Good-Bye
Hollywoodwind Jazzet
Jerry Fielding
Decca Records DL 8669
1958
From the back cover: The Hollywoodwind Jazztet, here presented for the first time on record, is strictly speaking a progressive jazz group. It is a calculated, conservative approach to the medium of jazz with the declared intention of opening up a new appreciation for this field in areas where it does not exist and, at the same time, it is felt that it will quite definitely soothe the ever-searching and adventurous souls of those already addicted to modern Jazz.
In my opinion, jazz is more and more becoming a throwback to the more legitimate forms, and in forming this group and writing for it, I have put much emphasis on this premise. The writing here is for the most part contrapuntal and the approach is quite academic. Though there may be a tendency to be somewhat frightened by the awesome sound of these terms the result is most restful and satisfying, as it has been for centuries with music embodying these elements. In this case however the harmonies are definitely modern, and the element of the rhythm (it swings) 'is so inherent there develops an additional feeling of subtle excitement based primarily on motion, and NOT on volume. One of the most noticeable modern jazz pre-requisites, namely no blend (which is both a blessing and a blight) is preserved here in justifiable moderation, due to the fact that the legitimate woodwind section is notorious for its lack of silk-smooth blend. More often than not the most average and untrained ear is definitely accustomed to this sound and the business of what some consider to be unlikely parts pro- truding to the point of confusion is tempered downward, mainly because there never arises the necessity of the reed to do battle with the brass. In this album the brass has gone out to pasture.
The group is composed of six woodwinds and three rhythm instruments. The wind players involved are among the best in Hollywood and are what we term free-lance musicians. They do not often get the opportunity to express themselves on the instruments featured here, but many of these names are of course quite familiar to Jazz fans everywhere. They are as follows:
Buddy Collette - Jazz alto, tenor, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet. He has been featured on every record ever made by my big band. He has several albums of his own and is the winner of countless awards.
Joe Camera - Oboe, tenor, clarinet bass clarinet, English horn; is very well known as a Jazz tenor-man, but in this album he emerges as a brilliant oboist. He carries off with great delight the feat of mixing the legitimate oboe sound with the modern phrasing required in this assignment.
Hymie Gunkler - Lead alto, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute. Mr. Gunkler is also a featured soloist with our big band and is a very sensitive musician. His sound is the counterpart of Mr. Collette's-big, full and healthy.
Dominic Fera - Legitimate clarinet, alto, bass clarinet, E flat clarinet. He is a graduate of the Curtis institute and the best clarinetist to come along in many years. He has a frighteningly facile technique which I have tried to use to the fullest advantage and has yet to be stopped by any passage, however difficult.
Howard Peter Terry - Bassoon, tenor, clarinet, bass clarinet. Mr. Terry is now enjoying one of those moments of fulfillment as a very busy utility- man in Hollywood, currently contracted to MGM studios. An excellent bassoonist, he has the advantage of much dance-band experience on the saxophone.
Martin J. Berman - Another of the loan outs from our big band, Mr. Berman is featured here on Baritone and bass saxophone, tenor, bassoon, bass clarinet and clarinet. He plays the heavy instruments with the delicacy of a cello.
Red Callender - Bass, his name as featured string-bass player tells its own story.
John Williams, Jr. - Piano. This young man is fast becoming one of the most sought after men in town. He is a brilliant jazz-AND concert-pianist and also has several albums of his own.
Max Albright - A rare swinging drummer who succumbed to the pressure of the outside world and makes his fortune quietly as a utility- all-around drummer. He is one of the country's outstanding mallet men and we feel it here to be quite apparent that, as a modern jazz player, he can match claws with anyone in the business.
I do the arrangements and conduct.
Our guest soloist Mr. Edgar Lustgarten and his presence on this album, which I consider to be a MOST fortunate occurrence, are more fully covered below. We have selected songs for this group, originals, standards and some satirical pieces, which lend themselves to the kind of treatment we hope to portray. They are as follows:-
1) HOORAY FOR LOVE-In this arrangement the flowing of all parts seems to never cease. I have taken some liberties with the harmonies here but in generality is a swinging exposition of this fine old Harold Arlen tune, with some pleasing jazz by Buddy Collette on Alto.
2) SKYLARK-This side is definitely in the category of an experiment that happened to work very well. In trying to find a way to do some ballads that would encompass a sound as different as the rest of the songs, I in- vited Edgar Lustgarten to join us and test the cello as an instrument for capturing the sensuousness of a couple of very warm Hoagy Carmichael songs. Mr. Lustgarten is beyond question one of the finest solo cellists in the world, and adds to his list of impressive credits solo stints in his own field (legitimate music) with the NBC symphony, (under Toscannini) the St. Louis Symphony, and the Chicago Symphony. He was for many years solo-cellist at MGM studios and at present he does just about every record-date where the instrument is used on the West Coast. What we do here has not been tried before, for we use the cello in the same manner as various wind-instruments have been used from the standpoint of phrasing, coupled with certain techniques of the voice which have become accepted as more or less standard in presenting popular songs. The deep, throaty, magnificent tone which Mr. Lustgarten develops on the cello is one of the most virile sounds imaginable, and he plays this lovely song with much sensitivity and shows obvious mastery of the technique of the instrument in any and all registers. As a result of the success of his efforts on these sides he is preparing an album of his own, and I hope we have here opened up, for good and all, a new avenue for the use of the cello in modern music.
3) NEW ORLEANS POST PARADE-This is a dixieland satire. It is a funny piece, or at least it is intended to be. The song was written some time ago by Sid Robin, and it is a 'woodwindy' impression of all the Dixieland cliches ever invented. All the parts go all different ways and even though it walks right along, it develops into the semi-disorganized, traditional hodge-podge.
4) GOOD-BYE-This one will be remembered as the closing-theme song so closely identified with Benny Goodman. It was written by Gordon Jenkins and is a truly beautiful ballad. Dominic Fera is featured here on soprano saxophone, and Joe Camera does the Tenor solo.
5) A FINE ROMANCE-From the players point of view, this arrangement was far and away the most difficult to play. It features mostly all the saxo- phones, and has much built-in humor in the form of grotesque phrases and tempo variations.
6) ROMANCE-Walter Donaldson wrote this as a waltz, but here it comes off as a swinger with much complex motion. In the middle portion the players gravitate towards their saxophones and suddenly emerge in a burst of new color, from which they soon recover and proceed on out.
7) SWEET PETER-A light song from the repertoire of Rogers and Hart, this is a further example of the ceaseless kind of motion that develops in a grouping such as this. Joe Camera comes off to great advantage on lead oboe, and Buddy Collette on more jazz alto. There is a faint suggestion that the song is about a man with a wooden leg, Peter Stuyvesant, but I leave it to you to find that out for yourselves.
8) MEMPHIS IN JUNE-Here we feature Mr. Lustgarten's cello again. On this side he goes farther afield into the outer reaches of his range but man- ages to capture all the warmth and flexibility of this sort-of-southern blues by Hoagy Carmichael and Paul Frances Webster.
9) THE POINT IN QUESTION-This is a little original of mine. It is a tra- ditional two-part invention which takes a surprising turn, lingers awhile, and proceeds to finish as it began.
10) I WAS THERE WHEN THE SPIRIT CAME-We have here a brief picture. of a sermon. It is a Gospel song by Doris Akers, and the stand-out per- formances are by Hymie Gunkler, on alto, (as the preacher) and Dom Fera, on E Flat clarinet, (as the fervent worshipper).
11) ESSENCE OF CALCULATED CALM-This is another original of mine and it is difficult to put into words exactly what I had in mind when I wrote it. About the only suggestion I can give is to mull over the title, listen to it yourself, and gather from it what you will. To me it seems to be a picture of the studied indifference I have seen on the faces of middle-aged ballroom dancers in certain places on certain occasions.
12) PARIS IN THE SPRING-To complete the album we do here a mild con- trapuntal version of this old descriptive piece. Towards the end it stops leaping and gets very pretty, and for some unexplainable reason I was not able to do anything but stay in that mood 'til the end, it just seemed to want to stay there.
I trust you will find some novelty and excitement and a smattering of humor in these sides. Much credit is due to Bud Dant for his supervision, and to Sonny Burke for discovering this group. I hope it will help usher-in a period of new respect for the odd instruments involved and add new friends for the field of instrumental music on record.
From March 24, 1958 Billboard:
Interesting jazz sound makes use of several instruments seldom heard on jazz combos – (bassons, bass clarinet) in addition to alto sax, clarinet, flute and tenor sax. Fielding's orchestrations manage a fluid sound on several styles, Dixie, modern and mainstream. Those who go for interesting new sounds should find this to their liking.
Hooray For Love
Skylark
New Orleans Post Parade
Good-Bye
A Fine Romance
Romance
Sweet Peter
Memphis In June
The Point In Question
I Was There When The Spirit Came
Essence Of Calculated Calm
Paris In The Spring
