'Bob Tulley Quintet,' 1954

A hidden gem discovered by Jordi Pujol of Fresh Sound Records in Barcelona

I don’t know how Jordi Pujol of Fresh Sound Records in Barcelona does it, but he’s done it again. As part of his “Rare and Obscure Jazz Albums” series, he has just issued a superb two-fer.

This release shows yet again what a blessing Jordi has been, preserving the music’s expansive post-war catalog. Most other established U.S. labels have all but forgotten or ignored jazz beyond Miles, Duke and Louis.

The new single CD from Fresh Sound features the Bob Tulley Quintet and the Hall Daniels Septet. I’m not ashamed to admit that trumpeter Bob Tulley is new to me, probably because he recorded just one album—this one in 1954—and then disappeared.

The other LP on the CD is by trumpeter Hall Daniels, who I do know, having posted in the past on Nash-ville: Zoot Sims/Dick Nash Octet. What I didn’t know until now, however, is that these tracks were originally for a Daniels-led date for a 10-inch LP. It was rebranded Zoot Sims/Dick Nash for its 12-inch re-release with alternate tracks. As we know, familiar names pull in more buyers.

Recorded for Skylark Records in Hollywood over two days in August 1954, the Bob Tulley Quintet featured Bob Tulley (tp), Nash Maez (ts), Hunky Page (p), Paul Binnings (b) and Hank Milo (d). What’s most interesting about the eight tracks is that they were arranged by Willie Maiden.

Maiden, of course, is best known for his playing and arranging for Maynard Ferguson’s big bands in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. His very first recording as an alto saxophonist was on Perez Prado’s 1955 LP The Voodoo Suite. Who was he sitting next to in the band? Nash Maez, also on alto.

Even more interesting for Ferguson fans is that Maiden’s arrangements of Jeepers Creepers and Imagination for Tulley sound almost like demos for his charts of the same songs on Ferguson’s Boy With Lots of Brass in 1957. While the Jeepers Creepers arrangement of the Ferguson album was originally credited to Al Cohn, my guess is that this was an error and that Maiden handled it given the Tulley tracks.

All of Maiden’s arrangements here are terrific. The same goes for the playing. Tulley had a West Coast meets Miles Davis style on trumpet, while Maez sails along on tenor like Bill Holman. According to the original liner notes, the entire quintet was working with Ferguson at the time on live dates. One big happy family.

The tracks:

• Aladdin’s Dilemma (Bob Tulley)

• Jeepers Creepers

• Imagination

• Jazz Mambo (Bob Tulley)

• Jaywalker (Bob Tulley)

• Mood Indigo

• Skylark

• Midnight Romp (Bob Tulley)

Overall, the arrangements and playing are top-shelf examples of early West Coast jazz. That means lots of counterpoint and a laid back feel. You can really feel the warm, salty air coming off the Pacific and smell the ocean and pier pilings here. Given how good the album is, I can’t help but wonder why Tulley never recorded jazz again.

To buy, go here.

To listen, go here.

Here’s the Bob Tulley Quintet playing Jeepers Creepers with Maiden’s arrangement…

Here’s Maynard Ferguson’s 1957 rendition with Maiden’s arrangement…

Here’s Maiden’s arrangement of Imagination, featuring Irene Kral on her first big band date…

And here’s Ferguson playing Maiden’s chart, with Maiden taking the alto saxophone solo…