One of the best albums by the Herb Pomeroy Orchestra was recorded live at the El Morocco in Worcester, Mass., in 1980. It's also among the rarest. Even many fans of the Boston trumpeter and bandleader are probably unaware of the LP's existence. Released on Shiah Records, Pramlatta's Hips never made it onto CD, which is truly a shame. However, I suspect that after this post, someone will figure out a way to make it available as a download.
Shiah Records was a short-lived Boston label in the early 1980s. It was founded by local radio personality Ron Della Chiesa and producer Wil Morton, with Jane Arsham of Gloucester Productions in Newton, Mass., handlng the label's mastering and pressing. There were only 12 Shiah releases, Pramlatta's Hips being the first.
For those not in the know, Herb Pomeroy led New England's finest bands in the '50s. The trumpeter not only attracted terrific musicians and arrangers but also persuaded many of them to stick around and not abandon Boston for New York and Los Angeles. Whatever his Svengali management strategies were, they worked for the most part.
Some of Pomeroy's Massachusetts pals, of course, did get away. Among them were alto saxophonists Charlie Mariano and Boots Mussulli, tenor saxophonist Varty Haritounian, baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff [pictured], pianist Dick Twardzik and others, not always to great end.
In the late '50s, the band that Pomeroy had assembled almost as a counterweight to Maynard Ferguson's ferocious orchestra recorded two exciting albums. These were Life Is a Many Splendored Gig (1957) and Band in Boston (1958). Around this time, he also began teaching full-time at Boston's Berklee College of Music, which had been called Schillinger House when Pomeroy attended.
Then in the late '70s, Pomeroy began gigging again. Pramlatta's Hips was the result of one of these dates. The band on the album featured Herb Pomeroy, Wes Hensel, Everett Longstreth, Paul Fontaine, Greg Hopkins (tp) Phil Wilson (tb,arr) Gene DiStasio (tb) Tak Takvorian (b-tb) Dave Chapman (as) Dick Johnson (as,sop) John LaPorta (ts,arr) Mike Monaghan (ts) Jimmy Derba (bar,sop) Bill Davies (p) John Neves (b) Fred Buda (d) and Hal Crook and Mike Gibbs (arr).
I'm not sure who Pramlatta is or was or why her hips held special appeal. I have an email in to Hal Crook, the song's composer and arranger. More to come once I hear back.
Pramlatta's Hips has quite a few highlights, among them a swinging alto solo by Chapman on the title track, a superb piccolo solo by Monaghan [pictured] on The Great Hat, and a terrific overall arrangement of Remembering Mingus by John LaPorta, who also wrote the tune.
Sadly, this would be Pomeroy's last known big band recording before his death in 2007. He would lead a few other small group recording sessions and appear on many dates by other artists. But as for his nimble big bands, Pramlatta's Hips would be it—and boy was it a killer.
JazzWax tracks: Sadly, Pramlatta's Hips (Shiah) is not on CD, though it may be available at download sites. I did notice a couple of copies of the LP on eBay at startlingly low prices. Herb Pomeroy's Life Is a Many Splendored Gig and Band in Boston are both available as downloads at iTunes and Amazon here and here.
A special JazzWax thanks to David Langner.
JazzWax clips:Here's the sweet sound of Herb Pomeroy's flugelhorn in 1984...
And here's Pomeroy and some Boston pals back in 1955...
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Marc - I've been waiting for this to come out as a CD for over two decades. You're right - there are two copies of the LP available on eBay, but right next to me on my desk is my copy, which I dare say is the only extant one SIGNED by Herb Pomeroy and eight other members of the band which recorded this LP. And it was signed by them at the legendary El Morocco (run by my friends, the Aboody family) - the club where this recording was made. I've been trying to track down the producer/recording engineer Wil Morton for years to see if he still has the tapes (which obviously would have much more than the 41 minutes which is on the LP). Last I knew, he had retired from his job at WGBH-TV in Boston. Maybe Jordi Pujol of Fresh Sound can find him; if he can find that recently released Tony Fruscella session (long thought to be lost), he can find anything.
Well even we here in Europe had a little Information about this LP and I am a lucky owner.
I do agree that probably Jori Pujol has the means to reissue a CD.
Anyway my LP copy is in excellent shape and I could make a good copy if needed.
Willie
For the collector:
This is my stock of Herb Pomeroy recordings:
CD Pomeroy,Herb Herb Pomeroy Bigband Jazz at Sandys Red Rose Music 09
Pomeroy,Herb Jazz in a Stable 1955 Transition(jap) 1
CD Pomeroy,Herb Band in Boston/Life is a many splendored gig 1957-58 Fresh Sound 571
Pomeroy,Herb Trumpets out front (Disc one)see 30587 1957-58 Roulette(Vogue) 2 567
Pomeroy,Herb Pramlatta`s Hips 1980 Shia 1
When I checked in with Jazz Wax after coming to work this morning and saw a feature on Herb Pomeroy, my day really started right! When I saw some audio cuts were featured off of Serge Chaloff’s “Boston Blow Up!” I knew it would be a great day! I am typing this as I listen to Serge’s solo feature on “What’s New?”—a masterpiece. Herb’s playing and charts for small ensemble on that recording remind us of what was lost with his passing. Thanks for posting this feature on Herb’s big bands, Mark. I have owned both his big band recordings for many years—“Band in Boston” a big favorite--and will now set my sights on acquiring “Pramlatta’s Hips.” Calling Jori Pujol---Are you reading these comments
I had this record but stupidly sold it when I got rid of my LPs a few years ago. When I was in college, I remember celebrating one New Year's Eve at the El Morocco in Worcester.
BTW, he recorded his last big band session in SACD format called Herb Pomeroy Live at Sandy's issued by Red Rose Music in 2001.
I'm glad the SACD of the Pomeroy band was mentioned. Unfortunately, it can only be played on an SACD player, and they are quite expensive at this point. It was recorded in 1978 at 30 inches per second (twice as fast as most professional analog machines of the time). This is one of my favorite big band recordings. The band is fabulous and the sound is stunning. It is still in print, by the way.
@Jeff Sultanof - Many, or at least some, Blu-ray players also play SACDs. My Sony S-370 does, and it wasn't expensive at all (which is one reason I bought it!).
I agree that the sound is outstanding on this SACD. Too bad producer/engineer Mark Levinson didn't do as good a job on the packaging as on the recording. No band personnel listed, no recording date given, two tunes listed as "Unknown," well-known composers' names misspelled - "Jacki" Byard, Bob "Friedman," etc. Yet he had space for page after page of ads for his audio products.
How nice to see attention being paid the late, great Herb Pomeroy. We New Englanders were fortunate to have Herb in our midst for most of his career, and I too have fond memories of seeing him at the El Morocco.
There's a companion session to the Band in Boston date, vocalist Irene Kral's debut recording, The Band and I, which she made with Pomeroy in ‘58. Irene had a fondness for the hip tunes of Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman, and right out of the gate she recorded their originals It Isn't So Good and This Little Love.
Herb figures prominently in Jack Chambers' biography of Dick Twardzik, Bouncin' With Bartok, which offers a comprehensive look at the Boston scene in the 40's and '50's. Herb's devotion to Twardzik, who died of a drug overdose in 1955 at age 24, included an annual pilgrimage to his grave. The telling will tug at your heart.
I got a great story from Herb about his first night playing with Duke Ellington for an article I wrote on Duke for the Boston Globe Magazine in 1999. Drop me a line at New England Public Radio and I’ll send you a copy.
All I can say, as a denizen of the Stables, is amen. What a scene! Jaki Byard, Dick Twardzik, Sam Rivers, Joe Gordon, Ray Santisi, Clifford Brown sitting in, the list is endless. Herb is profoundly missed by all who heard and knew him him. His stories were like manna from heaven. His knowledge and humanity unsurpassed. My regret is that I never got to interview him. I believe that there is some oral history by him. Does anyone know about it?
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Marc Myers writes frequently on music and the arts for the Wall Street Journal. He is author of "Why Jazz Happened" (University of California Press). In 2012, JazzWax was named the Jazz Journalists Association's "Blog of the Year."
Marc - I've been waiting for this to come out as a CD for over two decades. You're right - there are two copies of the LP available on eBay, but right next to me on my desk is my copy, which I dare say is the only extant one SIGNED by Herb Pomeroy and eight other members of the band which recorded this LP. And it was signed by them at the legendary El Morocco (run by my friends, the Aboody family) - the club where this recording was made. I've been trying to track down the producer/recording engineer Wil Morton for years to see if he still has the tapes (which obviously would have much more than the 41 minutes which is on the LP). Last I knew, he had retired from his job at WGBH-TV in Boston. Maybe Jordi Pujol of Fresh Sound can find him; if he can find that recently released Tony Fruscella session (long thought to be lost), he can find anything.
Posted by: Jon Foley | October 26, 2011 at 02:27 AM
Well even we here in Europe had a little Information about this LP and I am a lucky owner.
I do agree that probably Jori Pujol has the means to reissue a CD.
Anyway my LP copy is in excellent shape and I could make a good copy if needed.
Willie
Posted by: `Willie | October 26, 2011 at 10:37 AM
For the collector:
This is my stock of Herb Pomeroy recordings:
CD Pomeroy,Herb Herb Pomeroy Bigband Jazz at Sandys Red Rose Music 09
Pomeroy,Herb Jazz in a Stable 1955 Transition(jap) 1
CD Pomeroy,Herb Band in Boston/Life is a many splendored gig 1957-58 Fresh Sound 571
Pomeroy,Herb Trumpets out front (Disc one)see 30587 1957-58 Roulette(Vogue) 2 567
Pomeroy,Herb Pramlatta`s Hips 1980 Shia 1
Posted by: `Willie | October 26, 2011 at 10:42 AM
When I checked in with Jazz Wax after coming to work this morning and saw a feature on Herb Pomeroy, my day really started right! When I saw some audio cuts were featured off of Serge Chaloff’s “Boston Blow Up!” I knew it would be a great day! I am typing this as I listen to Serge’s solo feature on “What’s New?”—a masterpiece. Herb’s playing and charts for small ensemble on that recording remind us of what was lost with his passing. Thanks for posting this feature on Herb’s big bands, Mark. I have owned both his big band recordings for many years—“Band in Boston” a big favorite--and will now set my sights on acquiring “Pramlatta’s Hips.” Calling Jori Pujol---Are you reading these comments
Posted by: Bruce Armstrong | October 26, 2011 at 12:55 PM
I had this record but stupidly sold it when I got rid of my LPs a few years ago. When I was in college, I remember celebrating one New Year's Eve at the El Morocco in Worcester.
BTW, he recorded his last big band session in SACD format called Herb Pomeroy Live at Sandy's issued by Red Rose Music in 2001.
Posted by: Joseph Knych | October 26, 2011 at 07:21 PM
I'm glad the SACD of the Pomeroy band was mentioned. Unfortunately, it can only be played on an SACD player, and they are quite expensive at this point. It was recorded in 1978 at 30 inches per second (twice as fast as most professional analog machines of the time). This is one of my favorite big band recordings. The band is fabulous and the sound is stunning. It is still in print, by the way.
Posted by: Jeff Sultanof | October 26, 2011 at 09:16 PM
@Jeff Sultanof - Many, or at least some, Blu-ray players also play SACDs. My Sony S-370 does, and it wasn't expensive at all (which is one reason I bought it!).
I agree that the sound is outstanding on this SACD. Too bad producer/engineer Mark Levinson didn't do as good a job on the packaging as on the recording. No band personnel listed, no recording date given, two tunes listed as "Unknown," well-known composers' names misspelled - "Jacki" Byard, Bob "Friedman," etc. Yet he had space for page after page of ads for his audio products.
Posted by: Jon Foley | October 27, 2011 at 12:56 AM
How nice to see attention being paid the late, great Herb Pomeroy. We New Englanders were fortunate to have Herb in our midst for most of his career, and I too have fond memories of seeing him at the El Morocco.
There's a companion session to the Band in Boston date, vocalist Irene Kral's debut recording, The Band and I, which she made with Pomeroy in ‘58. Irene had a fondness for the hip tunes of Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman, and right out of the gate she recorded their originals It Isn't So Good and This Little Love.
Herb figures prominently in Jack Chambers' biography of Dick Twardzik, Bouncin' With Bartok, which offers a comprehensive look at the Boston scene in the 40's and '50's. Herb's devotion to Twardzik, who died of a drug overdose in 1955 at age 24, included an annual pilgrimage to his grave. The telling will tug at your heart.
I got a great story from Herb about his first night playing with Duke Ellington for an article I wrote on Duke for the Boston Globe Magazine in 1999. Drop me a line at New England Public Radio and I’ll send you a copy.
Posted by: Tom Reney | October 27, 2011 at 10:18 AM
There is also some great Herb Pomeroy playing on John Lewis' "The Wonderful World of Jazz" on Atlantic Records.
Posted by: James Cimarusti | October 28, 2011 at 11:58 AM
All I can say, as a denizen of the Stables, is amen. What a scene! Jaki Byard, Dick Twardzik, Sam Rivers, Joe Gordon, Ray Santisi, Clifford Brown sitting in, the list is endless. Herb is profoundly missed by all who heard and knew him him. His stories were like manna from heaven. His knowledge and humanity unsurpassed. My regret is that I never got to interview him. I believe that there is some oral history by him. Does anyone know about it?
Posted by: Justin Freed | October 31, 2011 at 11:56 AM