Garry (vocals [#2]).

Recorded at Capitol Records, March 26, 1952

(Producer Bob Scherman created a "live" jazz club sound with his Skylark releases by adding applause and "cocktail lounge chatter" at the mixing stage.)

#3, #4:

Maynard Ferguson (trumpet), Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Abe Most (clarinet), Paul Nero (violin),

Paul Smith (piano), Tony Rizzi (guitar), Stan Fletcher (bass), Irv Cottler (drums).

Recorded possibly at The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, California, 1952

#6 to #9:

Charlie Shavers (trumpet), Abe Most (clarinet), Sid Cooper (alto sax), Boomie Richman (tenor sax), John Potoker (piano), Tony Rizzi (guitar), Sandy "Sid" Bloch (bass), and Alvin Stoller (drums).

Recorded in New York City, possibly late 1945

Note: The print quality of the booklet accompanying this CD is very poor. 

For a more comfortable reading of the same text, go to: https://magnebit.xeran.com/store/page242.html

Five-Star Collection... Stan Kenton

Stan Kenton And His Orchestra

New Concepts Of Artistry In Rhythm

The format for this album was sketched by Kenton himself, and his staff arrangers have developed and interpreted his ideas with rare skill and understanding. New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm is a tribute to these men of the modern school whose stature is ever increasing. It is their ingenuity and creative ability that is directing the course of tomorrow's music.

The intense imagination of Stan Kenton gave pulsing life to Artistry in Rhythm more than ten years ago, and today the freshest and most stimulating ideas of modern music are still in his work — in his New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm.

Throughout the ten years of the Kenton Orchestra's life its music has gradually changed — with accumulated knowledge, experimentation, and association — to bring the listener an ever fresh approach.

This album discloses even more exciting developments in the orchestra's brilliant sound. Masterful musicians like first trumpeter Buddy Childers, first trombonist Bob Burgess, first saxophonist Vinnie Dean, and drummer Stan Levey give it the mark of their personalities; and above all stands the dynamic quality of Stan Kenton, inspiring his orchestra and, indeed, a whole profession — carrying the vibrant message of his music to hosts of eager listeners everywhere. *(from the liner notes)*

This is the New Concepts LP, and it might well have been called Artistry in Russo, for Bill wrote five of these seven originals. First title, which your atlas will show you means Havana, starts with a startling and highly entertaining piece of writing for the trombones, with the Latin rhythm and the unison reeds easing in, followed by unison trumpets. Blood, the swingingest side of the whole set, was penned by Gerry Mulligan, indicates that Stan needs bigger doses of Mulligan in his books.

The Count (Conte Candoli) is well framed in his portrait; the Invention for Sal Salvador and Maynard Ferguson was written by tenor man Bill Holman. Improvisation, the longest and most ambitious number of the set, has some of the most brilliant Russo writing as he used it is the one we enjoyed the least, for its qualities are neurotic and depressing.

The Frank who speaks is trombonist Rosolino, and although he doesn't speak as freely and happily as he used to with Georgie Auld's quintet, this is an effective jazz horn concerto and swings more than the other Russo items. My Lady is addressed by Lee Konitz' alto in attractively melancholy tones. *(Down Beat, Chicago, May 6, 1953 [5 stars])*

1 - 23° N — 82° W

(Bill Russo)

2 - Portait Of A Count

(Bill Russo)

3 - Improvisation

(Bill Russo)

4 - Invention For Guitar And Trumpet

(Bill Holman)

5 - My Lady

(Bill Russo)

6 - Young Blood

(Gerry Mulligan)

7 - Frank Speaking

(Bill Russo)

Buddy Childers, Maynard Ferguson, Conte Candoli, Don Dennis, Ruben McFall (trumpets); 

Bob Burgess, Frank Rosolino, Keith Moon, Bill Russo (trombones); 

George Roberts (bass trombone); Vinnie Dean, Lee Konitz (alto saxes); 

Richie Kamuca, Bill Holman (tenor saxes); Bob Gioga (baritone sax);

Sal Salvador (guitar); Stan Kenton (piano);  Don Bagley (bass); 

Stan Levey (drums), Denon Kenneth Walton (bongos [#1]).

Recorded at Universal Studios "A", Chicago, Illinois, September 10 (#2, #6, #7),

September 11 (#1), September 15 (#4, #5) and September 16 (#3), 1952

Milt Bernhart Brass Ensemble - Modern Brass

Milt Bernhart grew up as a musician playing in the bands of Boyd Raeburn, Buddy Franklyn, Jimmy James and Teddy Powell. After that peculiar apprenticeship he joined Stan Kenton's band. The years with Kenton boosted Bernhardt to considerable popularity with jazz followers, and his solos won him repeated high placings in Down Beats readers poll. After that, he was a graduate of the Kenton school of higher learning. But, for the most part, musicians are born, not made, and the notes Milt blew, the phrasing and imagination he so vividly demonstrated, could not have been easily picked up in any learned institution. With this particular group, nucleus of the West Coast school of jazz, he contributed more than his share to its new sounds and seemingly fantastic thought processes. This album includes some of the most inspired trombone playing since the invention of that venerable instrument. *Jordi Pujol*

When RCA Victor decided to make an album showcasing the considerable talents of Milt Bernhart, they searched for an entirely new form of presentation employing not only his horn but a unique voicing and instrumentation in which to frame it. Milt came up with the idea of an all-brass setting, exclusive of the conventional rhythm section. After deciding upon the voicing — two trumpets, Milt's trombone, French horn, bass horn and tuba, along with guitar, string bass and drums — the arrangers were chosen. Certainly no single jazz album ever done has had such a roster of composers-arrangers: Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Andre Previn, Wes Hensel, Pete Candoli and Jimmy Guiffre — the individual approach of each further enhances their collective reputations as the vanguard of the West Coast school. That they solved any seeming problems should be very evident, for in none of the twelve selections could any lack of color or tonality be detected; in fact, the unique voicing and arranging, the inspired solos and warm feeling of the group as a whole are everywhere evident.

Thus this album features not only Milt Bernhart’s happy, brazen trombone along with other equally great soloists playing superb arrangements, but a fresh and unique — nonetheless valid and justifiable — approach to the problem of extending the horizons of jazz.

Listen then to Modern Brass played by Milt Bernhart and his brass ensemble.

*Paul Krupa (liner notes)*

This is an experimental album that clearly expands the frontiers of modern jazz. Giving a brass section, consisting of two trumpets, trombone, French horn, bass horn amd tuba the task of creating a well-balanced sound without the relieving colors of the usual band sections is practically an invitation to disaster. The success here, against heavy odds, is due chiefly to the skill of the fine arrangers employed for this remarkable set: Pete Rugolo, Shorty Rogers, Andre Previn, Jimmy Giuffre, Wes Hensel and Pete Candoli. The trombone of Bernhart is featured thruout, and in the richly varied fare offered here, his solos are consistently warm and imaginative.

*Billboard, October 15, 1955*

Side 1

1 - The Horns

(Jimmy Giuffre)

2 - Hooray For Hollywood

(Mercer, Whiting)

3 - What Is There To Say

(Harburg, Duke)

4 - Looking For A Boy

(G. and I. Gershwin)

5 - Amor Flamengo

(Laurindo Almeida)

6 - Southern Comfort

(Pete Candoli)

Side 2

7 - London In July

(Vernon Duke)

8 - Tangerine

(Mercer, Schertzinger)

9 - Lavender

(Jimmy Giuffre)

10 - Hillside

(Andre Previn)

11 - It's All Right With Me

(Cole Porter)

12 - Save Your Chops

(Pete Candoli)

Milt Bernhart (trombone) with:

#1, #3, #8, #9

Shorty Rogers [as Roger Milton], Ray Linn (tumpets); Maynard Ferguson (euphonium); John Graas (French horn); Ray Siegel (tuba); Jack Marshall (guitar); Red Mitchell [as Keith Mitchell] (bass); Irv Kluger (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, March 4, 1955.

#5, #7, #12

Shorty Rogers, Pete Candoli (trumpets); Maynard Ferguson (euphonium); John Graas (French horn); Ray Siegel (tuba); Jack Marshall (guitar); Red Mitchell (bass); Irv Kluger (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, March 6, 1955.

#2, #4, #6, #10, #11

Ray Linn, Pete Candoli (trumpets); Maynard Ferguson (euphonium); John Graas (French horn); Paul Sarmento (tuba); Jack Marshall (guitar); Red Mitchell (bass); Irving Cottler (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, March 8, 1955.

Russ Garcia - Four Horns And A Lush Life

The name of Russell Garcia always comes to mind when we try to describe the orchestral sounds emerged from West Coast jazz scene during the second half of the Fifties. His works are regarded with great respect for the special, distinctive touch there is in all of his arrangements that helped to enrich the language of both orchestra and combo-size jazz ensembles.

On this LP Russ conducts a band featuring four trombones with support from a rhythm section and a baritone sax that validates the experimentalists cause. Herbie Harper, Tommy Pederson and Frank Rosolino play slide trombones, while Maynard Ferguson romps through the proceedings on valve trombone. Each member of this quartet is a distinguished artist in brass and their blended talent has produced a trombone choir that is unexcelled. *Jordi Pujol*

There are great jazz albums and then there are tasty great jazz albums. This is the latter Russ Garcia's Four Horns and a Lush Life (Bethlehem). Recorded in Hollywood in November 1955, the band featured four gorgeous trombonists: Frank Rosolino, Herb Harper, Maynard Ferguson and Tommy Pederson (tb) backed by Dick Houlgate (bs), Marty Paich (p), Red Mitchell (b), Stan Levey (d) and Russ Garcia (arr, conductor).

In 2008, I asked Russ about the album during a JazzWax interview:

Marc Myers: Four Horns and a Lush Life featured your original four-trombone concept. Who came up with the song title, I'll Never Forget What's Her Name?

Russ Garcia: (laughs) Oh, that was trombonist Frank Rosolino. The tune actually was "Fine and Dandy", but there wasn't much left of that. I just took the chord structure and wrote an original. I said, "What do I call this?" Frank was a funny, funny guy. He shot out, how about "I'll Never Forget What's Her Name." It was too good to pass up.

Marc Myers: What is it about writing for the trombone that you love so much?

Russ Garcia: The instrument can be strong and gutsy and swinging, or it can be soft and beautiful, like a French horn. And it's in a tenor range, which is always very pleasant. I just kind of enjoy the instrument. I played a wee bit of trombone. After that Four Horns album, I wound up writing a number of trombone-oriented albums in the 50s for Frances Faye and Anita O'Day.

Also note the juicy piano solos taken by Marty Paich and how soft and brief his left was in the bass clef. *Marc Myers*

Russ Garcia was a popular arranger in the mid-'50s, often working with some of the best jazz artists of the day. On this session for Bethlehem, he conducts an octet with four trombonists (including Maynard Ferguson, Frank Rosolino, Herbie Harper and Tommy Pederson), plus baritone saxophonist Dick Houlgate, pianist Marty Paich, bassist Red Mitchell and drummer Stan Levey. Most of Garcia's cool arrangements are of standards, while his "I'll Never Forget What's Her Name (The Lo-est)" is a barely disguised reworking of the chord changes to "Fine and Dandy". Obviously, the trombonists are the primary focus of the solos, though Paich, Houlgate and Mitchell get a chance to get in a few licks of their own. Garcia's use of a trombone choir is very effective in the warm treatment of "Lush Life" and a cooking "What Is This Thing Called Love?". *Ken Dryden*

Side 1

1 - I'll Never Forget What's Her Name

(Garcia)

2 - But Beautiful

(Burke, Van Heusen)

3 - Dancing On The Ceiling

(Rodgers, Hart)

4 - The Boy Next Door

(Martin, Blane)

5 - Just One Of Those Things

(Porter)

6 - Zigeuner

(Coward)

Side 2

7 - Limehouse Blues

(Braham, Furber)

8 - Lush Life

(Strayhorn)

9 - Lover, Come Back To Me

(Romberg, Hammerstein)

10 - Ramona

(Wayne, Gilbert)

11 - Someone To Watch Over Me

(G. and I. Gershwin)

12 - What Is This Thing Called Love?

(Porter)

Frank Rosolino, Herbie Harper, Maynard Ferguson, Tommy Pederson (trombones); Dick Houlgate (baritone sax); Marty Paich (piano); Red Mitchell (bass); Stan Levey (drums).

Recorded in Holywood, California, November 14, 1955.

Arranged and conducted by Russ Garcia

Modern Jazz Gallery

Modern Jazz Gallery

A Notable Exhibition By West Coast Jazz Artists

Away back, when jazz was young and almost always gay, you could pretty well spot the home territory of a jazzman or a group by the way they played. Up until the Nineteen Thirties, the few centers where jazz musicians congregated each had their own individual hallmarks. The Kansas City bands played with a heavy, inexorable four-four beat. Chicago groups exuded a lusty, supercharged quality. A Harlem pianist walked in the ragtime shadow of James P. Johnson, the New Orleans clarinetists held to the mellow Creole tradition of Lorenzo Tio and the New Orleans bands scarcely budged from the polyphonic interweaving of cornet, clarinet and trombone.

But as jazz spread, it became faceless. The New Orleans musicians moved to Chicago, the resultant Chicago-New Orleans amalgam trudged on to New York and from New York they fanned out to any spot where there was work to be had. Styles became personal rather than territorial. A trombonist sounded like Jack Teagarden or a clarinetist was in the Benny Goodman vein —they weren’t considered to be playing Texas style, in the first case, or Chicago, in the latter. 

Jazz became pigeon-holed and subdivided by types rather than origins. There was traditional jazz, there was swing and there was bop (which, as an instance of the growing inconsequence of origins, was prodded into existence by musicians from South Carolina, Missouri, Pennsylvania and New York).

But then something went into reverse. A switch was thrown and suddenly, during the past decade, a territorial type of jazz appeared once more. Or, at least, it seemed to appear. It was called West Coast jazz and it was readily accepted as a regional phenomenon until some East Coasters, in a fit of petulance, charged that there was no such thing as West Coast jazz, that jazz was just jazz on any coast. Whereupon they set out to prove their point by trying to whoop up some interest in East Coast jazz.

To a degree, the petulant East Coasters were right. It was almost impossible to encompass all the jazz played on the West Coast within a workable definition since it ranged from the traditionalist revival, which burned particularly bright in San Francisco, to efforts in the more southerly areas of California to effect a liaison between modern jazz and modern serious music. As the East Coasters said, it was just jazz.

But still and all, West Coast jazz —particularly as played by small modern groups— did have an identifiable quality. Recognition of it was achieved not so much through a regional style as through the presence of a resident colony of jazz musicians, each with a relatively personal style, who kept turning up over and over again on the recordings made on the West Coast. It was the repeated sound of these individuals, rather than an underlying group sound, which gave West Coast jazz the semblance of a territorial style. It is true that younger musicians who have developed on the West Coast since the colony-in-residence was established have, quite naturally, tended to follow the lead of the musicians to whom they had the most ready access but this is not apt to blossom into the kind of pure, undeviating school that New Orleans, for instance, once produced. Today a jazz musician is able to hear all of the far flung facets of jazz (which didn’t even exist in the New Orleans heyday) and some of these are inevitably absorbed in whatever sort of finished product the young musician becomes.

So, although this album is an exhibition of modern jazz by West Coast artists, we will find that the music draws on that played in other sections of the country and that it is West Coast jazz primarily in the sense that it is played by musicians who have acquired the characteristics common to the culture of the southern part of California (and musicians who have been resident for some time on both coasts will tell you that this has a distinct effect on how they play and what they play).

The six groups which are heard here —three big bands and three combos— give representation to most of the leading members of the West Coast jazz colony as of summer and fall, 1956.

It will take slightly more than an hour and a quarter to examine this gallery of modern jazz by West Coast musicians. Once it has been heard through, see if you detect a uniformity of style that might be pinpointed as regional. Or do you hear a varied group of musicians expressing themselves in their own personal jazz terms? In other words, is there really West Coast jazz or are there simply West Coast jazzmen? This album provides a sound basis for reaching your own conclusions.

*John S. Wilson (liner notes)*

*LP 1*

Side 1

1 - Music City

(Russell Garcia)

2 - Ben Blew

(Ben Tucker)

3 - Joanies Jump

(Med Flory)

4 - Caribe

(John Towner)

5 - There Will Never Be Another You

(Mack Gordon, Harry Warren)

6 - Times Square

(Marty Paich)

Side 2

7 - Plain Jane Snavely

(Bob Brookmeyer)

8 - Spring Is Here

(Richard Rodgers, Laurenz Hart)

9 - Coldwater Canyon Blues

(Marty Paich)

10 - Time's Up

(Ronnie Ball)

11 - Fish Tail

(Russell Garcia)

12 - Angel

(Shorty Rogers, Sid Robbins)

*LP 2*

Side 3

1 - Four Blow Four's

(Marty Paich)

2 - Earful

(Ronnie Ball)

3 - Wonderful You

(Al Cohn)

4 - Anything Goes

(Cole Porter)

5 - Blooz

(Paul Moer)

6 - Smoggy Day

(Russell Garcia)

Side 4

7 - In From Somewhere

(Wes Hensel)

8 - Lonely Time

(Marty Paich)

9 - Aunt Orsavella

(John Towner)

10 - I Love You, That's All

(Med Flory)

11 - Black Jack

(Warne Marsh)

12 - Los Angeles River

(Russell Garcia)

Med Flory and His Orchestra

#3, #7 (LP 1);  #3, #10 (LP 2)

Med Flory (alto sax [#15], tenor sax [#3, #7 {LP 1}; #3 {LP 2}], vocals [#3 {LP 2}]); Joe Burnett, Ed Leddy, Jack Holman, Ray Triscari (trumpets); Bob Burgess, Dave Wells, (trombones);  Bill Perkins, Bill Masinghill, Arno Marsh (tenor saxes); Leo Anthony (baritone sax); John Banister (piano); Tom Kelly (bass); Mel Lewis (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, March 12, 1956.

Billy Usselton Sextet

#5, #12 (LP 1); #5, #7 (LP 2)

Billy Usselton (tenor sax), Bob Burgess (trombone), Abe Aaron (bass clarinet), Paul Moer (piano), Buddy Clark (bass), Mel Lewis (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, October 17, 1956. 

Marty Paich Orchestra

#6, #9 (LP 1); #1, #8 (LP 2)

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, Hollywood, California, October 23, 1956.

Warne Marsh Quintet

#2, #10 (LP 1); #2, #11 (LP 2)

Warne Marsh, Ted Brown (tenor saxes), Ronnie Ball (piano), Ben Tucker (bass), Jeff Morton (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, October 24, 1956.

Russell Garcia and His Orchestra

#1, #11 (LP 1); #6, #12 (LP 2)

Maynard Ferguson, Don Fagerquist, Buddy Childers, Ray Linn (trumpets); Milt Bernhart, Frank Rosolino, Lloyd Ulyate, Tommy Pederson (trombones); Art Pepper, Bud Shank (alto saxes); Ted Nash (tenor sax); Chuck Gentry (baritone sax); Gerald Wiggins (piano); Howard Roberts (guitar); Max Bennett (bass); Alvin Stoller (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, November 2, 1956.

John Towner Quartet

#4, #8 (LP 1); #4, #9 (LP 2)

John Towner [a.k.a. John T. Williams] (piano); Howard Roberts (guitar), Curtis Counce (bass); Jerry Williams (drums).

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, November 2, 1956. 

Buddy Bregman - Swinging Kicks

Buddy Bregman is one of the most ubiquitously industrious arrangers in the music industry. He has scored several major TV series and spectaculars, and is in musical charge of the new Eddie Fisher program on NBC-TV. He has written film scores, including Jerry Lewis’ Delicate Delinquent, and he also has charted the music for Jerry Lewis’ stands at the Palace and in Las Vegas. For Verve, he has written for Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby and a sizable number of other artists of demandingly varying styles and idioms. 

This set is a special project for Buddy, because "it’s the first album I’ve had under my own name that I think is good jazz. It’s as good jazz as I can write".

Buddy conducted the date in addition to doing the writing. Some of the tracks are short and episodic because this is, after all, a score for a quickly moving film, but connecting all the episodes emotionally is a guttiness and an almost graphic skein of the neon-shapes and fears and hard hopes that begin to circulate in any big city after about nine o’clock at night. *Nat Hentoff (Liner notes)*

Best known as an arranger for singers and for commercial sessions, Buddy Bregman led one full-fledged jazz instrumental date, Swinging Kicks. Because many of the selections are brief (seven are under two minutes) and due to the intriguing titles, this seems a bit like a soundtrack to a film that was never made. However, few of the tracks seem truncated and there are some excellent solos along the way, particularly from Ben Webster, Conte Candoli, Herb Geller, Bud Shank, and Paul Smith. The personnel changes from cut to cut, ranging from a 19-piece big band with screaming trumpet playing from Maynard Ferguson and Conrad Gozzo to various combos, a Ben Webster/André Previn duet on "Kicks Is in Love", and a rapid workout for Paul Smith on "Go Kicks". Bregman uses some of the top West Coast jazz players and various musicians who were on Verve at the time, with Stan Getz making a guest appearance on "Honey Chile". Recommended. *Scott Yanow*

Side 1

1 - Wild Party

2 - Melody Room

3 - Bada Blues

4 - Kicks Swings

5 - Melody Lane

6 - Lost Keys

7 - Go Kicks

8 - Gage Flips

Side 2

9 - Derek's Blues

10 - Mulliganville

11 - Terror Ride

12 - The Flight

13 - Tom's Idea

14 - Melodyville

15 - Honey Chile

16 - End Of Party

17 - Kicks Is In Love

(All compositions by Buddy Bregman)

Buddy Bregman (arrangements and conductor).

#1, #3, #6, #8, #9, #11, #12, #13, #16:

Maynard Ferguson, Conrad Gozzo, Ray Linn, Pete Candoli (trumpets); Lloyd Ulyate, Frank Rosolino, Milt Bernhart, George Roberts (trombones); Ben Webster, Bob Cooper, Georgie Auld (tenor saxes); Bud Shank, Herb Geller (alto saxes); Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax); Al Hendrickson (guitar); Joe Mondragon (bass); Paul Smith (piano); Alvin Stoller (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, December 20, 1956

#2, #4, #5, #7, #10, #14, #15:

Conte Candoli (trumpet); Frank Rosolino (trombone), Bud Shank (alto sax), Stan Getz [#15] (tenor sax), Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax), Al Hendrickson (guitar), Joe Mondragon (bass), Paul Smith (piano); Stan Levey (drums).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, December 18, 1956.

#17:

André Previn (piano), Ben Webster (tenor sax).

Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, December 20, 1956.

Johnny Richards - Something Else

Something Else was recorded for Bethlehem in Hollywood on August 2 and 3, 1956. What made Richards special as an arranger was his fiery romanticism and percussive moodiness. A highly progressive orchestral writer, Richards thought big. Really big. And he loved his section writing busy, textured and inflamed. He also wanted his soloists soulful and emotionally committed. As you might imagine, a Johnny Richards session was highly challenging from a reading and blowing perspective, even for the best studio musicians with the most hardened chops. Bill Holman said so. So did Al Stewart.

During the August 2 session, "Waltz Anyone?" was the only composition recorded that day. This may have been largely a result of the work itself. There is a sizable amount of instrumental traffic coming and going, and yet it's one of the prettiest and most cohesive jazz orchestral works. But it's a tiger. Or, Richards and the band may have nailed it early and used the remaining studio time to rehearse the other arrangements for the next day's session.

Don't think for a second that the problem may have been with the band: Pete Candoli, Buddy Childers and Maynard Ferguson (tp); Stu Williamson (tp,v-tb); Tommy Pederson, Frank Rosolino and Milt Bernhart (tb); John Cave (fhr); Albert Pollan (tu); Charlie Mariano (as); Richie Kamuca (ts); Ronny Lang (bar,pic); Bill Holman (bassax); Marty Paich (p); Buddy Clark (b); Stan Levey (d); Lou Singer (perc) and Johnny Richards (arr,dir).

The next day, Richards took on more firepower: Shorty Rogers (flhrn) was added (yeah, I know, added), and Don Kelly (b-tb) and Vince DeRosa (fhr) replaced Milt Bernhart and John Cave, respectively. The songs were For All We Know, Aijalon, Dimples, Long Ago and Far Away, Band Aide, Turn About and Burrito Borracho.

Richards composed Waltz Anyone? Dimples, Band Aide, Turn Aboot, Burrito Borracho and Aijalon (Richards's wife Blanca is listed as co-writer on the last track). The rest were standards. Every single track on this album is out of the park. There isn't a single ounce of wheel-spinning, cliché weaving, back-peddling or even the thought of padding or a cop-out chart. It's a perfect album and in my top 5 greatest jazz orchestra recordings of all time. *Marc Myers*

Side 1

1 - Waltz, Anyone?

(Richards)

2 - For All We Know

(Coots, Lewis)

3 - Dimples

(Richards)

4 - Band Aide

(Richards)

Side 2

5 - Turn Aboot

(Richards)

6 - Burrito Borracho (Inebriated Donkey)

(Richards)

7 - Long Ago And Far Away

(Kern, I.Gershwin)

8 - Aijalon

(Richards, Webb)

Johnny Richards (leader, arranger)

Track #1: Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Childers, Pete Candoli (tp), Stu Williamson (tp, v-tb), John Cave (Frh), Frank Rosolino, Tommy Pederson, Milt Bernhart (tb), Charlie Mariano (as), Richie Kamuca (ts), Ronny Lang (bs, piccolo), Bill Holman (bs), Marty Paich (p), Buddy Clark (b), Stan Levey (d), Lou Singer (mallets).

Recorded in Hollywood, August 2, 1956.

Tracks #2 to #8: Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Childers, Pete Candoli (tp), Stu Williamson (tp, v-tb), Shorty Rogers (b-tp), Vince De Rosa (Frh), Frank Rosolino, Tommy Pederson, Don Nelly (tb), Charlie Mariano (as), Richie Kamuca (ts), Ronny Lang (bs, piccolo), Bill Holman (bs), Marty Paich (p), Buddy Clark (b), Stan Levey (d), Lou Singer (mallets).

Recorded in Hollywood, August 3, 1956.