One of the first arrangers and bandleaders to take on Henry Mancini's music was Skip Martin (above). In the spring or summer of 1958, Martin, one of the most prolific and in-demand arrangers of the swing era, recorded TV Jazz Themes with his "video all-stars" for Los Angeles's Somerset label. The six Mancini selections on the album from the Peter Gunn private-eye TV drama were recorded in advance of the show's first season, which began airing in September of '58. If the recording date found in discographies is accurate, Mancini must have provided Martin with a score or demo to help attract the bachelor crowd to the TV show when the album was released in the fall.
The Martin album featured a stellar band used in smaller configurations on several of the songs. On The Brothers Go to Mothers, Soft Sounds, Dreamsville, The Thin Man and Richard Diamond Theme, the orchestra's complete personnel included: Don Fagerquist, Ray Linn, Conrad Gozzo, Pete Candoli, Frank Beach, Joe Triscari, Vince Terri, Gene Sherry and Jimmy Salko (tp); Joe Howard, Dick Nash, Frank Rosolino and George Roberts (tb); Jimmy McGee (fhr); Gus Bivona, Paul Horn, Bob Cooper, Jules Jacobs and Pete Terry (reeds); Gene Estes (vib); Jimmy Rowles (p); Al Hendrickson (g) or Vince Terry (g); Red Mitchell (b); Shelly Manne (d,perc) or Irv Cottler (d,perc); and Larry Bunker (vib,perc).
On the session for Peter Gunn Theme, Fallout, Session's at Pete's Pad and the 77 Sunset Strip Theme, the orchestra included: Gene Sherry and Joe Triscari (tp); Frank Rosolino, George Roberts, Dick Nash and Joe Howard (tb); Jimmy McGee (fhr); Gus Bivona (cl,as); Paul Horn (as,fl); Bob Cooper (ts,oboe); Pete Terry (ts); Jules Jacobs (ts,oboe); Jimmy Rowles (p); Red Mitchell (b) and Shelly Manne (d).
Music from Peter Gunn recorded before the TV series aired included the single Mancini arranged for Ray Anthony, Ted Nash and Maxwell Davis's Peter Gunn album, and Mancini's own Music From Peter Gunn. All were recorded in August '58. After the Mancini album was released in 1959, the composer-arranger-pianist won an Emmy Award and two Grammys, one for Album of the Year and the other for Best Arrangement. From there, the hit theme and music from the TV show became jazz standards as many West Coast jazz artists took a shot at recording what is now known euphemistically as "private-eye jazz" or "crime jazz."
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Skip Martin & The Video All-Stars: TV Jazz Themes here.
JazzWax clip: Here's The Brothers Go to Mothers, featuring gorgeous solos by trombonist Frank Rosolino and tenor saxophonist Bob Cooper, backed by Larry Bunker (vib), Al Hendrickson (g), Red Mitchell (b) and Shelly Manne. Dig Manne's brushwork...
