JazzWax

Sunday Wax Bits

Tonight, JazzWax on the radio. My first JazzWax radio show will air tonight, Sunday, from 10 pm to midnight (EST) on Toronto's JAZZ.FM91, Canada's leading nonprofit jazz station. Lots of rare tracks and stories. To listen, go here and click on the blue "Listen Live" button at the top of the screen. I hope you enjoy it.

Louie Bellson, on the mend. Francine Bellson, Louie's tireless and mighty wife, sent an email Friday to let me know that Louie fell while exiting a car earlier this month and fractured his hip. Francine says the legendary drummer is getting stronger every day, and if all goes well he'll enter rehab next week. To send Louie a personal get-well wish, sign the Guestbook at his website here. Francine reads them to Louie throughout the day, and she says each one cheers him enormously. [Pictured, from left: Clark Terry, Louie and Francine Bellson earlier this year]

Joe Romano (1932-2008). Drummer Mike Melito wrote me on Thanksgiving to let me know that saxophonist Joe Romano had died. He was 76. The tenor saxophonist came of age in the late 1950s and 1960s, just as big bands and jazz began to feel the influence of rock and soul-funk. Romano's first recording was a terrific live date with Woody Herman's band at Peacock Lane in Los Angeles here. Perhaps Romano's strongest recording during this period was on Herman's Heat & Puente's Beat!, from 1958, which is available at iTunes or Amazon here. Romano also played and toured with drummer Louis Bellson's big band in 1978 and 1979 and with Buddy Rich's in the 1960s and 1970s, appearing on Stick It and The Roar of '74, a big band-funk fusion album.

Recalls drummer Mike Melito:

"Joe Romano was my musical father. He hired me for my first gigs and always played from his heart and gave 1,000%, whether he played for 3 or 3,000 people. He expected the same from everyone who played with him. One of the great lessons he taught me was to always play with great authority no matter what and always play in the moment. I think that's one of the reasons why he called the CD I did with him This Is the Moment. Joe has always been a big inspiration to me and will continue to be a big inspiration as I go through my career."            

Earl Swope. Following my post last week on trombonist Earl Swope, I received a bunch of emails, some with additional album recommendations.

From trumpeter, TV producer and Syracuse University professor Richard Dubin:

"You keep pulling guys out of my personal nostalgia bag. Swope was a monster player. I worked with him in the show band at Washington, D.C.'s Howard Theater in the early 1960's. He played a bunch of bone, even in decline and while drinking prodigiously. That cat could empty a jug of gin. A very sweet and gentle man. Some parts of his playing reminded me of Willie Dennis, another forgotten great. Also a sweet man and one of my best friends. They both got great sounds and could really get around their horns."

From reader James Wardrop:

"Good stuff on Earl Swope! Another CD you could add to your list is The Norman Williams New Jazz Quintet, recorded live at Olivia Davis' Patio Lounge in Washington, D.C., in 1956. Swope is a special guest, appearing with the Williams group, which at the time featured Bill Potts on piano and another Washington legend, Al Seibert, on tenor sax. The CD is on the Jazz Mark label. The first time I met Bill Potts in 1993, he gave me a copy.  Al is a vet of the Herman bands of the 1950s and later a mentor and guide to many young Washington musicians through the end of the 1990s. Thanks for bringing back a warm memory of one of my most treasured jazz adventures."

From Michael Palmer in Australia, host of the Johnny Hodges tribute site:

"And don't forget Swope's feature with Woody Herman in 1948 called Berled in Earl  (ouch!)."

Sarah Vaughan. After my post on Sarah Vaughan, I received a number of emails, including this one from Richard Dubin:

"Check out Sarah's album called After Hours. It's Sarah with guitarist Mundell Lowe and bassist George Duvivier. Just after it came out in 1961, I was walking down Broadway with Div. We bumped into Paul Chambers, who said he was blown away by Div's intro on Great Day. Chambers couldn't quite figure out how Div played it. You'll dig the recording."

Mystery guitarist. Last week Uwe Zanisch of Germany sent along the follow email wondering whether any JazzWax readers know the identity of the guitarist featured in this YouTube clip:

"Some days ago I was browsing YouTube and found scenes from the 1948 movie Killer Diller. This is a film with pre-recorded music. The musicians make some bad synchronized pantomime along with the playback. There are also parts of live audience footage to convince us it's a concert movie. This excerpt from Killer Diller features an uncredited guitarist who plays with electrical amplified sound but without a wire in the guitar plug (!) in front of the great swinging Andy Kirk Orchestra. Later in this clip, you hear the same guitar solo-line, but the player is not visible. Who is the guitarist? In the comments, a few readers make some suggestions about Floyd Smith and Al Casey. I think it was Al Casey."

Rosemary Clooney. In response to my post last Sunday on Rosey Clooney, reader Dale Corning writes:

"Enjoyed your post on Rosemary Clooney. I am pleased to hear that you want to hear more of her radio sessions with Buddy Cole [pictured standing, with Hoagy Carmichael]. Buddy Cole deserves recognition. He was everywhere in the 1940s and 1950s. He played with Shorty Sherock and Bumps Myers at the first Jazz at the Philharmonic in 1944.  (See Disc 1 of the 10-disc Complete Jazz at the Philharmonic: 1944-1949.)  He is on Nat King Cole's Nature Boy in 1947, and many of Cole's records until 1955. He recorded albums with Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby.  And he made it into the Top 10 with Henry Mancini's Mr. Lucky in 1960. That's Buddy Cole's jazzy organ on that record.

"When Rosemary Clooney played the London Palladium in 1955 with Buddy Cole, the British weekly The New Musical Express focused on Cole: 'He is also kept busy at the radio studios. Five broadcasts a week with Bing Crosby, two a week with Rosemary Clooney.  Buddy uses a separate quartet for each of these series...'  Buddy Cole married one of the King Sisters, Yvonne.  It would be great if more of the radio shows turned up."

Neal Hefti. Han Schulte of the Netherlands emailed this note and album cover:

"Today I found between my EP's this Neal Hefti item [two tracks from the 1965 movie Harlow]. I never saw the movie Harlow. The music on these tracks sounds a little bit like Jingle Bells' reindeer running around in your garden."

Editor's note: Harlow is best known for introducing the standard Girl Talk, for which Hefti received two Grammy nominations. To hear samples from this pure 1960's score, go here. Bobby Vinton covered Hefti's main theme from the movie here.

Louie Bellson Said It

"You can imagine the excitement that Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson created. That's the reaction that big bands had in those days. When Harry James played Two O'clock Jump, You Made Me Love You or Bugle Call Rag, people just freaked out. They just stopped while they were dancing to listen. We would play before 3,000 people at the Palladium, but I remember some of those navy and air force bases where we played before fourteen or fifteen thousand people. It was just a sea of faces. The excitement came from the music and the reaction of the people. They hung onto every note. They were up on the records, and they were up on what Harry was about."

—Drummer Louie Bellson on playing in Harry James' band, from Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James by Peter J. Levinson

Ornette Coleman Said It

"I was out at [anthropologist] Margaret Mead's school and was teaching some little kids how to play instantly. I asked the question, 'How many kids would like to play music and have fun?' And all the little kids raised up their hands. And I asked, 'Well, how do you do that?' And one little girl said, 'You just apply your feelings to sound.' And I said, 'Come and show me.' When she went to the piano to do it, she tried to show me, but she had forgotten about what she said. So I tried to show her why all of a sudden all her attention span had to go to another level, and after that she went ahead and did it. But she was right: If you apply your feelings to sound, regardless of what instrument you have, you'll probably make good music."

—Ornette Coleman in Miles, Ornette, Cecil: Jazz Beyond Jazz by Howard Mandel

Earl Swope: The Lost Session

Once again, iTunes is hiding the great stuff. This time, the e-retailer has overlooked one of trombonist Earl Swope's best small-group recordings. The iTunes download in question is entitled Lennie Tristano: Out On a Limb. All of the tracks feature pianist Tristano, of course, but seven have long been known in the Swope discography as The Lost Session. More on Swope (1922-1968) plus comments from saxophonist and band-mate Hal McKusick in a moment.

The Lost Session date was recorded in the spring of 1945 and featured Lennie Tristano (piano), Marky Markowitz (trumpet), Earl Swope (trombone), Emmett Carls (tenor sax), Chubby Jackson (bass) and Don Lamond (drums). Tristano wrote the arrangements, and the 78-rpms from the date were labeled The Emmett Carls Sextet Featuring Lennie Tristano. Years later, when the sessions surfaced, the resulting LP was retitled The Earl Swope Sextet.

Earl who, you say? Ask 10 jazz legends for the names of their favorite trombonists and Swope is sure to rank high on their lists. While the more familiar names of J.J. Johnson, Tommy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, Vic Dickenson, Bob Brookmeyer, Curtis Fuller and Urbie Green are sure to be there, Swope's is the one most likely to draw a blank.

In the 1940s, Swope introduced a new sound on the instrument that was both relaxed and intense. He pulled notes taffy long and bounced easily around notes with a rubbery bop attack. As one of the few trombonists of the post-War period who wasn't influenced by J.J. Johnson, Swope's style often is referred to as "modern barrelhouse," for its soft, rolling feel. To the naked ear, his sound is both marble smooth and cagey hip. [Pictured, from left: Rob Swope, Earl Swope and Doug Goss]

Here's tenor saxophonist Al Cohn on Swope from Ira Gitler's 1985 classic, Swing to Bop: An Oral History of the Transition in Jazz in the 1940s:

"Guys [like Swope] from Washington had their own kind of thing. Different from anybody else. Had their own way. The way Earl played. Maybe it's just Southern. That relaxed thing that they had. The thing about Earl was, in addition to all of that, Earl was really a virtuoso on a trombone. I mean he could really play that horn. He was one of the first cats that really could get around on the horn. That was before I heard J.J. I don't know. Jay was probably doing it then, too. But I remember hearing Earl playing duets, and he'd be reading treble clef. Be playing trumpet duets. And you know, he was a whiz. I think he was more influenced by Lester Young than by Dicky Wells." [Pictured: Al Cohn]

Ira also spoke to pianist Lou Levy about Swope for the book:

"Earl Swope would probably be the equivalent on trombone of what Al Cohn was on tenor."

Swope played with many of the most instrumentally challenging big bands of the 1940s. He was in the trombone sections of bands led by Boyd Raeburn (1943-44), Georgie Auld (1945), Buddy Rich (1945-47), Woody Herman (1947-49) and Elliot Lawrence (1950-51). Along the way he recorded on a handful of dates with small groups. His younger brother, Rob Swope, who also played trombone, often joined him in bands or replaced him after he left. In the early 1950s he freelanced in Washington, D.C., and New York, and recorded with Jimmy Dorsey and Louie Bellson in the late 1950s. In the 1960s he played locally near Washington, D.C., and died in 1968. [Pictured: Woody Herman]

Hal McKusick [pictured] played with Swope in the bands of Boyd Raeburn, Buddy Rich and Alvino Rey. Last week Hal reflected on the modern trombonist:

"I first met Earl on the [Boyd] Raeburn band, when we went into New York's Lincoln Hotel after [Count] Basie left. Later we were on the Buddy Rich band together. Earl was one of the so-called Washington, D.C., cats. They were all into Prez [Lester Young], and rightly so. They even tried to emulate him in every way, including his mannerisms.

Earl was soft-spoken and had a strong approach to his trombone playing. He had a nice sound and was always swinging. He rarely spoke and never expressed much about anything. He was dedicated to jazz, and like me preferred the Basie [pictured] band over all others, although we had great respect for [Duke] Ellington's orchestra and other swing bands of the period. We all listened constantly to Basie, Prez and Billie—we couldn't get enough.

Earl's solos were carefully crafted and presented with ease. He was liked by members of the Raeburn and Rich bands, and we all enjoyed hearing him play. Earl's reading abilities were strong. I'll always remember his good musical taste and strong sense of time."

Perhaps Willis Conover [pictured] said it best in his liner notes to Willis Conover's House of Sounds: Presents THE Orchestra:

"Earl Swope makes every number his home. Earl knows exactly where his solo is going; and after bursting into imaginative detours, he knocks it neatly into the side pocket. One of the trombone giants, Earl gives violent beauty to the ensemble sound of the section he leads."

JazzWax tracks: To hear Earl Swope in action, here are five prime recordings that demonstrate his sound and skill:

1. Out On a Limb—Lennie Tristano. The first seven tracks of this download make up Earl Swope's The Lost Session. The two takes of These Foolish Things alone will give you a fine sense of how far ahead of its time Swope's trombone playing was. Remember, this is 1945. The rest of the tracks on the download are assorted Tristano dates from the same period, all of them excellent. You'll find it at iTunes.

2. Washington Concerts—Charlie Parker (1952-53). This album is available as a download, but for some reason a solid portion of the CD has been omitted at iTunes. Fortunately, the complete recording is available as a download here at Amazon. Swope's best solo is on Now's the Time, all nine choruses of it! 

3. Tiny's Blues (1948). This up-tempo track kicked off the Bebop Concert held at the Music Hall in Washington, D.C. in May 1948. Earl takes a terrific extended solo here on this tune by Tiny Kahn. The other musicians on the stage included Ben Lary (tenor sax), Charlie Walp (trumpet), Mert Oliver (bass) and Sam Krupit (piano). There's some debate about whether Earl or his brother, Rob, was playing on the balance of this date. You be the judge. The concert can be found on the newly released Charlie Parker: Washington, D.C., 1948 (Uptown Records) here.

4. Pill Box—THE Orchestra (1953). This superb track is from the Willis Conover's House of Sounds: Presents THE Orchestra album, which sadly is out of print and going for around $50 here. It features  Bob Carey, Ed Leddy, Marky Markowitz and Charlie Walp (trumpets), Don Spiker, Earl Swope and Rob Swope (trombones), Jim Riley (alto sax), Ben Lary, Jim Parker and Angelo Tompros (tenor saxes), Jack Nimitz (baritone sax), Jack Holliday (piano), Mert Oliver (bass) and Joe Timer (drums).

5. Lester Young in Washington, D.C., Vol. 5 (1956). This one is available at Amazon as a download. It features Lester Young with Earl Swope and the Bill Potts Trio. Swope is featured on only the last four tracks: Lady Be Good, Up 'N' Adam, Jumpin' with Symphony Sid and Lullaby of Birdland. Hearing Swope with Prez, his jazz idol, offers a fascinating contrast between the silky smooth sound of Young and the the mellow trombone of Swope. It can be downloaded here.

Hawk and Rabbit: Vogue Sessions

Coleman Hawkins never stood still creatively. No matter what recording date the tenor saxophonist was on, you hear a slightly different artist each time. To be sure, Hawkins' gruff attack and take-charge sound are always present and unmistakable. But if you listen carefully, you'll hear his phrasing shift depending on the year and musicians on the date. Hawk also was one of the few swing-era superstars who made the shift to bebop in the mid-1940s, jumping back to swing in the 1950s and flirting with free jazz and pop in the 1960s. Hawk even recorded a credible bossa nova album, Desafinado, in 1962.

Johnny "Rabbit" Hodges, by contrast, was an Ellingtonian. Where Hawkins spent much of his career as an in-demand free agent, alto saxophonist Hodges was an Ellington band lifer. In fact, Duke's band would sound significantly different without Hodges' sweet, slurring saxophone rising up over the reed section or the lock he put on solos.

In 1949 and 1950, at the heights of their respective careers, Hawkins and Hodges each recorded sessions separately for the French Vogue label. Each musician headed up his own orchestra, with Hawkins' group comprised mostly of superb French musicians and Hodges' orchestra made up of mostly Ellington band members plus Raymond Fol on piano. Hodges was touring Europe with Duke at the time of the date.

Hawkins felt particularly comfortable in Europe, notes Gunther Schuller in The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz 1930-1945. The absence of racial prejudice and the less competitive atmosphere of the jazz scene there freed Hawk to play a bit more expressively and experimentally. In Paris, Hawk didn't have to watch his back or worry about being challenged by young guns.

Nevertheless, Hawk's Vogue date in December 1949 is plenty intense, with the tenor giant hopping between swing and bop styles. He's joined by Nat Peck (trombone), Hubert Fol (alto sax), Jean Pierre Mengeon (piano), Pierre Michelot (bass) and Kenny Clarke (drums).

On It's Only a Paper Moon, a mid-tempo swinger, Hawk fires off a jaunty solo. Sih-Sah is a haunting ballad written by Hawkins and James Moody, who also was in Paris at the time. Here we witness twin personalities: The Hawkins who tears into a song with double-time runs and the sensitive Hawkins who just as easily caresses a song's melody. Bean's Talking Again is a bop blues written by Hawkins and drummer Clarke, and here you get a clear feel for the red-meat sound of Hawkins' tenor in 1949. Bah-U-Bah is a rare Tadd Dameron-Hawkins collaboration that to the best of my knowledge was recorded just this once.

Hawkins had played I Surrender Dear many times by 1949. On the Vogue date, we have yet another interpretation of the ballad. Pianist Ronnell Bright, who recorded with Hawkins, told me recently that the tenor saxophonist often was cornered in clubs by fans who would ask him to play songs he had turned into hits. Hawkins would happily oblige but when confronted afterward by the same fans asking why he didn't play it like he did on his record, Hawk would nonchalantly ask the fans why they'd expect him to do that. "If you want to hear that version, listen to the record," Hawk would say. "This is a new one."

Hawkins' recording session for Vogue finishes with Sophisticated Lady, and the Ellington number gets an unusual treatment. Hawk sounds almost as if he's delivering a Hodges-inspired interpretation but on the tenor sax. You also learn here just how superb Pierre Michelot was. Dig his bass work here up against the challenge of Hawkins' greased-lightning sound.

Johnny Hodges' sessions for Vogue were spread over three different dates in April and June of 1950. The band was made up of touring Ellington band members Harold "Shorty" Baker (trumpet), Quentin Jackson (trombone), Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet), Don Byas (tenor sax), Wendell Marshall (bass) and Sonny Greer (drums), with Raymond Fol (Hubert's brother) on piano. Five of the tracks feature strong work by Byas.

Free from Duke, Hodges heads up a band that takes a stab at bop and jump boogie. We hear Hodges and Hamilton [pictured] on clarinet joined at the hip on one of the prettiest versions of Time on My Hands. Hamilton's clarinet work throughout reminds you how beautifully this sideman played and what an unsung hero he truly is. Perdido is a fairly robust, mid-tempo reading with a fine solo by Quentin Jackson and Shorty Baker.

Sweet Lorraine is a perfect standard for Hodges to work through, and his smooth lines pay tribute to Nat King Cole's hit trio vocal of 1940. Shorty Baker has a superb solo here, showing off the roundness of his sound. The last two tracks, Bean Bag Boogie and Hop, Skip and Jump, are straightforward jump-boogie blues tunes.

Hawkins and Hodges would go on to record plenty of masterpieces after these. But the Vogue dates were transitional and personal recordings. For Hawkins, the session let him return to the swing tradition after years as a States-side bopper. For Hodges, he was able to cut loose and toy with bop and r&b before returning to the Ellington book.

JazzWax tracks: The Vogue sessions are available on two CDs: Coleman Hawkins and Johnny Hodges: The Complete 1949-1950 Vogue Master Takes here and Johnny Hodges and Coleman Hawkins: The Vogue Recordings here. Both contain the same tracks. I own the former set and can vouch for the remastering, which is fabulous.

Sarah Vaughan: 1958 and 1964

"The records don't do 'em justice," is a line I hear frequently from musicians today who had the privilege of playing with jazz greats from the 1940s and 1950s. The point being that what you hear on LP and CD is nothing compared to having seen or played with those artists back then. For the longest time, whenever I'd hear that line, I'd assume it was coming from someone who was cranky about today's music scene or hyping a fond memory. After all, how much of a difference could there be between seeing a Charlie Parker or Sarah Vaughan performance and hearing a beautifully remastered CD today?

Actually, quite a bit. As good as recordings are, they provide only half the story of an artist's gifts. As we know from the video clips on YouTube, seeing adds a whole new dimension and appreciation of a jazz musician. To see the body language of artists, how they talked, what their eyes were doing while performing, and how they interacted with other musicians contributes enormously to your impression of them as creative forces, entertainers and people.

Vaughan is a perfect example of a jazz artist whose brilliance soars when viewed on film. Of course, Vaughan sounds positively magical on her many studio dates from the late 1950s and early 1960s. But you haven't fully experienced her genius until you've seen her in action at the peak of her career. One of the finest examples of Vaughan on film is Sarah Vaughan: Live in '58 & '64 (Jazz Icons). Though this DVD was released last year, I only recently had a chance to view it and was blown away. I own most of Vaughan's recordings during this period, but my appreciation of her nuances, risk-taking and physical beauty positively skyrocketed after seeing this video.

Here, Vaughan comes alive with facial expressions, grace and command. You find yourself in disbelief as she bends melodies, thrusts her jaw out while jauntily hitting impossible notes, and toys musically with her trios. Pianist Ronnell Bright accompanied Vaughan on two-thirds of this DVD, and I spoke to him yesterday about this European tour. More in a moment from the amazing Ronnell.

To see Vaughan perform on this DVD is a completely different experience than to hear her on a recording, no matter how good the medium or stereo system. This DVD brings you up close to Vaughan on an intimate scale, and you wind up with a perfect sense of what jazz artists mean when they say that records don't do legends justice.

You also realize that Vaughan sounded slightly different with different trios behind her. Some brought out her warm side, while others challenged her to raise the creative stakes or pushed her to sing more powerfully. Best of all, you see Vaughan as a swan-like entertainer, a woman with enormous grace, an expressive face and fearless creativity. To see Vaughan here is like watching someone on a building jump from ledge to ledge without ever considering the ground below. And like a professional daredevil, Vaughan always winds up on her feet, as do her musicians. It was quite a stunt.

Sarah Vaughan: Live in '58 and '64 is divided into three sections, all of them European engagements. The first two-thirds were captured in 1958, in her prime. Vaughan was in Europe for appearances at the Brussels World's Fair, and she toured the continent extensively. The first six tracks from this period are from a Swedish TV appearance and the next five were filmed in Holland. The remaining eight tracks come from a 1964 performance in Sweden.

In 1958, Vaughan was backed by Ronnell Bright [pictured] on piano, Richard Davis on bass and Art Morgan on drums. On the 1964 segment, Kirk Stuart was on piano, Buster Williams was on bass and George Hughes was on drums. Just watch and listen to her 1958 execution of Lover Man, September in the Rain, Tenderly and Cherokee. They all are sensational, not to mention her hair-raising Over the Rainbow and They All Laughed.

What makes these so special from a visual perspective is the opportunity to see Vaughan make note decisions on the fly and hold the audience firmly with her majestic command. The level of confidence Vaughan had in her voice and presence is astonishing. There's no padding here or cutting corners. She brazenly takes on songs and turns them inside out without flinching. All of this can be experienced only live or on DVD.

In her 1964 performance, Vaughan is a little older, a little heavier and her hairstyle is sync with the day (she sports a Diana Ross 'do). But the voice remains powerful, and she's as graceful as a cat. What makes this appearance even more remarkable is her announcement about halfway through that she's under the weather. How she managed to sing that well and creatively while ill and sweating profusely is beyond me. Again, you'd never experience this on a CD.

I asked Ronnell Bright [pictured] yesterday about that tour and those 1958 TV shows:

JazzWax: How did you wind up traveling all over Europe?
Ronnell Bright: We were supposed to be there for just a few weeks at the Brussels World’s Fair. But we wound up with so many concert, club, TV and record engagements that we extended our stay for four months.

JW: How did you and Vaughan work on the TV dates?
RB: They were actually live performances captured on TV. When it was time to go on, I’d go out first, then Richard Davis [pictured], the bass player, followed by Art Morgan, the drummer. I’d start out playing an impromptu introduction on the opening song from the list Sarah and I worked out. Richard and Art would then pick up on what I was doing. When the three of us were comfortable after a minute or so, Sarah would come out and we'd shift from the introduction to the song itself with Sarah singing.

JW: Were there count-offs of songs? One seems to lead right into the next.
RB: No. The trio knew the songs and the keys but that was about it. I’d set the tempo and kick off the song. Before the dates, Sass would often ask me to create the song list, and I'd arranged some of them, like Lover Man that's on the video. Sass and I worked out what I called "delayed triplets" for that tune, which was singing triplets but in slow motion, letting the beat play underneath a little bit.

JW: There's always a twinkle in Vaughan's eyes on this DVD. Was she as mischievous as she seemed?
RB: Oh yes, all the time. Sarah was constantly playing tricks on that tour. One time we were about to go on in San Remo, Italy. As I mentioned, I would be the first to walk on stage. As I'd pass by Sarah in the wings, she'd typically hand me a list of songs in the order she wanted to sing them. But on this night in Italy, as I passed her, she let the list drop to the floor on purpose to see if I’d bend down to get it.

JW: Did you?
RB: No. I didn't.

JW: What did you do?
RB: I saw what she did and just kept on going out to the piano.

JW: What happened?
RB: That night we played what I wanted, and Sarah had to follow. [laughing] That was the last time Sass did that. But you have to understand: Spontaneity was the name of the game in that group, even when we weren't on. It was built into everything we did.

JW: Were you just playing as part of her trio on this trip?
RB: We did a number of big band dates, too. One was recording Vaughan and Violins in Paris for Mercury with Quincy Jones. We also toured the Odeon theater chain in Britain. During that tour, George Treadwell, Sarah’s manager and husband, told me I had to conduct Ted Heath’s orchestra. Now Ted Heath was like the English version of Stan Kenton's band. “I said to George, ‘Oh, man, how am I going to do that? Can they do Sarah's material?' George said, 'Do like Dizzy: Just kick a leg and the band will do the rest. You have to do it.' [laughing] So I did. Heath’s band was great. They knew exactly what they were doing, and they could play.

JW: Never a dull moment.
RB: Sass always wanted me to push things, and I loved doing it. It kept us creative and kept the audience a little on edge. If you're in the audience, you get a little scared when you hear things going off in a different direction. When it resolves, you get comfortable again, and you feel a little exhilarated. As a group, we played together but we were loose. We always searched for a new way to perform a song. That's how Sass wanted it.

JW: Do you ever think about Vaughan now?
RB: All the time. Those years with Sarah were among the greatest in my career. I had a dream about her recently. We were talking and at the end, she said, "Good seeing you again, Ronnell." I said, "Good seeing you, Sass." That felt good.

JazzWax tracks: Sarah Vaughan: Live in '58 and '64 is available here. To watch a promo video clip that features Sarah in action (and hear Ronnell's piano behind her), go here. And for my five-part interview series with Ronnell, go here.

Sunday Wax Bits

JazzWax grapevine. I hear that Johnny Mandel is currently in the studio arranging and conducting Diana Krall's new album. The release date for the upcoming CD from Verve Records is yet unknown... I hear that Mosaic Records is planning a Louis Armstrong box next year covering Pops' 1930s-1940s period for the Decca label... Legendary vibraphonist Teddy Charles just got back from two weeks in the Netherlands, a trip that included the recording of a live album for OAP Records, a Dutch label. The performance with the Walter Wolff Trio was held at The Bimhuis theater-club in Amsterdam. Not clear yet when the CD will be out. To hear three great tracks off Teddy's sensational New Directions CD recorded in 1952, go here.

Jimmy Giuffre v. Pepper Adams. In my post on the 1957 Looney Toons' short, Three Little Bops, I said the baritone saxophonist playing on the soundtrack likely was Pepper Adams, not Art Pepper, who has been credited for years.

In response, I heard from the eminent jazz writer and critic Larry Kart:

"Admittedly, the baritone saxophonist here is trying to play in a neo-R&B manner, not like himself. But in no way does this sound to me like any imaginable incarnation of Pepper Adams. It does, however, sound like Jimmy Giuffre playing in a neo-R&B manner, of which there are examples on record (on tenor, though). Also, Giuffre was a member of Shorty Rogers' Giants at about this time, recording Wherever The Five Winds Blow (RCA), recorded in July 1956."

Jazz critic and author Doug Ramsey at Rifftides also weighed in:

"I agree with critic Larry Kart's conclusion that the baritone saxophonist is Jimmy Giuffre. Giuffre worked often with Rogers in the 1950s, and the baritone in Three Little Bops has the sound of Giuffre's celebrated spoof R&B hit Big Girl with the Lighthouse All-Stars."

Editor's note: The baritone sax player may well have been Jimmy Giuffre—or Pepper Adams, since both played with Shorty Rogers on the West Coast during this period. We won't know for sure until someone digs deeper and finds documentation verifying the players Shorty Rogers hired for the date. Stan Freberg remains the only surviving member of the team. What is puzzling is why Art Pepper has been credited for years, especially since he had not recorded on baritone sax. My guess remains that someone wrote "Pepper" on the tape or box, and those who came across it assumed it was Art Pepper when in fact it was Pepper Adams. But all of this, of course, is speculation and circumstantial until we know for sure. To be continued.

Stan Freberg. After my posts last week on Three Little Bops and C'est Si Bon here,  in which I featured quotes from my conversation with legendary comedian Stan Freberg, Brian Hope of the U.K. sent the following email:

"I've always been a fan of Stan Freberg's. His rendition of Yellow Rose of Texas was among my favorites. Banana Boat Song, too. Better still was his album, Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America (1961). I believe there were two LP's, though I was never able to find the second. The album is part of the family.  My daughter turned 43 years old last week and was here for the annual birthday lunch. She insisted on my getting out the tape and playing it. Her elder brother thought we were a bit sad, but we found him singing along in no time.

"Would that I knew how many times I've put that on tape for them and friends. I still get requests to replay them. Soon we're quoting from the album's lines on George Washington, such as, 'Talks up a storm with them wooden teeth' and 'I know who y'are, I seen your picture on the money.' And the weary boat hirer for the famous crossing of the Delaware: 'What're you trying to do, gouge the small businessman?' I'd better stop.

"It is truly satirical, and that's a misused word today.  If you ever speak to Stan Freberg again, please let him know that he has a big fan base over here.

"See what's happening? Your historian activities are opening doors to places you can't imagine. What an achievement.  Thanks again."

Sammy Davis, Jr. After my post on Hidden Jazz Downloads (Vol. 6), Kurt Kolstad of Minnesota sent along the following recollections:

"I have the Sammy Davis album you referred to, and your mention of it reminded me of one of the all-time greatest concerts I have ever attended. 

"It was back in the early 1980s, and Sammy had been booked to do a show at the Minnesota State Fair (of all places!). My wife and I hadn't been to a fair in years, but we decided that with Sammy appearing we would make an exception. It was a perfect summer night, and we expected the grandstand to be sold-out.  Much to our surprise, only about half the 5,000 seats were occupied. The opening act was Peaches & Herb, and they provided a surprisingly good intro to Sammy.

"After the break, a large orchestra took the stage and played a medley of songs associated with Sammy. Then the man himself was introduced. He came out, let the applause die down completely and said something like, 'Well, it looks as if most of the people were more interested in merry-go-rounds and cotton candy than in coming to hear the real Candy Man. But, it doesn't matter 'cause we're going to give you the best show that we can.'

'Sammy proceeded to knock our socks off! Every performer has his 'on' nights and 'off' nights but I can assure you that this was the former. He sang as if it was the last concert he was ever going to sing. We were absolutely mesmerized by his performance and, as the years have slipped by, I've thought about it many, many times. Only two other vocalists—Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan—have given me the same sort of goose bumps that I had that night."

Coleman Hawkins. Radio station WKCR-NY will feature a Coleman Hawkins birthday broadcast on Friday, November 21. The station will play the tenor saxophonist's recordings around the clock for 24 hours here.

Peter J. Levinson (1934-2008). Author and publicist Peter Levinson died last week after injuries suffered in a fall. He was 74. Peter represented Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz and many other jazz artists. He also was author of Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James, September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle and Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way. Peter was a frequent reader of JazzWax, and I enjoyed hearing from him. He will be missed.

Frank Wess. Following my post on the John Bunch Trio Featuring Frank Wess here, Michael Palmer from Australia sent along the following recommendation:

"I really enjoyed your post on Frank Wess. I have always liked Frank since seeing him with Basie playing Midgets with Joe Newman many years ago. Regarding his recordings, may I recommend a fine, newish CD? It's called Flutology: First Date, on the Capri label. Frank is joined by flutists Holly Hofmann and Ali Ryerson. Listen to them rip into BeBop."

Films worth seeing. I caught a fascinating and little-known film last night directed by Robert Rossen called Lilith (1964), an early Warren Beatty movie with Jean Seberg and a jazz score by Kenyon Hopkins. I also saw two fine George Segal films in the past week that are worth pulling in from Netflix: Loving and A Touch of Class. You won't be disappointed.

Art Blakey: Like Someone in Love

August 1960 was a grueling month for Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. When the hard bop quintet went into the studio to record on August 7th for Blue Note, the Messengers completed five tracks, each requiring a greater number of takes than the previous one. When time ran out, the group and producer Alfred Lion [pictured] agreed to return on August 14th to record again. Bobby Timmons, the group's pianist, and Blakey couldn't make it any sooner. Timmons was leading a record date for Riverside on August 12th (Soul Time), and Blakey was the session's drummer.

When the Jazz Messengers returned to the studio on August 14th, they recorded seven more tracks. But the process was even tougher than a week earlier. All of the tracks that day required 30 or more takes, with the last one reaching 54 before a master was in the can. While many of these takes surely were false starts, the process was both draining and exhilarating from a creative standpoint. [Pictured: engineer Rudy Van Gelder, left, with producer Lion]

Listening to the playback, Lion realized he actually had enough material for two albums given the length of each track. He decided that both LPs would be made up of five tracks: a standard and four original compositions. Both albums would be named for songs that Blakey played frequently in clubs at the time, and each of those compositions would open side #1 of their respective LPs.

The albums Lion assembled from the two August sessions were A Night in Tunisia and Like Someone in Love, and both featured the same great group—trumpeter Lee Morgan, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Timmons, bassist Jymie Merritt and drummer Blakey. Blakey, Timmons and Merritt had been together since the fall of 1958, and except for a break in late 1959, when Walter Davis Jr. briefly replaced Timmons, the unit would remain intact until the spring of 1961. Wayne Shorter, of course, joined the group in late 1959.

While the album, A Night in Tunisia, is considered a Blakey classic, Like Someone in Love has received much less attention and praise. Yet all of the music on the two albums was recorded on the exact same dates with the exact same group. The big difference, to my ear, is that Lion appears to have grouped more of the rhythmically complex tracks on A Night in Tunisia and the more pensive ones on Like Someone in Love. Other than this difference, Lion likely jigsawed the two different albums, piecing them together based on which ones fit neatly into the 33 1/13-rpm format. The point here being that Like Someone in Love is a vastly overlooked masterpiece.

The other subtle difference between the two albums is Timmons, whose playing is so percussive and pretty on Like Someone in Love that he virtually becomes the third horn. His sensitive funky chord changes on the introductions to Like Someone in Love and Shorter's waltz-time composition, Sleeping Dancer Sleep On, alone are extraordinary.

At the time of this date, Blakey had already recorded the standard, Like Someone in Love, four times—first as a sideman on a Paul Bley session with Charles Mingus in 1953, and on live recordings, including one for Blue Note at New York's Cafe Bohemia. The Johnny Burke-Jimmy Van Heusen standard dates back to 1944. Dinah Shore introduced it in Belle of the Yukon, and the song was first recorded as an instrumental by Les Brown that same year. Bing Crosby made the song a hit in 1945, and Frank Sinatra recorded it early in his Capitol period in 1953. The song was likely introduced to Blakey by Bley on his leadership date, and Blakey liked it so much that the standard became a regular feature in the Jazz Messengers' book.

Like Someone in Love's second track, Johnny's Blue, is the album's only Lee Morgan original. It opens with a bass solo, and the infectious minor-major blues line is somewhat similar to The Lion and the Wolff, which Morgan recorded four months earlier in April 1960 for his album, Lee-Way.

Noise in the Attic is by Shorter and winds up being a Blakey drum showcase piece. Even though Morgan and Shorter deliver blistering solos on the track, Timmons is the one who captivates your ear. His solo work stands out, building the heat with chorus after chorus.

Sleeping Dancer Sleep On, another Shorter original, is the record's highpoint for me. Timmons' introduction again is both lush and gospel-funky. On this ballad you begin to hear shades of Shorter's musical personality years before his seminal leadership recordings.

Giants, also by Shorter, closes the album and is a straight-ahead hard bop anthem, cooking the entire way. Timmons' solo again is exceptional, so much so that you can listen to it over and over again and hear something new each time.

Think of these albums as two sides of the same coin. If A Night in Tunisia is an extroverted date, Like Someone in Love is an introspective one—and an opportunity to hear Bobby Timmons in the very groove that suited him best.

JazzWax tracks: Like Someone in Love can be found as a download at iTunes and Amazon, or as a CD at online retailers. What I did is combine them both in the same iTunes folder and then shuffled the tracks so I don't know which song belongs to which album. The result is fascinating.

JazzWax video clip: Listen how pretty Bobby Timmons plays here on Yama, a Lee Morgan original from A Night in Tunisia. This clip is from the group's Japanese tour of 1961. According to Barbara J. Gardner's original album liner notes, Yama was named for the start of Morgan's wife's maiden name (Yamamoto).

C'est Si Bon (It's So Good)

When I was a kid in the late 1960s, my artist parents used to take me and my brother to Paris in the summers. My bohemian folks weren't wealthy. They had lived there in the 1950s and loved returning each year when my brother and I were off from school. We'd stay with their friends out in the Neuilly district near the Bois de Boulogne. After I got married in the 1980s, my wife and I traveled to Paris fairly routinely, usually around Thanksgiving. To me, Paris is loveliest when it's cold. The grays are deeper, the browns are richer, streetlights are moodier, and the broiled chicken tastes a lot better. All of which now is, of course, just a fond memory given the economy. Who knows when we'll be back. [Photo of Fernandel by Philippe Halsman]

But thanks to YouTube, I did visit The City of Lights in spirit over the last couple of days—without the jet lag, brutal currency exchange or street battles with nicotine-crazed drivers. The song I used to satisfy my Paris passion was C'est Si Bon, a French song from the late 1940s that when executed properly is quite catchy and very hip.

Actually, if I'm being completely honest, my C'est Si Bon drift was really Stan Freberg's fault. When I spoke to the legendary comic recently, we talked briefly about his novelty hit in 1954 shortly after Eartha Kitt made the song famous in 1953. Stan's rendition, of course, is a hoot. If you're unfamiliar with it, more in a minute. On the Capitol single, he plays a Frenchman who struggles to train his background vocalists to sing "si bon, si bon" at just the right time. Of course, there are plenty of faux pas along the way.

When I told Stan that his parody of Kitt's hit remains funny after all these years, he recalled an encounter with Kitt shortly after his version climbed the charts: "When we met, Eartha said to me, [using an Eartha Kitt-enish voice], 'Stan Free-berg. [pause] I don't know whether to slap you or kiss you.' [laughing] Eartha said my version actually helped the sale of her records."

C'est Si Bon worked wonders for nearly everyone who recorded it. Some, like Petula Clark, sang it in French, while others, like Dean Martin, used the English lyrics. The song dates back to the mid-1940s and was written by Henri Betti. The French lyrics were by André Hornez, and the English ones by Jerry Seelen. According to the Originals Project (here), the first recording of the song was made in February 1948 by the Jacques Hélian Orchestra with vocalist Jean Marco. This audio clip will give you a taste of the interpretation. 

The next big hit was by singer Yves Montand [pictured], who gave it a jaunty feel in the late 1940s. By 1950, Americans had discovered the song, and dreary interpretations were recorded by Danny Kaye here and Johnny Desmond here.

Not until Eartha Kitt put her feline stamp on the song in 1953 with Henri Rene, an American-born conductor-arranger, did the song become a big hit, reaching #8 on the pop chart. Kitt's version was so expressive and definitive that the song became most closely identified with her. Stan Freberg's parody came the following year, in 1954, and many other French and pop renditions followed. What all have in common is a love for love—and for Paris.

So let me invite you now to take the same trip to Paris that I took while cruising YouTube. Here are my favorite video-clip versions of C'est Si Bon, in order of preference:

1. Eartha Kitt's live appearance on TV here (lip-synched?) in 1962 was a reprise of her 1953 hit, and it's a stunner on so many levels. First there's the mirrored set. Then there's Kitt's over-the-top camera mugging. And let's not forget that Kitt style. Watch Kitt's hands throughout. And dig those crazy French consonant rolls and gold-digger touches during the "si bon, si bon" extension. Absolutely priceless.

2. Mirelle Mathieu and Petula Clark teamed up here for a TV appearance in what appears to be the early 1970s. Mathieu is a celebrated French cabaret singer and Clark is the renowned British pop star. Many people are unaware that before Downtown and other rock-pop hits, Clark was a child singer whose early command of French made her a hit there in the 1950s. I just love how Mathieu steams up the camera to such an extent that the producer can't decide what angle to use. Two Euro-gals having a blast.

3. Yves Montand had hits with C'est Si Bon twice. This brief version looks to be from the late 1940s and gives you a great sense of the ingredients that made French male singers special. The music hall style and highly emotive acting-singing approach turned singers like Montand, Charles Aznavour, Serge Gainsbourg and others into national treasures.

4. Louis Armstrong has two clips on YouTube of C'est Si Bon.  This one is the better version (the other is taken way too slow).  Louis, of course, gives the song a Dixieland spin and like everything Louis touched, it works wonderfully.

5. Yves Montand's second hit sounds as though it's from the late 1950s or early 1960s. He's joined here by a sort of Double Six of Paris-sounding French choir and big band. Best of all are the images of Paris that accompany the YouTube clip.

6. Jean-Claude Pascal was another basso-voiced actor-singer who was popular in France in the 1960s. This version is a bit more conversational but royal in its laid back, hammock-swinging sensibility.

7. Stan Freberg's version here should make perfect sense now that you've heard some of the best straight-up versions. The first song you'll hear is Sh-Boom, arranged by Billy May. It's a 1954 novelty knockoff of hit versions by the Crew-Cuts and the Chords, which hit earlier that same year. The single that follows on the clip is C'est Si Bon, with the George Bruns Quintet. Despite the fact that these Capitol singles were recorded more than 50 years ago, they retain their ticklish sense of humor. (Bonus: Here's a gut-splitting rendition of Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel in 1956, with Freberg's fabulous tongue-in-cheek line about the piano playing: "That's close enough for jazz.")

8. Eartha Kitt. Here's part of her original appearance singing C'est Si Bon in New Faces of 1952, a musical revue film released in 1954.

While the eight versions of this song above cannot compare to snowy strolls along the Seine, a hike to the top of the Arc de Triumph on an overcast day, and a ride on an empty merry-go-round, I'm afraid it will have to do. For now.

Hidden Jazz Downloads (Vol. 6)

Every couple of months or so, I spend a few hours running my e-fingers through the iTunes' "bins" looking for jazz gems that have been quietly added to the store's inventory. At iTunes, it seems, albums are flipped in abstractly, like baseball cards, barely promoted and sometimes even mislabeled. That happened with a James Moody collection I found recently. As jazz lovers know, iTunes doesn't do much to market jazz titles, preferring instead to plow the glitz into rap and rock. This means many jazz albums enter the iTunes "bins" like faceless immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. Until now.

Here are 10 superb jazz downloads that I plucked from the digital masses recently. (For links to my earlier lists, go to the search engine in the upper right-hand corner of this page and type in "Hidden Jazz Downloads"):

Gil Fuller—Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra (2008). This new download is comprised of two Pacific Jazz studio albums from 1965. Recorded when arranger Gil Fuller headed up the Monterey Jazz Festival Orchestra, the album features Dizzy Gillespie, who was touring at the time, and tenor saxophonist James Moody. What makes this CD particularly special are the snappy Fuller arrangements of originals and 1960s pop tunes, like Our Man Flint and The Shadow of Your Smile. Musicians on first eight tracks of download: Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hill, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Melvin Moore, John Audino (trumpets), Lester Robertson, Francis Fitzpatrick and Jim Amlotte (trombones), Herman Lebow, Sam Cassano, David Duke and Alan Robinson (French horns), Buddy Collette, Gabe Baltazar (alto saxes), Carrington Visor and William Green (tenor saxes), Jack Nimitz (baritone sax), Phil Moore (piano), Dennis Budimir (guitar), Jimmy Bond (bass), Earl Palmer (drums). Remaining tracks: Conte Candoli [Chuck Foster replaces Candoli on 17-Mile Drive, Latin Lady and Tin Tin Deo]  Melvin Moore, Al Porcino and Jimmy Zito (trumpet), Lou Blackburn, Bob Enevoldsen and Ernie Tack (trombone), Sam Cassano, Alan Robinson and Gale Robinson (French horns), Gabe Baltazar and Bill Green (alto saxes), James Moody, Ira Schulman and Clifford Scott (tenor saxes), Bill Hood (baritone sax), George Samper (organ on Sweets for My Sweet), Mike Wofford (piano), Chuck Berghofer (bass), Chuck Flores (drums) and Francisco Aguabella (percussion).

Lenny Breau—Guitar Sounds (1968). This is quite an interesting album by Breau, a Canadian guitarist who was strangled in 1984 and discovered in an apartment complex swimming pool. The download includes unusually compelling and tasteful interpretations of the day's pop songs. Included here is one of the smartest jazz interpretations of a Beatles song: A Hard Day's Night. Breau takes Music to Watch Girls Go By as a ballad, which completely changes the chemistry of the song for the better. And Call Me is more jazz-minded than bossa nova. Breau knew how to capture new beauty in almost any pop song. The guitarist was backed by Ronnie Halldorson (bass) and Reg Kelln (drums).

Benny Carter—Alone Together (1952). Recorded for Verve, this album features a large string section arranged by Joe Glover. There are serpentine originals on here, like Key Largo and Blue Star, as well as standards. What I like about this album is that Carter's out there with his fabulous tone, happily running through a field of strings. This is an often-overlooked Benny Carter entry that pre-dates Clifford Brown with Strings by three years and likely served as its model. Joining Carter and strings are Oscar Peterson (piano), Barney Kessel (guitar), Ray Brown (bass) and Buddy Rich (drums).

Woody Herman—Woody's Heat, Tito's Beat (1958). Even ardent Herman fans are unfamiliar with this one for Everest. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of Herman's best recordings from the period. Doubt me? Go sample New Cha Cha or Tito Meets Woody. Arranged by A.K. Salim and Al Cohn, the album features Ernie Royal, Steve Lipkins, Nick Travis and Marky Markowitz (trumpets), Frank Rehak, Billy Byers and Bill Elton (trombones), Woody Herman (clarinet and alto sax) Sam Marowitz (alto sax) Al Cohn, Pete Mondello and Paul Quinichette (tenor saxes), Danny Bank (baritone sax), Bobby Rodriguez (bass), Ray Barretto (conga), Gil Lopez and Ray Rodriguez (percussion) and Tito Puente (timbales).

Tito Rodriguez—Tito's Hits (1990). This roundup of Rodriguez's hits from the late 1950s and 1960s is a must-own. For those hip to the history of Latin music, vocalist and bandleader Rodriguez was considered the Frank Sinatra of mambo. His passion, delivery and enthusiasm was electrifying. Sadly, I don't understand a word of Spanish, but every note on this album goes straight to my heart because I can hear and feel Rodriguez' message and art. Even if an entire album is too much for you, download at least Cara de Payaso and Mantequita, and dig that band. Unfamiliar with Rodriguez? Catch his charisma on this video clip from the 1960s (and note that this monster band is playing without music).

Bobby Hackett and Jack Teagarden (1957). This download combines two Capitol albums by the dynamic duo from1957, and the download fidelity is terrific. What's more, you get 10 tracks for $5.99. Bobby and Jack were sublime together, no matter the year.

Art Pepper—With the Marty Paich Quartet (1956). This one originally was recorded for the Tampa label and featured Pepper on alto, Paich on piano, Buddy Clark on bass and Frank Capp on drums. It was the third recording Pepper made right after being released from Los Angeles' Terminal Island prison, and it was the LP he recorded just before The Return of Art Pepper for Jazz West. There's a lot of lingering jailhouse blues in Pepper's playing here.

Horace Silver—Rockin' With Rachmaninoff (1991). This odd album is virtually unknown in Silver's discography. The concept was a stage show in which Duke Ellington meets Sergi Rachmaninoff in heaven, and Duke hips Sergi to jazz. Silver's show was performed only a few times in 1989. Fortunately, Silver had the good sense to record the music, complete with vocal tracks. As you'll hear, this is something of a funk opus.

Sammy Davis, Jr.—I've Gotta Be Me (1996). This is one of my favorite Sammy compilations of Reprise recordings from the early 1960s. This download proves that when Sammy dropped the pretense and cared about what he was singing, he could tear the tiles off a studio ceiling. Sammy opens the vocal throttle on Stranger in Town, Once in a Lifetime, I Want to Be With You, What Kind of Fool Am I, Who Can I Turn To, Someone Nice Like You and all the rest. What's more, the download's sound is vivid and rich. If Sammy was never your bag, you'll likely have a different opinion after hearing this collection.

Eddie Bert—Studio 102 Essentials (2008). Here's another one of those misnamed gems. This album by trombonist Eddie Bert originally was called Like Cool and was recorded in 1955 for the Trans-World label. Why iTunes has it listed as Studio 102 Essentials is beyond me. Eddie had and still has one of the most cool, penetrating and hip sounds on the trombone. He was joined on this date by Dave Schildkraut (tenor sax), Hank Jones (piano), Barry Galbraith (guitar), Clyde Lombardi (bass) and Osie Johnson on drums. For more on the legendary Eddie Bert, see my interview series with him.