A fine middle-register trumpeter whose style seemed to practically define "Cool Jazz", Shorty Rogers was significant for his arranging both in jazz and in the movie studios. After gaining early experience with Will Bradley and Red Norvo and serving in the military Rogers rose to fame as a member of Woody Herman's First and Second Herds (1945-1946 and 1947-1949) and somehow he managed to bring some swing to the Stan Kenton Innovations Orchestra (1950-1951) clearly enjoying writing for the stratospheric flights of Maynard Ferguson. After that association ran its course Rogers settled in Los Angeles where he led his Giants (which ranged from a quintet to a big band) on a series of rewarding West Coast jazz-styled recordings and wrote for the studios helping greatly to bring jazz into the movies. His scores for "The Wild One" and "The Man With the Golden Arm" are particularly memorable. After 1962 Rogers stuck almost exclusively to writing for television and films but in 1982 he began a comeback in jazz. He reorganized and headed the Lighthouse All-Stars and, although his own playing was not quite as strong as previously, he remained a welcome presence both in clubs and recordings.
In 1957 he recorded this classic album for RCA Victor and it ended up featuring some of his finest big band writing of that period. He is joined by a who's who of '50s/'60s West Coast jazz! Conte Candoli and Pete Candoli, Maynard Ferguson and Al Porcino (trumpets), Milt Bernhart and Frank Rosolino (trombones), Sam Rice (tuba), Jack Montrose, Bill Perkins, Bill Holman (tenors), Herb Geller (alto), Pepper Adams (baritone), Red Mitchell (bass), Pete Jolly (piano) and Stan Levy (drums).
Side 1:
01) I've Got Five Dollars
02) Ten Cents A Dance
03) Mountan Greenery
04) A Ship Without Sail
05) Mimi
Side 2:
01) It's Got To Be Love
02) I Could Write A Book
03) The Girl Friend
04) On A Desert Island With Thee
05) Thou Swell
0 comments:
Post a Comment