MARTY PAICH

MARTY PAICH

Not quite a big band but close

Pianist, composer, bandleader and arranger, Marty Paich, created a band sound that was and remains instantly recognisable. Essentially it comes out of the Claude Thornhill band via the Gil Evans-Miles Davis Birth of the Cool` sessions in terms of the precision of the arrangements and the restrained power of the instrumental voicings and harmonic effects. Paich is most famously known for his Dektette combos which backed vocalist Mel Torme but whilst both the bands featured here are 12 piece aggregations they have that small band mellow sound combined with a crisp bite that can be attributed to both the technical competence of the fine musicians Paich was able to recruit and his subtly crafted arrangements. The band personnel list reads like a West Coast jazz roll of honour and their combined proficiency produces a sound that is at once seductive but also concentrated and urgent. Needless to say it swings like mad.

The bulk of the music has already appeared in CD format before in a stateside issue which was issued under the title `Moanin’ ` (Discovery Records, DSCD -962) but these latest discs replicate the original vinyl issues in presentation and add some attractive bonus tracks. `I Get a Boot Out of You` is essentially an Ellington programme with fine solo contributions from Art Pepper, particularly in a delicious version of `Violets for Your Furs` and Bill Hood, powerful and moody in `Warm Valley`, but adds four tracks of Paich originals that testify to his flair and originality as an arranger with, among them, a cleverly constructed  tone picture, ‘Times Square` capturing perfectly in musical terms the sounds and atmosphere of that famous road junction

`The Broadway Bit` is as you would expect a` songs from the shows` enterprise with Paich’s arranging skills interpreting  familiar romantic tunes in a way that highlights their eligibility as jazz standards. To this disc is added the entire Mode album `A Jazz Band Ball` (Mode LP110) in which Paich leads a sax-less septet combining two trombones and two trumpets plus rhythm to produce a sound that is sharp and incisive without being brassy in a set that mixes sunny originals with jazz standards, all spiced up with succinct but spirited solo statements.

The discs are beautifully presented in cardboard sleeves with period artwork and both original and contemporary liner notes whilst the recorded sound is bright with good stereo separation, though I suspect this has been manipulated electronically. Together they represent fine examples of Paich’s artistic achievement as an orchestrator, arranger and a major player in the dissemination of the West Coast Sound.

Personnel: Frank Beach, Stu Williamson (trumpet), George Roberts (trombone), Bob Enevoldsen (valve trombone), Vince DeRosa (french horn), Jimmy Giuffre (baritone sax), Art Pepper (alto sax), Bill Perkins (tenor sax), Victor Feldman (vibraphone), Marty Paich (piano, celesta, arrange), Scott LaFaro (bass), Mel Lewis (drums)