garthsj

The album is called "Dave Brubeck in Berlin" and was issued on SME records -- SRCS 9530 -- in Japan (a Sony subsidiary). It is a mono recording. The track list is as follows: St Louis Blues (12.02) Koto Song (6.59) Take The "A" Train (7:42) Take Five. (7:09) The music was recorded at the Berlin Jazz Festival September 26, 27, 1964. As I said, there are people on the Brubeck forum who are in direct contact with him, and who have, I believe, accurately relayed his wishes about certain albums. Three years ago, he authorized the private release of a concert given at the White House on April 14, 1964 to certain members of the Brubeck forum. (Apparently these concerts were routinely recorded, so who knows what other treasures exist out there?) I was one of the lucky underwriters of this project, and I now own a rare 24:21 of the Quartet's music. A group of us "purchased' the tape when it was up for auction, and donated it to the Brubeck archives. Dave personally authorized this very limited release on condition that it not be widely distributed beyond the original group making the purchase. The music is typical, the tracks quite short, and somewhat loose ... with intros by Dave interspersed. I assume he wanted to educate his audience. The track list is: Cable Car Take Five Shim Wah St. Louis Blues. What's the tracklisting of the Quartet in Berlin, 64 date?! When was that issued in Japan? Is it a professional recording? What label is it on? Where did you hear about Brubeck stopping the reissue of "Anthing Goes?" Does this mean these titles aren't likely to be reissued on CD? ←

I thought that I would throw in this famous poem of his .. just for the hell of it! Philip Larkin (1922 - 1985) written 1974 This Be the Verse They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extras, just for you. But they were fucked up in their turn By fools in old-style hats and coats, Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one another's throats. Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don't have any kids yourself. Good stuff, indeed ... my students usually love it ....

The CD reissue "problem" is a very big topic on the Brubeck list ... Apparently Dave has very close control over the reissue of albums, and he has stopped the CD releases of such albums as "At Wilshire-Ebell," "At Storyville, 1954," and "Anything Goes" because he does not like the way the Quartet sounded on those albums. There are others albums which await CD reissue in the U.S. -- "D.B. and Jay and Kai at Newport," "In Europe," and "At Junior College" .. all of which I have on Japanese CDs .. I was surprised that Jazzbo mentioned "Southern Scene" was available in Japan, as apparently that is high on Dave's no-no list! I have a Japanese album .. "The Quartet in Berlin, 1964" (not with Mulligan) that is very nice.

I have been so busy completing a writing project that I have not had much time to enjoy myself here these past few months. The manuscript is now in print, and the pages proofed, so I am finally seeing the end of the tunnel, and now I can say a few words of thanks to Larry for his very incisive take on Duane Tatro's music. Like I have said so many times on this list, it is very satisfying (and validating) to see music of my own youth so well received by a (slightly) younger generation. Not all of the West Coast Jazz was pallid, uninspired stuff! I have loved the Tatro album from the time I received my first "hard-cover" copy, smuggled home to me in Cape Town from the U.S. in 1956 by a merchant marine older brother of a friend. Admittedly I found it a bit "strange" at first, but after several spinnings on my little "Hi-Fi" (with the 258 gm. tone arm!!), I began to see some of the things that Larry articulated so much better than I could. I have always thought it a very "rich" album, with new joys to be discovered on each listen. A funny thing ... although they are quite stylistically different, I have always kept this album next to Lyle Murphy's album "Gone With The Woodwinds" (Contemporary 3506) ... both are Koening guilty pleasures. Also, it is reminiscent of some of the music to be found on Shelley Manny vol. 1 and the more experimentall vol. 2 also on Contemporary ... What a great job Lester Koenig did of recording this music, and thanks also to Fantasy for making it available again. LARRY .. YOU HAVE TO FINISH THAT BOOK ON THE EXPERIMENTAL STUFF OF THE FIFTIES!!! If I had your musical knowledge and powers of description I would do it myself ... but I know my limitations. Garth, Houston.

Here are the remaining two Rearward CDs ....

I have been carefully trying to collect all of the CBBB (and offshoots) material for more than twenty years ... it can be frustrating trying to locate this material, but as many of you have indicated, some of this great music is now appearing once again ... (By the way, the Hamilton-Clayton Big Band continues very much in the CBBB tradition, and their work is highly recommended to those of you who have not listened to this aggregation.) Just to add to the salavation level, here is a scan of the Rearward CDs discussed above ....

I have more than 450 OJC albums in my CD collection .... I have enormous appreciation or what Fantasy has done with their various catalogs. As a fan of "west coast jazz" I am particularly appreciative of their keeping the Contemporary catalog alive, and maintaining the sonic quality of that label (all fifties recordings should sound THAT good!). LONG LIVE FANTASY!!

I would just like to add a plug for KCSM-FM in the Bay Area .. I find their music eclectic, and with a very friendly presentation. Also, the Toronto station (formerly CJRT-FM) and now www.JazzFM91 can be wonderful at times, especially late at night, and with great sound ... Garth, in Houston, the 4th largest city in the country, and without a fulltime jazz radio station!

How about the great solo by Oliver Nelson on "Stolen Moments" on the "Blues and the Abstract Truth" album .... Nelson's solos are so beautifully constructed that I wonder if he worked on them ahead of time. Of course, I am VERY partial to Buddy DeFranco's incredible bop clarinet tour de force on "The Bright One" with Sonny Clark ... a must for all clarinet fans... There are also several John Lewis solos that just blow me away, and I never tire of listening to. Oscar Peterson's version of "Sax No End" is not exactly chopped liver either ... chorus after rolling chorus of amazing piano (not everyone's cup of tea, I know.. but it certainly gets to me!)

I believe that all of the Charlie Ventura material (as is the Flip Phillips) is available on a Definitive Records release ... was it "taken" from the Mosaic remastering I wonder?? :-)

The Proper Box Rogers set does not contain any material from Shorty's Atlantic Records sessions. That is what is contained in the Mosiac Set. This is one of the more valuable Mosaic sets, usually going for big dollars.

Is this the same music found on Ember EMBCD 009 ... "Tubby Hayes: Portrait"? This CD contains 1 track from the Jazz Couriers, and 20 tracks from grups lead by Toney Kinsey (6 tracks) and Tony Crombie (14 tracks), recorded as "mood music" by Jeffrey Kruger, the founder of Ember Records in 1959 and 1961.

UBU, I have been playing my 3-CD HUM set all afternoon ... it just confirms what a big loss this is ... One can justify the the welcome of death for someone who is suffering, but at the same time mourn the loss of someone who brought so much pleasure into one's life.

I agree with Bownie ... Michelot always made a very solid contribution to whatever session he was playing in ... we have lost a number of great bass players recently ... To me these great musicians of my youth will always be young, but I have to check myself when I realize that my heroes when I was 16, are now all nearing 80 or over! And most of them lead pretty hard lives ...

As usual Peter F. and I agree, BUT ... I am amazed that only one other poster (Mikeweil) has mentioned the incredible John Lewis ... his comping is an essential part of what makes the MJQ so interesting, but his work behind other great jazz solists (Bird, Stitt, Albert Magelsdorf, for example) is in a class by itself. Some may not like his comping because much of it is melodic, and he often creates counter melodies rather than just feeding the chords ... still, whatever Lewis plays back there always interests me.

Would you mind clarifying ... we are talking about 270 CDs in their jewel boxes, right?

I just thought that many of you would be interested in this new release ... a gives a great groove, and keeps me moving ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jimhershman2

Take it from someone who was there when it happened .. in the late 1950s both Jimmy Giuffre and Chico Hamilton were as popular as you can get ... BUT ... their music was an essentially part of the "west coast vs. east Coast" critical battle at the time. Giuffre outgrew his west coast identification to become a darling of the avant-gardists in the 1980s, while Chico Hamilton moved on to a series of different grooves, and continues to do so even today. This music was part of my socialization into jazz, and is as much a part of my very being as breathing.

Here is something that will increase our paranoia ... can you read between the lines? Concord Records on a Roll with Grammys, Fantasy Buy by Dan Ouellette Reuters/Billboard, May 7, 2005 NEW YORK -- As told by the label's late founder, Carl Jefferson, the Concord Records story began "accidentally." Jefferson was a Lincoln Mercury dealer in the small California town of Concord, 30 miles east of San Francisco. After founding a modest summer jazz festival there in 1969, he soon discovered that some of the straight-ahead performers he booked had been left behind by the rock and jazz-fusion boom. When guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass told him they could not score a recording deal, he replied, "Hell, how much could it cost?" In an interview with this writer in 1993, two years before his death, Jefferson recalled, "I was making a profit at my car dealership at the time, so I said, 'Let's just do it.'" Other musicians with similar laments followed as one project led to the next, and quickly -- even before a label was officially established -- Jefferson had a 10-title catalog. Finally, he formed Concord in 1973 "to keep the record-making process going. I wasn't thinking of this as a commercial endeavor at all. I was doing it for the musicians, because jazz was so devastated at the time." Today, Concord, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., is a significant player -- not just in jazz circles (where it is the No. 1 independent jazz label, according to the Billboard charts), but also in an array of adult-oriented genres, from pop to Latin. Concord enjoyed a banner year in 2004. In August, Concord issued Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company," which won eight Grammy Awards and has sold almost 2.9 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. And in November, it completed the acquisition of Fantasy Records, the Berkeley, Calif.-based gold mine of jazz, pop, rock and R&B titles, for a reported $83 million. Prior to "Genius," Concord's biggest hits were Barry Manilow's "Here at the Mayflower" (which sold more than 180,000 copies), a self- titled CD from vocalist Peter Cincotti (167,000) and the Rippingtons' "Life in the Tropics" (nearly 160,000). But the success of "Genius" changed all that. The label is not only signing more acts but finding that it has more leverage in attracting premium performers. Jo Foster, head of Concord PR, says, "People are taking the label more seriously now. We've become a player." For 2005, Concord has a full docket of jazz-and-beyond releases scheduled, including a Sergio Mendes collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am; an Earth, Wind & Fire-inspired project piloted by Maurice White; a live Sonny Rollins album recorded four days after Sept. 11, 2001; and a full-year 25th-anniversary celebration of its Latin jazz arm, Concord Picante, with CDs by Eddie Palmieri and Poncho Sanchez. Earlier this year, Concord merged its labels -- Concord Jazz, Concord Picante, Jazz Alliance, Peak, Stretch and Playboy Jazz -- with Fantasy's imprints, including Contemporary, Debut, Milestone, Kicking Mule, Stax/Volt, Riverside, Prestige, Pablo, Specialty and Takoma. The resulting Concord Music Group boasts the world's largest independent jazz catalog and one of the largest indie archives. Marquee performers on adult-pop-oriented Concord Records include Manilow, Cincotti, Michael Feinstein and Ozomatli. Concord Jazz features singers Karrin Allyson and Keely Smith, pianist Marian McPartland and singer/saxophonist Curtis Stigers. The Concord Picante roster includes the Caribbean Jazz Project. Stretch is home to Chick Corea, and Peak spotlights such smooth jazz acts as the Rippingtons and Paul Taylor. The Fantasy catalog features material by such jazz legends as Miles Davis and John Coltrane as well as influential pop acts like Little Richard and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Though still an indie, Concord is releasing music at the accelerated rate that was once a major-label hallmark. And although the Fantasy acquisition has put it on the scale of a major label, Concord continues to operate with the flexibility and independence of a smaller company. "We're always seeking to stay a step ahead of other labels," Concord GM Gene Rumsey says. "But the majors turn like a battleship, and we can spin on a dime by just walking down the hall to do business." Glen Barros, Concord's president/CEO of the last 10 years, says the label has veered radically from the path of most contemporary recording-industry models. "Those old formulas no longer apply," Barros says. "Like in the wine world, the less you doctor the product, the better it is. We want our artists to create from the heart and soul. Then it's our job to take their music to the widest possible audience." In the past, Barros says, the label was recognized for its artistic excellence while its commercial endeavors were lacking. But shortly before his death, Jefferson -- who was more jazz fan and scout than astute label executive -- brought Barros aboard to helm the enterprise. "We've been working on equaling things out, to pull the marketing and sales up to the same level as the art," Barros says. "We're achieving that by coming up with creative ways to get the music to the audience." Rumsey says the old industry model was to just release music and let potential consumers seek it out. "We subscribe to finding where the consumers are and bringing the music to them. "We'll never turn our backs on our retail partners. We won't do anything to hurt them," Rumsey says. "But we are looking into other joint ventures like our partnership with Starbucks, where 33 million people a week were exposed to Ray's album." (While Concord continues to work with Starbucks, new collaborative retail projects have not yet been confirmed.) John Burk, executive VP/senior VP of A&R, says Concord has been ramping up a slew of projects in light of the success of "Genius Loves Company." "We're not giving up on jazz, of course, but we are looking to further expand the direction of the music," he says. Burk, who was mentored by Jefferson for six years, notes that the expansion got into full swing with Charles, who was perfect because he was a jazz artist who was also successful in so many other genres. "At the time we started talking with him, no one was knocking on his door to work with him," he says. "In a similar vein, we're looking to work with a whole segment of disenfranchised artists who are being underserved by the present models in the record business." That's a key reason why roots-rocking drummer/producer Jamie Oldaker decided to link up with Concord for his debut CD as a leader, "Mad Dog & Okies." The set features guest performances by Eric Clapton, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, J.J. Cale and Taj Mahal and is scheduled for a July 12 release. "I may not sell a million out of the chute, but I know I won't get lost in the system here," Oldaker says. "I like Concord. I like the roster, and plus I get to talk on the phone with the people who are making the decisions. With Concord branching off beyond jazz, this is a good place for this project." While Concord's expansion will continue, jazz will still be "at the heart and soul of the label," Barros says. He says its new signings will include the "blue chips" (legendary players like Rollins who he believes are not getting the exposure they deserve) as well as up-and- coming talent like pianist Taylor Eigsti, pop-jazz singer LaToya London (a former "American Idol" contestant) and trumpeter Christian Scott. "There's a whole new generation of extremely talented young kids who are playing jazz," Burk says. "We're thinking of new ways of marketing them, like recording samplers and packaging them on tour together. We want to capture that explosion of the young." On the Fantasy catalog front, little has been decided, though Barros notes, "We're looking very carefully at how to treat this treasure we have. We'll be dusting off the archives and putting them into a new spotlight." Concord VP of artist and catalog development Nick Phillips, who is based in the Fantasy building in Berkeley, says, "There are lots of opportunities to make compilations and reissues that combine the Concord and Fantasy catalogs." He estimates that new reissue material will be released in the fourth quarter.

Forgive me if this has been discussed before ... We have all been enjoying lengthy discussions of the wonderful reissue series coming out of France on Universal, Vogue and other labels, and now here is a new book. Have any of our French members read this volume .. will it worth getting (it is not very expensive)? Paris Jazz by Luke Miner Paris Jazz Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book. List Price: $19.95 Price: $13.97 & Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details You Save: $5.98 (30%) Availability: This item has not yet been released. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives from Amazon.com. Sold by Amazon.com. Edition: Paperback Editorial Reviews Book Description Paris Jazz guides readers from the golden era of the Jazz Age to the doorsteps of venues that carry on the city’s vibrant jazz tradition today. From the seedy glamour of bohemian life among painters, writers, and jazz musicians in Montmartre to the sensational debut of Josephine Baker in "La Revue Negre" to the explosive innovations in bebop that occurred in subterranean clubs at night and were discussed heatedly in crowded cafes by day, the story of jazz in Paris is as dynamic as the music itself. The book is divided into four neighborhoods—Montmartre, Montparnasse, Saint-Germain-des-Pres, and the area around the Champs-Elysees—and directs readers to the cafes, caveau, and belle epoque theaters that were once home to extraordinary debuts, legendary collaborations, and high drama. Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, Mistinguett, Adelaide Hall, Bud Powell, Darius Milhaud, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Lester Young, and Sidney Bechet, are only a few of the musicians whose lives in Paris are profiled here. Paris Jazz features: • Evocative duotone photographs of jazz legends and famous clubs in Paris through the decades • Four easy-to-use maps • Quotes and anecdotes from the musicians themselves • A comprehensive listing of contemporary jazz clubs • A selected listening section Product Detail * Paperback: 174 pages * Publisher: The Little Bookroom (October 10, 2005) * ISBN: 1892145294

I should have checked the spelling copied and pasted directly from the DG site.. it is Bill Russo .. and Bob Gordon on the second album. But to be fair to DG, they did spell the name Bill Russo correctly in the first sentence ...

This piece appears in today's The Independent. Steve Voce STAN LEVEY Dizzy Gillespie was berated by his fellow black musicians in Philadelphia for having Stan Levey a white drummer, in his band. It was 1942 and Levey was only 16. “Show me a better black drummer and I’ll hire him,” said Gillespie. Bebop was beginning and working for Gillespie meant that Levey was at the heart of it. He, Max Roach and Kenny Clarke were the first drummers to drive bands using the eccentric Bebop accents. Levey was entirely self-taught. “That’s why I play left-handed, although I’m right-handed. It just felt easier that way.” But it wasn’t just a question of being in the right place at the right time. Levey was one of the greatest of all drummers, who could grace a Charlie Parker Quintet as well as he could drive the massive Stan Kenton Orchestra. He was possibly the most tasteful drummer ever and a prince amongst musicians. By the time he walked away from the music business he had played on countless albums, had been a key instrumentalist on the soundtracks of more than 300 films and had appeared on over 3,000 television shows. Aside from his work in jazz groups, Levey was, from 1943, a successful heavyweight boxer who had boxed at Madison Square Gardens and had appeared on the same bill as Joe Louis. “I carried on fighting until 1949 and I boxed a lot of very good fighters, who beat the crap out of me!” He had worked regularly as an accompanist with Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday Barbra Streisand, Bobby Darin and many more. He also played in George Shearing’s Quintet. “In the early Sixties I worked with Victor Feldman, one of my favourite musicians, backing Peggy Lee. She was a very nice lady, a great musician and a terrific singer. I also toured the world with Ella Fitzgerald. I toured Japan with Pat Boone, but I’d like to forget that. Whilst working with Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic group in the late Forties Levey was called back to New York to settle a legal matter. Granz refused to let him go and wouldn’t give him the back pay owed so that Levey could pay his rail fare. Levey knocked Granz out with a standard lamp, took the money and returned to New York. Never one to hold a grudge, Granz forgave him and Levey worked regularly for the promoter in later years. Levey had driven the big bands of Kenton, Benny Goodman (“he never spoke to me”), Woody Herman, Billy May, Henry Mancini, Quincy Jones and others. With Gillespie’s encouragement, Levey moved to New York when he was 17 in 1944. He met for the first time and was influenced by another drummer, Max Roach. Levey joined a small band led by Coleman Hawkins that included the young Thelonious Monk and made his first record, although he had tried to leave the studio from fright, with the formidable pianist Art Tatum. He also played for Ben Webster and on and off during 1945 with Woody Herman’s First Herd, where he was called in to replace the frequently indisposed Dave Tough. During that year he was also a member of Charlie Parker’s Quintet. When Dizzy Gillespie was invited to take the first Bebop group from New York to play a season at Billy Berg’s club in Los Angeles, he chose Levey and Parker to go with him. Parker was already mentally ill from excessive drug and alcohol abuse. They went by rail and on the coast to coast trip the steam train needed to stop in the desert for a couple of hours to refill its tanks with water. Idly looking out of the window Levey suddenly saw a naked Parker running off into the desert. He rushed to tell Gillespie. “You go and get him,” said Gillespie. “No, it’s your band,” retorted Levey. “But you’re his friend,” said the ever crafty Gillespie. Levey hared off into the desert and corralled the unfortunate Parker. When the job was over Levey had to search Los Angeles to find Parker and give him his ticket for the flight back to New York. He was unable to find him and, whilst the rest of the band left, Parker subsequently set fire to his hotel and was incarcerated in the Camarillo mental hospital. “It was a year before we saw him again in New York,” said Levey. Levey returned to Philadelphia in 1951 where he led a quartet of future stars made up from tenorist Richie Kamuca, pianist Red Garland and bassist Nelson Boyd. They played on their own and accompanied any of the star singers that visited the city. Stan Kenton was impressed by the quartet when his band played there in 1952 and when he left he took Levey and Kamuca with him. In many ways the drummer is the most important member of a big band. He must learn the band’s music and method and be able to move the whole band in the direction he wants. Stan Kenton used Levey to replace a weaker drummer and, with Zoot Sims, Lee Konitz and other stars in his ranks brought together what was arguably the finest band he ever had. It toured Europe in 1953 and boatloads of its British fans sailed to Dublin (the band was not allowed to play in Britain) for two inspired and historic concerts. One of the band’s appearances in Paris survived and Levey can be heard at his finest, driving the band to perfection. Kenton subsequently broke the band up in 1954 after an appearance at the Shrine in Los Angeles. About to leave the city, Levey was called over the airport address system. The call was from Max Roach who was playing at the Lighthouse, a long-established Los Angeles jazz club. Roach was under contract but wanted to leave to form what became the classic quintet with trumpeter Clifford Brown. But the management wouldn’t let him break his contract unless he could find a drummer of similar calibre to replace him. Levey fitted the bill and joined the Lighthouse All Stars for the next five years. He played at the club all night and worked in the studios during the day. “Norman Granz used to book a studio for a week,” Levey told me during a broadcast, “and he’d sit me, Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis and Ray Brown in there as the rhythm section. The he’d parade his soloists through – Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Sonny Stitt, Stan Getz – and we’d record albums with them. By the end of the week you lost track of who you were accompanying.” Levey’s last jobs in music were working on the film “Rosemary’s Baby”, which he hated, and composing and conducting the music for five one hour Disney documentaries. He had been working part time as a photographer since the end of the Fifties, his work published in Harper’s Bazaar and other magazines. He now exploited his hobby and became a successful commercial and industrial photographer, taking many pictures that became the covers for albums by the musicians he had formerly played with. “I cut out the drumming and I don’t miss it at all. I never played again. The music business changed and I went on to other things.” Steve Voce Stan Levey, drummer, photographer: born Philadelphia 5 April 1926; married Angel Neylan 1951, three sons; died Los Angeles 19 April 2005

What's amazing to lil' ol' me is the complete absence of Stan Getz ????? It is now officially confirmed; I am totally of a different generation ....

I was discussing this album a few weeks ago .. and now DG (The Bastards!) have it available .... newManny Albam, Bill Russo, Teo Macero, & Others -- Something New, Something Blue . . . CD . . . $12.99 (Item: 382206) Columbia/Fresh Sound (Spain), 1959 Condition: New Copy View Cart View image The cover of this one makes it look like a no-name leaderless session, but this one actually features some great work by some very hip players! Half the album features vibist Teddy Charles leading a group of modernists that includes Hal McKusick, Frank Socolow, Bill Russon, Bob Brookmeyer, Mal Waldron, and Donald Byrd -- on tracks that have a bluesy base, but a bit of an edge to them. The other half features Manny Albam leading a combo with Al Cohn, Teo Macero, Art Farmer, Bill Evans, Phil Woods, and Eddie Costa. The session was done to showcase the talents of 4 of the best modern arrangers of the late 50s -- Manny Albam, Bill Russon, Teo Macero, and Teddy Charles -- all of whom contribute some great charts to a set of tracks that includes "Swinging Goatsherd Blues", "East Hampton Blues", "Blues In The Night", "Night Crawlers", and "Blues For Amy". This is another "essential" album ... I can't say enough about the great arrangements, and wonderful musicianship on this gem! I do hope that it has been remastered in some way .. or at least "cleaned up" .. my CDR from my original LP is a little scratchy! Also, here is another Fresh Sounds release is worth getting .... wonderful interplay between the musicians on all cuts, particularly "Somebody Loves Me" ... WOW! This original 10" album was a constant on my crummy little plastic LP player back in the mid-fifties ..... newMaynard Ferguson -- Hollywood Jam Sessions . . . CD . . . $12.99 (Item: 383481) Emarcy/Fresh Sound (Spain), 1954 Condition: New Copy View Cart View image Here's an album that will forever change your mind about Maynard Ferguson -- as it features some excellent jam session material from the trumpeter's early years -- all recorded with some of the best players on the LA scene at the time! The CD features 4 long tracks that were recorded for the Emarcy label in 1954 -- and done in a style that was quite unusual for jazz recording at the time, no matter what the label. Ferguson's working here with 2 different groups that include Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Bob Cordon, Russ Freeman, Herb Geller, Shelly Manne, and Milt Berhart -- all working through tunes that push the 15 minute mark, and offer up a heck of a lot more solo space than any other west coast studio recordings of the same time. It's great to hear these players really open up in the setting -- especially the saxophonists -- and Ferguson's own work on trumpet and valve trombone is pretty darn great as well. Titles include "Night Letter", "Somebody Loves Me", "Air Conditioned", and "Love Is Here To Stay". Just another way to spend your hard-earned cash ... better than $5.00 double chocolate vanilla lattes at Starbucks!

A related item .. there is an album "Buddy [Rich] and Sweets" with Jimmy Rowles, Barney Kessel, and John Simmons on bass, recorded September 1, 1955 .... originally issued on Norgran, and now available on a Verve CD. Unfortunately it comes nowhere near to being as good as "Sweets" is, and Rich's desire for prominence is largely to blame. The first cut "Yellow Rose of Brooklyn" is almost entirely a drum solo .. THE FIRST CUT! ... I am seldom prone to extensive hyberbole, but to my tin ear "Sweets" comes as close to a "perfect" album of this music we call jazz as exists.