JazzWax

Russo + Paich in the U.K.

Duncan Lamont, who died in July 2019 at age 87, was a Scottish saxophonist who came up through London's jazz scene of the 1950s. During this remarkably fertile period, he sharpened his skills with Britain's best jazz musicians and performed often with touring American bands in need of players and behind jazz-pop singers. Lamont also toured in the U.S. with Vic Lewis, one of the U.K.'s leading big bands. Growing up, Lamont started out on trumpet but soon shifted to the tenor saxophone. [Photo above of Duncan Lamont]

Among the many studio sessions Lamont recorded on included two albums with a Stan Kenton connection. Both of these recordings were led by American arrangers but are little known in the U.S., probably because they weren't released here. [Photo above of Stan Kenton]

The first was entitled Russo in London. For the date, Bill Russo brought over nine of his well-known arrangements for Stan Kenton and conducted the London Jazz Orchestra in December 1962. Each album side featured a suite of his beautiful songs for Kenton. The first side included Portrait of a Count, Egdon Heath, Frank Speaking, Thisbe and Sweets. The second side showcased Bill's Blues, Ennui, Dusk and 23 Degrees North, 82 Degrees West.

The band's personnel featured Ron Simmonds, Leon Calvert, Gordon Rose and Tony Mabett (tp); Johnny Edwards, Keith Christie, Bobby Lamb and Don Lusher (tb); Jack Thirwell and Ray Premru (b-tb); Johnny Scott and Al Newman (as); Art Ellefson and Duncan Lamont (ts); Ronnie Ross (bar); Richard Morgan (oboe); Ray Dempsey (g); Arthur Watts (b); Kenny Clare (d) Raymond Clark, Jack Holmes, Hilary Robinson and Derek Simpson (cello) and Bill Russo (cond).

I know that many of my JazzWax readers are, like me, huge Kenton fans. It's so gratifying to hear these songs recorded with a slightly updated approach by a completely different orchestra and soloists. Portrait of a Count, Frank Speaking, Dusk and 23 Degrees North, 82 Degrees West are from Kenton's New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm (1952). Egdon Heath, Thisbe and Sweets are from Russo's Kenton Showcase: The Music of Bill Russo, a 10-inch album released in 1954. Ennui is from Stan Kenton and His Innovations Orchestra in 1951. And Bill's Blues was recorded in 1952 and wound up on The Kenton Era, a compilation set released in 1955.

The second rare album on which Lamont plays is Marty Paich's Neophonic Impressions Orchestra. It was recorded during the Anugraha Festival in Englefield Green in Windsor Great Park in Windsor, England, on August 20, 1988 and broadcast on the BBC Radio on January 15 1989. The band featured
Eddie Blair, Bert Ezzard, Ken Jones, Ronnie Hughes and Kenny Wheeler (tp,flghrn); Cliff Hardie, Mark Nightingale, Maurice Pratt and Jim Wilson (tb); John Pinege, Tony Randall, Nick Hill, Jim Buck Jr. and
Jim Rook (Fr. horn); Stephen Wick (tuba); Ronnie Chamberlain and Peter King (as); Duncan Lamont and Vic Ash (ts); Ronnie Ross (bs); Brian Dee (p); Chris Laurence (b); Terry Jenkins (d); Paul Turner (perc, tympanis); and Marty Paich (arr,cond).

The tracks are The Big Chase, My Old Flame, Just Friends, Body And Soul, Violets for Your Furs, Moanin', I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face, Let There Be Love and Neophonic Impressions. The first two are Paich's arrangements for Kenton's Back to Balboa album in 1958.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Bill Russo's Russo in London paired with Kenny Baker's Blowing Up a Storm here.

Marty Paich's Neophonic Impressions Orchestra was recorded off the radio and was never released commercially.

JazzWax clips: Here's Portrait of a Count from Russo in London...

Portrait of a Count

And here's The Big Chase from Marty Paich's Neophonic Impressions Orchestra...

The Big Chase

Bill, Chuck and Rahsaan

This week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed actor Bill Camp for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Bill has appeared in many films, most recently HBO's The Night Of series and Joker. In both cases, he was a detective. Bill talked about growing up on the campus of the Groton School in Massachusetts (where his father was a teacher and assistant headmaster). But Bill's life changed when he went for a drive with his mother. [Photo above of Bill Camp by Brad Trent, courtesy of Brad Trent]

Here's Bill in a masterful scene in The Night Of...

Stressed? Yeah, just a little. Do yourself a favor. Go to the Facebook page of Mike Greensill. Pianist Dave Thompson hipped me to him. Mike is a West Coast jazz pianist with enormous taste and an elegant style. He's giving free concerts each day at 3 p.m. (PCT) and taking requests. Yesterday's performance remains up. You'll thank me. Go here.

Billy Collins, a former Poet Laureate of the United States and a lover of jazz, sent along a poem that appeared first in Brilliant Corners: A Journal of Jazz and Literature: 

Coincidence

Along Came Betty

and

In Walked Bud

—Billy Collins

Chuck Israels, the eminent bassist, sent along an email following my post on Dexter Gordon videos: 

Hi Marc, in your post of Dexter's Lady Bird, watch drummer Daniel Humair switch hands during Guy Pedersen’s bass solo. He plays time on a cymbal with his left hand. I often worked with him around this time in Paris (mostly with Martial Solal) and found this ability (and his musicianship) remarkable. He’s the most ambidextrous person I know and changes from one hand to another whenever it’s advantageous. A few years later, Daniel turned this manual dexterity to another use and quickly became a successful abstract painter.

Ireland. Oliver in Dublin had words for JazzWax during a trying week:

Hi Marc, Another great JazzWax post to help keep the spirits high in these challenging times. I've joined a small group of Army veterans, and we are delivering free food to the old and vulnerable in the area. Today is Mother's Day here, and I will visit my own mother, but I'll only be able to speak to her through the kitchen window. Stay safe.

René Urtreger. Pianist Franck Amsallem in France sent along an email about René Urtreger, the French bop pianist:

Marc, little known fact: René Urtreger went through World War II in hiding, and was able to reach a safe haven in Morocco with his father. His mother was deported and killed in Auschwitz. He sometimes talks about it and links many of his subsequent drug problems to that little known fact. He opened up recently and told stories about the war in his biography: Le Roi René: René Urtreger par Agnès Desarthe (French Edition).

Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Following my post on Roland Kirk videos, Drew Duncan sent along the following:

Hi Marc. Thanks for the post, with many of my favorites. Here's another gem—Supershow—which has an unbelievable cast of musicians. It features Kirk playing his scorching version of Say A Little Prayer. The original Supershow DVD features a killer recording of Led Zeppelin doing Dazed and Confused, but it has been cut from this version. Nonetheless, so many great musicians:

Here's Supershow...

Art Farmer. Following my post on flugelhornist Art Farmer last week, I received an email from arranger Larry Dunlap:

Marc, great to hear all the Art Farmer music. I recorded with him one time, on Mark Murphy’s September Ballads recording. I wrote the arrangements. I wrote some parts out for Art, thinking he played trumpet and flugelhorn. When he saw the parts, he said, “I don’t play trumpet”. Some parts were written for muted trumpet. Luckily he had a mute for the flugelhorn. What a wonderful player and a seemingly very mellow person.

Saxophonist Bill Kirchner added a note, "After Farmer chose to play flugelhorn exclusively, he found a trombone Harmon mute that he could use in the flugelhorn so that he could have a muted sound when he wanted one."

Here's Larry's arrangement of When She Is Mine, with Mark Murphy singing and Art Farmer playing...

Lord Buckley. Chris Laughbon sent along the following email:

H Marc. Apropos your Shakespeare swings posts, do you remember Lord Buckleys’ hip version of Mark Anthony’s eulogy from Julius Caesar? Not exactly jazz, but still in the orbit for sure.

Here's Lord Buckley...

RoundAgain. Pianist Dave Thompson sent along a video of Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade performing Right Back Round Again, from their upcoming album RoundAgain, due July 10...

New York, 1911. Here's remastered footage of New York City in 1911. For more information on the "upscaling" process, go here...

Count Basie. Here's the Basie band in 1962 playing Freddie Green's Corner Pocket, with tremendous technique by drummer Sonny Payne...

Thad Jones: Rehearsal Session

On February 27, 1978, Thad Jones as guest conductor rehearsed the Danish Radio Big Band in preparation for an evening performance with Dexter Gordon as guest soloist. Gordon had already moved back to the U.S. in 1976 after a long residency in Europe and signed with Columbia. His famed live Homecoming album for Columbia recorded at the Village Vanguard in December '76 had already been released in '77 to much acclaim.

But in February '78, he returned to Copenhagen to visit and to play with Jones and the orchestra. Werner Dahnz in Germany tells me the rehearsal took place there and that the concert in question was held at Danmarks Radio House in Copenhagen on Gordon's 55th birthday.

Last year, a home video surfaced of Jones leading that rehearsal on several songs. I threw it to saxophonist Bill Kirchner, who played with the band at the Vanguard. He had this to say about the pieces:

Marc, I don’t know the first piece. The second is Thank You, composed and arranged by Jerry Dodgion for the Jones/Lewis band on their New Life album. The third is Thad’s Fingers, from the Consummation album.

Likely personnel for the Danish Radio Big Band, which recorded on March 5, 1978, on By Jones, I Think We've Got It : The Danish Radio Big Band and Thad Jones: Thad Jones (cnt,cond) Palle Bolvig, Benny Rosenfeld, Idrees Sulieman, Allan Botschinsky, Perry Knudsen (tp,flhrn) Vincent Nilsson, Erling Kroner, Richard Boone, Ole Kurt Jensen (tb) Axel Windfeld (b-tb,tu) Jesper Thilo (sop,as,cl,fl) Per Carsten (as,fl,sop) Bent Jaedig (ts,fl) Uffe Karskov (ts,as,fl,cl) Flemming Madsen (bar,b-cl,cl) Ole Kock Hansen (p,el-p) Bo Sylven (g) Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (b,el-b) Bjarne Rostvold (d) Ethan Weisgard (perc,cga) and Ray Pitts (arr).

Here's the Thad Jones rehearsal and a surprise appearance at the end. Wait for it...