In January 1957, the Miles Davis Quintet was in Los Angeles on tour, playing at Jazz City on Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue. While there, the quintet's rhythm section—pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones—found time to freelance for two different labels. The trio recorded Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section for Contemporary on January 19. Then Chambers and Jones recorded tracks for a John Graas Sextet album for Decca on the 21st. On the 22nd and 23rd, two more sessions were needed for Decca.
But the seven tracks never made it onto the Graas album. Instead, they surfaced 18 years later when Xanadu producer Don Schlitten bought or leased the unissued tapes and issued them on one side of a 1975 album called The East/West Controversy. Side A featured unissued tracks by the Hampton Hawes Trio. Side B housed the seven phantom tracks for Decca. [Photo above of John Graas]
Freshly signed to Columbia in early 1957 and with his first album, 'Round About Midnight, due out in March 1957, Davis and his group were jazz's first post-war superstars. Labels in L.A. were eager to pair them with West Coast jazz artists. During the 1950s, some jazz writers and record labels ginned up faux battles between the New York and Los Angeles jazz styles. Articles and liner notes yammered about the differences between the two approaches. Some might argue that this marketing strategy was racially shaded, with "West Coast jazz" serving as code for controlled white jazz while "East Coast jazz" was code for more earthy and soulful black jazz.
As I wrote in a 2018 post, a number of albums were released during this period that pitted the coasts against each other as a sales strategy. The truth about the coasts, of course, was a bit different. All of the musicians admired each other, and many West Coast jazz players were born in the East, while many Eastcoasters had been born in the West. As I wrote in my book, Why Jazz Happened, the West Coast's lighter sound was largely environmental—a product of the pleasant weather, open spaces, upward mobility, the emergence of affordable suburban housing and the Pacific coastline, not race.
The lost Graas Decca sessions on Xanadu are superb. On January 22, the lineup was Jack Montrose and Bill Perkins (ts), Paul Moer (p), Paul Chambers (b) and Mel Lewis (d), with arrangements by John Graas. The songs recorded were Montrose (also known as Westlake Bounce) and The Mouse Hop (aka Mulliganesque).
On January 23, there were a few changes: Jack Montrose (ts), Bill Perkins (ts,bar on Jazz City), Paul Moer (p) Paul Chambers (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d). The songs recorded were Jazz City (aka Motif), Sweet Saxophones (aka My Buddy), Early Morning Smog (aka Mood), Two Visitors (aka Cannonball) and Cute (aka Neat Foot). All of the arrangements were by Graas.
A later re-issue of the material on Vee-Jay included two more songs—The Song Is Ended, with Montrose out; and There Will Never Be Another You, with Perkins out. All of the songs except Cute were by Graas. The composer of Cute was the pianist Moer. [Photo above of Jack Montrose]
Now for the big question: Why wasn't this material released by Decca in 1957? We don't know for sure. According to the liner notes by Mark Gardner for the Xanadu release in '75, the session was recorded at Audio Arts Studio in Hollywood. We also know the session was for Decca under the leadership of French hornist John Graas. The reason Decca held them back may have been the fault of Philly Joe Jones. Apparently, Jones needed a set of drums for the date. Mel Lewis brought along his. But when Jones failed to show up for the session on January 22, Lewis played instead. Jones showed up the next day and used Lewis's set. Decca may not have wanted two different sounds on drums. Or more important, Graas wasn't playing on these tracks, only composing and arranging. So, was this a demo try-out for Jack Montrose or Paul Moer who was hoping to record for Decca? We'll never know. [Photo above of Paul Chambers by Francis Wolff (c) Mosaic Images]
Regardless, we're lucky that producer Don Schlitten (above) licensed the Graas-led material. All of the songs are bouncy and flawless, with superb playing by all of the musicians. As for Perkins and Montrose, Perk is the lighter, more Young-ian saxophone while Montrose's sound has the harder edge. Or if it's easier, Perk is coming out of your left speaker and Montrose is emerging through the right.
The material is stunning, for Paul Chambers's bass playing alone.
JazzWax tracks: The music on the album has been issued as Westlake Bounce: The Music Of John Graas (Fresh Sound) here.
These John Graas songs also are available on The East/West Controversy (Xanadu), a vinyl-only release here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Montrose...
Here's The Mouse Hop...
And here's Sweet Saxophones...
