In the late 1950s, Irv Kratka began releasing albums that would change jazz. Not necessarily the music but the quality of playing by those who wanted to learn without taking lessons or just wanted to improve their chops. Known since 1950 as Music Minus One, the company founded by Kratka at first focused on classical, pop vocals and then Dixieland jazz. [Photo above of Billy Bauer]
By the late 1950s, modern jazz made it onto Music Minus One's roster. The label hired top jazz players such as George Duvivier, Elvin Jones, Stan Getz, Hal McCusick, Hank Jones and others and recorded them as backup players. The solo instrument was left out. That part was yours. The thinking was that with a club-level jazz group behind you, you'd have an easier time learning to swing and solo, and your confidence would grow. And it worked.
Music Minus One also created a revenue stream for the many jazz musicians who recorded on the albums. The paydays helped them earn a living, since jazz gigs and record dates often weren't sufficient to pay the bills. Muzak also served in this role—employing top jazz musicians to play easy-listening standards for bank lobbies, offices and supermarkets.
But before Kratka steered Music Minus One to the jazz market, guitarist Billy Bauer tried his hand at the concept. Following a career playing with Woody Herman, Lennie Tristano and Lee Konitz, Bauer played on a large number of studio dates for NBC TV and recording work behind hundreds of pop artists in the 1950s and beyond. [Photo above of Irv Kratka]
In 1953, Bauer recorded an album called Let's Have a Session. Recorded for Ad Lib, Bauer played rhythm guitar backed by Tony Aless (p) Arnold Fishkin (b) and Don Lamond (d). You were able to play along on virtually any instrument, though the album's cover urged you to "pick up your horn and blow."
Listening to the album 65 years later, the music is a nifty way to play with Bauer, Aless, Fishkin and Lamond. According to the 10-inch album's liner notes, all were television studio players at this point in time. The songs are Easy Walking Blues (in B-flat), Out of Nowhere (G), These Foolish Things (E-flat), Indiana (A-flat), Somebody Loves Me (F), September in the Rain (E-flat), Ghost of a Chance (C) and 'S Wonderful (E-flat).
But you don't have to be a fledgling musician. It's fun to hear what a top group would sound like if you were up there soloing. More important, it's weirdly fascinating to hear Bauer running chords on rhythm guitar and to listen to Aless play without the distraction of a big band. He was largely unheard on many of his jazz recordings as a studio sideman.
Billy Bauer died in 2005; Tony Aless died in 1988.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Billy Bauer's Let's Have a Session coupled with Bauer's terrific sole leadership date, Plectrist, on Fresh Sound here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Out of Nowhere...
And here's September in the Rain...
