Aug - AmericanRadioHistory.Com

More documents

Recommendations

Info

RECORDS Don Elliott, Rusty Dedrick, trumpets; Dick Hyman, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Eddie Safranski, bass; Don Lamond, drums. RIVERSIDE RLP 2517. IO -in. $3.98. Limiting himself to trumpet, Elliott joins Dedrick, another fine trumpet man who is just emerging as a solo star, in duets on compositions by Dick Hyman, pianist in this group. The material is bright and moving and Elliott and Dedrick attack it with cleanliness, clarity, and taste both in their duets and in their alternating solos. Although the natural open horn styles of both men are very similar, there is no monotony of sound. They vary open and muted horns and wisely refrain from clinging to any individual solo spot for long. Hyman makes a few appearances playing some of the live, thoughtful piano of which he is capable (as opposed to the frightening trash which he has produced for a few recent recordings). The rhythm section is one of the best that could currently be assembled and, as a consequence, this disk swings from first to last. When Your Lover Has Gone and Easy to Remember are ballad solos (for Elliott on Lover and Dedrick on the other), both exceptionally warm and moving performances. This is an excellent disk - produced, performed, and recorded with intelligence and taste. I LIKE JAZZ Wally Rose: Maple Leaf Rag; Bessie Smith: Put It Right There; Louis Armstrong: Jazz Lips; Eddie Condon: Home Cooking; Big Beiderbecke: Sentimental Baby; Phil Napoleon: Sensation Rag; Duke Ellington: Merry -Go- Round; Teddy Wilson and Billie Holiday: I'll Never Be the Same; Benny Goodman: Jam Session; Pete Rugolo: 4 :20 A.M.; Turk Murphy: Got Dem Blues; Dave Brubeck: Makin' Time. COLUMBIA JZ t. 12 -in. 980. Columbia has been advertising this as "a fabulous record" and I will not quibble one little bit with that description. In fact, when the price is considered, Columbia's advertising department might be accused of understatement. The purpose of this disk is to get samples from Columbia's jazz catalogue into as many hands as possible. It is done in the form of a hop- skip -andjump history of jazz using, as examples, recordings which have either not previously been transferred to LP or not issued at all. The line -up assembled by George Avakian - who continues to be the most exciting (and excitable) jazz A & R man now practicing - is an almost unqualified series of gems. Armstrong's Jazz Lips is one of his more inspired Hot Five performances, Home Cooking is an unusually provocative product of the Chicagoans scuffling days, and Merry -Go -Round can count on at least one vote as the most solidly swinging recording in the Ellington repertoire. Of the new material, the standout item is Benny Goodman's Jain Session, an exciting 1937 aircheck with an exuberant reminder of Harry James's great days with a horn. Brubeck, Murphy, and Rose are excellently represented while Phil Napoleon's Sensation Rag is a surprisingly bright and driving performance. The only entry which 6o is not gemlike to some degree is Beiderbecke's Sentimental Baby and even Avakian, in his notes, passes this off as an illustration of the horrible surroundings in which Beiderbecke played. This, however, in no way detracts from the overall fabulousness of this disk. It is the finest single- record summation of jazz that has ever been issued. The recording, of course, varies widely from excellent (the new studio recorded material) to tolerable (the mid -Twenties recordings). JAZZ WEST COAST An Anthology of California Music Chet Baker Ensemble: Bockhanal; Gerry Mulligan Quartet: Soft Shoe; Darn That Dream; Clifford Brown Ensemble: Tiny Caper; Zoot Sims Quartet: I'll Remember April; Bud Shank and Three Trombones: Wailing Vessel; Chet Baker Quartet: Happy Little Sunbeam; Bill Perkins and Bud Shank: It Had to Be You; Bud Shank and Bob Brookmeyer: Low Life; Chet Baker Quintet: There Will Never Be Another You; Bud Shank and Shorty Rogers: Lotus Bud; Laurindo Almeida Quartet: Speak Lou; Bob Gordon and Jack Montrose: Tuo Can Play; Lee Konitz and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet: Oh, Lady Be Good. PACIFIC JAZZ JWC 500. I2 -in. $3.98. Another mélange of sides from the files of one record company, this time Pacific Jazz. In this case, the company is small, its history brief and the point of the disk is to offer examples of jazz played by the modern school around Los Angeles. Most of the selections are alternate masters of sides already available. There are three previously unreleased performances (Soft Shoe, I'll Remember April, and There Will Never Be Another You) and one reissue (Lotus Bud). The theory of the alternate master is a dubious one at best. Either the best take is issued the first time out or else the recording company is deliberately shortchanging its talent and its customers. There are times when the choice between masters is difficult to make but probably not as many times as there are alternate masters on this disk. Be that as it may, the showing in this collection is good although a little repetitious, particularly in the work of the pianists. The dominant figures are Gerry Mulligan (whose previously unreleased Soft Shoe is a rich specimen of his meaty style) and Bud Shank who plays a darkly moving flute on Lotus Bud and brightens both Loin Life and Speak Lou, with his alto. On the other newly released numbers, Zoot Sims's I'll Remember April develops into a smoothly flowing tenor solo after a fiat, lifeless statement of melody common to this school of saxophonists, while There Will Never Be Another You displays Chet Baker with a bigger tone than usual and Jimmy Giuffre with a hollower clarinet sound. The disk provides a valid introduction to the newcomer to West Coast jazz, but, except for Soft Shoe, it contributes little that will be new to those who have been there before, even with its alternate masters. Recording, for the most part, is extremely good. Next issue: The vocal music of Bach by Nathan Broder BARBARA LEA A Woman in Love <strong>Com</strong>e Rain or <strong>Com</strong>e Shine; As Long As I Live; Love Is Here to Stay; Thinking of You; I Didn't Know About You; Love Me; The Best Thing for You; A Woman Alone with the Blues. Barbara Lea, vocals; Johnny Windhurst, trumpet; Billy Taylor, piano; Jimmy Shirley, guitar; Earl May, bass; Percy Brice, drums. RIVERSIDE RLP 2518. to -in. $3.98. We won't start talking about Barbara Lea in terms of the great jazz singers yet, or possibly for some time to come, but note that with this disk she makes her recorded appearance: she is here in a rough sort of way and from where she stands great things could be possible. What she is now is a girl with a huskily liquid voice who is strongly influenced by Lee Wiley and who occasionally produces that beautifully lyric lift which was such an important element in Mildred Bailey's art. When she is good - and she is very good on I Didn't Knott' About You and A Woman Alone with the Blues, one of Willard Robison's neglected masterpieces -she sings with a sensitivity, intonation, and phrasing which are wonder- fully refreshing in this day of tortured stylists. She misses, too - tempos throw her off, she pushes into stridency, she loses the sense of a lyric - but the good parts are so right that you have to ride with them. She is fortunate in having absolutely superb accompaniment by Johnny Wind - hurst and Billy Taylor's trio, accompaniment that supports and frames her singing with thoughtful care. If Miss Lea is still an uncertain talent, these musicians are not, and the disk can be highly recommended on the basis of their work alone. The recording is live and full although there are times when the microphone seems to be a mite too far down Miss Leas throat. JOE MOONEY QUARTET You Go to My Head: What More Can a Woman Do ?; Prelude to a Kiss; Shaky Breaks the Ice; Nancy; From Monday On; A Man with a Million Dollars; Have Another One. Not Me. Joe Mooney, accordion, piano, vocals; Andy Fitzgerald, clarinet; Jack Hotop, guitar; Gate Frega, bass. DECCA DL 5555. I'D-in. $2.98. This is only somewhat a jazz record - there are novelties and vocal ballads on it which are a bit far afield from this department's usual concern - but everything that Mooney does is so infused with a jazz feeling that it deserves consideration here. The Mooney Quartet existed briefly in the late Forties and fired up a small but fervent following until the bass player, Gate Frega, abandoned the group to study for the priesthood. Mooney is an accordionist, pianist and singer of an inventive turn of mind and an impeccable manner of phrasing. His quartet was a tightly knit organization which followed his inventions and phrasings with unusual group feeling. As a jazz group, they get their best opportunity on this disk in From Monday On, a splendid sample of their special charm, and Continued on page 62 HIGH FIDELITY MAGAZINE
Encore For a magnificent performance Encore 12 NEW Encore Trellsve lapes ONLY 59c EACH AVAILABLE ONLY FROM YOUR ENCORE DEALER long playing, authentic excerpts from the actual Master Tapes of famous High Fidelity Recordings exclusively reproduced to introduce IDE ATITUDE A brilliant new innovation in recording perfection that insures flawless, professional tape reproductions with most recorders, regardless of the experience of operator or recording conditions. Quality tape- recorded results Broad olateau bias rancie Exceptional abrasion resistance Superior frequency response Top performance regardless of level set Performs well on any recorder Greater tensile strength Unaffected by storage conditions Consistent mechanical endurance New self- threading reel SPECIAL MAIL OFFER. - You pay only 59e for this Exclusive Encore Treasure Tape, "Excerpts from Dubbings Test Tape No. D -110" ... THE MEASURE OF YOUR TAPE RECORDER'S PERFORMANCE. Tests for maximum and normal recording level, rough and fine head alignment, timing and tape speed, wow and flutter, signal -to -noise ratio. NOT for sale anywhere. Obtainable only by mailing this coupon. llo, r of the un r input ed drnnt nd. r his offer is necessarily au 6jeet to canr,'llnri,.n ur clientse rriIl .,,v ire. TECHNICAL TAPE CORP., Morris Heights, New York 53, N. Y. r LONG -PLAYING MYLAR PROFESSIONAL ACETATE TECHNICAL TAPE CORP. Morris Heights New York 53, N. Y. Gentlemen: Please send me Treasure Tape "Excerpts from Dubbings Test Tape No. D- 110 ". Enclosed is 59¢ plus 10¢ for postage and handling. NAME - ADDRESS CITY. ZONE: STATE: Copt. HF -7 AUGUST 1955 61
Page 1 and 2:
THE MAGAZINE FOR MUSIC LISTENERS
Page 3 and 4:
You're looking at excitement in you
Page 5 and 6:
MAGAZINE FOR MUSIC LISTENERS This I
Page 7 and 8:
THE 310 FM TUNER ...seems as close
Page 9 and 10:
K/4 is 7e4 Why 1114111Ø9h QUALITY
Page 11 and 12: NOTED WITH INTEREST Continued from
Page 13 and 14: QUALITY SPEAKS.. t TE LE FU NK Mode
Page 15 and 16: Maj. Stanford Roberts, o- 1647908,
Page 17 and 18: Here's the turntable professionals
Page 19 and 20: is scaled for smaller rooms and lim
Page 21 and 22: Full electronic remote controlled c
Page 23 and 24: Incomparable... Since 1935 the Garr
Page 25 and 26: One of a series on what makes one m
Page 27 and 28: LETTERS Continued from page 22 gran
Page 29 and 30: AS THE EDITORS SEE IT WHEN HIGH FID
Page 31 and 32: this: music has outgrown its old co
Page 33 and 34: Report from Britain Yorkshiremau in
Page 35 and 36: those cosmological systems, but the
Page 37 and 38: iAAM.i.N by IRVING M. FRIED .AA w 1
Page 39 and 40: No one's going to emancipate ME by
Page 41 and 42: plete and slavish reliance upon you
Page 43 and 44: music malzers by ROLAND GELATI THIS
Page 45 and 46: RECORDS Records in I Reviewed by PA
Page 47 and 48: RECORDS nection, it should be noted
Page 49 and 50: kL( ()kl), The Brailowsky -Munch co
Page 51 and 52: RH OR judge from his Violin Concert
Page 53 and 54: RC( OROS the surface and does not s
Page 55 and 56: RECORDS in connection with a Boston
Page 57 and 58: l building your record library numb
Page 59 and 60: RECORDS Continued from page 54 Paul
Page 61: RECORDS the Vienna Woods; Waltz fro
Page 65 and 66: RECORDS Symphony Orchestra; Nationa
Page 67 and 68: RE( Oi(U.', Eisslinger; Ferdinand F
Page 69 and 70: RECORDS dealers who still tolerate
Page 71 and 72: RECORDS Orchestra and Chorus of the
Page 73 and 74: These reports may not be quoted or
Page 75 and 76: A NEW MAGAZINE BY THE PUBLISHERS OF
Page 77 and 78: $5450 k HARVEY the House of Audio T
Page 79 and 80: Even the walls have ears... for Bog
Page 81 and 82: the "missing link" in your sound sy
Page 83 and 84: I I I I I A SPECIAL SERVICE FOR HIG
Page 85 and 86: ANCIENT CHINA Continued from page 3
Page 87 and 88: The sensitive fingers of Gennaro Ta
Page 89 and 90: invisible hands guide your HI -FI A
Page 91 and 92: just doesn't have the sock it once
Page 93 and 94: TAPE RECORDER tirospeed, dualtrack
Page 95 and 96: Check these D & R features: Outside
Page 97 and 98: There are apt examples in each cate
Page 99 and 100: i e llll. WHY NOT TRADE IN YOUR PRE
Page 101 and 102: NOW there are EK-O-KUT Jr. 2 -Speed
show all

Aug - AmericanRadioHistory.Com

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?