JIMMY McGRIFF-THE BIG BAND - A Tribute To Basie

COMPLETE RECORDING

Organist Jimmy McGriff's debut recording for the Solid State label (which has been reissued on a 1996 Laserlight CD) was also his first of many with a big band. McGriff pays tribute to the Count Basie Orchestra by performing ten songs from the Basie book (both of the 1940s and '50s) with a large group that includes many Basie veterans. The orchestra is mostly used as a prop, however, for McGriff is generally the main soloist on such tunes as Buster Harding's "Hob Nail Boogie," "Swingin' the Blues," "Cute," "Avenue C" and "L'il Darlin.'" Matching the leader's powerful organ with a big band was a logical idea and one that would be successfully repeated quite a few times in the future. This budget CD gives one a good sampling of Jimmy McGriff's playing.


Manny Albam Arranger, Composer, Conductor
Sonny Lester Audio Production, Producer
Richard Davis Bass, Guest Artist
Mel Lewis Drums, Guest Artist
Grady Tate Drums, Guest Artist
Kenny Burrell Guest Artist, Guitar
Barry Galbraith Guest Artist, Guitar
Frank Foster Guest Artist, Sax (Tenor)
J.J. Johnson Guest Artist
Jimmy McGriff Organ, Primary Artist
Jerome Richardson Sax (Alto)
Frank Wess Sax (Alto)
Seldon Powell Sax (Baritone)
Budd Johnson Sax (Tenor)
Billy Mitchell Sax (Tenor)
Tony Studd Trombone (Bass)
Wayne Andre Trombone
Eddie Bert Trombone
Paul Faulise Trombone
Dick Hixson Trombone
J. Alan Johnson Trombone
Tom McIntosh Trombone
Burt Collins Trumpet
Thad Jones Trumpet
Irvin "Marky" Markowitz Trumpet
Joe Newman Quartet Trumpet
Jimmy Nottingham Trumpet
Ernie Royal Trumpet
Richard Gene Williams Trumpet

KENNY CLARKE, FRANCY BOLAND - Fillini

FILLINI

Douglas Payne said "Boland's Fellini 712 suite is an ambitious, slightly more avant-garde take on Latin themes that is a testament to Boland's substantial abilities as a writer and arranger. This suite, named for Italian director Federico Fellini and a reference to Rome's 712-kilometre distance from the French border, was the result of an invitation for the band to perform in Rome during 1968. Boland was inspired by the band's "dolce vita" Roman holiday and named his three movements after their hotel, the location of the studio where they performed and a café popular among musicians and artists. During this suite, it's as if the band coalesces before your ears into one brilliant entity, each individual providing light and shadow to the collective whole. It is the magic Boland works in his pieces, but it's brought alive by the enthusiastic playing of the band members

Kenny Clarke - drums
Francy Boland - piano, arranger
Benny Bailey, Jimmy Deuchar, Duško Gojković, Idrees Sulieman - trumpet
Nat Peck, Åke Persson, Eric van Lier - trombone
Derek Humble - alto saxophone
Johnny Griffin, Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe - tenor saxophone
Sahib Shihab - baritone saxophone, flute
Jean Warland - bass
Kenny Clare - drums

JOHN FEDCHOCK - New York Big Band

Complete Recording

1992
Over the course of the past twenty years, virtuoso trombonist/arranger/composer, John Fedchock has risen through the musical ranks to emerge as leader of one of the freshest, most exciting big bands in jazz. His 16-piece John Fedchock New York Big Band is comprised of alumni from major big bands, along with some of New York’s finest soloists in the “modernist tradition”. The group delights in performing Fedchock’s own dynamic compositions and unique arrangements of well-known classics, creating a sound that not only honors but also expands the tradition of the American big band. The band’s five CDs on the MAMA and Reservoir Music labels have all received high praise from critics and extraordinary success on national jazz radio charts. In recognition of his formidable arranging skills, Fedchock is a two-time GRAMMY Award nominee for “Best Instrumental Arranging”. Fedchock’s dense voicings, thick ensemble writing and unique swinging lines have become characteristic trademarks. Regarded as one of the most perceptive and versatile trombonists on the scene today, Fedchock’s reputation as a soloist is widely acknowledged. In addition to performances in New York City, the band has also toured nationally and performed abroad at international jazz festivals. The New York Times has applauded the band’s “cheerful syncopation, served with spit-and-polish precision”, and the Chicago Tribune has characterized Fedchock’s style as “an unabashed celebration of the large band format.”

New York Big Band : Tony Kadleck, Greg Gisbert, Barry Ries, Tim Hagans (tp,flhrn) John Fedchock (tb,ldr,arr) Keith O'Quinn, Clark Gayton, George Flynn (tb) Mark Vinci (as) Jon Gordon (as,sop) Rich Perry (ts) Scott Robinson (bar) Joel Weiskopf (p) Lynn Seaton (b) 

BIG BAND JAZZ De MEXICO

BIG BAND JAZZ De MEXICO

This is a full concert of by Big Band Jazz de Mexico. There are commentaries and announcements, in Spanish. While I don't speak any Spanish I know many of our members do and music is indeed a universal language.

Big Band Jazz de México is a big band orchestra founded in 1999 by musicians from Mexico City to promote jazz in Mexico.[1] Most of the members are from Xochimilco borough of the city and began theirmusical studies in the children's and youth bands here. Many of these members also have studied professionally at schools such as Escuela Nacional de Música, National Conservatory of Music of Mexico, Escuela Superior de Música, la Escuela Libre de Música and the Escuela de Música del Sindicato Único de Trabajadores de la Música.[1]

The band is conducted by Ernesto Ramos with general coordination by Martín Ramos.[2] The other members of the band include Miguel Ángel Ramirez, José Ángel Ramos, Alberto Delgado, Citlali Chavez Obregón, Daniel Zlotnik, Pavel Loria Millan, Pedro García Ramírez, Hernando Castro Alonso, Tonatiu Rivera, Armando Enriquez Guerrero, Martín Ramos, Filiberto Ibarra Aguirre, Eduardo Galicia Zarco, Gabriel Solares Ramos, David Ramos Nieto, Servando, Juan José López Ruvalcaba, Arturo Baez Velazquez, Mario García Cruz, Ingrid Beaujean, Jenny Beaujean and Ed Lorenz.[3]

While mostly dedicated to jazz, it also plays other types of selections from tango, various Latin styles and even popular music.[1][4] Mexican composers that it favors include Agustín Lara, Eugenio Toussaint, and especially Armando Manzanero, with such songs as Cuando estoy contigo, Voy apagar la luz, Somos Novios and Como yo te amé. Other notable songs played by the band include Mucho corazón by Emma Elena Valdelamar and Se te olvida by Oaxacan composer Álvaro Carrillo.[4]

The band has participated in various jazz festival and has headlined its own events.[1][2] It has appeared at the Auditorio Nacional at the annual Las lunas del Auditorio event, which has resulted in their music appearing on two live albums.[1] It has played at the Auditorio Nacional for eight seasons with a series of shows it has headlined.[2] It has appeared on the television program Acústico on Mexico's Canal 22 as well as other programs on Canal 11 and Canal 13.[1] One of its most recent performances includes a joint appearance with Armando Manzanero at the Festival Internacional Cervantino .[2] Other artists with whom the band has collaborated include Gualberto Castro, Ana Cirré, Aida and Carlos Cuevas, Miguel Ríos and the Chico O'Farrill Big Band.[1]

The band's history was made into a documentary called Resiliencia por una nota, directed by Luis Felipe Ferra.[5]

Le PETIT JOURNAL MONTPARNASSE BIG BAND - La Fiesta

If Paris is a world capital of jazz, the Petit Journal Montparnasse is not for nothing. He has seen the world's greatest musicians appear on his stage. In 2013, the club acquired a resident orchestra; a nonet composed of the young guard of Parisian jazzmen, the Petit Journal Montparnasse Orchestra or PJMO.
It is in this legendary club that these young musicians make their arms during 3 years, to the rhythm of a concert per month. And since they were not afraid of challenges, they set about arranging, writing and playing a different repertoire every time.

The orchestra is composed of all the best jazz musicians of Paris, in a formula in nonet which leaves room for orchestral arrangements where the nine seem to sound like one man, as well as for fevered solos where the musicians always push their limits. By going to a PJMO concert, we realize that a good jazz musician becomes even more so when he plays with the best.

We have seen such talented musicians as Orlando Maraca Valle, Orlando Poleo, Claude Egea, Julien Lourau, Gilles Naturel, Marc Berthoumieux, Allen Hoist, Dominique Magloire, Sylvain Gontard, Antoine Banville and Nicolas Gardel ... thanks to the strength of the leader of the orchestra, Matthieu Allemandou, and the arrangers Mathieu Debordes and Nicolas Bruche, that at the time of the assessment there are more than 150 pieces arranged especially for the band. Tributes to West Coast jazz, Clifford Brown, Jazz Messengers, Latin jazz, Cannonball Adderley bebop, Ella Fitzgerald, Christmas music, French chanson, cinema ...

Their strength is in the talent of a sincere youth, in the joy, the lightning and the pleasure of playing those who have shared the stage for 3 years. With them we laugh, we cry, we shiver, we are sick, we convulse, we fall in love with others, we discover and we learn.

Today, the Petit Journal Montparnasse has closed its doors but the PJMO continues to dispense the spirit of the club wherever it goes. This is a great piece of history that these young men take you to discover, with the idea that jazz is listening, but before all it is eaten, it is drunk and it transpires!

(Please excuse this translation. All the French I know outside of the names of wine comes with digital help.)

COUNT BASIE - Afrique

Complete Recording

In late 1970, more than 35 years into his career as a bandleader, Count Basie, working with producer Bob Thiele and arranger/conductor/saxman Oliver Nelson, went into the studio and cut this album of big band blues built on recent compositions -- and they made it sound cutting-edge and as urgent as anything the man had ever turned his talent toward. Basie and company got a Grammy nomination for their trouble on this, their most modern recording (right down to the use of electric bass on half the cuts), but never went down this road again. Ironically, along with The Atomic Mr. Basie album on Roulette, Afrique is one of a handful of absolutely essential post-big band-era albums by him. The band moved into new and novel territory for them, both musically and thematically, Hubert Laws' flute soaring gently over the group on a conga- and bongo-ornamented rendition of "Gypsy Queen" and Nelson's own sax sounding almost like a human voice on Albert Ayler's "Love Flower." "Afrique," "Kilimanjaro," and "African Sunrise" comprise an African-flavored suite that intersects with the modern soul instrumental amid some bluesy riffs on flute, saxes, horns, and piano, with Basie's keyboard (especially on the gorgeous "African Sunrise") adding just that final bit of understated invention to this swinging excursion across foreign fields. The album ends with Pharoah Sanders' "Japan," a wild ride across the East highlighted by Laws' exquisite flute and a driving performance by percussionists Harold Jones, Richard Pablo Landrum, and Sonny Morgan and an awesome finale on the saxes and trombones. RCA hasn't seen fit to reissue Afrique in America, but the label's French division has put it out remastered in an exquisite-sounding 24-bit digital edition that can be found as an import at better jazz stores and over the Internet.
AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder

Harold Jones
Drums
Paul Cohen
Flugelhorn, Trumpet
George Cohn
Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Pete Minger
Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Waymon Reed
Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Hubert Laws
Flute
Freddie Green
Guitar
Buddy Lucas
Harmonica
Warren Smith
Marimba (Electronics)
Bob Simpson
Mixing
Count Basie
Piano, Primary Artist
Cecil Payne
Saxophone
Steven Galloway
Trombone
Bill Hughes
Trombone
Mel Wanzo
Trombone
John Watson
Trombone

CLAUDE BOLLING - Paris Swing

la-chanson des-jumelles

Pianist / composer Claude Bolling, who has traveled all over the musical map from swing to classical and back during more than four decades as one of France’s most formidable performing artists, settles into a straight-ahead groove on Paris Swing. This record is a warmhearted hommage to French popular song that showcases his superb big band in the company of vocalists Marc Thomas and Maud (no last name given, like Madonna or Cher but with a French accent). Thomas, who may be an ex-pat (but whose French is impeccable), is a gregarious showman who brings out the best in such numbers as “C’est Si Bon,” “La Javanaise,” “La Boite de Jazz” and “Y’a d’la Joie,” while Maud is a cabaret singer whose clear, sultry voice is perfectly suited to such evocative melodies as “Autumn Leaves,” “J’ai Deux Amours” (popularized by Josephine Baker), “Le Jazz et la Java” and “Syracuse.” The two are heard together on “A Man and a Woman” and the four-part medley “Paris Bouquet.”

The ensemble has seven selections to itself, and is typically magnifique on every one, including Charles Trenet’s well-known melodies, “La Mer” (Beyond the Sea) and “I Wish You Love,” Bolling’s “Borsalino,” Michel Legrand’s “Pair of Twins” (from the film Les Demoiselles de Rochefort ) and a souped-up version of the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise.” The opener, Bolling’s breezy, Basie-like “Suivez le Chef,” is a quick-witted “conversation” between his piano and the band. Bolling slows the tempo for a romantic version of “Beyond the Sea,” then picks it up again for “C’est Si Bon,” which was introduced by Yves Montand and became a mega-hit for Eartha Kitt in the ’50s. Maud sings “Autumn Leaves” in French and English, exposing only the slightest trace of an accent when abandoning her native tongue to interpret Johnny Mercer’s lyric. Instrumental soloists aren’t credited but they include Bolling and several members of the ensemble, each of whom is splendid. A delicious box of French bon bons, neatly packaged by maestro Bolling, his admirable big band and singers Thomas and Maud.

Claude Tissendier Clarinet, Sax (Alto)
André Villéger Clarinet, Sax (Baritone)
Jean Eteve Clarinet
Vincent Cordelette Drums, Percussion
Pierre Schirrer Flute, Sax (Tenor)
Jean-Paul Charlap Guitar
Andre Paquinet Trombone
Benny Vasseur Trombone
Émile Vilain Trombone
Jean-Christophe Vilain Trombone
Guy Bodet Trumpet
Michael Delakian Trumpet
Christian Martinez Trumpet
Phillipe Slominski Trumpet
Maud Vocals
Marc Thomas Vocals

THAD JONES & MEL LEWIS - Live In Munich

MACH II

Live in Munich is an album by The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra that won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band in 1979.

Thad Jones – flugelhorn
Mel Lewis – drums
Earl Gardner – trumpet
Frank Gordon – trumpet
Lynn Nicholson – trumpet
Al Porcino – trumpet
Clifford Adams – trombone
Billy Campbell – trombone
Earl McIntyre – trombone
John Mosca – trombone
Pepper Adams – saxophone
Jerry Dodgion – saxophone, flute
Greg Herbert – saxophone, flute, clarinet
Larry Schneider – saxophone, flute, clarinet
Ed Xiques – saxophone, flute
Harold Danko – piano
Bob Bowman – double bass

COUNT BASIE - Breakfast, Dance and Barbeque

IN A MELLOW TONE

Sorry I missed the birthday yesterday of my main man, Count Basie.
This is the recording that first got me into Basie. I was at the house of my friend's drum teacher who had just gotten this album. He played it for us and it was really the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
And don't forget boys and girls:
If you can't sleep at night, 
(Now all together)
DON'T COUNT SHEEP.
COUNT BASIE!

From 1959
Breakfast Dance and Barbecue is a live album by pianist, composer and bandleader Count Basie and his Orchestra with vocalist Joe Williams featuring tracks recorded at a Disc Jockey convention in Florida in 1959 and originally released on the Roulette label


Personnel[edit]
Count Basie - piano
Joe Williams - vocals
Wendell Culley, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Snooky Young - trumpet
Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell - trombone
Marshal Royal, Frank Wess - alto saxophone
Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell - tenor saxophone
Charlie Fowlkes - baritone saxophone
Freddie Green - guitar
Eddie Jones - bass
Sonny Payne - drums
Harry Edison - trumpet (track 18)

KNOXVILLE JAZZ ORCHESTRA - One For The Team

ROCKY TOP

OLIVER NELSON - Impressions Of Phaedra

ONE MORE TIME

Impressions of Phaedra is an album by saxophonist/composer/arranger Oliver Nelson recorded in 1962 and released on the United Artists Jazz label.[1][2] The album features Nelson's arrangements of Mikis Theodorakis music from the 1962 motion picture Phaedra.

Oliver Nelson - arranger, conductor
Clark Terry, Bernie Glow, Doc Severinsen, Snooky Young - trumpet
Urbie Green, Paul Faulise, Britt Woodman, Tommy Mitchell - trombone
Don Butterfield - tuba
Phil Woods - alto saxophone
Barry Galbraith - guitar
Lloyd G. Mayers - piano
George Duvivier - bass
Ed Shaughnessy - drums
Ray Barretto - bongos
Unidentified string section

BON MINTZER BIG BAND, KURT ELLING - Live at MCG

Interestingly, Live at MCG is the very first live recording by Bob Mintzer's big band, a group that has been together for over a decade. Recorded at the Manchester Craftsman's Guild in Pittsburgh, this date is also the first pairing of vocalist Kurt Elling with the band, and it's a doozy of a gig. The players include bassist Rufus Reid, pianist Phil Markowitz, and trumpeter Michael Philip Mossman, just to name a few of its 16 members. Mintzer's charts are high on drama, rich in rhythmic interplay, and very, very tight. There is nothing extraneous, because the excitement is what he draws out of the music itself. While everything here is exciting, deftly executed, and wonderfully lyrical, the three vocal tunes are clearly the set's highlights, including "My Foolish Heart," a tune that has become one of Elling's signature vehicles, and the Elling-Mintzer collaboration "All Is Quiet," on which Mintzer scales the band back to a quartet. But it is on a brand new chart for Herbie Hancock's "Eye of the Hurricane" that everything here takes off. Mintzer's own solo is one of his most inspired, and Markowitz's modulations are startling. But Elling moves his own truly original practice of vocalese into the stratosphere somewhere, making this the album's most inspired performance. Any way you cut it, this is a winner.

Artist Credit
Kurt Elling Additional Personnel, Composer, Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Soloist, Vocals
Bob Mintzer Arranger, Composer, Liner Notes, Member of Attributed Artist, Primary Artist, Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Roger Rosenberg Baritone (Vocal), Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Baritone), Saxophone, Soloist
Rufus Reid Bass, Bass Instrument, Member of Attributed Artist
Phil Markowitz Member of Attributed Artist, Piano, Soloist
Pete Yellin Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Alto), Soloist
Bob Malach Member of Attributed Artist, Sax (Tenor)
Lawrence Feldman Member of Attributed Artist, Saxophone
Michael Davis Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trombone
Larry Farrell Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trombone
Keith O'Quinn Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trombone
Michael Philip Mossman Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trumpet
Scott Wendholt Member of Attributed Artist, Soloist, Trumpet
David Taylor Member of Attributed Artist, Trombone
Frank Greene Member of Attributed Artist, Trumpet
Bob Millikan Member of Attributed Artist, Trumpet
Robert Bowman Photography
Roger M. Rosenburg Sax (Baritone), Soloist
Bobby Mallach Sax (Tenor), Soloist
David Earl Taylor Trombone (Bass)

LEON BREEDEN MEMORIAL

Here is something that will be of interest to many here. It’s a radio show commemorating  Leon Breeden,  one of the patron saints of jazz education. I was rummaging through some of my hard drives earlier and found it. I really don’t remember how and when I got it but it is really cool, especially if you have ties with North Texas. So sit back, grab a glass of wine, it’s an hour long program, and enjoy

BILL RUSSO - Seven Deadly Sins

From 1960
Bill Russo proved to be the most successful of all the third stream composers because of his inclusive musical conception. He did not write in jazz or classical terms; he simply wrote music. Centred on the weekly rehearsal orchestra he ran from January 1959, the big band he assembled for these recordings is as it should beunder control, with beautifully nuanced dynamics of great power and delicacy. It was probing and serious, characteristics that had somehow become embarrassing during the Basie era, but deployed here without a trace of pretentiousness. And it swung. At first glance this was a conventional jazz big band, except for the cello section, but the sound that Russo extracted from it is remarkable.

The music from Seven Deadly Sins moves smoothly in an inevitable progression of organic growth, in a genuine third stream fusion of classical and jazz principles. It makes for richly rewarding listening.

Alto Saxophone – Meldonian*, Tony Buonpastore
Baritone Saxophone – Tony Ferina
Bass Trombone – Kenneth Guffey*
Cello – Avron Coleman, George Koutzen, Lorin Bernsohn, Seymour Barab
Clarinet – Collins* (tracks: B1), Meldonian* (tracks: A3), Glasel* (tracks: B4)
Composed By, Arranged By, Conductor – William Russo*
Double Bass – John Drew
Guitar – Howard Collins
Percussion – Ed Shaughnessy
Tenor Saxophone – Don Mikiten, Larry Wilcox
Trombone – Bill Elton, Don Sebesky, Eddie Bert, Mike Zwerin
Trumpet – Burt Collins, Danny Stiles, John Glasel, Lou Mucci*

BOB FLORENCE - SERENDIPITY 18

SERENDIPITY 18 - (complete recording)

The Bob Florence Limited Edition: Serendipity 18

PUBLISHED

MAY 1, 1999  – 

BY

JACK SOHMER

Once upon a time, when hundreds of big bands roamed this continent in search of bread and success, conditions were not as favorable as they are now. Gigs may have been more plentiful in those ballroom- and theater-filled decades, but life on the road was certainly not conducive to good health or financial stability, as even the best paid sidemen often scuffled in between strings of one-nighters. Bad food, lack of proper sleep, unwashed clothes, excessive boozing, and loneliness, only occasionally relieved by fleeting sexual encounters, characterized the life of the average traveling musician. And for black musicians it was even tougher. Nowadays, though, it’s all so different. For example, Bob Florence, a long-established pianist and composer/arranger, can now summon within brief notice a flawless crew of L.A. jazz studiomen to show up fully prepared whenever he has a record date. No agonizing all-night driving from one gig to the next, no sweating out the paycheck, no struggling with bad reeds, leaky homes, or out-of-tune pianos, for these guys have already been through it all and emerged triumphant.

For this release, Bob brought together seven extended charts of both his and others’ compositions: the provocative “Serendipity 18,” written expressly for this 18-man crew; Stanley Turrentine’s “Sugar”; the haunting minor “Tres Palabras,” a 1940s pop bolero better known by its English title, “Without You”; “Now Playing,” a showcase for trumpeter/flugelhornist Carl Saunders; “Bimbosity,” a stunning Hamilton-esque feature for clarinetists Don Shelton and Terry Harrington; “Evelyn,” a multi-tempoed tour de force for altomen Shelton and Kim Richmond; and the ambitious three-part “3 E Motions,” which is also notable for excellent solos by trumpeters Steve Huffsteter, Ron Stout, and Saunders, tenorman Jeff Driskill, baritonist Bob Carr, and drummer Dick Weller. Other impressive soloists heard on earlier tracks are trombonists Alex Iles and Bob McChesney, baritonist Bob Efford, Shelton on soprano, and Harrington on tenor.

Serendipity 18 : The Bob Florence Limited Edition : Steve Huffsteter, Wayne Bergeron, Rick Baptist, George Graham, Ron Stout, Carl Saunders (tp) Charlie Loper, Alex Iles, Bob McChesney (tb) Don Waldrop (b-tb) Don Shelton (sop,as,cl,fl) Kim Richmond (as,cl,fl) Jeff Driskill, Terry Harrington (ts,cl,fl) Bob Carr (bar,contra-alto-cl) Bob Florence (p,cond) Trey Henry (b) Dick Weller (d)

BILL RUSSO - The World Of Alnico

The American composer, teacher, band leader and trombonist William (Bill) Russo (1928-2003) is probably better known for his work as a band leader, trombonist and chief composer-arranger for the Stan Kenton Orch. (1950-54).  However, he wrote a number of orchestral works which might be characterized as third-stream scores.

His ballet, The World of Alcina was composed in 1954 for a 25 piece jazz orchestra.  It has five sections.  This recording on an early Atlantic LP features the composer conducting a group of jazz musicians from the Chicago area.


Conducted by Bill Russo. Johnny Howell (tp), Al Mueller (tp), Porky Panico (tp), Dom Geraci (tp), Davo Mulholland (tp), Tommy Shepard (trb), Paul Grumbaugh (trb), Paul Severson (trb), Marc McDunn (trb), Earl Hoffman (trb), Phillip Farkas (frh), , Frank Brouk (frh), Don Hagner (tuba), Ronnie Kolher (reeds), Lennie Druss (reeds), Hobart Grimes (reeds), Vito Price (reeds), Mike Simpson (reeds), Gus Jean (reeds), Phil Wing (reeds), Ken Soderbiom (reeds), Eddie Baker (p), Mel Schmidt (b), Fari Bakus (g), Mickey Simonetta (dr)

FRANK CAPP, NAT PIERCE JUGGERNAUT

Candy Bar

This was the fourth and final album by the Juggernaut before its co-leader pianist Nat Pierce's death. The five instrumentals (other than "Queer Street") find the band getting a bit away from their trademark Count Basie sound; the main soloists are Pierce, trumpeters Bill Berry and Conte Candoli, tenors Red Holloway and Bob Cooper and altoist Joe Romano. The final four numbers feature vocals by guest singer Ernestine Anderson, most notably on a lengthy and definitive rendition of "Never Make Your Move too Soon." A fine effort overall even if the orchestra is not featured much on the second half of the program.
AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow

Chuck Berghofer Bass, Guest Artist
Frank Capp Drums, Performer, Primary Artist, Producer
Snooky Young Guest Artist, Trumpet
Ernestine Anderson Guest Artist, Vocals
Ken Pohlman Guitar
Leonard Feather Liner Notes
Nat Pierce Piano, Producer
Dave Edwards Sax (Alto)
Joe Romano Sax (Alto)
Bill Green Sax (Baritone)
Bob Cooper Sax (Tenor)
Red Holloway Sax (Tenor)
Garnett Brown Trombone
Buster Cooper Trombone
Charles Loper Trombone
Bill Berry Trumpet
Conte Candoli Trumpet
Frank Szabo Trumpet

GENE HARRIS ALL STAR BIG BAND

A TRIBUTE TO COUNT BASIE

A big-band date that slightly predated pianist Gene Harris' association with the Philip Morris Superband, this CD is ostensibly a tribute to the recently deceased Count Basie, but surprisingly, only two of the eight songs ("Swingin' the Blues" and "Blue and Sentimental") were played by Basie, although one original ("Captain Bill") was written in homage of the bandleader. Harris' 16-piece orchestra does bring back the spirit of Basie's band in spots, with a lightly but steadily swinging rhythm section and such soloists as trumpeters Conte Candoli and Jon Faddis and tenors Plas Johnson and Bob Cooper. But in reality, Harris dominates the solo spotlight, and the music (which includes a memorable version of "When Did You Leave Heaven") is a bit predictable.

Tribute To Count Basie- : Gene Harris All : Star Big Band : Gene Harris (p) Jon Faddis, Conte Candoli, Frank Szabo, Bobby Bryant (tp) Bill Watrous, Charley Loper, Garnett Brown (tb) Bill Reichenbach, Jr. (b-tb) Bill Green, Marshal Royal (as) Bob Cooper, Plas Johnson (ts) Jack Nimitz (bar) Herb Ellis (g) Ray Brown (b) Jeff Hamilton (d)

DAVE MATTHEW'S MANHATTAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA

David Matthew's Manhattan Jazz Orchestra plays "Get It On".  Members include Lew Soloff, Ryan Kisor, Jim Pugh, John Fedchock, Larry Farrell, David Taylor ,Roger Rosenberg, George Young, Chris Hunter, Terry Silverlight and Chip Jackson

RALPH BURNS - In The Mood

HIGH SCHOOL SHUFFLE

• From the film score, In The Mood, that I must admit  I had never heard of let alone seen. But the band is hard to have not head of. And check out the trombone solo by Bill Watrous

• Bass – Chuck Berghofer, Chuck Domanico, Dave Stone (2)
• Cello – Christine Ermacoff, Jan Kelley, Ray Kelley, Bob Adcock*
• Clarinet – Abe Most
• Drums – Jeff Hamilton
• Guitar – Dennis Budimir
• Percussion – Gene Estes, Larry Bunker
• Saxophone – Bob Cooper, Bob Tricarico, Dave Edwards (3), Jack Nimitz, Joel Peskin, Lanny Morgan, Marshall Royal, Pete Christlieb, Ronny Lang
• Trombone – Alan Kaplan, Bill Watrous, Charles Loper, Chauncey Welsch, J.J. Johnson, Lew McCreary, Morris Repass, Robert Payne
• Trumpet – Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey, Oscar Brashears*, Rick Baptist, Warren Luening
• Viola – Dave Schwartz*, Denyse Buffum, Gary Nuttycombe*, Ken Burward-Hoy*, Sam Boghossian*, Virginia Majewski
• Violin – Bernard Kundell, Bill Hybel, Bob Sanov, Brenton Banks, David Frisina, Irma Neumann, Joe Goodman*, Joe Schoenbrun*, Karen Jones (2), Murray Adler, Reg Hill*
• Violin, Concertmaster – Assa Drori

BILL WATROUS -The Manhattan Wildlife Refuge

ZIP CITY

While he didn’t get credit for it here, this tune was written and arranged by Phil Kelly. Its original name was Zip Code 2005. Kelly was not happy with the tempo that Watrous played it. He said it was far too fast and it was the reason he choose to record it at the intended tempo.  Check it out your self on Phil Kelly’s recording,  My Museum.

Manhattan Wildlife Refuge and its follow-up, The Tiger of San Pedro, are the only two recordings of trombonist Bill Watrous' impressive big band of the mid-'70s. Watrous, who takes an uncharacteristically crazy cadenza on "Fourth Floor Walk-Up," is in top form on such numbers as Chick Corea's "Spain," "Dichotomy," and "Zip City." Among his more notable sidemen are trumpeter Danny Stiles, guitarist Joe Beck, and pianist Dick Hyman. Available on CD as of July 2007, this reissue has been well worth waiting for.

Artist	Credit
John Gatchell	Trumpet
Charles Small	Trombone
Joe Petrizzo	Trombone
Wayne Andre	Trombone
Joe Randazzo	Trombone, Trombone (Bass)
Joe Beck	Guitar
Ed Xiques	Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Alan Gauvin	Flute, Flute (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
George Triffon	Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Dean Pratt	Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Danny Stiles	Flugelhorn, Soloist, Trumpet
Dick Hyman	Fender Rhodes, Moog Synthesizer, Piano, Piano (Electric), Synthesizer
Ed Soph	Drums, Percussion
Charles Lagond	Clarinet, Flute, Sax (Tenor)
Frank Perowsky	Clarinet, Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
John Miller	Bass, Bass (Electric)
Bill Watrous	Arranger, Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Trombone

DON SEBESKY - Three Works For Jazz Soloist and Symphony Orchestra

BIRD AND BELLA IN Bb

When Don Sebesky recorded Three Works for Jazz Soloists and Symphony Orchestra in 1979, the idea of combining jazz and European classical music was hardly new. Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and others were being influenced by classical music back in the 1920s, and the 1950s found everyone from the Modern Jazz Quartet and Gunther Schuller to Gil Evans and Jimmy Giuffre blending jazz and classical. Nonetheless, jazz-classical fusion was an idea that still had a lot of possibilities, and Sebesky explores some of them on this chance-taking, though uneven, project. Initially released on LP by Gryphon in 1979 and reissued on CD by DCC in 1999, Three Works finds Sebesky uniting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with such jazzmen as guitarist Joe Beck, trumpeter Jon Faddis, and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. The album underscores Sebesky's appreciation of classical greats Bach, Stravinsky, and Bartok, yet the solos are essentially jazz solos. Although not entirely successful, Three Works is enjoyable more often than not, and is certainly ambitious. Sebesky deserves credit for having the guts to take some risks, especially when you consider how predictable and unadventurous so many of the "young lions" who emerged in the 1980s and 1990s turned out to be. Three Works is an album that, despite its shortcomings, is interesting and worth checking out.

Review by Alex Henderson

Richard Davis

Bass, Guest Artist

Don Sebesky

Composer, Liner Notes, Piano, Primary Artist, Trombone

Jimmy Madison

Drums

Jon Faddis

Flugelhorn, Guest Artist, Trumpet

Joe Beck

Guest Artist, Guitar

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Guest Artist, Orchestra, Primary Artist

Gordon Beck

Guest Artist, Piano

Alex Foster

Guest Artist, Saxophone

Bob Brookmeyer

Trombone

ROSEMARY CLOONEY & PEREZ PRADO

Here’s a little change of pace.

This is a fun recording. The band is great but no personnel credits available except for the leader and possibly arranger, Peres Prado.

A Touch of Tabasco 

On paper, this unlikely pairing of American popular vocalist Rosemary Clooney (who nearly defined the 1950s as a stylist) and Cuban percussionist and bandleader Pérez Prado seemed to be a disaster in the making. The end result is quite the opposite. Recorded during two sessions in July and August of 1959, this is simply one of the loveliest albums in either artist's catalog. The music is lively and colorful but retains Clooney's smooth and mellow character, and Prado's trademark arrangements and experiments with percussion, texture, and harmony. Apparently, Clooney had some trouble with pronunciation initially, but was coached by her husband, Puerto Rican actor Jose Ferrer (who wrote the original album's liner notes) and became a quick study. This merging of Latin and American standards is a tour de force that features some of the hottest session players in the biz including drummers Leo Acosta and Earl Palmer, as well as horn players Paul Horn and Ollie Mitchell. Highlights of the set include "Mack the Knife," "Sway," a pair of Cole Porter tunes -- "Bali Hai," and "You Do Something to Me" -- as well as highly original readings of "Corazon de Melon," "Cu-Cu-Rru-Cu-Cu Paloma," and "Adios."

AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek