The arrangements of Pete Rugolo are an acquired taste. Listening to his leadership albums from the 1950s and early '60s, one initially might dismiss them as bombastic, elephantine works that relied too often on shrill trumpets and tympani drums. What's more, many of Rugolo's albums include a clunker or two that are so bad one could question his taste and judgment. [Photos of Pete Rugolo above and below by William P. Gottlieb]
But by the third go-through, you wind up in a state of hypnotic bliss, surprised that these albums have held up so well over time. What changes by the third listen? Acclimation to Rugolo's orchestral language and appreciation for his intricate and bold instrumental textures. Which just proves that the more you listen to Rugolo's leadership albums, the more they grow on you. The sound is like riding in a massive chrome-trimmed car from the '50s. There's a bigness at every turn and nothing is small. There's also a charm to the dramatic sound and a design that makes the music perfect for driving around Los Angeles today. I'll have to try it next time I'm out there. [Photo above of Pete Rugolo by William P. Gottlieb in 1946]
From Introducing Pete Rugolo and His Orchestra—his first leadership LP recorded in February 1954 for Columbia—to TV's Top Themes from February 1962, Rugolo's arrangements maximized every corner of his orchestras, which typically featured the cream of the West Coast studio jazz scene. In 1954, Rugolo also recorded Adventure in Rhythm and Rugolomania. His charts for You Stepped Out of a Dream, California Melodies, 360 Special, Rugolo Meets Shearing and 4:30 A.M. are brash, daring and nothing short of spectacular.
By 1956, Rugolo began a series of Hi-Fi albums that were arranged wide to take advantage of the new high-fidelity spectrum of sound on LPs that exploited home phonograph speakers. These albums included For Hi-Fi Bugs, Reeds in Hi-Fi, Brass in Hi-Fi and Percussion at Work. Choice cuts here are Theme for Alto; Interlude; Sunday, Monday or Always; Godchild; My Mother's Eyes and Brass at Work.
In 1959, Rugolo scored the music for the Richard Diamond TV detective series. Songs such as All Star, The Sleeve Job and The Teaser are priceless. The music, along with Henry Mancini's music for TV's Peter Gunn (1958-1961), are among the very finest expressions of "crime jazz."
And then came the introduction of stereo in 1958. Rugolo set to work on a series of albums that took advantage of the new format, with different sections of the orchestra isolated in one speaker or the other. This series for Mercury included 10 Trombones Like 2 Pianos (1960), 10 Trumpets and 2 Guitars (1961) and 10 Saxophones and 2 Basses (1961). The songs Love Is Just Around the Corner and Angel Eyes are hip, refreshed arrangements from Rugolo's Four Freshmen and Five Trombones album in 1955. Struttin' with Some Barbecue, Guitarsville, Skyliner, Sometimes I'm Happy and, most of all, Holiday for Strings, are sensational.
As mentioned, you have to ease into Rugolo. At first the music may seem a bit jumpy, jarring and circus-like. But the more you listen, the more you come to appreciate Rulgolo's genius for action-packed arranging and colorful instrumental collisions. While I could do without the novelty songs, such as Saxophobia, they're a small price to pay for the vast majority of swinging fireworks. The weird part is I'm now sort of addicted to Rugolo's material and can't wait to resume my listening today. It's the purest sound of 1950s Los Angeles expanding into the future.
Pete Rugolo died in 2011 at age 95.
JazzWax tracks: You'll many of the recordings mentioned above on Fresh Sound's Adventures in Jazz (here), Adventures in Sound (here) and Exploring New Sounds (here), which includes the stereo albums. The rest you can cherry-pick out of Amazon or iTunes. A bunch are also available for a free listen at Spotify.
JazzWax clips: Here are six amazing arrangements by Pete Rugolo. I must say, these sound particularly great cranked up:
Here's You Stepped Out of a Dream, an adorned instrumental arrangement Rugolo first wrote for Nat King Cole in 1952...
Here's the spectacular 4:20 A.M...
Here's Brass at Work (with Don Fagerquist and Andre Previn)...
Here's The Sleeve Job...
Here's Sunday, Monday or Always...
And here's Holiday for Strings...
