Kay Starr Sings

 

Kay Starr Sings!

Kay Starr Sings!

Coronet Records CX 106

1963

From the back cover: Born Katherine Starks in Dougherty, Oklahoma, July 21, 1922 Kay Starr is today one of the great female Jazz singers. Raised in Dallas, her first singing debut was on a local radio station. At seventeen, she made her first move into the "big-time", as a temporary substitute for Marion Hutton in Glenn Millers' 1939 band.

Through the war years she made progress with the big bands of the period; Bob Crosby, Joe Venuti and Charlie Barnet orches- tras. In 1945 she left Barnet and signed up with Capitol Records, where such famous hits as "Wheel Of Fortune", etc., she rapidly rose to national fame as a solo artist.

Here on this record you will hear some of the finest jazz-rooted vocals ever made by Kay Starr; the style which we believe to be her most sincere, and one in which she performs to her fullest.

I'm Confessin'
Who's Foolin' Who
Sunday
Sweet Lorraine
Stormy Weather
All Of Me
Dixieland Band

Frying Pan

A New Song For Young Love - The Lettermen

 

Michelle

A New Song For Young Love

The Lettermen

Produced by Steve Douglas

Cover Photo: Capitol Photo Studios - Ken Veeder

Capitol Records ST 2496

1966

From the back cover: It's always a temptation to say of each new Lettermen album, "This is their very best."

When Jim Pike, Tony Butala, and Bob Engemann issued their first longplay recording for Capitol just four years ago (see "A Song for Young Love," at right), their warm and easy style already sounded about as fine as it's humanly possible to achieve. Yet the Lettermen do seem to get better and better and the warm velvet texture of their vocal blend to become more caressingly easy to enjoy. Listeners are apt to note with ever increasing satisfaction the fellows' really fantastic ability to make any kind of song pleasing to the widest possible audience.

They sing the new Big Beat songs like "Listen People" and "You'll Be Needin' Me" with a special finesse that makes them easy listening for everybody.

They bring a fresh, youthful sound of today to such great oldtimers as "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "If I Loved You" that makes them hits all over again.

They turn the velvet side out on modern favorites like "Moon River" and "Try to Remember" with consummate styling that enhances both melody and lyric.

And, needless to say, with a "Graduation Girl," the romantic, campus-oriented kind of song that has always been a Lettermen specialty, both they and their audiences are home free!

All those songs, as well as the Beatles' delightful "Michelle," the beautiful "Love Letters," and others equally fine, are in this album, as superb a collection of hits as the Lettermen ever have gathered together. Arrangements for the orchestral backgrounds are by the eminently gifted Jimmie Haskell, and each is especially and romantically appropriate for an album entitled "A New Song for Young Love."

With all these superb elements contributing to make this album outstanding, there's an even greater temptation than usual to call it the Lettermen's finest. But taking into consideration the wonderful Lettermen albums yet to come, as well as the many wonderful ones they've issued already, we'll simply say, "Here is still another of the Lettermen's very best!"

I Only Have Eyes For You

If I Love You

Listen People

Graduation Girl

Love Letters

Moon River

You'll Be Needin' Me

Try To Remember

Since I'm Alone

What Now My Love

How To Give Yourself A Stereo Check-Out - London

 

How To Give Yourself A Stereo Check-Out

How To Give Yourself A Stereo Check-Out

Commentary spoken by Jack De Manio and Elizabeth Knight

London Records PS 523

1967

From the back cover: The equipment used by the professional recording engineer for making recordings, and playing them back, is constantly checked and rechecked, the purpose being to reduce unwanted noise, distortion and other undesirable defects whilst at the same time ensuring the maximum fidelity of sound. The measuring instruments used in this evaluation process are costly and involved.

THE AIM OF THIS RECORD is to provide a means for the demanding listener to check record playing equipment without the need for such expensive and complicated instruments. With care it can remain a lasting tool, the standard of which will not change with time, whereas the equipment itself – and indeed the human ear – must certainly alter with age. 

All of the tests contained in this record are inter-dependant, and it is therefore suggested that it be played through once completely before attempting to interpret the results which may be obtained from it. It is emphasized also that the purpose of records and record reproducing equipment is to give pleasure and even with the finest of equipment some degree of compromise will always be necessary.

Side One

Band1

A short INTRODUCTION to explain the purpose of this record to the listener.

Band 2
LEFT-RIGHT CHANNEL IDENTIFICATION, LOUDSPEAKER BALANCE AND CHANNEL PHASING.

When a recording is made a very exact balance is engineered between the sounds coming from the extreme left and right- hand sides of the sound stage, and also the sounds that are located between them. By ensuring that the channels are correctly identified and the loudspeakers balanced for volume you will be listening from a centre seat in the stalls instead of from the wings or even back-stage!

To simplify these tests, two voices in varying positions are used. When necessary a metronome is added as this too is easily located.

Incorrect channel phasing can result in a loss of low frequencies and produce a sound that is thin and pinched. It also makes the location of centre sound images very difficult.

To illustrate these effects, two voices are again used – one in phase, and the other out of phase.

The human voice, containing many frequencies including "highs" on sibilants, and the metronome, having a steep wave front occupying as it does a short time interval, make them particularly easy to locate as sources of sound.

Band 3
MONOPHONIC MUSIC
This is included as a further check for loudspeaker balance and phasing and should be heard coming from a point mid-way between your loudspeakers.

(It should be noted that monophonic music played over two speakers creates a slightly broader sound image than a single voice which as explained above is particularly critical in pin-pointing the location of sound).

Band 4
TONE CONTROLS
Most amplifier tone controls affect the extreme high and low frequencies, leaving the mid-frequencies relatively unaffected. To help you set these in a position that is correct for your loudspeakers and your own ears, listen carefully to the high, mid, and low frequency warble tones recorded in this band. By varying the tone controls until the high and low frequencies sound as loud as the mid-frequency, or pilot tone, you will have equalized the frequency response of your amplifier to suit your own listening conditions. By the way, a warble tone is a tone, the frequency of which is continuously varying within fixed limits. It is used in this section because, unlike a pure tone, it will not reflect from the plain surfaces within your listening room and produce varying intensities of sound a phenomenon known as "standing waves".

Band 5
SOUND COLOURATION
Different positions of your loudspeakers within the listening room in which they are located can often produce quite different results in sound. This can either be attributed to the loudspeakers themselves or resonances within the listening room. By listening to pink noise divided into small sections of the audio range (see under) and comparing these sections against a pilot tone in the mid-frequency range, any variations in loudness can easily be heard. If these variations are very audible, re-positioning of the speakers may give a more even response. Sound colouration is caused by uneven frequency response and is usually unfavourable to realism.

*Pink noise contains all the frequencies in the audio range and is a modified form of white noise. White noise contains all frequencies including those beyond the audible range. The third octave sections of pink noise used are heard in the following order:

16 KHZ           630 Hz
10                    400
6.3                   250

4.0                   160
2.5                   100
1.6                     63
1.0 (pilot tone)    40

Band 6

STEREOPHONIC MUSIC
The musical instruments featured in this recording produce sounds extending from the very lowest frequency to the highest, whilst the intensity of sound from each instrument compared to the others represents a very wide dynamic range. Because of this, they are amongst those most hazardous to a recording engineer. The faithful reproduction of their sounds presents similar hazards.

Band 7
GROOVE-JUMPING AND DISTORTION.
Two of the contributory factors to groove-jumping and distortion are

i) the pickup cartridge itself may have insufficient compliance (which means that the reproducing point is not sufficiently free to move), and

ii) the recorded level on the record may be too high, causing severe excursions within the groove which the cartridge cannot follow.

Four musical instruments have been recorded at three different levels for comparison purposes. You will be able to detect any distortion or indications of groove-jumping in your equipment as the levels increase. The highest level in each case is similar to that found on the majority of quality records.

Band 8
SILENT GROOVES

The purpose of this band is to detect how much rumble and hum is present when you play a record.

For checking rumble, play a few silent grooves and then, by lifting the cartridge upwards from the record, note any decrease in the low frequency noise that rumble produces. For hum, play a few silent grooves and again make a comparison by lifting the cartridge off the surface of the record. Any hum remaining may emanate from your amplifier, but it may come from the motor driving the turntable. To check the latter, move the arm laterally towards its rest and listen for any alteration of hum. Hum usually produces a slightly higher and harder sound than rumble.

Side 2

Band 1

LIVE VERSUS RECORDED SOUND

To carry out this test, the following objects should be to hand:

Matches, a bunch of keys, a newspaper, carving knife and steel, a paper-bag, an unopened bottle of wine and glass, balloons, a pair of scissors and paper, feathers.

One of the problems with even the best equipment is to determine how natural the reproduced sound is. For this purpose a series of sounds, using objects which can be found in most homes have been recorded. Each sound is followed by a few seconds of silent groove. The listener, by using similar objects, can then compare the live versus the recorded sound. For an accurate comparison the listener should ensure that the volume of the recorded sound is the same as the sound he makes.

Band 2
WOW AND FLUTTER
This is probably the most difficult test given you on this record, but the presence of wow and/or flutter can influence the sound from a record in a very unpleasant manner, and therefore their elimination is highly desirable. Wow and flutter, (which the commentary defines for you) are best assessed by listening to the single tone at three thousand cycles per second (3 KHz). This should be heard as a perfectly steady tone without variations in pitch. To avoid any problems of standing waves which may give rise to confusion, the listener is recommended to stand close to one speaker.

Band 3
ANTI-SKATING BAND
Friction between the reproducing point and the surface of the record produces a force which makes the cartridge arm try to swing toward the record centre, and because of this the stylus tends to remain in closer contact with one side of the groove than the other. This can give excessive emphasis to one channel, producing stereo mis-balance, and will result in undue wear of the groove wall. To overcome this undesir able effect, some arms are fitted with a bias, or anti-skating, adjuster. If the arm is over-compensated it will, of course, tend to skate toward the outer edge of the record.

Place the pick-up cartridge stylus mid-way in the wide ungrooved area of this record whilst the record is turning. If the arm is correctly adjusted there should be no tendency for the arm to "skate" either toward the centre of the record or toward the outer edge.

(If your cartridge arm has no bias compensator we advise you not to try this test, but proceed to band 4).

Band 4
CROSSTALK
This is the break-through of sound from one channel to the other, which results in a reduction in the width of the sound stage which ideally extends fully from one speaker to the other.

Crosstalk occurs within a pick-up cartridge and its associate amplifier, and varies at different points within the frequency spectrum. Therefore for this test a musical composition is used, specially arranged for a group of instruments which covers this full frequency range. This music, recorded in one channel only, while the other channel is "silent", affords the opportunity to assess the degree of separation. 

Band 5

AN EXTRACT FROM HARY JANOS (Kodály)
Istvan Kertesz conducting the LSO.

This piece of music, by virtue of its composition and orchestration will help you finally assess your record playing equipment for most of the factors previously under test.

In listening the following test in particular should be recalled:

Location of sound (Side 1, band 2); Colouration of sound (Side 1, band 5); Dynamic range (Side 1, band 6); Distortion (Side 1, band 7); Realism; (Side 2, band 1)

Jazz Studio 2 From Hollywood

 

Jazz Studio 2 From Hollywood

Jazz Studio 2 

From Hollywood

Decca Records DL 8079

1954

Herb Geller - Alto Sax

Milt Bernhart - Trombone

John Graas - French Horn

Don Fagerquist - Trumpet

Marty Paich - Piano

Curtis Counce - Bass

Howard Roberts - Guitar

Larry Bunker - Drums

From the back cover: IF THERE is one word that epitomizes the kind of jazz which has been developing on the West Coast during the past few years, probably that word is "organization." For although the swinging beat, once minimized by purists as a distraction, has happily returned to the scene, with the result that jazz on the Coast now swings with complete freedom, it has done so within the framework of individual patterns which have become organized to a considerable degree.

A typical modern jazz group in Hollywood seems to follow nature's principle of tension-and-release, which in music is at least as old as the earliest symphonies, yet, being basic, seems fresh whenever applied to new forms and subjected to new interpretations. Usually the first chorus takes the formidable talents of the performers and constrains them lightly within the bounds of an arrangement which is actually a jumping-off place for what is to follow. During these initial choruses, which are characterized by an interdependence and mutual awareness of the performers, a tension builds to a point where a soloist derives a powerful send-off into his own improvisation. Often contrapuntal, harmonically interesting, these jumping-off ensembles have come to replace almost entirely the unison riff of the early days of jazz. It is not considered bad form for one or more musicians (other than the rhythm section) to chime in with improvised backgrounds to another's solo, thus often giving unusual contrapuntal effects to the soloist's performance.

The word "modern," applied to any kind of music, sometimes makes people expect a preponderance of dissonances, atonality, and harsh sounds. Paradoxically enough, modern West Coast jazz is very melodic, possibly because the arrangers and composers in this medium are more apt to lean upon Bach than Schoenberg. The paradox extends to the basic sound, which is generally a quiet sound, seldom resorting to screaming high notes to achieve the excitement that is jazz, Excitement is generated by a swinging beat, good melodic form, and imaginative writing.

In JAZZ STUDIO 2 we are attempting to offer a representative picture of the kind of jazz which is pretty much indigenous to the West Coast, played by some of the musicians who have contributed notably to this development. It is not intended to set it apart from jazz everywhere, and of course the listener will find a great deal which is not regional. But the accent remains on organization, hence a few words about the composers and arrangers.

In "GRAAS POINT," the noted French horn virtuoso, JOHN GRAAS, indulges in the contrapuntal writing for which he has such a flair. In developing his themes, he has employed such devices as using his original melody backwards, and inverted. His approach shows the influence of Bach, yet his swinging, ebullient solos on the French Horn place him among the most exciting of modern performers. John also contributed "HERE COME THE LIONS," and the arrangement of "DO IT AGAIN."

One of the leading lights of Coast Jazz, MARTY PAICH, who also plays some wonderful piano herein, has contributed the delightful original, "PAICHECK," and the arrangements of "DARN THAT DREAM" and "LAURA."

Complementing the writing talents are the great performances of HERB GELLER, alto sax, alumnus of the Claude Thornhill, Billy May and Lucky Millinder bands (notice his beautiful tone and shower of ideas on "DARN THAT DREAM"); MILT BERNHART, famed ex-Kenton trombonist; DON FAGERQUIST, whose delicate trumpet is usually framed by the Les Brown band; HOWARD ROBERTS, imaginative guitarist now featured with the Bobby Troup Trio; CURTIS COUNCE, who provides the swinging foundation for Shorty Rogers' group; LARRY BUNKER, veteran of the Lighthouse, and formerly with Gerry Mulligan and Georgie Auld; and JIMMY GIUFFRE, whose tenor and baritone have been featured with Shorty Rogers, and whose name has always been linked with the vanguard of modern Jazz. – By Tom Mack

Laura

Here Come The Lions

Paicheck

Graas Point

Darn That Dream

Do It Again

Bones For The King - Dicky Wells

 

Hello, Smack

Bones For The King

Dicky Wells

Produced by Stanley Dance

Photography by Mike Youngman

Felsted Records SJA 2006 "Jazz Series"

1959

Side One Personnel 

New York, February 3, 1958

Dicky Wells - Trombone

Vic Dickenson, Benny Morton, George Matthews - Trombone

Skip Hall - Organ

Major Holley - Bass

Jo Jones - Drums

Side Two Personnel

New York, February 4, 1958

Dicky Wells - Trombone

Buck Clayton - Trumpet (courtesy of Columbia Records, Inc.)

Rudy Rutherford - Clarinet and Baritone Sax

Buddy Tate - Tenor and Baritone Saxes

Skip Hall - Piano

Everest Barksdage - Guitar

Major Holley - Bass

Jo Jones - Drums

From the back cover: Dicky Wells is one of the outstanding trombones in jazz. His strikingly individual style has been heard on records for more than three decades. These two sessions present him once more, after far too long an interval, as leader of groups of his own choosing.

The instrumentation of the first is unique in the annals of jazz: four trombones, organ, bass and drums. Dicky makes good use of this novel combination to produce some arresting sounds and tonal contrasts. The richly robust quality of the trombone quartet is set against a prominent bass part by Major Holley and discreet organ and drum roles, thus creating an unusual effect of massive mobility.

On the majestic "Bones For the King", a blues which Dicky wrote, arranged, and then dedicated to the late Tommy Dorsey, each of the four trombones takes a chorus solo, in the following order: George Matthews, Benny Morton, Dicky Wells, Vic Dickenson.

"Sweet Daddy Spo-de-o", also written and arranged by Dicky, is in altogether lighter vein, and is a kind of party piece for himself and Vic Dickenson. In the first of the vocal exchanges, Vic's is the opening voice; thereafter it is Dicky's. As Vic indicates at one point ("Watch your cues!"), the repartee is not always as written, and the leader's final shot obviously takes him off guard. They share the trombone solos, too, Vic taking the first and returning again for the third. Major Holley enters boldly into the spirit of the occasion, zestfully bowing the bass and humming in octave unison.

"You Took My Heart" was written and arranged by Skip Hall, whose organ playing is so effective throughout. Taken at a brisk, swinging tempo, the trombone solos are, in this order, by Dicky, Benny Morton, Vic Dickenson, and Dicky again. For his second solo, Dicky uses his beloved mute to produce one of the most distinctive of all jazz trombone sounds.

Impressive as are the solos found here, the splendour of the four trombones as an ensemble often eclipses them. Drummer Jo Jones, surveying the studio as he entered, exclaimed, "You've got a million-dollar trombone section here!" Certainly these are four of the most talented and experienced musicians on trombone in the field today.

George Matthews is a remarkable technician with a beautiful tone. Invaluable in any trombone section, he is a veteran with experience in the orchestras of Willie Bryant, Chick Webb and Count Basie, among others. Benny Morton's jazz background is even more extensive. He made his professional debut around 1924 and subsequently played in such bands as Fletcher Henderson's, Don Redman's and Count Basie's. Very gifted technically, Benny is much in demand for pit orchestras of Broadway shows and at the time of this session was with that of "Jamaica".

Vic Dickenson's popularity is such that he hardly needs any introduction. A tremendously versatile musician and one of the great trombone personalities, much of his early experience was gained in big bands like Claude Hopkins's, Benny Carter's and Count Basie's, but for nearly two decades he has worked with small groups and it is during this period that his reputation has grown so hugely and Justly.

Dicky Wells is perhaps best known for his work during the ten years he was a member of Count Basie's orchestra, but he has played with many other famous leaders since he made his New York debut with Charlie Johnson, among them being Luis Russell, Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, Teddy Hill and Earl Hines. His range and control are as impressive as ever today; his style is completely personal; and his conceptions are daringly imaginative, or humorous, according to his mood.

The band on the second side is of orthodox instrumentation and unites five alumni of the Count Basie orchestra in the persons of the leader, Buck Clayton, Buddy Tate, Rudy Rutherford and Jo Jones. The other three musicians, all members of the rhythm section, are equally at home in the rocking idiom favoured here.

"Hello, Smack!", written and arranged by Buddy Tate, is dedicated to the late Fletcher Henderson. Its gently relaxed spirit is very appropriate, and suggestive of the kind of atmosphere Smack loved. Everett Barksdale, formerly a member of Art Tatum's fast moving trio, sets the mood in his first guitar chorus, but the heart of the matter consists of two conversations between friends. The first is by Dicky and Buck Clayton. Dicky takes a 12-bar chorus, then Buck, then Dicky again, and then Buck again, and finally they dialogue together through two choruses. The whole exchange is extremely relaxed and it would perhaps not be presumptuous to claim, on the strength of this performance, that Dicky and Buck together present one of the most perfectly matched pairings of jazz talent extant. Rudy Rutherford and Buddy Tate then repeat the same procedure on clarinet and tenor respectively. The ease, simplicity and splendid timing, innate in Buddy's style, have seldom been heard to better advantage.

"Come and Get It" is a slow blues written and arranged by Dicky. Everett Barksdale, Skip Hall, Buck Clayton and Buddy Tate each have two choruses solo, but the highlight of this moving performance is the trombone solo against stop chords. This device is seldom used nowadays, but it remains wonderfully effective when the soloist has Dicky's assurance and ability. Tone and blues feeling are particularly memorable here.

"Stan's Dance", the creation of Buck Clayton, is taken at a suitably rustic tempo and features a series of inspiriting solos. An eldritch shriek in the last ensemble chorus may be interpreted as an instrumental commentary on the inelegance of the dancing.

In conclusion, those who have read "Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence" may well wonder whether there is not now a need for André Hodeir to re-write the last paragraph of his chapter on Dicky Wells. – STANLEY DANCE. Felsted Records, London, 1958

Bones For The King

Sweet Daddy Spo-de-o

You Took My Heart

Hello, Smack (Dedicated to the late Fletcher Henderson)

Come And Get It

Stan's Dance

Movin' Easy - Jazz Renaissance Quintet

 

Movin' Easy

Movin' Easy

Jazz Renaissance Quintet

Cover Design: Marvin Glick

Mercury Records SR 60605

1961

From the back cover: Once in a while a jazz performance attains a quality of musical togetherness that sets it apart. This frequently happened with the Benny Goodman Trio/Quartet presentations and with a good many of the Duke Ellington band performances. It has taken place again on this recording by the Jazz Renaissance Quintet.

The musicians involved have a good deal in common with each other. They are all name jazz stars now freelancing in the record, radio, and TV fields; they are all around the same age and have similar backgrounds with the big bands of the 1940s, and they all live on Long Island.

Barnes, the nominal leader of the group, as well as its arranger and composer, has for many years been a consistent advocate of the use of the electric guitar as a melody instrument. The JRQ is set up with a guitar (Barnes) and a clarinet as lead instruments backed by a rhythm section made up of guitar (Bauer), bass and drums. In the hands of the musicians involved, the instrumentation offers an opportunity for the creation of harmonic unity with some, beautiful contrasts. The rhythm fill-ins complement the melodic interplay as well as maintaining the tempo.

The leader-guitarist, originally from Chicago Heights, Illinois, has been freelancing in New York City for a decade with a recent concentration on recording dates. Previously, he was on staff in the Chicago radio studios, featured as a soloist in midwestern night clubs and served a stint with tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman's large jazz orchestra. He plays most of the single note solos on this set.

Clarinetist Hank D'Amico is a native of Rochester, N.Y. and a veteran of bands led by Red Norvo, Bob Crosby, Richard Himber, Tommy Dorsey, and others. He has also led a band under his own name. After spending a half dozen years with studio bands at CBS and ABC, he began freelancing in 1955. While playing with the Bob Crosby Dixieland Band, he took over the late Irving Fazola's book. A little of Fazola can be heard in his solos on this date, especially on the slow blues titled Movin' Easy. There are some passages where it is hard to differentiate D'Amico's clarinet sound from the guitar; others where he has a flute sound. Billy Bauer, noted for his inventive solo work and considered to be one of the best rhythm guitarists in the music world, was a member of Woody Herman's First Herd. This New York- born musician was later a sideman with several Benny Goodman groups and worked extensively with the progressive unit led by pianist Lennie Tristano. Currently he maintains a teaching studio on Long Island and conducts Friday and Saturday jam sessions at the Sherwood Inn in New Hyde Park, L.I. Many well known New York City jazz musicians journey out to sit in with Bauer at these sessions. On the You Make Me Feel So Young track, Bauer is heard on bass guitar. Of Bauer, fellow guitarist Barnes says "he inevitably does the right thing."

The man playing bass on this record has made a name for himself in both the classical and jazz fields. Jack Lesberg is a frequent performer with the New York Philharmonic and has been called conductor Leonard Bernstein's favorite bassist. Jazz fans are familiar with Lesberg from the many records that list him on bass and from his association with the Eddie Condon jazz coterie. Lesberg was born in Boston and claims to be the only musician who has ever played twice in one week with different musical organizations at the Bean City's Symphony Hall. He appeared there on a Thursday night with Eddie Condon's jazz troupe and on Friday with Bernstein. He has toured Europe with the Louis Armstrong All Stars and with Jack Teagarden's Sextet. During his early musical career Lesberg studied and played violin and has since applied a violin technique to the bass. His solo work on You Make Me Feel So Young constitutes the only side in the album that features one musician more than the others.

Since leaving Portland, Maine, back in the thirties, Cliff Leeman has acquired an enviable reputation as one of the best of the big band drummers. His drumming was heard driving the swing bands led by Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey and Charlie Barnet. His subtle work on this album bears out the fact that Leeman is equally as adept drumming for small groups as for the big bands. He worked for several years in Bobby Hackett's group and was also the house drummer at Eddie Condon's club for a long spell. Barnes says in regards to Leeman, "I don't have to write down anything for him, he just feels what is correct in the right places."

The numbers on this set include five originals by Barnes and five well known standards. Side A opens with a sprightly tempoed version of Irving Berlin's Always with D'Amico and Barnes playing a sort of "chase chorus" together, rather than separately. Bauer's guitar can be heard subtly pushing Barnes along as George plays some phrases inspired by the late C-melody saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer. At the end of the tune Leeman performs a cymbal tag that is reminiscent of the famed Chicago drummer Dave Tough.

The first original, Floatin', opens with the two guitars playing in unison and then switching melodic lines. The clarinet makes a neat entry on top of the guitars. Lesberg's bass fill-ins on this track are in beautiful contrast to Barnes and Bauer. Leeman takes the tune out, or as Barnes terms it "puts it to bed," with stop time.

On the melodic I Saw Stars there is interplay between the clarinet and guitar with the former on top. Then D'Amico brings his sensitive swinging clarinet down to the level of the sound as the guitar goes up. This track also includes a sensitive Barnes solo against the rhythm background. One of the most interesting of the originals is Are You Ready? The composition has a Mozart string quartet flavor with Barnes playing the theme and D'Amico taking a difficult obbligato. Barnes said the number was quite hard for the group to learn, but after once learning it, they all enjoyed performing it. The title comes from Barnes' admonition, "Are you ready? We can't miss a cue."

The rendition of the original Private Blend has the guitar and clarinet playing in 6/4 time. Here one theme grows out of the other as they anticipate the rhythm section. This is the kind of number where everybody has to be careful not to get lost. It is on this tune where D'Amico noticeably gets a "flute sound."

Jerome Kern's and Dorothy Field's Pick Yourself Up is moodily performed at a bright tempo to open the B side of the record. Noteworthy on the side is the full bass Lesberg puts back of the guitar and the way D'Amico's tone complements the guitar sound. Barnes mentions that they recorded this with the lights down low.

The second track on the B side was actually the first number they recorded and is the longest track (5 minutes) on the album. It is also one of the most rewarding sides. The tune is a slow blues and was written by Barnes; called Movin' Easy it was selected to be the album title number. Here Barnes reverts to the blues style of guitar he played on the many accompaniments he played for blues singers back in his Chicago recording days. Many of the phrases heard here were inspired by his listening to Jimmie Noone, the late New Orleans clarinetist, who was playing in night clubs on Chicago's south side. He employs a fast trill that Noone used to play requiring a soft background furnished here by Lesberg picking the bass and the subtle playing-down by Leeman. Also on this side, D'Amico trots out some of the blues clarinet style that marked Fazola. This side also offers a good opportunity to contrast Bauer with Barnes. The bass and Bauer's guitar open the number while later Bauer can be heard backing up Barnes with the simple riffing and fingering that give him his individual guitar sound.

The comparatively recent standard, You Make Me Feel So Young, is all Lesberg's number. He uses a violin technique with a bow and the band dynamics heard on the fill-ins fits everything together nicely. Bauer is heard playing the bass guitar on this track. Barnes feels that this tune and the next one, Misty, are the only great new standards that have been written in the past decade.

Erroll Garner's wispy Misty opens with D'Amico's clarinet in the middle register. Barnes comes in on a lower register followed by Bauer for three part harmony. As Barnes' phrases begin to answer the clarinet, Bauer chords behind him. It makes for a unique and worthwhile interpretation of the popular composition.

The set winds up with a lively original entitled Frisky with Barnes and the clarinet alter- nating top and bottom.

NOTE: For stereophiles – George Barnes, guitar-Hank D'Amico, clarinet are on one channel; the rhythm trio are on the other.

Always

Floatin'

I Saw Stars

Are You Ready?

Private Blend

Pick Yourself Up

Movin' Easy

You Make Me Feel So Young

Misty

Frisky

Rainy Day - Kai Winding

 

Watermelon Man

Rainy Day

Kai Winding

Produced by Creed Taylor

Director of Engineering for MGM: Val Valentin

Design: Acy Lehman

Photo: Carl Fischer

Verve V6-8620

RECORDING INFORMATION: Recorded January 14, 1964 & February 2, 1965 at Webster Hall, N.Y.C. and February 27 & March 22, 1965 at A. & R. Studios, N.Y.C. Engineer: Bob Simpson (Webster Hall), Phil Ramone (A.&R.)

Leader, arranger, trombone - Kai Winding

Trombone - Bill Watrous or Tony Studd

Guitar - Kenny Burrell or Everett Barksdale or Bucky Pizzarelli, Billy Mure or Russell George 

Piano - Paul Griffin or Ross Tomkins, or Roger Kellaway

Organ - Roger Kellaway or Arthur Butler

Bass - Russell George or Bob Bushnell

Drums & Percussion - Sol Gubin, Al Harewood or Grady Tate 

From the back cover: As you can see from the title, cover and more than half of the song titles in this album, this is music for a rainy day. Kai Winding has put together a tasteful package of songs here that, for the most part, build out from the Rainy Day theme. But he has not driven that theme into the ground.

In addition to songs inspired by precipitation, Kai has also included a number of originals and standards that are marked by highly individual and appealing arrangements. Over all, the tunes showcase Kai's bright, burnished trombone sound backed by tight, talented and propulsive instrumental support.

One of the most important things about the trombone sound is its flexibility. This is an instrument that can roar and whisper, play the clown, holler, moan and bellow like the proverbial wounded elephant. It's an ideal instrument for soft and velvet moods, and it can create the sound of threatening thunder. Kai Winding uses part of all of the elements inherent in the trombone sound on this album. For the most part the set is filled with pepper, fire, a good deal of humor and heavy helpings of swing. But when the mood mellows a bit, and there are tunes to be played like Over The Rainbow, or that new Burke – Van Heusen tune that's bound to become a standard Here's That Rainy Day, Kai has all the equipment to make these wonderfully lyric songs sing of tenderness and nostalgia.

In addition to the instrumentals on this LP there are some attractive and provocative vocals by The Prevailing Winds. They fit in beautifully on the aforementioned Here's That Rainy Day and Over The Rainbow, the standard Singing In The Rain and the originals Leave Me Alone and Half A Crown.

In putting this LP together, Kai has studiously tried to avoid over loading it with too much of any one kind of mood. The material moves (with the arrange- ments) from track to track in a constant and varied kind of progression.

This is the kind of music that can brighten any dull, moody day or night. It's played by one of the leading trombonists in the land who not only knows how to play a series of tunes to instrumental perfection, but also how to select that very same series of tunes so that they fulfill a musical idea. A Rainy Day with Kai Winding is a day well spent...

Half A Crown

We Fell In Love In The Rain

April Showers

Leave Me Alone

Love Theme From The Motion Picture: Umbrellas Of Cherbourg

Here's A Rainy Day

Singing In The Rain

Over The Rainbow

Pennies From Heaven

Puddles

Dinner For One Please, James

Watermelon Man

Bossa Nova - Eddie Harris

 

Bossa Nova

Bossa Nova

Eddie Harris

Illustration: Okamoto/London

Vee Jay Records LP3034

1962

Eddie Harris - Tenor

Lalo Schifrin - Piano and Arranger

Chuck Lampkin - Drums

Jimmy Rainet - Guitar

Jack Del Rio and Osvaldo Cigno - Latin Percussionists

Art Davis - Bass

From the back cover: Bossa nova has been given a great deal of notice in various magazines and newspapers. Some described it as a new twist in popular music; others attempted to define its name. Few have reported what has all the earmarks of an intrahemispheric skirmish that has been waged since the music first gained popularity in the United States.

One faction, the North American claims that the basis for bossa nova was heard initially in Los Angeles 10 years ago when Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida recorded with alto saxman Bud Shank, bassist Harry Babasin, and percussionist Roy Harte a quartet formed by Babasin to play the off-nights at a club in Los Angeles called the Haig. The music the group played combined jazz with the Brazilian samba and baiao. The story goes that soon after the record session Almeida returned to his native country for a vacation. He carried with him several copies of the record.

"I gave copies to my friends," Almeida told John Tynan of Down Beat, "and it was given close attention."

The North American side feels that this is enough to establish the United States as the authentic birthplace of bossa nova.

"No!" cry those supporting a Brazilian claim to b.n.'s birth.

"We heard jazz and incorporated jazz ideas into our own native music, the samba," say Brazilian musicians. Some who lean toward the Brazilian claim of birth place dis- agree about which group of jazzmen were primary influences: was it the boppers Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk – or was it the West Coast jazz school?

One of the finest composers writing in the bossa nova idiom, Carlos Antonio Jobim – he and singer-composer Joao Gilberto are hailed by the Brazilian faction as the legitimate fathers of the baby – says that Gerry Mulligan was the one who proved to be the really important influence.

Both sides, however, agree that bossa nova is a combination of jazz and Brazilian music.

In the long run, where the music began, who fathered it, are unimportant. The music and how it is performed are the salient points. And it is a music requiring sensitive performance.

It was only natural, then, that Eddie Harris and bossa nova should meet.

The music cries out for musicians with a love for melody, men who not only respect a melody for its own sake but who create melodies in their improvisations.

Eddie Harris is such a musician.

"I'm playing by sound now," he says. "I'm not thinking so much in terms of chord changes and scales. When you play sound, you end up playing melodically."

A characteristic of bossa nova that caught the ears of jazz musicians was the rich harmonic construction of the lovely Brazilian melodies. These chord changes lent themselves well to jazz improvisation. But as "natural" as these chords sounded to jazzmen, the music demanded a different approach than most present-day jazz does. For in addition to being music of melodic charm, bossa nova is a music of subtlety, one in which a slight change of emphasis, a nuance, makes a great difference in a performance's effectiveness. The music must be played by those musicians who perceive the beauty that subtlety and understatement bring to any music.

Eddie Harris is that kind of musician.

"I believe in playing a tune in the manner it calls for," Eddie will explain. Aware that bossa nova necessitated an approach in keeping with its inherent spirit, Eddie did not rush into playing it simply because it was popular. Music means too much to him for that sort of thing. He wanted to become more familiar with the music.

He talked at length about the music's rhythms with Dizzy Gillespie, who was among the first North American musicians to perform bossa nova in this country. He also discussed the music with the gifted composer and arranger Lalo Schifrin, who arranged all the tunes included in this album as well as playing piano on it. Lalo, a native of Argentina, has an affinity for Latin rhythms and arranged the bossa nova songs played by

Gillespie's quintet, of which Lalo at the time was a key member.

Eddie found he could play bossa nova with free-moving ease and grace – both he and the music held in common.

"It's as free as jazz," he concluded.

This freedom of expression, along with Eddie's lithe lyricism and the heat and swing generated by the rhythm section, makes this one of the most exciting, yet melodic, albums of bossa nova jazz issued to date.

The rhythm section deserves special mention for its work on this album, for too often bossa nova rhythm sections hew so closely to the altered clave beat which is the basic b.n. rhythm that they tie themselves in knots. Not so this one. The freedom Eddie speaks of is very much a part of this section's credo.

The members, in addition to Schifrin on piano, are Jimmy Rainey, one of the significant guitarists to emerge onto the jazz scene since the death of Charlie Christian; Art Davis, whose command of his instrument led to his choice as the outstanding new bassist in the most recent Down Beat International Jazz Critics Poll; drummer Chuck Lampkin, who with Schifrin and Davis, is a former member of Gillespie's quintet; and Latin percussionists Jack Del Rio and Osvaldo Cigno.

THE MUSIC...

LOLITA MARIE was written by Eddie Harris and named for his six-month-old daughter. The composition has a playfulness in it that Eddie carries over into his song-like solo. Note the support Lalo gives Eddie in the theme statements and the graceful, flowing Jimmy Rainey solo.

CEV Y MAR (SKY AND SEA) is a 64-bar theme by the Brazilian composer Johnny Alf. The construction of the song's chords is based on the overtone series, giving rise in Eddie to another approach to bossa nova – an approach that involves skips, runs, pleadings, cries, and demands, lending a John Coltrane cast to Eddie's well-constructed three choruses, perhaps the best he's put on record to date.

WHISPERING BOSSA NOVA, another 64-bar composition, this one by Schifrin, displays the faster, more fierce side of bossa nova. Eddie and Lalo, keeping in the spirit of the theme, solo with drive, urgency, and fervor – but not at the expense of good taste and musicality. Lalo seems to dance buoyantly over the piano's keys. Art Davis" solo displays the imagination and technical facility that make him one of today's finest bassists.

MIMA is a theme from the movie of the same name, a film for which Lalo wrote the musical background while he was still living in Argentina. (He has won the equi- valent of an Academy Award for one of his film scores.)

On this track another facet of Eddie Harris' musical personality comes to the fore: his ability to coax different planes of sound from his tenor saxophone. At times, he sounds as if he were playing a soprano sax; sometimes his sound is that of an alto's. But it's tenor all the way through.

Lalo is stunning in a two-fisted piano solo that builds to a feverish pitch. Listen also for the way he and Davis musically touch hands at the end of the bass solo.

SAMBA PARA Dos is a blues bossa nova by Lalo, who said he softened the modulation to the subdominant chord in order to tone down what he called the drama of the blues. There certainly are no histrionics in the solos by Eddie, Lalo, and Rainey on this track.

TEL ECO TICO No. 2 is set in a gay mood by its introduction, which also serves as the ending. Tel eco, according to Lalo, is a rhythm similar to the samba – a very fiery samba. There's a carefree carnival flavor in the main theme that sets of a series of bright, melodic solos by Lalo, Eddie, and Rainey - a fitting close to a bright melodic venture into bossa nova. – Recording Supervised by Sid McCoy

Lolita Marie

Cev y Mar

Whispering Bossa Nova 

Mima

Samba Para Dos

Tel Eco Teco No. 2

The Bobby Hammack Quintet

 

The Bobby Hammack Quintette

The Bobby Hammack Quintet

ABC-Paramount ABC-130

1956

From the back cover: The Bobby Hammack Quintette, as an organized group, came into being by happy accident in 1952. Four of the staff musicians of the ABC network in Hollywood were assigned to provide a "music fill." Usually a "music fill" is a program hurriedly thrown together to fill an open network period when the program traffic director has gone to lunch and forgotten to schedule a soap opera. It's a standing joke in the broadcast studios that "our program is heard as far away as the telephone company." Which means that it's transmitted only as far as the A. T. & T. relay point and that probably no stations are broadcasting it. Which is probably one reason why you never heard of a lot of these fine musicians.

This group is currently working exclusively television shows in Hollywood-daytime television shows at that which is another reason why a lot of great musicians never come to the attention of record- listening "night people."

For a little background on Bobby: There's a place called Brookston, ten miles west of a place called Paris, in a place called Texas. Which is pertinent, because if it hadn't been for six-year-old Bob's taking up the piano in Brookston back in 1928, there'd be no album. Young Hammack stuck diligently to piano until a pert high-school cheer-leader caught his fancy. This led him to take up the trombone. That was because the only way he could court the cheerleader was to go to the football games on Saturdays. And the only way to do that without incurring expense was to get in free as a member of the band.

Bob considers himself primarily an arranger, which amazes a lot of his friends who feel that a guy who plays as much piano as Hammack does ought to appreciate it a little more. However, he has done a lot of arranging, for the ABC staff band as well as for the Air Force band, his own college band, and others. Some of his recent work includes "Bugler's Lament" (his own composition) for the full Red Nichols band of 26 instruments and five voices, "Gobelues," "Wail of the Winds," and "Glory Glory," all for the enlarged Nichols band.

Bob thinks there are greater possibilities for dynamic variety than we hear in most small combo music, and in this album he gives us an example of what he's talking about. Interestingly, there are no "horns" in this group... just guitar, piano, bass, a little celeste, and the whole scope of mallet instruments, plus bongos and other percussion. Yet, through Hammack's arranging and the imaginative use of his "full band dynamics applied to the small combo," we get some wonderfully effective results.

And whimsy... like the music box effect that opens and closes "You Are My Lucky Star." There's some fine Jerry Friedman mallet virtuosity on that one, and you get a fine taste of Wes Nellermoe's guitar inventiveness.

Then there's "One Morning In May," a beautiful old Hoagy Carmichael tune that serves primarily as a piano solo for Hammack. A few of Bob's subtle refinements on Hoagy's original chord progressions enhance the original rather than detract from it.

In a slow bounce version of "Love Me Or Leave Me" there's a flash of Bobby's delightful sense of honky-tonk piano in a few bars. And some fine Nellermoe full chord improvisation, with an ending that reveals Hammack, the arranger's splendid sense of continuity.

"Elisa" is a delicate original of Bob's, with some dexterous and subtle bongo work by Holland and some underplayed guitar solo. The understatement of this entire arrangement is a delight.

For contrast and by design, Bobby whams into a barrel-house four bars of intro on "Fine and Dandy" which dissolves into a lovely version taken at an unusually slow tempo. The result is a moody one... a happy song turned beautifully and by tempo and tasteful simplicity. Incidentally, this was one of the two numbers (the other is "I Cover the Waterfront") which were one-take "extras." The boys had fifteen minutes left in the session, so they recorded one take on each. They turned out so good that they replaced two tunes originally meant to be in the album.

On "Swamp Fire" you hear some exceptional minor solo improvisation by Bobby, Wes, and Jerry. And the ensemble portions are typical examples of the unusual quality of organization this group has.

Listen to an arranger's intro on "I Want To Be Happy," the chord changes going into the second chorus, Wes' brilliant solo, then Hammack's rollick- ing Fats Waller-like piano solo. This one is a particularly good example of Bob's sense of dynamic con-

trast. Then get the whimsy in the last couple of notes. "Earl's Tune," another Hammack original, might have been subtitled "Melody Around a Poignant Riff." Here the boys borrow some tonal characteris- tics from Shearing. But Bobby would be the first to say "Is that bad?"

The sad little melody of "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" gets a distinctive intro, a touch of the exotic, then it flows into a beautiful legato piano solo by Bobby. Again, magnificent change of pace as the piano goes abruptly into a ride tempo. But gently ... and it builds... builds through some of Wes Nellermoe's best work, to a final eight by Hammack again, classical, delicate, and trailing to a close in the faraway mood of the intro.

The whacky dissonance and back-beat rhythm of the intro on "Don't Get Around Much Any More" suggest Bob's admiration of Ellington. Hammack takes the first, Jerry a half, Wes some interesting octave work on the second half, a change of key to Bobby on the bridge and out we go.

Then "I Cover the Waterfront." Never the obvious, never the trite. Originality and taste at Hammack's impeccable best on this first chorus. A fine chorded improvisation on this one demonstrates Wes Nellermoe's superb musicianship.

Then comes "Brazilian Hobo," a Hammack original that laughs and dances with Latin sparkle. For five guys to convey this feeling with the authenticity the Hammack group does is a real tribute to their musicianship. Which leads into the need for a special accolade to bassist Irving Edelman and drummer Milt Holland. The cohesion and force of the whole group is complete only if these two are "in there" to make it so. And they're like Gibraltar throughout.

Finally, a tribute has to go to John Neal, one of the west coast's most conscientious, as well as most talented, recording engineers, especially for music. John's taste and good sense of musical sound are a fitting complement to the natural product of the Hammack combo. And the end result, in this album, is one out of which you should get hours and hours of enjoyment. – TED TOLL Hollywood

I Want To Be Happy

Earl's Tune

Baubles, Bangles And Beads

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

I Cover The Waterfront

Brazilian Hobo

You Are My Lucky Star

One Morning In May

Love Me Or Leave Me

Elisa

Fine And Dandy

Swamp Fire

The Pretty Sound - Joe Wilder

 

The Pretty Sound

The Pretty Sound

Joe Wilder

Columbia Records CL 1372

1959

Personnel

HARBOR LIGHTS, THE BOY NEXT DOOR, BLUE MOON
(recorded December 1, 1958)

Joe Wilder - trumpet
Jerome Richardson - sax and clarinet
Hank Jones - piano
George Duvivier - bass
Don Lamond - drums
Urbie Green - trombone
Al Cassamenti - guitar
Bill Bodner - sax, English horn, flute, clarinet

GUYS AND DOLLS, IT'S SO PEACEFUL IN THE COUNTRY, GREENSLEEVES, LULLABY
(recorded December 3, 1958)

Joe Wilder - trumpet
Jerome Richardson - sax and clarinet
Hank Jones - piano
George Duvivier - bass
Osie Johnson - drums
Urbie Green - trombone
Jerry Sanfino - sax, flute, clarinet
Al Cassamenti - guitar

CARAVAN, I HEAR MUSIC, AUTUMN IN NEW YORK
(recorded May 22, 1959)

Joe Wilder - trumpet
Urbie Green - trombone
Milt Hinton - bass
John Cresci, Jr. - drums
Herbie Mann - flute
Hank Jones - piano (courtesy of Capitol Records)

From the back cover: During the past decade, a sizeable group of our most inventive jazzmen has been relentlessly directing all of their creative energies toward extending not only their own musical vocabularies, but the language of jazz itself.

Whether the frequently torturous paths that these restless searchers have been following lead anywhere is still open to question. Still, their groping, grasping and often brilliant (if somewhat self-conscious) trail-blazing is a healthy reflection of the state of jazz. Certainly, it proves that there is life in this upstart-form still.

Unfortunately, like most radical movements, the "new" jazz is all too often recognized by a distressing absence of humor, warmth, grace and good, old-fashioned romanticism.

Joe Wilder, who cannot be linked with any particular school of jazz or otherwise classified, categorically is, among other nice things, a romantic. He is also a superior craftsman with a knowledge and control of his instrument that approaches the phenomenal.

Wilder is a finished, intelligent musician with a broad outlook. Within the framework of jazz and abetted by his own masterful technique, he is able to be not only pretty, but modern, "funky," far-out, simple and direct- whatever the mood or the musical environment demands.

This album has been designed as a showcase for the special "Wilder sound," a lovely and perhaps even necessary sound to have in jazz today. As the principal soloist, with simple arrangements by Mike Colicchio and Teo Macero designed especially to highlight his work, Wilder is given both the time and the scope to display his lyrical improvisatory powers. The tunes include a few of the less overdone standards – among them Hugh Williams' and Jimmy Kennedy's 1937 hit Harbor Lights, perhaps remembered best as it was so hauntingly used in John Ford's "The Long Voyage Home." Two of Wilder's favorite popular composers are also represented; Alec Wilder with It's So Peaceful in the Country, and Frank Loesser with Guys and Dolls and I Hear Music. Only the two latter songs and Juan Tigol's Caravan are handled in medium-to-fast tempos. All of the rest keep to the ballad mood- giving Wilder the opportunity to "blow pretty" most of the time.

About Joe Wilder:

The son of a musician, Joseph Benjamin Wilder was born on Colwyn, Pennsylvania, on February 22, 1922. Educated in Philadelphia, Joe joined Les Hite's band in 1941, working with another, somewhat frantic trumpeter named Gillespie. Then, during 1942 and 1943, he was part of the violently swinging band led by Lionel Hampton. That tour of duty was interrupted by the draft board and for the next two years Joe played trumpet for the

United States Marines, from which he graduated with the title of "Assistant Bandmaster" – with rank to match.

Immediately afterward, he returned to the din of Hampton's brass section, moving on from there to Jimmie Lunceford's last crew and then for short periods, he served with Lucky Millinder, Sam Donahue, Herbie Fields and Count Basie, making a European tour with the latter in 1954.

After this jazzman's basic training, Joe settled in New York. For three years, he played in the pit orchestra of the Broadway hit "Guys and Dolls"- studying for his B.A. degree at the same time at the Manhattan School of Music.

For the past few years, Joe Wilder has been working steadily in New York, as a staff member of a network TV orchestra and on hundreds of re- cordings. His superb technique and extraordinary adaptability have made him one of the most sought-after musicians in New York-so much so that until signed by Columbia Records to do his first Lp for them, "Jazz From Peter Gunn" (CL 1319), in 1959, his jazz appearances were becoming regrettably rare.

Now we have "The Pretty Sound."

Harbor Lights

I Hear Music

It's So Peaceful In The Country

Autumn In New York

Guys And Dolls

Blue Moon

Caravan

Greensleeves

The Boy Next Door

Lullaby