Jazztone - West Coast Jazz Anthology Vol. III

Jazztone was a small mail order club label. Much like Book of the Month or ARS, subscribers would be sent a cool jazz lp once a month or so, often with original sessions made for the label. It was only around for 3 years but they still managed to swing some mighty fine sessions.

I started with Vol. III in this series for a couple of reasons. Vol I has some previously released stuff and...well I don't happen to own a copy of Vol. II.

This volume contains some very nice live sessions and a handful of studio dates that I don't think you will see around much. I have no doubt some of these recordings have appeared elsewhere at some point, but this should be their first appearance.

As usual, ripped late at night from a questionable condition lp - this is music for music lovers and not connoisseurs of high art.

Jazz West Coast, Vol III
1. There Will Never Be Another You - Gerry Mulligan
2. Mr. Smith Goes To Town - Chico Hamilton
3. Polka Dots and Moonbeams - Bud Shank
4. Old Croix - Art Pepper
5. Little Girl - Chet Baker
6. Love Nest - Russ Freeman/Chet Baker
7. Sweet Georgia Brown - Bud Shank/Bob Cooper
8. Things Ain't What They Used To Be - Jim Hall
9. Too Marvelous For Words - Phil Urso/Bob Burgess
10. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime - Russ Freeman/Bill Perkins

Gerry Mulligan Sextet
Mulligan - piano
Zoot Sims - tenor sax
Bob Brookmeyer - valve trombone
Jon Eardley - trumpet
Red Mitchell - bass
Larry Bunker - drums
Hoover High School Auditorium - LA - 12/54

Chico Hamilton Quintet
Hamilton - drums
Fred Katz - cello
Paul Horn - clarinet
John Pisano - guitar
Carson Smith - bass
Forum Theater - LA - 10/56

Bud Shank Quartet
Shank - flute
Claude Williamson - piano
Don Prell - bass
Chuck Flores - drums
Forum Theater - 2/56

Art Pepper Quartet
Pepper - alto sax
Pete Jolly - piano
Leroy Vinnegar - bass
Stan Levey - drums
Forum Theater - 10/56

Chet Baker Sextet
Baker - trumpet
Art Pepper - alto
Richie Kamuca - tenor
Pete Jolly - piano
Leroy Vinnegar - drums
Stan Levey - drums
Forum Theater - 10/56 (and recorded at the same session as the one above)

Russ Freeman - Chet Baker Quartet
Freeman - piano
Baker - trumpet
Leroy Vinnegar - bass
Shelley Manne - drums
Radio Recorders - 11/56

Bud Shank - Bob Cooper Quintet
Shank - flute
Cooper - oboe
Howard Roberts - guitar
Don Prell - bass
Chuck Flores - drums
Capitol Studios - 12/56

Jim Hall Trio
Hall - guitar
Carl Perkins - piano
Red Mitchell - bass
Radio Recorders - 1/57

Phil Urso - Bob Burgess Quintet
Urso - tenor sax
Burgess - trombone
Bobby Timmons - piano
Jimmy Bond - bass
Peter Littman - drums
Radio Recorders - 10/56

Russ Freeman - Bill Perkins Quintet
Freeman - piano
Perkins - tenor sax
Bud Shank - alto sax
Carson Smith - bass
Shelley Manne - drums
Music Box Theater - LA - 2/56

Jazztone Society J1274

8 Ways to Jazz the music of Cole Porter

Absolutely dig Cole Porter. Probably my greatest, (not so) secret indulgence.

And damn if he didn't translate well to the jazz idiom.

This is one of my favorites and honestly, I'm gonna let the tunes speak for themselves without my purple prose.

1. Looking At You
2. Easy To love
3. I Love You
4. Love For Sale
5. Everytime We Say Goodbye
6. I Get A Kick Out Of You
7. Get Out Of Town
8. All Of You

1. - Trigger Alpert All Star Seven: Joe Wilder - trumpet; Urbie Green - trombone; Tony Scott - clarinet and tenor sax; Zoot Sims - tenor sax; Al Cohn - baritone sax; Albert - bass; Ed Shaughnessy - drums.
Arrangement - Marty Paitch.
Nov. 1956

2. Mundell Lowe Quartet; Lowe - guitar; Billy taylor - piano; Les Grinage - bass; Ed Thigpen - drums
March 1957

3. Bill Evans Trio: Evans - piano; Teddy Kotick - bass; Paul Motian - drums
Sept. 1956

4. Bobby Jaspar Quintet; Jaspar - tenor sax; George Wallington - piano; Wilbur Little - bass; Elvin Jones - drums
May, 1957

5. Sonny Rollins Quartet: Rollins - tenor sax; Sonny Clark - piano; Percy Heath - bass; Roy Haynes - drums
June, 1957

6. Ernie Henry Quartet: Henry - alto sax; Wynton Kelly - piano; Wilbur ware - bass; Philly Joe Jones - drums
Sept. 1957

7. Herbie Mann's Californians: Mann - bass clarinet; Jack Sheldon - trumpet; Jimmy Rowles - piano; Buddy Clark - bass; Mel Lewis - drums
Arrangement by Herbie Mann
July, 1957

8. Gigi Gryce Jazz Lab Quintet: Gryce - alto sax; Donald Byrd - trumpet; Wade Legge - piano; Wendell Marshall - bass; Art Taylor - drums
Arrangement by Donald Byrd
Feb. 1957


Riverside RLP 12-272

Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers

By all accounts Zoot should stand a head and shoulders over his accompanists on this session. I've never really been a fan of Joe Pass or Oscar Peterson. Yet somehow everyone manages to sound inspired on this fantastic session. Zoot Sims plays like he is having the time of his life, perhaps because of the material, there is certainly something to be said for the Gershwins legacy. It must have been infectious because the normally stoic Peterson actually sounds as though he is enjoying himself.

Of all the Gershwin themed lps in my collection, this is probably the one I like the most.

This lp was recorded the day before my 17th birthday. I wonder what I would have thought of it then?

Zoot Sims
and the Gershwin Brothers

1. The Man I Love
2. How Long Has This Been Going On
3. Lady Be Good
4. I've Got A Crush On You
5. I Got Rhythm
6. Embraceable You
7. 'S Wonderful
8. Someone To Watch Over Me
9. Isn't It A Pity
10. Summertime

Zoot Sims - tenor sax
Oscar Peterson - piano
Joe Pass - guitar
George Mraz - bass
Grady Tate - drums

Pablo 2310-744

Some Zoot Sims

I guess this would be the first of those oddball posts I was talking about earlier. The ones where sharing the music really is foremost.

You see this post consists of pieces of two lps. Most of the one at your left and another Savoy reissue under Chuck Wayne's banner.

I have never seen either of the two on disc nor hanging around the blogoshpere much.

The first - the Good Ole Zoot lp is culled from two sessions. The first (a) is a quintet recording. Unfortuately one track from this lp was too warped to be salvageable and it was from this session. This missing track is titled Toot No.2.

The players are:
Zoot Sims - tenor
Stu Williamson - trumpet, valve trombone
Kenny Drew - piano
Ralph Pena - bass
Jimmy Pratt - drums

recorded 7/16/54

The second session (b) is actually a Chubby Jackson session. (Damn, I have some great Chubby Jackson on cassette around here that I need to locate.) I still love the big band sound even when it was falling out of style. Actually even more so, when the young dudes tried keeping it alive. Even though Georgie Auld would hardly be considered a hip new guy, and as usual there is the inclusion of a couple of fellows who found this to be their fleeting claim to fame.

The players here are:
Zoot Sims - tenor sax
Chubby Jackson - bass
Al Porcino - trumpet
Don Ferrara - trumpet
Howard McGhee - trumpet
J.J. Johnson - trombone
Kai Winding - trombone
Charlie Kennedy - alto sax
Georgie Auld - tenor sax
Gerry Mulligan - baritone sax
Tony Aless - piano
Don Lamond - drums

Recorded 3/15/50

The final session(c) was actually attributed to Chuck Wayne and also consisted of several sessions. From the lp at left we have culled the only 4 songs thatZoot Sims played on.

The rest of the lp is fairly uneventful, but the Sims songs manage to be a pretty good time. Oddly there were 8 tracks cut this day with Zoot only playing on 4 while relatively unknown Brew Moore blew sax on the other 4. Hmmm, what were they thinking?




The cast:
Chuck Wayne - guitar
Zoot Sims - tenor sax
Harvey Leonard - piano
George Duvivier - bass
Ed Shaughnessy - drums

recorded 4/13/54

The thing you all have been waiting for....

1. Howdy Podner (a)
2. Indian Summer (a)
3. Leavin' Town (b)
4. Flyin' The Coop (b)
5. What's New (a)
6. Hot Dog (b)
7. So What (b)
8. While My Lady Sleeps (c)
9. Tasty Pudding (c)
10. Prospecting (c)
11. Sidewalks of Cuba (c)

(a) & (b) New Jazz 8280
(c) SJL 1144

Sonny Stitt / Zoot Sims - Inter-Action

This is a very short but nice meeting of two underrated tenors.

I can't speak for the backing band as I have never heard of any of them but they all seem to rise to the occasion as needed.

What draws me to this outing is Stitt's Parker influences smack up against Sims' Prez impressions. And the way they co-mingle sometimes to the point where I struggle to tell which tenor is blowing.

Stitt picks up his first horn, the alto on Fools Rush In, but it is undeniably Sims' tenor solo on this song that is the highlight of the lp for me.

Anyway, short lp, short review.

Sonny Stitt and Zoot Sims
Inter-Action

1. My Blue Heaven
2. The Saber
3. Katea
4. Fools Rush In
5. Look Down That Lonesome Road
6. I Want To Go Home

Sonny Stitt - tenor and alto saxes
Zoot Sims - tenor sax
John Young - piano
Sam Kidd - bass
Phil Thomas - drums

recorded Chicago, Jan 1965
in glorious mono!

Cadet LP-760

Zoot Sims and Jimmy Rowles

Another of those understated Pablo records. Granz' ability to match artists was beyond reknown at this point, yet he still managed to come up with new and interesting combinations.

Here we get two fellows who had reached some critical fame earlier in their careers but somehow never managed to capture the public eye. Both remained understated and under appreciated all their lives.

This may have been the session where it dawned on me that some of these records were worth having. I was enthralled with Stan Getz' records and had recently discovered Peacocks with him and Rowles. I had never heard Rowles before but was suitably impressed. I didn't realize that later I would find Zoot Sims far more interesting than Stan Getz. I bought the record, I dug it and I filed it away.

Somewhat later when I was digging Zoot's special brand of cool, I pulled this out. Today I do not see it as anything groundbreaking like I might have back then, but I do know it's importance in my jazz education. And it's still a swell record.

And Neil Hefti's Legs has got to be one of the greatest examples of an evergreen that I know.

Zoot Sims meets Jimmy Rowles
If I'm Lucky

1. (I Wonder) Where Our Love Has Gone
2. Legs
3. If I'm Lucky
4. Shadow Waltz
5. You're My Everything
6. It's All Right With Me
7. Gypsy Sweetheat
8. I Hear A Rhapsody

Zoot Sims - tenor sax
Jimmy Rowles - piano
George Mraz - bass
Mousie Alexander - drums

produced by Norman Granz
recorded 27 and 28 October 1977 Pablo 2310 803

Basie and Zoot

When I was younger I spent many an hour digging through crates looking for Black Lion releases. Those were the shit. Even though a lot of these same artists were appearing on these Pablo releases, I just thought they would not be cool.

Jazz was not cool back then. At least not what I perceived as current jazz. I was lost - and generally stoned most of the time. I thought these Pablo records would sound kinda..well I thought I would be bored. Youth has a way of screwing you. I remember these records in cut out bins for .99. Bet I coulda zoned out just fine.

Damn shame. These are some very fine sessions. I'm gonna put a few up and I'm hoping you'll find something you like. All from vinyl...

We'll start here...

Basie and Zoot

1. I Never Knew
2. It's Only A Paper Moon
3. Blues for Nat Cole
4. Captain Bligh
5. Honeysuckle Rose
6. Harday
7. Mean To Me
8. I Surrender, Dear

Count Basie - piano and organ
Zoot Sims - tenor sax
John Heard - bass
Louis Bellson - drums

produced by Norman Granz
NYC, April 9, 1975

Pablo 2310-745