JazzWax

Ralph Gari on EmArcy in 1955

While I was away over the past two weeks, I spent a few hours at a terrific vinyl record store in town run by guys with long hair and great taste. You know the kind of shop I'm talking about, where everything they spin on their vintage stereo system with 1970s speakers sounds fetching and you must own it.

Fear not, I was merely killing time on a hot day, not hard shopping. But I did jot down a bunch of titles that I tracked down digitally courtesy of my generous friends here and abroad. More in the weeks to come. With time off, I also grabbed a handful of LPs on eBay after waiting months for them to surface.

Among my near-mint scores were the original 10-inch Kenton Showcase: The Music of Bill Holman (Capitol, 1954); Shorty Rogers's 10-inch Cool and Crazy (1953); the Australian pressing of Antonio Carlos Jobim's Wave (1967, CTI), which features the giraffe on the entire cover; a factory-sealed original copy of Frankie Laine's Torchin' (Columbia, 1959), which the owner must have thought was junk; and Jo Stafford's Swingin' Down Broadway (Columbia, 1958), her finest album. 

But back to the point of this post. While browsing the jazz bins at the record store, I came across an EmArcy jazz album I hadn't seen or heard before. It was entitled Ralph Gari, featuring the Ralph Gari Quartet. Recorded in April 1955, the album featured Ralph Gari (fl,cl,as,pic,oboe), Clarence Shank (p), Dan Sherret (b) and Edward Julian (d). The LP features five originals by Gari followed by six standards. [Photo above of Ralph Gari in the 1970s]

What's amazing about the session is that Gari played many different instruments without overdubbing. According to the liner notes, Gari changed instruments in the studio in a flash. The tracks are Happy Daze, Kali, Fourth Dimension, Nocturne, Transition, Fine and Dandy, Dancing in the Dark, The Way You Look Tonight, I've Got You Under My Skin, That Old Black Magic and Thou Swell.

Ultimately, I decided not to buy the album at the store, since many imperfections aren't identified by store owners, and albums there couldn't be returned. I'm also a near-mint freak. Instead, I bought a copy online. But I still wanted a digital version so I could share tracks with you. So I reached out to a dear friend in Cornwall, England, who told me that our mutual pal, Héctor Balbis, in Uruguay, had a copy digitized. Héctor sent it along. Thanks, Héctor!

Based on the liner notes and a bit of newspaper research, Gari (née Garofalo) was born in New Castle, Pa., in July 1927 and began studying music at age 9. Considered a prodigy, he played solo clarinet with an Italian concert band near Pittsburgh for four years starting at age 12. In Pittsburgh and New York after high school, Gari took mundane music jobs that earned him money so he could continue his studies with tutors. [Photo above of Ralph Gari on flute in the 1970s]

He soon joined a series of bands, including Frankie Carle in 1949, and worked with Paul Whiteman that year. Starting in 1950, Gari began working in Las Vegas, which was early. At the time, Vegas was still a dusty gambling town with modest entertainment venues in hotels. To grow, these lounges and rooms desperately needed trained musicians who could read music and lived nearby. Gari settled in Vegas with his wife and two sons.

On the album, Gari's originals are similar in many respects to the neo-classical tonal music of Dave Brubeck, Gil Mellé and Lyle "Spud" Murphy. Gari's tracks could easily have formed the soundtrack of an early independent movie about a young single woman moving into a Greenwich Village apartment and yearning for new friends as she tried to figure out the city. Or some such. The standards on the album are brighter and beautifully arranged and played. Variety in 1955 mentioned that Gari's quartet had been playing at El Rancho Vegas before signing with EmArcy, which is probably where he perfected his instrument-switching act.

Gari appears on only two other jazz albums, both by Skip Martin. My search of Las Vegas and New Castle, Pa., newspaper archives turned up several articles on Gari. In 1958, he joined the house orchestra of the Sands Hotel as principal saxophonist and woodwind player. In 1959, NBC hired him for its TV orchestra in Los Angeles. The network let him perform with symphony orchestras in Southern California and play in a number of film-scoring sessions. [Photo above of the Paradise Pool at the Sands Hotel in 1958]

Gari returned to music school in the 1960s and became a professor at a Nevada university in 1967. A year later he joined the Nat Brandwynne Orchestra at Caesar's Palace in Vegas. In the 1970s, Gari backed a long list of top pop singers in residence at the hotel, including Frank Sinatra and Steve Lawrence. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much on Gari after the 1970s.

JazzWax tracks: If you want to listen to the entire Ralph Gari album or prefer to download the tracks, you'll find them at the Internet Archive here.

JazzWax clips: Here's Dancing in the Dark...

Dancing in the Dark

Here's Happy Daze...

Happy Daze

And here's The Way You Look Tonight...

The Way You Look Tonight

João Donato (1934-2023)

João Donato, one of Brazil's original bossa nova pianists and composers who stood out among a sea of extraordinarily talented peers by gracefully integrating jazz and Latin chord voicings and rhythms into his playing style, died on July 17. He was 88. [Photo of João Donato, courtesy of Deezer]

Donato's formidable contemporaries included Brazilian musician-composers Johnny Alf, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, João Gilberto, Eumir Deodato and others who in the late 1950s softened the samba with a relaxed West Coast jazz feel. Born and initially raised in Rio Branco, in western Brazil near Peru—about 2,000 flying miles from Rio de Janeiro on the country's east coast—Donato played accordion at age 5 and began writing songs at age 7. At 11, he arrived in Rio de Janeiro by boat with his family after his father, a major in the military police, relocated.

Eager to become a pilot, like his father, who had taken him on flying trips over the Amazon, Donato took the test at 18 and failed. He was colorblind, so music became a default occupation. Befriending Jobim in the early 1950s, Donato began recording as a sideman. He also formed a vocal harmony group, Os Namorados, with members from Lucio Alves’s Os Namorados da Lua.

By the late 1950s, many of the young musician-composers and singers who socialized began developing the softer bossa nova while playing in hotel lounges and small clubs near Rio's Copacabana Beach. Initially, their music wasn't popular, largely because people couldn't figure out how to dance to it. But after the popularity of Elizete Cardoso's Canção do Amor Demais (1958) and then Gilberto's Chega de Saudade (1959), the bossa nova became the music of the sophisticated youth culture emerging in Rio and São Paulo.

But Donato wasn't content being locked into a sound or category or tagging along with others. Animated by West Coast jazz, he left Brazil in 1959 for Los Angeles to play at a resort in Lake Tahoe, Nev. The club had sent him a one-way ticket. As he told Russ Slater at the Sounds and Colours blog in 2021:

I stayed for 12 years. I got involved and got married. I had a daughter. I started leading my life in the United States. I felt like an American for some time. I was driving my car in L.A. and I said, “Oh yes, this is my country.” I have a very good appreciation for the American people because they are the jazz ones. They’re the guys who turned me on to the Stan Kenton Orchestra. When I first heard Stan Kenton on a 78 record, I said, “What is this? My goodness!” I couldn’t sleep that night. I love that Kenton sound. And then I fell in love with the USA because of Stan Kenton and then the other guys,

Donato went on to play trombone and piano with Eddie Palmieri and Mongo Santamaría, recorded in the U.S. but did the bulk of his recording in Brazil and always with a cast of legends. Among his most recognizable hits were Minha Saudade, written with Gilberto, A Rã (The Frog) and Caranguejo (The Crab), but he wrote dozens of songs that a bossa nova fan would know instantly. 

Influenced by a wide assortment of music styles and genres, Donato was one of the most eclectic and innovative artists to emerge from the Brazilian musical renaissance at the start of the 1960s. His finest album remains A Bad Donato (1970), which features a stew of styles all brought together with his keen sense of drama and pop. But the word "finest" with Donato is almost ridiculous. All of his albums offer enormous excitement, elegance and flair. Whenever Donato touched the keyboard, beauty, rhythm and passion flowed.

Here are 10 of my favorites:

Here's Donato's first album as a leader—A Bossa Muito Moderna de Donato e Seu Trio (1963). Dig the fusion of bossa and Latin...

Here's his second album, The New Sound of Brazil (1965), arranged by Claus Ogerman...

Here's one of my favorite Donato albums, Bud Shank and His Brazilian Friends (1965), with Bud (as), Donato (p), Rosinha de Valença (g), Sebastião Neto (b) and Chico Batera (d)...

Here's the full A Bad Donato (1970)...

Here's the full Quem É Quem (1973)...

Here's the full Donato e Deodato (1973)...

Here's Emilio Santiago Encontra João Donatom (2003)...

Here's Donato Elétrico (2016)...

Here's the full Sambolero in audio and video, capturing the actual recording in 2005. The album won the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album...

And here's Donato with singer, songwriter, arranger and keyboardist Marcos Valle and his wife, singer Patricia Alvi...

Bonus: Here's Donato and Zeca Pagodinho singing Donato's Sambou Sambou...

Blossom Dearie: The Fontana Years, 1966-1970

Born close to the middle of New York state in 1924, Blossom Dearie wasn't really American. The jazz singer, composer, arranger and pianist was more at home artistically in Paris in the 1950s and then London in the 1960s. Record companies here didn't know what to do with her, and audiences here even into the 2000s didn't get her. She was an exquisite expatriate at heart, and could be pretty snooty about it. [Photo above of Blossom Dearie]

Classically trained on the piano as a child, she switched to jazz in high school. After her graduation in the early 1940s, Dearie moved to Manhattan and sang with Woody Herman's Blue Flames vocal group and with Alvino Rey's Blue Reys.

She also recorded in New York with bop vocalist Dave Lambert and pianist Al Haig in the late 1940s before recording Moody's Mood for Love, a hit with King Pleasure in 1952. Later that year, at 28, she moved to Paris where she played, arranged and sang with Les Blue Stars vocal octet. While there, she also met and married Belgian flutist and saxophonist Bobby Jaspar. [Photo above of Blossom Dearie]

Back in the U.S. in the late 1950s, Dearie recorded a series of albums for Norman Granz's Verve label that were well regarded but never fully clicked for me, emotionally. A few songs worked on albums, most didn't, and Dearie's high pitch seemed out of sync with the more popular, husky-voiced jazz vocalists of the day.

As work dried up in the States in the early 1960s, she performed at Annie Ross's Annie's Room club in London and in Paris at the Quatre Vingt in 1965. A year later, Dearie relocated to London and fit the swinging scene there like a glove. As pop art and the youth culture shaped British fashion, film and music, Dearie's childlike voice was a natural with audiences and artists. London loved Blossom. [Photo above of Blossom Dearie]

While there, she recorded four albums for the Fontana label and set up Blossom Dearie Music, her own music publishing company. She was friends with John Lennon, Georgie Fame and many other emerging young British musicians who related to her quirky, special qualities. She also gigged at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and appeared regularly on BBC TV.

Her Fontana albums were Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott’s, Sweet Blossom Dearie, Soon It’s Gonna Rain and That’s Just the Way I Want to Be. They all featured a wealth of Dearie originals and songs by new composers.

Now, Universal Music Recordings has pulled together her Fontana releases for a new box set: Blossom Dearie: Discover Who I Am, the Fontana Years, 1966-1970. The six CDs include 27 previously unreleased tracks and a booklet with a terrific biographical essay by Jamie Smith along with photos I've never seen before. All of the tracks were remastered at Abbey Road from the original analog sources.

The aptly titled box is a delicious retrospective that captures Dearie in full flower and head-over-heels in love with London. She was inspired by the attention she received, and she was highly productive. The first two albums were recorded live in 1966 at Ronnie Scott's: Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's featured Dearie backed by Jeff Clyne on bass and Johnnie Butts on drums. On Sweet Blossom Dearie, she was backed by Freddy Logan on bass and Alan Ganley on drums.

Soon It's Gonna Rain was a studio date recorded in 1967 and featured Dearie backed by Ronnie Verrell (d), Brian Daly (g), Kenny Salmon (org), Reg Leopold (violin), David Snell (harp), Jim Lawless Alan Hakin (perc.), Arthur Watts and Pete McGurk (b) and Derek Grossmith (fl). Keith Bird plays the alto saxophone solo on Dindi, and accompaniment was directed by Reg Guest and Dick Leahy.

That's Just the Way I Want to Be came out in 1970. Dearie was backed by Harold McNair (fl,ts), Daryl Runswick and Jeff Clyne (b), Spike Wells (d), Ian Carr (flhrn), Ray Warleigh (fl), Kenny Wheeler (tp), the Ladybirds (voc). The Hooray String Section Orchestra was arranged and conducted by Brian Gascoigne, and the session was produced by Pete King.

The fifth and sixth CDs are comprised of demos and tracks from London recording sessions that never were realized as an album.

For me, this box is Dearie in her purest form and at her very best. Fontana let Dearie be Dearie, without a producer insisting on songs and a sound. Listening from start to finish several times, one can hear her fully liberated as an artist and a free spirit in an environment where she not only was adored but also was part of the scene evolving across music genres. In this regard, the set is like a large bouquet of fragrant wet flowers from London's Covent Garden wrapped in lavender paper. The box's title says it all. [Photo above of Blossom Dearie]

JazzWax tracks. You'll find Blossom Dearie: Discover Who I Am, the Fontana Years, 1966-1970 (UMR) here and here. Or you can listen on Spotify or YouTube.

JazzWax clips: Here's When in Rome. Dig Dearie's chords...

Here's Dearie's Big City's for Me. Dig her chord voicings...

Here's Dearie's Dusty Springfield...

Here's Hey John, written by Dearie for John Lennon...

And here's Wave...

Bonus: If you're unfamiliar with Blossom Dearie, here she is in Paris on TV in 1965 with Jacques Hess on bass and Franco Manzecchi on drums, and playing a blues with Jack Dieval. Again dig her chord voicings...

And here's Dearie singing with Les Blue Stars on Lullaby of Birdland in 1954. Dearie is pictured above in the 3 O'clock position on the cover...

Backgrounder: Lockjaw Davis - 'Lock, the Fox'

Tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis recorded two terrific albums for RCA in 1966. The first was a sextet album called Lock, the Fox in June. Backing Lockjaw was Ross Tompkins (p), Les Spann (g), Russell George (b), Chuck Lampkin (d) and Ray Barretto (cga).

The second album was The Fox and the Hounds, recorded in November. The band was essentially Basie's orchestra without Basie, featuring the arrangements of Bobby Plater. Unfortunately, this one isn't up at YouTube.

Both were produced by Brad McCuen, which was odd, since McCuen was a country music heavyweight for RCA at the time. Here's what Gary Burton had to say about him (here). McCuen loved jazz and must have known Lockjaw or loved his horn. [Photo above of Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis]

Lock, the Fox is exceptional on every level—the song choices, the groove and Lockjaw's tough sass on his tenor saxophnoe. McCuen clearly knew how to get maximum value out of him. Hopefully someone will upload Lockjaw's The Fox and the Hounds. It's a glorious record.

Until then, here's this weekend's Backgrounder, Lock, the Fox (RCA), without ad interruptions. I'll be back on Monday...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
• The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.
• Shorty Rogers: Cool and Crazy, go here.
• The Return of Art Pepper, go here.
• Benny Golson and the Philadelphians, go here.
• Moacir Santos: Coisas, go here.

Backgrounder: Moacir Santos - 'Coisas'

Moacir Santos was a Brazilian composer, multi-instrumentalist and educator who never became as well known as his peers, including Bola Sete and Baden Powell. While he collaborated on songs with Nara Leão, Roberto Menescal and Sérgio Mendes among others, he privately taught artists who went on to become highly successful global bossa nova singers and songwriters.

In 1965, he released Coisas (Things, in English), which combined the new Brazilian beat with big band jazz. The album didn't attract much attention when it was released, but over time it was heralded as the first to create such a fusion. He moved to Los Angeles in 1967 with hopes of writing for the movies. While he achieved that goal, much of his work was uncredited. He continued to give lessons in L.A., where he met Horace Silver and recorded three albums for Blue Note in the 1970s. Santos died in 2006.

Todd Selbert suggested Coisas as a Backgrounder, and I'm glad he did.

Here's Moacir Santos's Coisas album on Brazil's Forma label without ad interruptions...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
• The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.
• Shorty Rogers: Cool and Crazy, go here.
• The Return of Art Pepper, go here.
• Benny Golson and the Philadelphians, go here.

Backgrounder: 'Benny Golson & Philadelphians'

What sets jazz albums apart from most other forms of American pop are the different combinations of artists who were brought together to record. Leading jazz musicians were so gifted that each had a singular sound, recording at times as a leader and at other times as a sideman. By contrast, rock, folk and country albums typically featured established core groups assembled to produce a sound and look that could be replicated on stage.

As a result, jazz albums from the 1950s, '60s and '70s remain fascinating for the sheer variety of tonal textures and flavors competing and working together. One exceptional album of contrasting instrumental personalities was Benny Golson and the Philadelphians.

Recorded in November and December 1958 for United Artists, the LP featured five players who hailed from Philadelphia: Benny Golson (ts), Lee Morgan (tp), Ray Bryant (p), Percy Heath (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d). [Photo above of Benny Golson]

Tracks on the release are You're Not the Kind (Gigi Gryce), Blues on My Mind (Benny Golson), Stablemates (Golson), Thursday's Theme (Golson), Afternoon in Paris (John Lewis) and Calgary (Ray Bryant).

The joy of this album is how each artist contributes a different musical coloration and attack, and how each projects alone and as part of the unit: Benny's slippery and muscular saxophone, Morgan's piercing trumpet, Bryant's soul-jazz piano, Heath's swinging bass and Jones's sharp poly-rhythmic drums. Together and apart, they sounded fantastic.

Here's the full Benny Golson and the Philadelphians without ad interruptions...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
• The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.
• Shorty Rogers: Cool and Crazy, go here.
• The Return of Art Pepper, go here.

Backgrounder: 'The Return of Art Pepper'

After time in prison in California following a drug bust in 1954, alto saxophonist Art Pepper returned to work in Los Angeles in 1956. The Return of Art Pepper was recorded on August 6, 1956 for Jazz West, a subsidiary of Aladdin Records. The LP was produced by Herb Kimmel, who ran the the Jazz West label. The album, recorded at Capitol Studios in the newly completed Capitol Records Tower on Yucca and Vine Streets in Hollywood, featured Art Pepper (as), Jack Sheldon (tp), Russ Freeman (p), Leroy Vinnegar (b) and Shelly Manne (d).

All compositions were by Pepper (except for Broadway and You Go to My Head). The track list: Pepper Returns, Broadway, You Go to My Head, Angel Wings, Funny Blues, Five More, Minority, Patricia, Mambo de la Pinta and Walkin' Out Blues. [Photo above of Jack Sheldon]

The last five tracks were added later from a 1957 session for an album led by drummer Joe Morello called Collections: Pepper Steak, You're Driving Me Crazy, Tenor Blooz, Yardbird Suite and Straight Life, featuring Pepper (as,ts), Red Norvo (vib), Gerald Wiggins (p), Ben Tucker (b) and Joe Morello (d).

Here's the entire The Return of Art Pepper (Jazz West) without ad interruptions...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
• The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.
• Shorty Rogers: Cool and Crazy, go here.

Backgrounder: Shorty Rogers - 'Cool & Crazy'

One of Shorty Rogers's finest albums was released originally by RCA in 1953 on a 10-inch LP or as a pair of extended-play 45s. Both had Jim Flora's wonderful cartoon illustration on the cover. RCA had invented the 45rpm in 1949 to compete with Columbia's 33 1/3, which was introduced in 1948. But by '53, RCA had thrown in the towel and issued its records on the 33 1/3 and 45 formats. The 45 version was for those who had already bought RCA's 45rpm players. The label's decision to embrace the 33 1/3 was a result of pressure from its classical musicians, who had began to defect to Columbia for the LP's new improved sound.

Cool and Crazy was recorded 70 years ago, in March and April of 1953, but you'd never know it from the music, which sounds so modern and fresh. The record features a slam-bang band at the dawn of West Coast jazz and Rogers's compositions and arrangements are gloriously optimistic, with loads of terrific harmony and contrapuntal lines. 

His band featured Shorty Rogers, Conrad Gozzo, Maynard Ferguson, Tom Reeves and John Howell (tp); Milt Bernhart, John Halliburton and Harry Betts (tb); John Graas (fhr); Gene Englund (tu); Art Pepper and Bud Shank (as); Jimmy Giuffre (ts,cl); Bob Cooper (bar); Marty Paich (p); Curtis Counce (b) and Shelly Manne (d). This band fleshed out his core nonet, known as the Giants, which he had formed in late 1952.

The tracks are Coop de Graas, Infinity Promenade, Short Stop, Boar-Jibu, Contours, Tale of an African Lobster, Chiquito Loco and The Sweetheart of Sigmund Freud. The record was recorded at RCA Victor's Music Center of the World (above) between NBC Studios and the Brown Derby restaurant on North Vine Street in Hollywood.

For me, there are only a handful of albums that sound like Hollywood in the early 1950s, when West Coast jazz was emerging and you could hear the elation of musicians in the recordings. In Los Angeles, top jazz musicians could earn a living in recording studios; lead record dates and no longer had to go on grueling big-band tours to make money. The L.A. weather was perfect year-round; the beach and golf courses were nearby; they could afford cars and a nice house in the San Fernando Valley; and the highways were new and relatively free of congestion. All of this is baked into the sound of Cool and Crazy.

Here's Shorty Rogers's Cool and Crazy without ad interruptions...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
• The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.

Backgrounder: 'Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet'

Two of the finest jazz flutists in New York in the mid-1950s were united at Bethlehem Records. The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet was recorded in October 1955 and released in 1956. It featured Herbie Mann and Sam Most (fl), Joe Puma (g), Jimmy Gannon (b) and Lee Kleinman (d). Sam Most had more experience under his belt than Mann at the time, having played with Tommy Dorsey, Shep Fields, Boyd Raeburn and Don Redman as well as with his older brother, clarinetist Abe Most. But Mann still received top billing, probably because he was signed to the label.

Here's The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet (Bethlehem) without ad interruptions...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.

Backgrounder: Buddy Collette - 'Man of Many Parts'

West Coast jazz in the 1950s wasn't exclusively a white enterprise. There were a significant number of black jazz artists in Los Angeles then who played in the the form's breezy, contrapuntal style. The difference is that in the late 1940s and early '50s, black jazz artists were largely isolated as a result of the segregated Locals of the American Federation of Musicians. Black musicians belonged to Local 767 while whites belonged to Local 47. In April 1953, Local 47 was amalgamated with Local 767, resulting in a single union in L.A., ending union segregation—on paper.

Whites who worked in the Local's offices who were responsible for sending musicians our on jobs when calls came in found a loophole and had ways of continuing discrimination through coded notations on contact index cards to identify the race of musicians. As a result, many black musicians were passed over for top studio jobs when labels or session leaders preferred all white players. Nevertheless, black musicians were recorded by West Coast labels like Pacific Jazz, Contemporary and others, and they were highly regarded and respected by their white jazz peers.

One of the finest West Coast jazz artists was Buddy Collette. In addition to playing jazz on a long list of instruments—among them the alto and tenor saxophone, the flute and clarinet—he was a composer and key figure who had advocated for and participated in the merging of the union Locals.

Buddy's second leadership album was Man of Many Parts. Recorded for Contemporary in 1956, the combined personnel over the three recording sessions were Buddy Collette (ts, as ,fl, clar), Gerald Wilson (tp), David Wells (bass tp), William E. Green (as), Jewell Grant (bs), Barney Kessel (g), Ernie Freeman and Gerald Wiggins (p), Red Callender and Joe Comfort and Gene Wright (b), Max Albright, Larry Bunker and Bill Richmond (d).

Except for David Wells, Barney Kessel, Joe Comfort and Larry Bunker, the remaining musicians were all black. For more on the amalgamation of Locals 47 and 767, go here. For my five-part interview with Buddy Collette in 2010, go here. 

Here's Buddy Collette's Man of Many Parts (Contemporary) without ad interruptions...

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.