Lighthouse All-Stars Collection XVII ★ September 13, 1953

Based on Witch Doctor and At Last!, presented in previous posts, it is possible to begin reconstructing the historical significance of what took place on September 13, 1953 at the Lighthouse Café: a Sunday that would later be recognized as one of the most extensively documented in the club’s history, even if those initial releases only captured fragments of the day’s activity.

What follows here comes closer than any previous release to that full picture: a near-complete document of the Lighthouse's activity from opening to closing time.

First, it marked the only known attempt to record an entire day at the Lighthouse. Significantly, the day had not even been planned as a recording session: according to producer Ed Michel, the documentation came about largely by chance. The tapes made by Cecil Charles Spiller —labeled "Crazy Sunday"— together with the parallel recordings by Donald Dean, preserve nearly seven hours of non-overlapping material, covering the full span from 2:00 pm to 2:00 am. Spiller, a jazz enthusiast and photographer who frequently brought his monaural tape machine to the club, was responsible for the primary location recordings. Rather than a conventional session, it captured the continuous flow of a typical Sunday: shifting lineups, guest appearances, and evolving repertoire.

This particular Sunday also marked the debut of a new Lighthouse All-Stars lineup, led by Howard Rumsey, following the departure of key figures such as Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Frank Patchen, and Shelly Manne. The new group featured Rolf Ericson, Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Claude Williamson, and Max Roach, and was still working through largely unrehearsed material.

A decisive factor was the presence of guests, including Miles Davis and Chet Baker. Their meeting —later framed through the lens of a supposed rivalry— has become one of the most frequently cited aspects of the day. Yet, according to Howard Rumsey, the atmosphere was far more relaxed than legend would suggest.

The alleged tension had a concrete background. In 1953, Davis had not yet reached the stature he would soon attain, while Baker was enjoying heightened visibility following his work with Gerry Mulligan and his emergence as a "new star" in Down Beat polls. Reports circulated —never fully verifiable— suggesting that Davis viewed Baker as an imitator of his style and resented the attention he was receiving. Over time, this narrative solidified into a widely accepted account of friction between the two. Still, the available evidence remains fragmentary, and it is impossible to determine with certainty what actually transpired between them that day.

What can be established is that they did share the bandstand, albeit briefly and only partially documented: the surviving fragment of "Get Happy" captures Baker beginning a solo immediately after Davis. Baker then departs, and the set continues. This detail challenges the long-standing claim that the two never played together that day.

LA Jazz Institute Presents

The Complete Crazy Sunday At The Lighthouse

September 13, 1953

The new All-Stars made their Sunday debut on September 13, 1953, and a packed house showed up to hear the new group.

By this time the Sunday Jazz Concert hours had expanded with a start time of 2:00pm and an end time of 2:00am, with an hour break for dinner at 6:00.

The special guests hired by Rumsey for this occasion were Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Herb Geller and Lorraine Geller. Jimmy Giuffre, Russ Freeman and Shelly Manne all came back to appear in somewhat of a ceremonial transition from the old group to the new. Howard remembered Mingus being there and playing some intermission piano.

Contemporary Records decided to try another live recording, and sent Cecil Charles (Spiller) back once again to capture the days proceedings. On the original tape boxes he wrote the phrase "Crazy Sunday" which is how he perceived the events of the day.

In reality it wasn't all that crazy. It was just a typical Sunday in a long line of Sunday concerts at the Lighthouse.

Howard Rumsey recalled "To me it was a nervous day trying to do business and record at the same time. Plus it was a new band and we were playing lots of unrehearsed material which was new to them." (...)

The original recordings were planned for Contemporary Records but were shelved soon after and not released. There are a variety of factors that led to that, which included the fact that Miles was under contract with Prestige, Chet was under contract with Pacific, and Howard thought it was too soon to be recording the new group. They were not familiar with the music yet and needed more time to gel.

Some of these recordings finally saw the light of day in the 1980's when a few of the tracks were released on two LP's. Everything else has remained un-issued. 

Luckily Howard Rumsey had a set of nine reels that were the original Cecil Charles (Spiller) recordings made that day and now reside in the Howard Rumsey Collection at the Los Angeles Jazz Institute. There is roughly about five hours of material on the Charles reels. (...)

All in all it's pretty close to the entire Sunday session, and as close as we will ever get to being able to experience what happened each and every Sunday at the Lighthouse. You will notice that there are several titles played more than once. They are all different. (...)

There are three bonus tracks at the end of disc 4 that feature the new All-Stars with Chet Baker as the added guest. The personnel matches disc 1 and 2 of this collection. These are three orphan tracks that only have the date listed as September 1953. It's a reasonable assumption that these are more tracks recorded on September 13. The group is the same, the ambiance is the same, and they were recorded by Cecil Charles. It's unlikely Chet and Charles both returned the next week, so I would guess they are probably from the same date. Since we don't know for sure we are treating them as bonus tracks.

The first four discs are the Cecil Charles Spiller recordings in the order they exist on each tape reel.

Discs five and six are the Donald Dean tapes in the order they were recorded.

The Complete Crazy Sunday is a very important historical document and we are happy to be able to share it with you. *Ken Poston (from the liner notes)*

Although the presence of major guest artists undoubtedly contributed to the energy of the performances, the sheer quantity and overall quality of the music produced that day remain remarkable. It would be misleading to assume that every Sunday reached this level, yet these recordings clearly reflect the consistency of the band. In fact, the solos documented on September 13, 1953 rank among the most creative and compelling preserved in the All-Stars’ recorded output.

Now, at last, what was recorded on that September 13 —for decades scattered, partially issued, or simply unavailable— can be heard in near-complete form thanks to one of the most ambitious restorations of this material: the 6-CD collection The Complete Crazy Sunday at the Lighthouse – September 13, 1953, released in 2023 by the Los Angeles Jazz Institute.

Carefully assembled from fragmentary sources, it offers an unprecedented opportunity to experience a full Sunday at the Lighthouse as it actually unfolded—continuous, imperfect, and ultimately irreproducible.

*CD 1*

1 - Funnyfied

(Giuffre)

2 - Bean Bag (a.k.a. Beau Boy = a.k.a. Loki)

(Rogers)

3 - Out Of Somewhere

(Giuffre)

4 - Loaded

(Miller)

5 - I'll Remember April

(de Paul, Johnston, Raye)

6 - My Funny Valentine

(Rodgers, Hart)

7 - Maid In Mexico

(Freeman)

8 - At Last

(Gordon, Warren)

9 - Winter Wonderland

(Bernard, Smith)

10 - Pirouette

(Rogers)

#1, #2:

Rolf Ericson, Chet Baker (trumpets); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Claude Williamson (piano);

Howard Rumsey (bass); Max Roach (drums).

#3, #4, #5:

Rolf Ericson, Chet Baker (trumpets); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax); Russ Freeman (piano);

Howard Rumsey (bass); Max Roach (drums).

#6:

Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax), Russ Freeman (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#7:

Rolf Ericson, Chet Baker (trumpets); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Jimmy Giuffre (tenor sax); Russ Freeman (piano);

Howard Rumsey (bass); Max Roach (drums).

#8, #9:

Chet Baker (trumpet), Russ Freeman (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#10:

Rolf Ericson, Chet Baker (trumpets); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Claude Williamson (piano);

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

✤✤✤✤

*CD 2*

1 - Jazz Invention

(Cooper)

2 - Which Doctor

(Cooper)

3 - Get Happy (incomplete)

(Arlen, Koehler)

4 - Infinity Promenade

(Rogers)

5 - Night In Tunisia

(Gillespie)

6 - 'Round Midnight

(Monk)

7 - Drum Conversation

(Roach)

8 - Down For Double

(Green)

9 - Maid In Mexico

(Freeman)

#1, #2:

Rolf Ericson, Chet Baker (trumpets); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Claude Williamson (piano);

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

#3:

Rolf Ericson, Miles Davis, Chet Baker (trumpets); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Lorraine Geller (piano);

Howard Rumsey (bass); Max Roach (drums).

#4, #5:

Rolf Ericson, Miles Davis (trumpets); Bud Shank (alto sax);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Lorraine Geller (piano);

Howard Rumsey (bass); Max Roach (drums).

#6:

Miles Davis (trumpet), Lorraine Geller (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#7:

Max Roach (drums).

#8, #9:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax), Bud Shank (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

✤✤✤✤

*CD 3*

1 - Love Letters

(Young, Herman)

2 - Dickie's Dream

(Basie, Young)

3 - Adios

(Madriguera, Woods)

4 - Fascinatin' Rhythm

(Gershwin, Gershwin)

5 - Love Letters

(Young, Herman)

6 - Limehouse Blues

(Braham, Furber)

7 - Solitaire

(Russo)

8 - Just A Few

(Rogers)

9 - Lover Man

(Ramirez, Davis, Sherman)

10 - It's Only A Paper Moon

(Arlen, Harburg, Rose)

11 - Canonade

(Cooper)

12 - Lullaby Of The Leaves

(Petkere, Young)

13 - Strike Up The Band

(Gershwin, Gershwin)

14 - Witch Doctor

(Cooper)

#1, #2:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax), Bud Shank (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass); Max Roach (drums).

#3, #4, #5, #6:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Bud Shank (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Milt Bernhart (trombone),

Claude Williamson (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#7:

Milt Bernhart (trombone),Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#8:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Bud Shank (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Milt Bernhart (trombone),

Claude Williamson (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#9, #10:

Bud Shank (alto sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#11:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Bud Shank (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Milt Bernhart (trombone),

Claude Williamson (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#12, #13:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#14:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Bud Shank (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Milt Bernhart (trombone),

Claude Williamson (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

✤✤✤✤

*CD 4*

1 - The Nearness Of You

(Carmichael, Washington)

2 - Tickle Toe

(Young)

3 - Funnyfied

(Giuffre)

4 - Cool Fool

(Cooper)

5 - Dickie's Dream

(Basie, Young)

6 - Out Of Nowhere

(Green, Heytman)

7 - Glidin' Along

(Giuffre)

8 - Beau Boy (a.k.a. Bean Bag = a.k.a. Loki)

(Rogers)

9 - Four Others

(Giuffre)

#1, #2:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#3, #4, #5:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Bud Shank (alto sax, baritone sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Milt Bernhart (trombone),

Claude Williamson (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#6:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#7, #8, #9:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Chet Baker (trumpet), Bud Shank (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

✤✤✤✤

*CD 5*

1 - Down For Double

(Green)

2 - Funnyfied

(Giuffre)

3 - Lullaby Of The Leaves

(Petkere, Young)

4 -Coming Through The Rye Bread

(Rogers)

5 - I May Be Wrong

(Sullivan, Ruskin)

6 - April In Paris

(Duke, Hayburg)

7 - After You've Gone

(Layton, Creamer)

8 - I'll Remember April

(de Paul, Johnston, Raye)

9 - Morgan Davis

(Rogers)

#1, #2:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#3:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#4, #5:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#6, #7:

Herb Geller (alto sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#8, #9:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

✤✤✤✤

*CD 6*

1 - Strike Up The Band

(Gershwin, Gershwin)

2 - Woody 'N You

(Gillespie)

3 - The Nearness Of You

(Carmichael, Washington)

4 - Drum Conversation

(Roach)

5 - Cool Fool

(Cooper)

6 - Afrodesia

(Rogers)

7 - Dickie's Dream

(Basie, Young)

8 - These Foolish Things

(Strachey, Maschwitz)

9 - Taking A Chance On Love

(Duke, La Touche, Fetter)

#1:

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#2:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax),

Bob Cooper (tenor sax), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#3:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Claude Williamson (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

#4:

Max Roach (drums).

#5 to #9:

Rolf Ericson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax),

Bud Shank (alto sax, baritone sax), Bob Cooper (tenor sax),

Lorraine Geller (piano), Howard Rumsey (bass), Max Roach (drums).

✤✤✤✤

Lighthouse All-Stars Collection XVI ★ with Miles Davis

Miles Davis

And

The Lighthouse All-Stas

At Last!

This and the companion album recorded for a competing label (Contemporary) captures a magical September day in 1953. The companion album is titled Witch Doctor and is more focused on Chet Baker's performance that day.

The reason I have this album five stars, aside from the historic value and the superb playing, is the sound quality. It's not spectacular, but is surprisingly good for a live performance using 1953 recording technology and techniques. Listen to the sound samples and you will hear that the mix is very good - each instrument is where it should be - and the overall quality is more than adequate to enjoy this live performance.

The first three tracks are a continuation from the companion album I mentioned above. Miles seems to have taken over from Chet by accompanying Rolf Ericson on trumpet with Bud Shank on alto and baritone sax and Bob Cooper on tenor sax completing the front line. The rhythm section is Lorraine Geller on piano, Howard Rumsey on bass and Max Roach on drums.

On track 4 Max Roach treats to a four plus minute drum composition. I am not going to call it a solo because it has melodic qualities that Max perfected and is more focused on musical values than the bombastic showmanship most drummers display when given a solo spot.

The final track features Chet Baker backed by Russ Freeman on piano, Howard Rumsey on bass and Max Roach on drums.

This album was recorded for the Fantasy label at Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, CA on September 13, 1953. It's a rare glimpse into a West Coast institution (Rumsey's lighthouse) as well as a glimpse into the early and nascent years of West Coast jazz.

*Mike Tarrani (amazon.com)

In 1953, Miles Davis sat in one Sunday afternoon at the Lighthouse. No big deal; lots of people sat in at the Lighthouse, and Davis was no more famous than most and less famous than many. Fame, big fame, was two or three years away for Miles. There was no compelling reason to issue the recordings made that afternoon. Les Koenig probably figured he had more interesting All-Stars material in the can, so the tapes sat around for three decades. And when they emerged, guess what: they were interesting, not just historically but musically. Miles solos on classics by Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie and on a Shorty Rogers original that has an affinity for Tadd Dameron's "Good Bait". The other tracks are an intriguing drum solo by Max Roach and a lovely ballad by guests Chet Baker and Russ Freeman. This was not just another Sunday at the Lighthouse. *milesdavis.com*

Off note:

His three performances here represent the entire Miles Davis set, except for an opening "Get Happy", on which the tape machine was turned off after the first five minutes (catching only the opening trumpet and a rather nice alto solo). Miles played the entire set on a borrowed horn, and without a mute. 

"Drum Conversation," a drum solo by Max Roach, concluded the set. (Actually, on the session tape it is followed by an unidentified woman beginning to sing "That Old Black Magic"; mercifully, the tape machine was turned off almost at once. Things seem to have been pretty loose on Crazy Sunday.) The musicians left on a dinner break. The Chet Baker—Russ Freeman—Rumsey—Roach quartet version of "At Last" which closes the album was actually a part of the set preceding Davis's. Baker seems not to have ever recorded the tune, either before or since, certainly not during his West Coast period. *Ed Michel (from the liner notes)*

1 - Infinity Promenade

(Shorty Rogers)

2 - 'Round Midnight

(Bernie Hanighen, Cootie Williams, Thelonious Monk)

3 - A Night In Tunisia

(Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli)

4 - Drum Conversation

(Max Roach)

5 - At Last

(Harry Gordon, Mack Warren)

#1, #2, #3:

Miles Davis, Rolf Ericson (trumpets); Bud Shank (alto sax,baritone sax [#3]);

Bob Cooper (tenor sax); Lorraine Geller (piano);

Howard Rumsey (bass); Max Roach (drums).

#4:

Max Roach (drums).

#5:

Chet Baker (trumpet), Russ Freeman (piano),

Howard Rumsey (bass) , Max Roach (drums).

Recorded live at The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, California, September 13, 1953

Five-Star Collection... Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Seven Steps To Heaven

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

                                                  "Hamlet"

Miles Davis believes that a performer's first responsibility is to himself, and that if he becomes disturbed by the opinions and advice of others he will make very little headway.

Amplifying this credo, he once pointed out that "critics write whole columns and pages of big words and still ain't saying nothing. If you have spent your life getting to know your business and the other cats in it, and what they are doing, then you know whether a critic knows what he's talking about. Most of the time they don't. I pay no attention to what the critics say about me, the good or the bad. The toughest critic I got, and the only one I worry about, is myself. My music has to get past me, and I'm too vain to play anything I think is bad".

Miles' indifference to critics, and to critical audiences, is coupled with a complete lack of concern for the comments accompanying his albums. He believes in letting the music act as its own spokesman. As a concession to this precept, Someday My Prince Will Come was issued with nothing on the jacket but the personnel, a candid shot of Miles on the back, and a portrait of his princess, Frances Davis, on the front. The music remained unharmed. Fortunately for the penmen, it is still widely believed that contrary to Miles' views, informative commentary can help acquaint the listener with the artist and may thereby aid in an understanding of the music.

To gain an accurate perspective of Miles it is advisable to consider only his musical and personal background, rather than to evaluate him in terms of the curious cult that has taken root around him. There is a growing circle of hipsters who dress as he dresses, curse as they think he curses, copy everything off his old records including the clinkers, and get their masochistic kicks by waiting for him to do, in a nightclub or onstage, something they think they can point out as rude or unconventional. These pseudo-sophisticates, in most cases, are totally unaware of what Miles Davis is or was, for although the what and the how of Miles today fascinates them, the why of yesterday concerns them hardly at all.

His career since 1957 has moved upward in a sort of two-pronged spiral. Experiments with Gil Evans and a large orchestra have alternated with informal performances by his own quintets and sextets. During these years, Miles has matured into a brilliant, complex man shaped by the ironies of a society that could Jim Crow him on a variety of private and professional levels while simultaneously giving him a healthy shove toward his first million dollars.

It is a miniature musical education to watch the creative processes at work during a Miles Davis session. Miles talks very little, expecting the musicians to follow his plans by intuition. It takes a sensitive and intelligent artist to follow the leader under these conditions, and it was the very demands he placed on his men that brought out the best in them.

In a way, it was symbolic of the attitude Miles has developed toward music and life. If one were asked to epitomize in one phrase his uncompromising approach to the horn, the answer would be simple again: Let the chops fall where they may. Miles' music is his own just as he is his own man; never has it been made clearer than in these starkly eloquent musical statements, uttered 360 years after "Hamlet". *Leonard Feather, 1963 (from the liner notes)*

This LP is the result of two sessions held this spring, the first in Los Angeles, the other in New York City. The Los Angeles session, with Feldman, Carter, and Butler, produced Basin, Love, and Baby; the other three titles stem from the second date, with the trumpeter's present group — Coleman, Hancock, Carter, and Williams. Davis played exceptionally well on both dates, though each brought out a different facet of his artistry.

There is a spell of melancholy cast over the Los Angeles performances, partly because the three selections are slow tempoed and balladic in nature, partly because Davis plays only muted — and he tends to play "sadder" muted than he does open. But more than anything, it is what he plays and how he phrases it that casts the spell.

On each of the three tracks, there is a general downward curve to his solos; that is, the phrases may rise, but at the critical point they descend, either in a short run or a slur, and even as they rise there are innumerable points where Davis slurs individual notes downward. It's as if he were continually turning down the corners of his highly melodic improvisations.

Davis also often uses the low register of his horn, sometimes in breathy fashion, on Basin, Love, and Baby — on the last named he ends his solo with what must be termed a sigh. And as always, his playing is very human, with voicelike inflections that give his work a "singing" quality, not unlike that of a Billie Holiday or an Edith Piaf.

On the other hand, his playing at the New York session is almost joyous. Certainly there are turned-down corners, but not as many as on the other three tracks.

It should be noted that Seven, So Near, and Joshua are not taken at slow tempos, but this is not necessarily the reason for the joy evident in Davis' playing—he's conjured up melancholy at fast tempos before. There is a shift in his playing here, a general upward curve to his solos— rising phrases and runs up scales to the high register. He also uses the upper register more on these tracks than the others —and he makes what he goes for, which is something one could not always say about some of his other recordings.

Both sessions resulted in classic Miles. All three tracks from the Los Angeles session are superb. And there is a remarkable Joshua solo that must stand as a model of how to construct a solo— there is one part, for example, where he uses a scale first in its entirety and then returns to it periodically but only uses part of it to make his point—which is a simple enough idea, but how many jazzmen think of something like that?

And so strong is Davis' playing on both sessions that one never bothers about how many choruses he plays, how long or short his phrases are, how he gets through a certain set of chords—just as long as he keeps playing. Which, I guess, is the mark of a true artist at work.

Of the others on the album, Feldman, who wrote Joshua and collaborated with Davis on Seven, and Carter are the more sympathetic accompanists, though Hancock solos brilliantly, particularly on Seven and Joshua.

Feldman combines parts of Bill Evans and Red Garland in his solos but plays harder than either of those two former Davis sidemen. In general, he does an excellent job of following Davis' unpredictable twists and turns.

Butler occasionally seems at a loss as to what to play behind Davis, sometimes double-timing for a few bars and then dropping back; he sounds more comfortable backing Feldman. Williams, however, goes straight ahead in his accompaniment, and the young Boston drummer displays mature taste in his Seven solo, which is a characteristic uncommon to most other 17-year-olds.

Coleman is unimpressive in his solos, though I've heard him play very well with the group in live performances since the record was made. The tenorist also falls victim to a recording imbalance in the stereo version that brings out Hancock's often busy accompaniment much too strongly, to the point of distraction, in fact.

But these are minor carps in light of the stunning performances by Davis on the record.

*Don DeMicheal (Down Beat, September 12, 1963 [5 stars])*

1 - Basin Street Blues

(Spencer Williams)

2 - Seven Steps To Heaven

(Victor Feldman, Miles Davis)

3 - I Fall In Love Too Easily

(Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)

4 - So Near, So Far 

(Tony Crombie, Benny Green)

5 - Baby Won't You Please Come Home

(Charles Warfield, Clarence Williams)

6 - Joshua

(Victor Feldman)

7 - So Near, So Far

(Tony Crombie, Benny Green)

8 - Summer Night

(Al Dubin, Harry Warren)

Miles Davis (trumpet), with:

#1, #3, #5, #7, #8:

George Coleman (tenor sax), Victor Feldman (piano),

Ron Carter (bass), Frank Butler (drums).

Recorded at Columbia Studios, Los Angeles, California,

April 16 (#1, #3, #5, #7) and April 17 (#8), 1963

#2, #4, #6:

George Coleman (tenor sax), Herbie Hancock (piano),

Ron Carter (bass), Tony Williams (drums).

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City, May 14, 1963

Five-Star Collection... Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Blue Moods

There was a boy... somehow strange and enchanted, perhaps... but a natural, not a nature boy. This one grew and learned, among other things, not to whistle at the lovely lady of a cigar-smoking citizen of Mississippi. Which made it possible for him to grow enough to read news service reports about what happens to that kind of boy. It made possible, too, some disenchanted wanderings, with horns often not his own; wanderings along a series of personal precipices where nostrils may ache from the sheer agony of breathing.

If there is dignity and artistry in such a boy, he will record such a life with gaunt gestures, or as an anointed conscience, or as the inveterate cynic, or, or... there are some few, even, who merely reflect, neither urging nor decrying. Miles, it seems to me, is one of these latter. His the almost fragile, though never effeminate, tracing of a story line which is somewhat above and beyond him, of almost-blown-aside, pensive fragments which are always persuasively coherent.

His are moods, blue ones if we can allow for a programatic spectrum. Not the kind of blue that happens on Mondays those lastNIGHTWASanight, now-it's-five-days-till-Friday kind of blues. More like Sunday blue; nothing to do in the morning, no family dinner, only a movie in the afternoon and a gig at night kind of blues. That's what Miles says to me anyway, says it in particular and at length in the course of this LP, says it, too, in as moving a way as it can be said.

(...)

All those moods, present and to be accounted for in the music on this LP. For example, you don't hear it here, but on one take Miles wandered so far afield that he was completely lost. But he made no mention of it, not even a request for another take, although, fortunately, another was made, almost as if he really didn't care, was above caring, whether anyone had discovered the error.

And the tunes: "Nature Boy", and where was I; "Alone Together", oh there I am; "There's No You", there never was; and "Easy Living", maybe, but I haven't seen it. All cut of the same cloth. Again, moods. Again, blue.

From this, and the sensitivity of each musician to the others, comes a clarity of expression which makes annotation superfluous, perhaps, even presumptuous. But there are these things which occurred to me, which may make this seemingly strange sales-talk more persuasive. (Sales-talk it is, too, for I am moved enough by this poignant side of jazz to boost its circulation.)

(...)

Through it all, none of the musicians show Miles' finality of mood, but they do perfectly match him as if they shared the same secret, each one adding, as is natural, his own interpretation, and, in the case of Teddy and Mingus, his own answer to that secret. In that very special way it is Miles’ album in the same way that a wedding always belongs to the bride no matter what entertainment is presented at the reception.

These are reflections about a life in which we are all shareholders.

*Bill Coss (from the liner notes)*

Note: The spelling "programatic" appears in the original liner notes and is most likely a typographical error for "programmatic". It is reproduced here as part of the original text.

The album is called Blue Moods and the title is exact. Miles is backed with taste and intelligence by Charlie Mingus, Teddy Charles, Britt Woodman, and drummer Elvin Jones. Everyone falls sensitively into the reflective twilight scene, and everyone plays excellently. Miles has the major share of solo space and demonstrates again how lyrically he excels in this kind of context. Mingus is characteristically strong and penetratingly imaginative in both solo and section. Britt has only one solo (There's No You). It's a good one, and he should have had more. All the spare, well-knit arrangements (except for Mingus' equally capable one of Alone Together) are by Teddy Charles. *Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, December 14, 1955 [5 stars])*

1 - Nature Boy

(Eden Ahbez)

2 - Alone Together

(Dietz, Schwartz)

3 - There’s No You

(Adair, Hopper)

4 - Easy Living

(Rainger, Robin)

Miles Davis (trumpet), Britt Woodman (trombone),

Charles Mingus (bass), Teddy Charles (vibes), Elvin Jones (drums).

Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey, July 9, 1955

Five-Star Collection... Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker Memorial • Vol.1

CHARLIE PARKER was born in Kansas City, August 29, 1920. He played baritone saxophone in his school band and accumulated his experience with the orchestras of Lawrence Keyes and Harlan Leonard. In 1937 he joined Jay McShann with whom he came to New York in 1942. "BIRD" left McShann to work with Kenny Clarke and Thelonious Monk at Minton's and Clark's Uptown House. Soon after he blew with Noble Sissle for about a year and then he joined the Earl Hines Orchestra which featured Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Harris and Billy Eckstine. In 1944 he joined the fine Billy Eckstine Band and, at this time, he cut his first session which, we are proud to say, is on Savoy records.

One of the greatest chapters in Jazz came to a close on Saturday, March 12, 1955 when CHARLIE PARKER passed away, stricken with bronchial pneumonia and a greater blow to Jazz was never dealt. We in Jazz will never forget the "BIRD" and because we feel that you, the Jazz audience, may not have had the opportunity to know the "BIRD" as well as you would have liked to, we are releasing all of his unreleased versions of his most famous compositions.

Along with these new versions and short takes, we include some of the original masters to try to give you a more complete musical description of CHARLIE PARKER's recording sessions and also to give you a greater insight of his work. Also heard herein is some conversation between CHARLIE PARKER and the other musicians on the dates, which is added because we are sure you will find it as interesting as we do. *Ozzie Cadena (from the liner notes)*

This is the first of the Savoy 12" Memorial LPs. Included are several previously unreleased takes, as well as several (often more than one to a number) short takes. The comparisons are illuminating insights into the processes of improvised creation. Ozzie Cadena has clearly listed the nature of each take as well as complete personnel. Rudy Van Gelder has done a first-rate remastering job, and while this is not a hi-fi recording, as the envelope states, it's often a considerable improvement over the originals and the sound is quite clear.

Among the musicians present are Miles Davis, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter, Max Roach, John Lewis, Curly Russell, and Bud Powell. These are taken from Bird's 1944-1948 sessions for the label, a period that saw Bird's influence on modern jazz begin to take hold firmly throughout the country and world. These records were some of the vital messengers of the new era, and they rank in musical and historical importance with the Louis Armstrong Hot Fives 20 years before.

*Nat Hentoff (Down Beat, June 1, 1955 [5 stars])*

1 - Another Hair Do (short take 1)

2 - Another Hair Do (short take 2)

3 - Another Hair Do (original take 3)

4 - Bluebird (new take 1)

5 - Bird Gets The Worm (new take 1)

6 - Barbados (new take 1)

7 - Constellation (short take 2)

8 - Constellation (new take 1)

9 - Parker's Mood (new take 1)

10 - Ah Leu Cha (short take 1)

11 - Ah Leu Cha (original take 2)

12 - Perhaps (short take 4)

13 - Perhaps (new take 5)

14 - Perhaps (original take 6)

15 - Marmaduke (short take 1)

16 - Marmaduke (new take 2)

17 - Steeplechase (original take 1)

18 - Merry Go Round (new take 1)

19 - Buzzy (short take 4)

20 - Buzzy (original take 5)

(All compositions by Charlie Parker)

Charlie Parker (alto sax) with:

#1 to #5:

Miles Davis (trumpet), Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums).

Recorded at United Sound Studios, Detroit, Michigan, December 21, 1947

#6 to #18:

Miles Davis (trumpet), John Lewis (piano), Curly Russell (bass), Max Roach (drums).

Recorded at Harry Smith Studios, New York City,

September 18 (#6 to #11) and September 24 (#12 to #18), 1948

#19 and #20:

Miles Davis (trumpet), Bud Powell (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), Max Roach (drums).

Recorded at Harry Smith Studios, New York City, May 8, 1947

Five-Star Collection... Porgy And Bess

Miles Davis

Porgy And Bess

The inherent pensiveness of Gil Evans' writing and the introversion of Miles Davis' playing produces something akin to a gas flame turned as low as it can be without going out. Its heat is quiet, but very intense.

What is it possible to say now about Gil Evans? This man has genius. He is one of the few living composers whose magic passes all the technical tests for stature without dying in the process. He has taken what he wanted and needed from the classical tradition, and yet remained a jazz writer, safely evading the lure of contemporary classical music, which has written itself up a blind alley. In His control and reserve (notice Summertime) he can put you in mind of Sibelius, who may have been the last classical composer to express himself naturally and without calculation of effects and because he felt it that way. Yet Evans is unique, and his development has been quite personal. His debts are to himself: there are things in this album that hark back to his days of writing for Claude Thornhill.

The Porgy songs submerged in this album, soaked up by the personalities  — or rather, the joint personality — of Evans and Davis. You forget the underlying structures and, since the music used is not in the standard AABA pop song form to begin with, the album becomes a remarkable jazz experience, both for the musicians and the listener, who will be forcibly reminded of the great seriousness and the greatness in jazz, the universality in it that Andre Hodeir is always talking about.

Some of the best of Miles is to be heard in this album — along with some of the sloppiest. There are cracked and fuzzed notes and other things that just shouldn't have been let go. (Strawberry may make all but the most uncritical Davis fans squirm.) Why these things were let pass is anybody's guess. Maybe Miles didn’t care. Maybe they were let pass in accordance with the dubious faith that even mistakes are part of the whole and therefore to be admired in jazz. Maybe it is because the executives-in-charge think that Miles' stature is such that these considerations are small in comparison — which, as a matter of fact, is true.

In any case, the Davis-Evans relationship has again produced superb music. In the jazz albums of Porgy, this one is in a class by itself. Which figures: it named its own terms.

*Down Beat, July 23, 1959 (5 stars)*

1 - The Buzzard Song

2 - Bess, You Is My Woman Now

3 - Gone

4 - Gone, Gone, Gone

5 - Summertime

6 - Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess

7 - Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)

8 - Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab

9 - My Man's Gone Now

10 - It Ain't Necessarily So

11 - Here Come De Honey Man

12 - I Loves You Porgy

13 - There's A Boat That's Leaving Soon For New York

(All compositions by George Gershwin)

Miles Davis (trumpet, flugelhorn);

Ernie Royal, Bernie Glow, Johnny Coles, Louis Mucci (trumpets);

Dick Hixon, Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland, Joe Bennett (trombones);

Willie Ruff, Julius Watkins, Gunther Schuller (french horns); Bill Barber (tuba);

Phil Bodner, Jerome Richardson, Romeo Penque (flutes, alto flutes, clarinets)

Cannonball Adderley (alto sax), Danny Bank (alto flute, bass flute, bass clarinet);

Paul Chambers (bass); Philly Joe Jones [#1, #3 to #7, #9, #12, #13],

Jimmy Cobb [#2, #8, #10, #11] (drums). Gil Evans (arranger, conductor)

Recorded at CBS 30th Street Studio, New York City, July 22 [#3, #4, #9], 

July 29 [#2, #8, #10, #11], August 4 [#1, #5, #6, #7, #13], August 18 [#12], 1958

✳✳✳

The Bill Potts Big Band

The Jazz Soul Of Porgy And Bess

An immediate and obvious comparison will arise between this album and the Miles Davis Porgy album. It should be dismissed. All they have in common is that they are the two outstanding instrumental Porgy performances in the rash of recent releases of discs inspired by the movie. Otherwise, they are dissimilar. Their purposes are different, and so are their final effects.

This LP, in which United Artists is taking thoroughly justified pride, is actually truer to the spirit of the Gershwin music than the Miles-Gil album was or was meant to be. And it establishes Washingtonian Potts as a major arranger. This is a man to be watched.

The instrumentation he has used is what might be termed augmented conventional. Potts finds his colors — and rich ones they are — in the instruments considered normal to jazz. But by the careful (and brilliant) use of the highly individual soloists at his disposal, he has created a tapestry of rich variety.

All the men are given blowing room, and Sims, Cohn, Brookmeyer, Farmer, and Edison turn in individual statements that are up to the standards we have come to expect of them. Indeed, there isn't a poor solo in the lot, and some are superb. Evans plays with a harder jazz feeling than has usually been thought to be within his scope. Markowitz, not too known to the public as a jazzman, invests My Man's Gone Now with all the warmth and feeling it can hold.

Of course, there can be a danger in having so many gifted soloists playing section. But in the ensemble passages, all of them submerge themselves in the task at hand, and the result is a cohesiveness and power rarely found in studio-band playing.

This project was the coddled baby of UA's Jazz A&R man, Jack Lewis. The coddling was worth it, and he is to be congratulated. This is a beautiful, beautiful album.

*Down Beat, September 3, 1959 (5 stars)*

1 - Summertime

2 - A Woman Is A Sometime Thing

3 - My Man's Gone Now

4 - It Takes A Long Pull To Get There

5 - I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'

6 - Bess You Is My Woman

7 - It Ain't Necessarily So

8 - Medley: Prayer, Strawberries, Honey Man, Crab Man

9 - I Loves You Porgy

10 - Clara, Clara

11- There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York

12 - Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess

13 - Oh Lawd, I'm On My Way

(All compositions by George Gershwin)

Art Farmer, Harry Edison, Bernie Glow, Markie Markowitz, Charlie Shavers (trumpets);

Bob Brookmeyer, Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland, Earl Swope, Rod Levitt (trombones);

Phil Woods, Gene Quill (alto saxes); Zoot Sims, Al Cohn (tenor saxes);

Sol Schlinger (baritone sax); Bill Evans (piano); George Duvivier (bass);

Herbie Powell (guitar); Charley Persip (drums); Bill Potts (arranger, conductor).

Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, January 13, 14 and 15, 1959

Five-Star Collection... Michel Legrand

Michel Legrand

With Thirty-One American's Greatest Jazzmen

Featuring Miles Davis

Legrand Jazz

Among the many members of a diverse (it is international) and loyal (they have bought more than one million of his LP's) I Like Legrand Society, are those jazz musicians and arrangers who have, by chance mostly, come within earshot of Legrand recordings.

This brilliant young Frenchman has, with remarkable skill, charm, invention and wit, refreshingly introduced a new kind of musicianship into that too often banal and staggeringly prolific area of popular art that we categorically label "mood music", and the French, closer to the mark, call musique légère.

In many of his previous collections, Legrand has not only made frequent and startlingly¹ original use of the jazz musician as a soloist, but, by virtue of his dynamic ensemble scoring and happy understanding of what a rhythm section is supposed to do, has often managed to make his large orchestra swing in the best tradition of Basie, Lunceford, Ellington and (big band) Gillespie.

Michel Legrand (a multi-prize-winning graduate of the Paris Conservatoire) loves jazz with none of the tame enthusiasm, tinged with condescension of the academically oriented "serious" composer. His arrangements pointedly avoid the meaningless trickery of those highly skilled (and successful) popular arrangers who, from time to time, invest their work with "jazz feeling". Michel, still in his twenties, loves jazz with an almost boyish enthusiasm, with, if not a firsthand knowledge of its growth and environment, the kind of passionate devotion and astonishing erudition that European fans are wont to have. His feelings for several important jazz figures border on idolatry.

In the past, however, Legrand's jazz activities have been limited by both the nature of the recording assignments he has been given and the fact that in Paris, despite the liveliness of that city's jazz scene, the optimum conditions for producing a large-scale jazz figures border on idolatry.

And so, while on a visit to the United States in May and June of 1958, Michel Legrand recorded his first jazz LP. The writing was done during the first three weeks of June. The repertoire was chosen from the works of eleven important jazz composers, and the musicians, many of them familiar to Legrand only through their recordings, were selected from among the best then in New York.

Each arrangement was created with two major factors taken into consideration: 1) the styles and techniques of the participating instrumentalists and 2) the structure and mood of the original compositions.  

(...)

In almost every sense, Legrand Jazz must be considered "experimental". Yet, with all of its daring, with all of its surprises and moments of flashing virtuosity, it stays within the bounds of jazz. The beat, the spontaneity, the indefinable spirit of jazz is there. This album is the first work of a truly important new voice in a wilderness where new voices are all too often disembodied. We're looking forward to much more from this powerful, sincere and stimulating prodigy.

*Nat Shapiro (liner notes)*

Note ¹ : In the original 1958 liner notes, the word "startingly" appears. This seems to be a typographical error for "startlingly", which has been corrected in later reissues of the album.

The Michel Legrand we knew as the leader of a huge recording band for Columbia Records' mood music series here turns his hand to jazz with excellent, often startling results. The strength is in the soloists, for whom he wrote mostly ensemble heads and tails, and some interesting inside figures. The rest, they blew.

The roster is impressive, covering most of the modern greats and near-greats.

The Miles sides are superb. The writing is imaginative, tinged with the languid air of Gil Evans at his most soulful, and yet with something more. Django is a moving piece, brilliantly scored, and played by Davis with a cry of anguish. Midnight is short and fragile. Wild Man is a truly contemporary treatment of the Jelly Roll tune, rich with modern writing and blowing.

The trombone sides, solo-wise least effective of the lot, are brightened by the prodding masculinity of Webster's horn. He saves Rosetta and is tremendous on Blue And Sentimental. The trombones have Don't Get Around Much to themselves as a choir, with strong overtones of Kenton in the voicing.

The trumpet sides have highs and lows, but in the soloing more than the writing. In A Mist is an extremely curious treatment of the wispy Beiderbecke song, but it has Rehak's best solo on it. The ending is like running into Jack The Ripper in the mist. The trumpet chases in Tunisia almost, but not quite, crackle into open fire.

While hardly experimental writing, Legrand's scoring is more than a wrap-up of the tunes in an acceptable order for X number of horns. Instead, it is extremely skillful probing (with the exception —Mist — noted) of the vitals of a song, and the careful polishing of a setting for the solo horns. There are many, many rewarding moments on the set, and it’s to be hoped that this doesn't comprise all of Legrand jazz. The scene, it appears, can use a dash of continental spice about now.

*Dom Cerulli, (Down Beat, March 19, 1959 [5 stars])*

Side 1

1 - The Jitterbug Waltz

(Thomas Waller)

2 - Nuages

(Django Reinhardt)

3 - Night In Tunisia

(John Gillespie, Frank Paparelli)

4 - Blue And Sentimental

(Mack David, Jerry Livingston, William Count Basie)

5 - Stompin' At The Savoy

(Andy Razaf, Benny Geodman, Chick Webb, Edgar M. Sampson)

6 - Django

(John Lewis)

Side 2

7 - Wild Man Blues

(Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton)

8 - Rosetta

(William Henri Woode, Earl Hines)

9 - 'Round Midnight

(Thelonius Monk)

10 - Don't Get Around Much Anymore

(Sidney Keith Russell, Duke Ellington)

11 - In A Mist

(Bix Beiderbecke)

#1, #6, #7, #9:

Michel Legrand (conductor, arranger),

Miles Davis (trumpet), Herbie Mann (flute), Betty Glamann (harp),

Barry Galbraith (guitar), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Phil Wood (alto sax),

Jerome Richarson (baritone sax, bass clarinet), Eddie Costa (vibes),

Bill Evans (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Kenny Dennis (drums). 

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studios, New York City, June 25, 1958

#2, #4, #8, #10:

Michel Legrand (conductor, arranger);

Herbie Mann (flute); Ben Webster (tenor sax);

Frank Rehak , Billy Byers, Jimmy Cleveland, Eddie Bert (trombones);

Mayor Holley (bass, tuba); Hank Jones (piano);

George Duvivier (bass); Don Lamond (drums).  

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studios, New York City, June 27, 1958

 

#3, #5, #11:

Michel Legrand (conductor, arranger);

Ernie Royal, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Joe Wilder (trumpets);

Frank Rehak,y Jimmy Cleveland (trombones); Gene Quill, Phil Woods (alto saxes);

Seldon Powell (tenor sax); Teo Macero (baritone sax); James Buffington (french horn);

Don Elliot (vibes); Nat Pierce (piano); Milt Hinton (bass); Osie Johnson (drums).

Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studios, New York City, June 30, 1958 

Zoot Sims on Prestige (VII) [as sideman]

Concluding the series dedicated to Zoot Sims and his recordings for the Prestige label, only two collaborations remain as a sideman: with bassist Chubby Jackson's band and with a Miles Davis septet that also includes Al Cohn, his "soul mate". 

Let's remember why it was important for bandleaders to hire Zoot Sims to accompany them:

Sims' signature sound formed in the early 1940s, when he surfaced in Los Angeles' fertile Central Avenue scene. Clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman discovered him and immediately recruited him for his band. In 1947 Sims landed an even higher profile gig when he joined Woody Herman's famed Second Herd, along with fellow saxophonists Stan Getz, Herbie Steward and Serge Chaloff. Together, the quartet of sax players was known as the Four Brothers, after a Jimmy Giuffre composition written for them, and became famous for their deft unison lines and the novelty of their dark, sweet sound.

After leaving the Herd and turning up in New York, Sims went through a period of freelancing and unsteady work. In 1953 he joined the Stan Kenton band, which provided a regular paycheck. But the band's music — emphasizing tightly-knit group passages that allowed for only short solos — and Kenton's stern, top-down leadership didn't mesh well with the easygoing, yet musically hard-driving Sims. He didn't stay long with the band, quitting on the spot after their bus wrecked along a Pennsylvania highway.

Zoot retreated to California, but he found few performing opportunities and wound up working as a house painter. Baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan rescued Sims from his day job when he invited Zoot to help expand his well-known, pianoless quartet. As trombonist and band member Bob Brookmeyer remembers, Sims and Mulligan were "connected by the bone" as both players and improvisers.

In the mid and late '50s, buoyed by his success with Mulligan, Zoot would release many recordings as a leader — 10 in 1956 alone. Nevertheless, he remained a great collaborator and team player, and he inevitably returned to winning partnerships. In 1957, Zoot hooked up with an old friend, tenorman Al Cohn. Together, they formed perhaps the most successful partnership of Zoot's career, co-leading an ensemble for many years.

Later in his career, Sims continued to evolve as a player. According to saxophonist and composer Bill Holman, Zoot's tone aged and became gruffer, and he expanded his repertoire thanks to the influence of pianist Jimmy Rowles. But he never gave up on what many consider his greatest asset: his incredible sense of swing. "No matter what he played, it was perfectly in time", said saxophonist Harry Allen. "If you were making your own perfect saxophone player up in your head, that's where you'd put the notes. And (Sims) managed to do that without fail".

Chubby Jackson And His All Star Band

Plays

The style of Chubby's big band would be echoed throughout the 50's and 60's in the bands of Woody Herman, Elliot Lawrence, Gene Krupa, Count Basie and Gerry Mulligan. The actual recording, the first big band date recorded by Prestige was done in the old Cinemart studios in New York City. The studio was so small that the trumpet section had to face the wall to make for a better balance. At the time of the session, Georgie Auld owned a bar and jazz club called "Tin Pan Alley" in the basement of a hotel on 49th Street. The club was a favorite oasis for Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan and J.J. Johnson among others and everybody would come by to jam. 

At the date Mulligan remarked how loose he felt when working with Zoot. Certainly the loose feeling permeated the entire session as Auld, Jackson and Don Lamond fooled around with one of those fake nose and glasses disguises and Chubby kicked off the time in his stocking feet! 

The date was the second recording of J. J. Johnson and Kay Winding in tandem, the first being a Metronome All-Star session in January 1949. The Tiny Kahn charts were a constant topic of conversation and the band which Jackson had led in early 1949 had played most of them, some under different titles, at "Bop City" and "The Royal Roost".

It is interesting to note that on this LP, Chubby Jackson does not do much solo playing. This is unusual but again it emphasizes Jackson's role as an organizer. He had musical talent as well as the ability to get good men into good places. Valuable contributions to the American Art Form and contributions that both listeners and historians alike can be grateful for.

*Ernie Edwards, Jr. (liner notes, February 1969)* 

1 - Flying The Coop

(Tiny Kahn)

2 - I May Be Wrong

(Ruskin, Sullivan)

3 - Leavin' Town

(Jarvis, Meissner)

4 - Sax Appeal

(Tiny Kahn)

5 - New York

(Al Cohn)

6 - Why Not

(Tiny Kahn)

7 - Hot Dog

(Zoot Sims)

8 - So What

(Gerry Mulligan)

Chubby Jackson (bass, leader); Howard McGhee, Al Porcino, Don Ferrara (trumpets);

J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding (trombones); Charlie Kennedy (alto sax);

Zoot Sims, George Auld (tenor saxes), Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax);

Tony Aless (piano); Don Lamond (drums).

Recorded at Cinemart Studios, New York City, March 15, 1950

✳✳✳

Miles Davis Septet

Plays The Compositions Of Al Cohn

Since the "records heard 'round the world", "Godchild", "Jeru", "Move", et al, Miles Davis has made many other fine records to enhance his position as top modern trumpeter, but in the main they have been three horn groups (including himself) with an emphasis on solo work. After the original melody, usually stated in tight unison, each hornman played again only when his solo turn came. The soloists had to be good to sustain interest, and they were, but it was felt that Miles needed a change of pace for his next recording date; compositions and arrangements which would suit him and result in a happy combination of arranged music and solo work.

The man who achieved this was Al Cohn, the unheralded great of the tenor saxophone, as well as the composer's and arranger's desk. Three of the pieces, "Willie The Wailer", "Floppy" and "For Adults Only" were written for this session. "Tasty Pudding" had been written before but Al arranged it specially for Miles and this date. The Pudding whipped up by Al receives flavoring and icing from Miles and best exemplifies the whole idea behind this type of integrated arrangement.

Thanks to Miles, Al, and Zoot Sims, with help from John Lewis and Sonny Truitt, the "solo" is not neglected and the feeling that they show in their reading of the arrangements (underlined, and punctuated by Kenny Clarke; propelled by Leonard Gaskin and Kenny) makes the "happy combination" possible. *Ira Gitler (liner notes)*

Miles Davis Plays The Compositions Of Al Cohn, from early 1953, was another album unified by idea and intent. The music is intelligent and spry, with sly references to other tunes, one that would lodge itself in Miles' memory; "Willie The Wailer", for example, opens as "Soft Winds", a number popularized by Benny Goodman in 1941, and which in 1959 Miles would morph into "Freddie The Freeloader" for >Kind Of Blue<. The performances are strong, the harmony lines benefitting from a three-horn frontline with Zoot Sims and Cohn the relaxed foils to Miles' brashness. *milesdavis.com*

Side 1

1 - Tasty Pudding

2 - Floppy

Side 2

3 - Willie The Wailer

4 - For Adults Only

(All compositions by Al Cohn)

Miles Davis (trumpet); Sonny Truitt (trombone); Zoot Sims, Al Cohn (tenor saxes);

John Lewis (piano); Leonard Gaskin (bass); Kenny Clarke (drums).

Recorded at Beltone Studios, New York City, February 19, 1953.