Five-Star Collection... The Down Beat Five-Star History (Part II)

In the previous post, we revisited the origins of Down Beat's first attempt to formalize its record-rating system through simple note symbols.

In this second part, we turn to the moment when the magazine tried to sharpen its critical tools with a short-lived but revealing experiment:

✤ 1951✤ 

A Brief Experiment in Precision:

Down Beat's 1951 One-to-Ten Rating Scale

By 1951, Down Beat felt the need for greater nuance in its reviews. The solution was a short-lived numerical scale running from 1 to 10, an attempt to introduce finer gradations of quality at a moment when the LP era was just beginning to reshape listening habits.

Here we revisit that transitional system and reproduce the magazine’s statement explaining its purpose and scope.

In the January 26, 1951 issue, the section "What’s On Wax"—written by Jack Tracy, Pat Harris, and George Hoefer—introduced a far more precise numerical scale ranging from 1 to 10.

Each reviewer assigned a score, and the final rating printed in the review was the average of the three.

The announcement read:

"With this issue, Down Beat inaugurates a new system for rating records. It is our hope that it will be of increased value to you in helping you choose those records you plan to add to your own collection.

Records are rated by each of the three reviewers on a scale of 1 to 10, with the rating increasing with the quality of the record. The final veredict is an average of the individual scores and will be found in front of the tittles listed at the head of each review. Albums will continue to be judged as a whole, with individual comments on those sides meriting them".

It was a clear attempt to bring greater objectivity and consistency to Down Beat's expanding review section.

Which was the first artist reviewed who received the highest score?

None... throughout the entire period that this criterion was applied, no record reached the level of excellence.

The only one who came close was Lee Koniz with 9 points.

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Lee Konitz 

9 - Rebecca

7 - Ice Cream Konitz

Jack: Lee delicately and feelingly picks his way through Rebecca (My Old Flame). He's backed only by Billy Bauer's guitar. Beautifully done, thoughtfully expressive, it's some of Lee's best recorded ballad work to date. Ice Cream has Bauer, Arnold Fishkin, drummer Jeff Morton, and pianist Sal Mosca backing Lee. It's uptempo, with Lee fleet but not as fertile as usual, and Bauer and Mosca taking choruses. 

Rating: Rebecca—9; Ice Cream—7.

George: Lee's Rebecca is a note of beauty rare in the field of jazz. The delicacy of his alto tone and phrasing is brought out in bold relief by Bauer's sympathetic guitar. The side is a study in perfect execution. Ice Cream, a Konitz original, is typical Tristano fare without the participation of Lennie. Sal Mosca takes over the piano and closes the side with a sprightly solo. Nothing outstanding happening, but nice listening. 

Rating: Rebecca—9; Ice Cream Konitz—7.

Pat: Konitz' dainty alto, cool just to the point of chillness, but not quite, traces tastefully through Konitz. Note the smooth way Sal Mosca's piano takes over after Billy Bauer's solo on this one. Rebecca, named after Lee's baby daughter, is a fine fatherly tribute. Very lovely and delicate, Lee manages to be sunny and wistful at the same time. (New Jazz 834.)

Rating: Rebecca—8; Ice Cream—7

The restored version of these tracks was included on one of the CDs in the Original Jazz Classics series.

Lee Konitz

With Tristano, Marsh And Bauer

Subconscious-Lee

Of the Lennie Tristano "school" of music, which predated the Lennie Tristano School of Music, Lee Konitz is the outstanding "pupil". Naturally Lennie's music had a great influence on Lee. Other influences are lesser and have been more completely absorbed in to the mainstream of his playing. For instance, in his rhythmic figures you can hear Charlie Parker (Bird left very few untouched and unmoved,) but whatever sources Lee has drawn on have been integrated beautifully into his personal expression. His style and sound are both highly personal. The point of excellence as an individual voice is a signal triumph for any artist.

The three sessions in this LP show Lee off in many different ways with quintet, quartet and duo. The interplay with Tristano, duetting with Billy Bauer and unisons and exchanges with Warne Marsh are all self-illuminating examples of Lee's early work in this graphic collection of Konitz.

Incidentally, the Subconscious-Lee session not only launched Lee's career but was the first recording date of this company. New Jazz was then the label. *Ira Gitler (liner notes)*

One of THE key records in the Konitz school — a full length Prestige album that brings together important material from sessions originally issued on 10" LPs! The lineup here is virtually the Konitz school — with shifting lineups that include Billy Bauer on guitar, Lenny Tristano or Sal Mosca on piano, and Warne Marsh on tenor — all working as airily and fluidly as Konitz himself! How Lee managed to achieve such unity with his groups here will forever be a mystery to us — as will the freshness of the work at the end of the 40s, especially given that it's still arguably more "modern" than much of the jazz it inspired in years to come! Titles include "Progression", "Subconscious-Lee", "Rebecca", "Sound-Lee", "Fishin Around", "Palo Alto", "Ice Cream Konitz", "You Go To My Head", and "Tautology".  *Dusty Groove, Inc.*

1 - Progression

(Konitz)

2 - Tautology

(Konitz)

3 - Retrospection

(Tristano)

4 - Subconscious-Lee

(Konitz)

5 - Judy

(Tristano)

6 - Marshmallow

(Marsh)

7 - Fishin' Around

(Marsh)

8 - Tautology

(Konitz)

9 - Sound-Lee

(Konitz)

10 - Rebecca

(Konitz)

11 - You Go to My Head

(Coots, Gillespie)

12 - Ice Cream Konitz

(Konitz)

13 - Palo Alto

(Konitz)

#1 to #5:

Lee Konitz (alto sax), Billy Bauer (guitar), Lennie Tristano (piano),

Arnold Fishkin (bass), Shelly Manne (drums).

Recorded in New York City, November 1, 1949

#6 to #9:

Lee Konitz (alto sax); Warne Marsh (tenor sax); Sal Mosca (piano);

Arnold Fishkin (bass); Denzil Best [#6, #7], Jeff Morton [#8, #9] (drums).

Recorded in New York City, September, 1949

#9 to #13:

Lee Konitz (alto sax), Billy Bauer (guitar), Sal Mosca (piano),

Arnold Fishkin (bass), Jeff Morton (drums).

Recorded in New York City, July 4, 1950

Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre

Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre:

Altoist Lee Konitz is showcased during a set of adventurous Bill Russo arrangements for an orchestra and strings in 1958, pops up on half of Ralph Burns' underrated 1951 classic Free Forms (the most enjoyable of the four sets), and meets up with baritonist Jimmy Giuffre, whose arrangements for five saxes (including the great tenor Warne Marsh) and a trio led by pianist Bill Evans are sometimes equally influenced by classical music and bop. The least interesting date showcases Giuffre’s clarinet with a string section on his five-part "Piece For Clarinet And String Orchestra" and the 16 brief movements of "Mobiles". *vinylpussycat.com*

These two virtuoso reed players are among the most intrepid improvisers in jazz. In the Forties, Konitz was the alternative voice to Charlie Parker on alto saxophone, playing with a pure, cool sound, and he first came to prominence with the Miles Davis nine-piece band.

Lee Konitz meets Jimmy Giuffre, and it's a small masterpiece of pure jazz. Konitz is the main soloist on nine tracks of standards, ballads and originals, all beautifully scored by Giuffre for five saxophones plus a rhythm section of pianist Bill Evans, bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Ronnie Free. The music swings effortlessly and has the added joy of solos by Evans, the late great tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh and Giuffre himself, who plays baritone sax. *classical-music.com*

You And Lee:

A treasure! This album has been long out of print, although it was available on some compilations.

Before I proceed give the sound samples on You And Lee  a listen to get a sense of this album. For one thing, it's more of a big band ensemble. However, the arrangements by Jimmy Giuffre lift this into a different vibe than your typical big band fare. There is a definite West Coast touch to this album. Another feature is the rhythm section, which features Bill Evans on piano leading on most tracks, and Jim Hall on guitar on the remaining ones. That, too, gives this album a distinctive sound without breaking the continuity of the overall listening experience.

This was recorded in New York City for Verve on October 29 and 30, 1959. The core ensemble is comprised of Konitz on alto sax accompanied by a trumpet section (Marky Markowitz, Ernie Royal, Phil Sunkel), a trombone section (Eddie Bert and Billy Byers, with Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone), Bill Evans on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Sonny Dallas on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. *Mike Tarrani*

One of the lesser-known Lee Konitz albums, this LP features the altoist joined by six brass and a rhythm section for eight Jimmy Giuffre arrangements. The shouting brass contrasts well with Konitz's cool-toned solos and together they perform eight underplayed standards. Guitarist Jim Hall and pianist Bill Evans (who are on four songs apiece) are major assets behind Konitz on this pleasing set. * Scott Yanow*

Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre

Featuring Bill Evans

This release presents the complete Lee Konitz albums You and Lee , and Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre . These were Konitz and Bill Evans' earliest studio collaborations: on the first LP the pianist only played on one of the two sessions (Jim Hall replaced him on the other one), while on the second Evans was featured throughout the entire album. Both works were taped in 1959, and although Konitz and Evans had been previously recorded together in a concert setting, and would be taped in the same fashion during a 1965 European tour, their only other studio LP collaboration was the pianist’s 1977 album Crosscurrents. The great Jimmy Giuffre also participated on both records – on the first as arranger, and on the second as arranger and performer. *jazzmessengers.com*

Merged from two brilliant 1959 studio sessions, this disc is, just as the title and artist credits suggest, a showcase for three immense talents. Those expecting to hear the snap-crackle of Roy Haynes' snare or Bob Brookmeyer's punctuated counterpoints after reading the all-star lineup may be surprised to hear them relegated to the background, but any disappointment will end there. The brilliant playing of Lee Konitz and Bill Evans, paired with Jimmy Giuffre's sensitive arrangements, is enough to satisfy any true jazz lover.

Assembled for the album Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre, the first band, a quintet of saxophones backed by the rhythmic underpinnings of Evans, bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Ronnie Free, immediately shows its musicality on the angular, quasi-atonal "Palo Alto. After a rundown of the pointillistic Giuffre arrangement, Konitz jumps in and alternately toys with and floats over the buoyantly swinging rhythm section and airy horn backgrounds. Konitz and Evans solo at length on "Somp'm Outa' Nothin'", which can only be described as a blues that has a hard time getting off the "one" chord. The arrangement is quintessential Guiffre, with its dense tone clusters and recurring rhythmic pedal; Evans takes incredible liberties with the harmonic structure and shows an early affinity for Monk.

Following a chamber-jazz reworking of "Darn That Dream", in which Giuffre masterfully exploits the subtle harmonic movements using a quintet of saxophones, the album is rounded out with a number of tracks from the '59 album You And Lee. Recorded five months after the initial Konitz/Giuffre studio session, this date finds a trio of trumpets and trombones replacing the saxophone section and adding a distinct edge to the music. Konitz is clearly the leader here; his probing, inventive solos are featured throughout the lineup of reworked standards, and the comping work is split by Evans' piano and the earthy guitar of Jim Hall. The tunes, especially "You Don't Know What Love Is", show Konitz at his best. He dazzles the listener with his sensitivity and invention and revels in the shimmering, transparent beauty evoked by Giuffre's arrangements. *Matthew Miller*

1 - Somp'm Outa' Nothin'

(Giuffre)

2 - Someone To Watch Over Me

(Gershwin, Gershwin)

3 - Uncharted

(Giuffre)

4 - Moonlight In Vermont

(Suessedorf, Blackburn)

5 - The Song Is You

(Kern, Hammerstein)

6 - Palo Alto

(Konitz)

7 - Darn That Dream

(VanHeusen, DeLange)

8 - When Your Lover Has Gone

(Swan)

9 - Cork 'n Bib

(Konitz)

10 - I’m Getting Sentimental Over You

(Bassman, Washington)

11 - You Don't Know What Love Is

(Raye, DePaul)

12 - I Didn't Know About You

(Ellington, Russell)

13 - Ev'rything I've Got (Belongs To You)

(Rodgers, Hart)

14 - You're Clear Out Of This

(Arlen, Mercer)

15 - You Are Too Beautiful

(Rodgers, Hart)

16 - The More I See You

(Warren, Gordon)

17 - You're Driving Me Crazy

(Donaldson)

#1 to #9: from the album Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre (Verve Records MG V-8335)

Lee Konitz, Hal McKusick (as); Warne Marsh, Ted Brown (ts); Jimmy Giuffre (bs); Bill Evans (p); Buddy Clark (b); Ronnie Free (d).

Recorded in New York City, May 12 (#1 to #5) and May 13 (#6 to #9), 1959.

#10 to #17: from the album You And Lee (Verve Records MG V-8362)

Ernie Royal, Irving "Marky" Markowitz, Phil Sunkel (tp); Bob Brookmeyer (v-tb); Eddie Bert [except #14 to #17], Billy Byers (tb); Lee Konitz (as); Bill Evans [except #14 to #17](p); Jim Hall [#14 to #17](g); Sonny Dallas (b); Roy Haynes (d). Jimmy Giuffre (arranger).

Recorded in New York City, October 29 (#10 to #13) and October 30 (#14 to #17), 1959.

Lee Konitz • Warne Marsh - Lee Konitz With Warne Marsh

There is much, then, to listen for and to hear in this collection: tones and timing an moving solos, figures that show much craftsmanship in the planning and the execution but most of all, as I hope I have made clear, continuity. When you have had your fill ñ just plain listening for pleasure, play it all again, a track at a time, paying particular attention to the way each of the performances makes its way from the first measure to the last, adding variations and developments, repeating, changing, achieving either a balanced symmetry through repetition or a kind of wry asymmetry through changes, but almost always moving forward - like a train that must arrive on time or the mails in the old days - to its inevitable conclusion. This is the jazz thinking of the musicians of a brilliant contemporary school, and a most satisfactory kind of thinking it is, at least to those of us who are convinced that along with the show of feeling with which jazz and jazzmen have always been abundantly endowed a substantial amount of thought can go comfortably, fittingly, and pleasingly. *Barry Ulanov (liner notes)*

This release presents the complete original LP Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh (Atlantic LP1217), which received a 5-star rating in Down Beat magazine. Besides the splendid interaction between Konitz and Marsh, this album is also rewarding for the presence of Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke. 

John Fordham of The Guardian said "if these two saxophonists play with an even, almost chilly undemonstrativeness, their melodic ingenuity is dazzling". 

Scott Yanow, writing for AllMusic, said they "always made for a perfect team". The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested Core Collection.

This album is remarkable not only for the superb modern musicianship of Konitz (on alto) and Marsh (on tenor), but for their successful use of varied old and new jazz sources. They open with Basie classic, "Topsy", and then romp thru several standards; there is a wonderful blues, "Don't Squark", by Oscar Pettiford, with the bassist himself solo, and Lennie Tristano's "Two Not one" and Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee".

The taste and versatility of the saxophonists give a stamp of quality to each of these variedítemss. Billy Bauer on guitar, Kenny Clarke on drums and Sal Mosca on piano also deserve praise. *Billboard, December 17, 1955*

Both saxophonists put in time with Lennie Tristano before becoming inextricably associated with the cool school, and as such were often criticised as being over cerebral or even worse, lacking in swing (a heinous crime indeed in the eyes of the jazzpólicee). No such complaints here, as support comes from the classic bop rhythm section of Kenny Clarke on drums and Oscar Pettiford on bass. Indeed from the opening "Topsy", a tune most associated with Count Basie, Clarke and Pettiford display an urgent, warmpropulsiónn which they maintain throughout thesesiónn. Sal Mosca on piano and guitarist Billy Bauer (long time Konitz/Marsh associates) provide subtle, occasionally oblique counterpoint, but it's Konitz and Marsh's show.

Both saxophonists had by this time evolved highly individual vocabularies; Konitz had somehow managed to avoid the influence of Charlie Parker, and Marsh had similarly developed a distinctive voice that owed little to the prevailing tenor tradition (except maybe late Lester Young). Moreover they had built up an almost telepathic rapport; when soloing together (as on "I Can't Get Started") it becomes quickly pretty impossible to tell who's who as their lines curl and fold in on each other. Marsh sticks mostly to the upper register of his horn, making differentiation even trickier. Tristano's "Two Not One" brings out the best in the duo, it's fractured, boppishMelodyy provoking a joyous solo from Konitz and an unusually gritty response from Marsh (one of his rare excursions to the lower frequencies).

It's fascinating to hear them dissect Parker's "Donna Lee"; Konitz resists the urge to grandstand and somehow his playing maintains its floating, aerated quality even at this high tempo; even Clarke's trademark Klook bomb drops don't faze him. Graceful, intelligent improvising that swings - what more could you want? Highly recommended. *Peter Marsh*

1 - Topsy

 (Durham, Battle)

2 - There Will Never Be Another You

 (Gordon, Warren)

3 - I Can't Get Started

 (Duke, Gershwin)

4 - Donna Lee

 (Charlie Parker)

5 - Two Not One

 (Lennie Tristano)

6 - Don't Squawk

 (Oscar Pettiford)

7 - Ronnie's Line

 (Ronnie Ball)

8 - Background Music

 (Warne Marsh)

Lee Konitz (alto sax); Warne Marsh (tenor sax); Sal Mosca, Ronnie Ball [#7] (pianos); Billy Bauer (guitar); Oscar Pettiford (bass); Kenny Clarke (drums). 
Recorded in New York City, June 14, 1955.

Lee Konitz - Subconscious-Lee

Of the Lennie Tristano "school" of music, which predated the Lennie Tristano School of Music, Lee Konitz is the outstanding "pupil". Naturally Lennie's music had a great influence on Lee. Other influences are lesser and have been more completely absorbed in to the mainstream of his playing. For instance, in his rhythmic figures you can hear Charlie Parker (Bird left very few untouched and unmoved) but whatever sources Lee has drawn on have been integrated beautifully into his personal expression. His style and sound are both highly personal. The point of excellence as an individual voice is a signal triumph for any artist.

The three sessions in this LP show Lee off in many different ways with quintet, quartet and duo. The interplay with Tristano, duetting with Billy Bauer and unisons and exchanges with Warne Marsh are all self-illuminating examples of Lee's early work in this graphic collection of Konitz.

Incidentally, the Subconscious-Lee session not only launched Lee's career but was the first recording date of this company. New Jazz was then the label. * Ira Gitler*

One of THE key records in the Konitz school – a full length Prestige album that brings together important material from sessions originally issued on 10" LPs! The lineup here is virtually the Konitz school – with shifting lineups that include Billy Bauer on guitar, Lenny Tristano or Sal Mosca on piano, and Warne Marsh on tenor – all working as airily and fluidly as Konitz himself! How Lee managed to achieve such unity with his groups here will forever be a mystery to us – as will the freshness of the work at the end of the 40s, especially given that it's still arguably more "modern" than much of the jazz it inspired in years to come! *dustygroove.com*

A debut for both Lee Konitz and the Prestige label, Subconscious-Lee brings together many of the students who came through Lennie Tristano's idiosyncratic "school" of jazz during the immediate postwar years. Forging a heady approach to Charlie Parker's innovations, full of lithe and at times super fast solo lines, Tristano and his favorite pupil Konitz in particular nurtured an introverted, wan, yet still swinging alternative to the frenetic muscle of bebop. Other students like tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh, pianist Sal Mosca, and bassist Arnold Fishkin staked claims as well and show up prominently here. And while Tristano's "Judy" and "Retrospection" get mired in somewhat tired contemplation, Konitz' "Subconscious-Lee" and Marsh's "Marshmallow" stand out with brisk tempos, cascading horn lines, and fetching head statements. Avoiding the meandering course of his originals, Tristano shines at the piano with a bevy of exciting and substantial solos; Mosca and guitarist Billy Bauer keep up the good work with fine contributions of their own. Good for both mind and feet and chock-full of groundbreaking work by Konitz and Marsh especially, this 1949-1950 recording makes for essential jazz listening. One bonus track, "Progression," is added to thisversiónn of  Subconscious-Lee. *Stephen Cook *

Recorded during the prime of bebop, between 1949 and 1950, Lee Konitz' Subconscious-Lee seems practically at odds with itself. It lacks the peculiarity and the exuberance that pours from the recordings of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and other post-swing experimentalists. It simultaneously seems old-fashioned and futuristic. Lee Konitz, who developed under the tutelage of pianist and pedagogue Lennie Tristano, was perhaps equally influenced by the technical fireworks of bebop, and Tristano's firm mindset. Tristano held that the rhythm section occupied a secondary role, and that improvisation should avoid overt sentimentality. Instead, Tristano and his students valued complexity andprecisiónn of harmony and rhythm. Their pursuit of pure musical devices, unaccompanied by emotional expression, is clearly evident on Subconscious-Lee, on which a sense of cool and detached concentration encircles the performances. The combination of impressive and inventive playing with a generally uncaring approach can be likened to the grunge rock movement of the late 1990s, when bands like Nirvana appeared to have no interest in winning over an audience, and all the while delivered powerful and deeply moving music. In other words, Konitz, Tristano, and frequent collaborator Warne Marsh, sound too cool for school. Tristano believed that a rhythm section's role was simply to provide the structure over which the improvisers could drape their melodies. He counseled drummers and bassists not to interact with soloists, and not to take the lead in musical events, such as swells in intensity. For this reason, much of this album, like others by Tristano, Marsh, and Konitz, sounds similar to antiquated practices of the hot jazz era, when the only instrumentalists given license to elaborate were the trumpeter and clarinetist. On the other hand, the rhythmic activity that Konitz and Marsh use to create winding and unpredictable lines sound as if they fit better into jazz from the 21st century. In fact, the contemporary jazz practice of disguising formal structure and steering clear of well-worn harmonic paths may have been in part influenced by this very school of improvisation.

Subconscious-Lee has one foot stubbornly planted in the past, and the other dangling in the capricious future. *Jacob Teichroew*

1 - Subconscious-Lee

(Lee Konitz)

2 - Judy

(Lennie Tristano)

3 - Progression

(Lee Konitz)

4 - Retrospection

(Lennie Tristano)

5 - Ice Cream Konitz

(Lee Konitz)

6 - You Go To My Head

(Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie)

7 - Marshmallow

(Warne Marsh)

8 - Fishin' Around

(Warne Marsh)

9 - Tautology

(Lee Konitz)

10 - Sound-Lee

(Lee Konitz)

11 - Palo Alto

(Lee Konitz)

12 - Rebecca

(Lee Konitz)

#1 to #4:
Lee Konitz (alto sax), Billy Bauer (guitar), Lennie Tristano (piano), Arnold Fishkin (bass), Shelly Manne (drums [#2, #3 out]).
Recorded in New York City, January 11, 1949.
#7, #8:
Lee Konitz (alto sax), Warne Marsh (tenor sax), Sal Mosca (piano), Arnold Fishkin (bass), Denzil Best (drums).
Recorded in New York City, June 28, 1949.
#9, #10:
Lee Konitz (alto sax), Warne Marsh (tenor sax), Sal Mosca (piano), Arnold Fishkin (bass), Jeff Morton (drums).
Recorded in New York City, September 27, 1949.
#5, #6, #11, #12:
Lee Konitz (alto sax), Billy Bauer (guitar), Sal Mosca (piano [#6 out]), Arnold Fishkin (bass [#12 out]), Jeff Morton (drums [#12 out]).
Recorded in New York City, April 7, 1950. 

Warne Marsh - Jazz Of Two Cities

Whether it be jazz of Johnny Dodds, Duke Ellington or Dave Brubeck, jazz above all else must have vitality. That's a polite way of saying that jazz has to swing. The degree of swing, like most things, can be measured only by the listener and judged by whatever message jazz holds for his ears alone.

The Warne Marsh Quintet is such a group, whose avowed musical purpose lies in just that swingin' direction. Much of modern jazz today appears on the surface to be a melange of discord to the uninitiated. Unity however, is obtained by freely improvising, perhaps not so much from arrangements, but rather, in the case of the Warne Marsh five, from an innate feeling for playing together, and above all else, swinging.

Though the group has been playing as a unit for a limited period of time, they have already attracted wide attention in jazz circles. Four of the members were students, as were many other jazz greats, of Lennie Tristanto, and they have worked together off and on for a number of years.

Though the group originally got together for the purpose of "jamming", it was soon evident that they would stay together. A successful engagement at The Haig in Los Angeles only whet their enthusiasm and urged the group to go on.

Sound plays a very important role in the Warne Marsh Quintet framework. Notice the manner in which the two tenors are integrated with the piano voice in many of the selections, with a good deal of simultaneous improvisation throughout all the works.

Though most of the selections are original jazz pieces, they only serve to further highlight the stimulating musical effort of the musicians. "Lover Man", and "I Never Knew" are the only standards in this album, the former piece so well associated with the late Charlie Parker, the latter a "head" arrangement allowing wide berth for lots of swinging and vaguely reminiscent of an older rendition by Lester Young a good many years ago.

You don’t have to be old in years to feel pain, and by the same line of reasoning, neither do jazz musicians need to be gray to be able to lay down what they feel. 

The feel, the sincerity of purpose and the inner knowledge that what they perform is true, is all important, and is perhaps the underlying force in jazz today. *(Liner notes)*

These tracks date from the time Marsh spent back in his hometown, Los Angeles —from February 1956 to November 1957—, leading a quintet that was something of a Tristano student reunion.

There are some very familiar characteristics: improbably tricky themes deriving from familiar harmonic territory —Ball, Brown and Marsh all contribute— propelling the improvisation into fascinating demonstrations of agility. Marsh and Brown are never exactly competitive, but clearly stimulate each other intensely; at times they wrap around themselves almost organically, prodded on by Ball's perfectly-judged piano work.

This sessions mark the start of Marsh's career as leader and organiser, and as such fill an important gap in his history. *Jack Cooke*

The "two cities" referred to were Los Angeles and New York, and the title suggests Marsh's ambivalence: he considered New York his aesthetic home, the locus of his education in jazz, while Los Angeles was not only his birth home but the place where his education truly flowered, independently of his mentor (Lennie) Tristano. 

In his review of Jazz of Two Cities Nat Hentoff noted the Tristano influence "in the penchant for long lines and the kind of airy but wiry phrasing and logical, flowing conception". Warne Marsh and Ted Brown "blow with admirable technical ease, empathic, and stimulating ideas and good if coolish sound... Their time is also precise and subtle". As for the complex Tristno-style lines, Hentoff commented that they "project a certain amount of brittleness... as if they were mores a problem to solve than a story to tell".

At the time, Lennie Tristano praised Jazz of Two Cities as "one of the best records made in recent years, from the standpoint of originality, swing, drive, improvising, and charts". On the basis of marsh's playing alone Tristano's judgment is justified, and the group as a whole is arguably the best that Marsh ever led.

*Safford Chamberlain (from his book An Unsung Cat: The Life and Music of Warne Marsh)*

1 - Smog Eyes

(Ted Brown)

2 - Ear Conditioning

(Ronnie Ball)

3 - Lover Man

(Jimmy Davis, Ram Ramirez, James Sherman)

4 - Quintessence

(Ronnie Ball)

5 - Jazz of Two Cities

(Ted Brown)

6 - Dixie's Dilemma

(Warne Marsh)

7 - Tchaikovky's Opus #42, Third Movement

(Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)

8 - I Never Knew

(Ted Fio Rito, Gus Kahn)

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

#1 to #4:

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, October 3, 1956.

#5 to #8

Recorded at Master Records, Hollywood, California, October 11, 1956.

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.