Ronnie Lang: Underrated modern jazzman

Ronnie Lang And His All-Stars

Modern Jazz

Ronnie Lang (sometimes spelled Ronny) born Ronald Langinger in Chicago, Illinois, July 24, 1927. His professional début was with Hoagy Carmichael's Teenagers. He also played with Earle Spencer (1946), Ike Carpenter, and Skinnay Ennis (1947). Lang gained attention during his two tenures with Les Brown's Orchestra (1949–50 and 1953–56). He recorded with the Dave Pell Octet in the mid-1950s. During this time he attended Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences studying music and woodwinds. 

He lost interest in jazz in the early 70's and was mainly active in recordings for films and TV productions.

In 1958 he became a prolific studio musician in Los Angeles, often employed by Henry Mancini, and he played the iconic sax melodic line in Bernard Herrmann’s score for the movie Taxi Driver (1976). Lang also recorded with Pete Rugolo (1956), Bob Thiele (1975), and Peggy Lee (1975).

MODERN JAZZ features some of the greatest progressive jazz musicians in the business and Ronny Lang, who heads the group, is one of the truly outstanding new talents in the country. Each of the men who accompany him are featured soloists in their own right. Up to now, circumstances have prevented the group from ever having played 

together as a unit. This album has finally given them their long-awaited opportunity. 

In Ronny's own words, "We have tried in our first TOPS album to express how we really feel about modern jazz. Good progressive jazz has many moods and expresses 

itself in many ways. Our choice of tunes reflects our attempts to capture as much of the real sound and spirit as one record permits. After being a side man for many years and conforming to the musical discipline of big bands, I welcomed the freedom that's only possible with a small but great group such as this. Additionally, the chance to pick the tunes, tempos, and arrangers, made this album a completely enjoyable experience for all of us".

We know the listening public will find MODERN JAZZ an equally enjoyable listening experience.

*(from the liner notes)*

A workmanlike collection of standards and originals ("Basie Street" and "Cantara") highlighting Lang's alto with spurts of flashing piano by Paich, "Basie Street" achieves a  Count Basie mood, with Paich leading the way and Envoldsen blowing his best in the set. The three horns are heard only on the first six tracks. The other six are all Lang with rhythm, except "'S Wonderful", which is a baritone solo. It’s probably Pell. "Cantara", featuring Lang on flute, is a wild, Latin American flavored piece. The six sextet sides ar brightly arranged with pretty routine solos. The quartet sides, with exception of "Cantara", are rather straight melodic vehicles.

*Dom Cerulli (Down Beat, February 20, 1957)*

Side 1

1 - Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

(H. Arlen, T. Koehleer)

2 - How About You

(B. Lane, R. Freed)

3 - They Can't Take That Away From Me

(G. and I. Gershwin)

4 - I'll Be Around

(Alec Wilder)

5 - Basin Street

(Ronny Lang)

6 - Taking A Chance On Love

(V. Duke, J. Latouche)

Side 2

7 - Skylark

(H. Carmichael, J. Mercer)

8 - Midnight Sun

(L. Hampton, S. Burke, J. Mercer)

9 - 'S Wonderful

(G. and I. Gershwin)

10 - A Foggy Day

(G. and I. Gershwin)

11 - Cantara

(Ronny Lang)

12 - Lullaby In Rhythm

(E. Sampson, C. Profit, B. Goodman, W. Hirsh)

#1 to #6: Ronnie Lang Sextet 

Ronnie Lang (alto sax), Dave Pell (tenor sax, baritone sax), Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone),

Marty Paich (piano), Ray Leatherwood (bass), Johnny Loais (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, 1956

#7 to #12:  Ronnie Lang Quartet

Ronnie Lang (alto sax, baritone sax [#9], flute [#11]), Marty Paich (piano),

Ray Leatherwood (bass), Johnny Loais (drums).

Recorded in Los Angeles, California, 1957

Note: Although the back cover of the LP lists Ronnie Lang as the tenor saxophonist, 

on these recordings he plays alto sax, flute, and baritone sax.

Les Brown's Men

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ronny Lang • Ray Sims • Dave Pell • Don Fagerquist

The Les Brown All Stars

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

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

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

*Jack Bowers (allaboutjazz.com)*

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

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

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

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

Side 1

1 - Mike's Peak

(Shorty Rogers)

2 - Thou Swell

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

3 - The Way You Look Tonight

(Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields)

4 - You Don't Know What Love Is

(Don Raye, Gene De Paul)

5 - The Man I Love

(George and Ira Gershwin)

6 -Sorta Moonlight

(Wes Hensel, Ronny Lang)

Side 2

7 - Love Is Just Around The Corner

(Lewis E. Gensler, Leo Robin)

8 - Klump Jump

(Marty Paich)

9 - My Funny Valentine

(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)

10 - Love Me Or Leave Me

(Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn)

11 - Let's Fall In Love

(Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler)

12 - Poopsie

(David Pell)

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

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

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

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

Recorded at Capitol Melrose Studios, Hollywood, California,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[String section led by Les Brown but unidentified personnel]

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

Bobby Troup - Bobby Swings Tenderly

A rare all-instrumental outing from Bobby Troup — best known for his work as a singer and songwriter at the time! But like a number of Bobby's contemporaries on the male vocal scene, Troup was equally well-skilled at handling the keys — no doubt because he'd frequently be called to accompany himself when trying out a tune at session, or during a more intimate live performance. Here, the group's a larger one than might be expected — a septet that features horn work by Bob Enevoldsen, Stu Williamson, Ted Nash, and Ronnie Lang — all of whom are featured in some nicely arranged passages, but who often step aside to let Bobby have plenty of space to solo. And we've gotta admit, we like Troup's vocals so much we wouldn't expect his piano to be that entertaining — but he really sparkles with a lightly playful approach on tracks that include "Always", "I See Your Bass Before Me", "It Never Entered My Mind", and "Stella By Starlight". *dustygroove.com*

This is one of pianist/vocalist/composer Bobby Troup's few (and possibly only) all-instrumental dates. Accompanied by cool-toned horns (valve trombonist Bob Enevoldsen, trumpeter Stu Williamson, tenor saxophonist Ted Nash and baritonist Ronnie Lang) along with bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis, Troup explores eight familiar standards plus his own "I See Your Bass Before Me". The easy-listening music that is heard on this LP is fine if not overly stimulating. The emphasis is on ballads and mellow playing. *Scott Yanow*

Side 1

1 - Tenderly

(Gross, Lawrence) 

2 - My Ship

(Weill, Gershwin)

3 - These Foolish Things

(Link, Trachey, Maschwitz)

4 - Perdido

(Tizol, Lengsfelder, Drake)

Side 2

5 - Always

(Irving Berlin)

6 - Stella By Starlight

(Young, Washington)

7 - Makin' Whoopee

(Donaldson, Kahn)

8 - It Never Entered My Mind

(Rodgers, Hart)

9 - I See Your Bass Before Me

(Bobby Troup)

Bobby Troup (piano), Stu Williamson (trumpet), Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone), Ted Nash (tenor sax), Ronnie Lang (baritone sax), Buddy Clark (bass), Mel Lewis (drums).

Recorded in Hollywood, California, July 1957.