Art Pepper Plays Shorty Rogers and Others Pacific Jazz Mp3
Jack Montrose, 1953-1955
The beginning one-half of the 1950s was the gold era of westward declension jazz, with artists and bands including the ground-breaking piano-less quartet of Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, The Dave Brubeck quartet with Paul Desmond, Shelly Manne and his Men and many others. The 1940s bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton produced many musicians who would become leaders in the jazz scene – Shorty Rogers, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Jimmy Giuffre. The area was also home to record labels such equally Pacific Jazz, Gimmicky Records and Fantasy Records, who left behind rich catalogs of recordings by all the nifty local musicians in the area. Ane of the characteristics of jazz that came from the west coast was an aptitude for well-written arrangements, sparked by the type of work that many of these musicians did as their day jobs in the thriving moving-picture show industry and the relatively new Goggle box studios. Limerick was likewise a key aspect of jazz music coming from the westward declension, with a focus on through-equanimous pieces rather than uncomplicated song structures and catchy melody meant as a jump lath for soloists and improvisers. One of the most important figures in that local scene was sax actor, composer and arranger Jack Montrose, who between 1953 and 1955 was part of some of the nigh enduring recorded jazz music in Los Angeles. Regretfully Montrose is a forgotten name to many jazz fans due to unfortunate turns in his career and the fact that his role was often behind the scenes. This article is an attempt to do the man justice past highlighting his work on some of these smashing recordings.
Montrose's offset major recording session took place on December 14, 1953 at Hollywood Studios for the Chet Broil Ensemble, for which he composed and arranged all the cloth. The liner notes for the resulting 10″ LP introduced the newcomer: "Jack, at 25, is a graduate of Los Angeles City and State colleges with a degree in music. He considers these recorded efforts every bit his first conscious, deliberate effort to reach a goal in jazz composition. Although Jack is an excellent musician (he has played with the orchestras of Shorty Rogers and Jerry Gray) his bones interest lies in composition. While at State College he wrote a string trio, a string quartet, a song bicycle using a group of Kenneth Patchen's poems as lyrics, and a trio for woodwinds in three movements." The musician credits on this date read similar the cream of the crop of the LA scene at the fourth dimension. Other than Jack Montrose on tenor sax, we notice Chet Baker on trumpet, Herb Geller on alto and tenor sax, Russ Freeman on piano, Joe Mondragon on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. Ane more musician on that session was baritone sax player Bob Gordon, whom Montrose met in 1948 when Gordon was in Alvino Rey's band with Paul Desmond. The two were skilful friends on and off the stage and Gordon played an important function in Montrose'due south musical career in the next 2 years. The session was setup by Richard Bock, founder and producer of the newly formed Pacific Jazz label, who was looking for new musical directions for his young trumpet star later on he left the now legendary piano-less quartet with Gerry Mulligan. Montrose was influenced past the writing for Birth of the Cool and Gerry Mulligan'southward charts for Miles Davis' nonet.
One tune from that December 1953 session showcases Montrose's composing and arranging skills. Bockhanal, a tune Montrose dedicated to Richard Bock, gets a deserving praise by Michael Cuscuna in the liner notes for the re-release of the Chet Baker Ensemble album from 2004: "On the master take of Bockhanal Montrose uses an unusual device. Piano and bass lay out for the opening ensemble and the drums play only melodic responses to the music, with the rhythm section kicking in for the solos. It's very effective and brings greater clarity and bear upon to the arranger'due south voicings and counterpoint."
A week later the same ensemble gathered again to record more tunes, this time focusing on standards, all arranged by Montrose. One of the songs they attempted was the sad and soulful Farewell, written past Gordon Jenkins and used as a prove closer past the Benny Goodman orchestra for many years. Again a bang-up arrangement for the horn players, with the saxes creating an interesting harmony behind the trumpet solo.
A few days afterward, during the last two days of 1953, Chet Baker went 1 more than time into the studio, this time for a higher profile recording for Columbia that would be released every bit Check Baker & Strings. For this session of lush ready of tunes Montrose contributed ane composition, A Little Duet (for Zoot and Chet), a nice showcase melody for Chet Baker and Zoot Sims.
The organisation Montrose wrote for Y'all Improve Go Now could take hands been a characteristic vocal on a classic Hollywood romantic movie of the fourth dimension. No doubt Columbia had been pushing for music that would capture the ears of a wider audience, but the system is still powerful.
Working with Chet Baker was a pivotal moment in Jack Montrose'south career, from which in the side by side few years he would keep a busy schedule of sessions for Pacific Jazz and later on with the bigger Atlantic Records label. He later said of the trumpet histrion: "Chet was always an outstanding histrion. He immediately grabbed your attention, and just like a comet blazing through the sky, he wouldn't be denied. Gerry Mulligan in his wisdom really nailed it when he said that Chet knew everything about chords except their names, because he had the best ears of anyone I take ever encountered. The other myth most Chet non reading music is quite untrue. He played my charts, which were far from easy, equally well as anyone." 2 months later Chet Baker would record his milestone album Chet Bakery Sings and take his career commercially to the peak of jazz music.
1954 found Montrose working on sessions with west declension'south finest jazz musicians. On March 17, 1954 Shelly Manne'south band recorded a number of tunes produced by Lester Koenig for Contemporary Records. Montrose contributed a very interesting composition titled Etude De Concert, in which the jazz ensemble moves back and forth betwixt classical and jazz arrangements.
A couple of months later Montrose participated in two sessions for Bob Gordon, an amazing Baritone sax player in my book, who due to his pick of instrument and locale, was forever in the shadow of Gerry Mulligan. The resulting album, Meet Mr. Gordon on Pacific Records, ended upwardly being the only anthology Gordon would release as a leader. Montrose composed a few tunes for these sessions including For Sue, a vocal untitled at the time of recording that Montrose dedicated to Gordon's wife Sue.
The title rails Come across Mr. Gordon, besides written by Montrose, showcases the ii sax players in a lovely interplay.
Montrose's biggest achievement in 1954 was his piece of work in July and August of that yr on the recordings that Clifford Brown made for Pacific Jazz. The bright trumpeter had an engagement at the Tiffany order in LA with his legendary quintet with Max Roach and got together with the best of west coast musicians under a Richard Bock production and arrangements courtesy of Jack Montrose. Information technology is interesting to hear Montrose'southward organisation of Brown'due south tune Daahoud, fabricated famous by his quintet with Max Roach. The horn section made of Stu Williamson on valve trombone, Bob Gordon on baritone sax and Zoot Sims on tenor sax gives Montrose new possibilities compared to Clifford Brown's quintet.
Montrose recollection of the session: "Dick (Bock) decided the instrumentation and personnel, and it was his pick to practice Blueberry Colina and Gone with the Current of air, not Brownie's. Clifford had an former studio upright at his cabin in the West Adams district, and I used to visit him every twenty-four hour period to work on the music, which was written with Max in mind, because he was supposed to be on the session. Unfortunately he got into a money hassle with Dick and bowed out at the last minute, so Shelly Manne was called, and he played just beautifully, anoint his center. I spent about two months writing the charts, and we rehearsed the ring three or four times over at my place. As you can hear on the record, anybody jelled immediately and information technology was a very friendly date."
July and Baronial of 1954 were very decorated months for Jack Montrose. In addition to his work with Clifford Dark-brown he likewise participated in a number of recording sessions every bit a tenor thespian. In early July he played on a couple of dates with Lennie Niehaus for the album Lennie Niehaus Vol. 1 – The Quintets on Contemporary Records. Whose Blues demonstrates the coaction between Montrose, Bob Gordon and Niehaus on Alto sax.
In August of that year Montrose was part of a recording session for Discovery Records with the Art Pepper quintet, with which he performed opposite Clifford Brown and Max Roach at the Tiffany club. Montrose Remembers: "Art Pepper and I recorded an album with our own group which we used to refer to as Art's Spice Suite. This was considering information technology featured a number of his originals like Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Thyme Time, and Fine art's Oregano. I don't know the significance of the other titles, but nutmeg was something inmates in solitude used to go high on. After the record release we planned to become East with our quintet, but every bit so often happened, Fine art got busted and disappeared off the scene. Being a junky, he was not the virtually reliable person in the world, but he loved playing so much that I can only recall him missing a couple of nights at the Tiffany social club. When it came fourth dimension to play, nothing else existed for him. He was one of my very best friends, like shooting fish in a barrel to get along with, and marvelous to make music with." Thyme Time is a great tune from that album.
Jack Montrose's most important year was all the same ahead of him, as in 1955 within a span of ii months he recorded two albums under his ain proper name. On May 11 and 12, 1955 he ran two sessions for Atlantic Records with producer Nesuhi Ertegun for an album called 'arranged/played/composed by Jack Montrose with Bob Gordon'. The sessions included Jack Montrose on tenor sax, Bob Gordon on baritone sax, Paul Moer on piano, Cherry Mitchell on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. The News And The Weather is a nice original piece from that album that opens with an arranged role for Montrose and Gordon before both sax players play solo improvisations on the melody.
Montrose's compositions and arrangements are an expression of subtlety. His focus is on nuance, not big statements. His liner notes for the anthology capture his thoughts on this topic: "Although I've been given the opportunity on several occasions, I accept neither arranged nor equanimous anything for big bands. Several big band leaders asked me, and I e'er felt I had to refuse. I don't concord with what they are trying to do. Near dance bands audio terrible to me. Just Basie'southward ring thrills me. I don't know if I could ever write annihilation for that ring. I recollect I could, and I'd honey to try. I'd like to write in the Basie tradition, with my ideas in harmony and counterpoint. But generally, I don't like large bands. I don't like contumely for the sake of brass or loudness for the sake of loudness. Massive walls of audio, equally such, fail to impress me." A good example of a bright horn organisation on the anthology that could have get a vehicle for a big ring is another Montrose original, Paradox.
The following calendar month Jack Montrose recorded i more anthology as a leader, this time for Pacific Jazz Records. Only titled Jack Montrose Sextet, in my stance this is Montrose's most interesting album and 1 of the best in Pacific Jazz Records' rich itemize of west coast jazz. The ensemble is very like to the one on the previous album, with Ralph Pena on bass and the addition of Conte Candoli on trumpet. Montrose later shed some light on the origin of the cloth for the album: "In 1954 I spent vi months with Stan Kenton, but truthfully I didn't similar the band, although I adored the man. We were on different musical paths; that is not to say he was incorrect, simply his muse was non my muse. He actually hired me to write for him, and I was going to submit some of my originals like Credo, Pretty, Speakeasy, and Listen, Hear. I sketched them out on the long Kenton omnibus rides, but I changed my mind considering the band was simply too loud for my material. Ideology was very imperceptible and delicate, just they would have destroyed it, totally losing the inner voices. Listen, Hear was a double fugue, and I couldn't imagine Stan playing it the fashion I wanted. Until you lot play in one, you accept no idea how damned loud a large band tin can exist, and Stan'southward could exist pretty overwhelming." Here is the wonderful Listen, Hear:
On the anthology's back cover liner notes, New Yorker writer Whithney Balliett wrote: "In place of the water-off-the-duck's-back unison ensembles one hears in so many modern jazz, Montrose, more often than non, makes every front line vocalization an individual one, pitching them confronting each other rhythmically, harmonically, and for colour contrasts." Fifty-fifty the watered-downwards reviews of Billboard Magazine did not remain unfazed when the album was covered on January 28, 1956: "Montrose's writing again conspicuously shines forth as one of the major lights of modern jazz. Montrose has achieved a real 'chamber music' feel in these tightly written, neatly balanced creations. Bewitched is one of the best items to demonstrate bravado past Candoli and Bob Gordon, and the outstanding drumming of Shelly Manne." Indeed the ensemble plays a great rendition of the carol Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered:
Two months subsequently the recording of the sextet album, Bob Gordon died in a motorcar blow when he was on his way to a gig. He was but 27, and the two 1955 albums he made with Montrose were released subsequently his tragic expiry. At his funeral Montrose played Good day, the tune that Montrose bundled for Chet Baker and now sadly relevant. He later wrote of his friend on the back embrace of the sextet anthology: "Bob Gordon was an inspiration to every jazz musician or aspirant who e'er heard him play, or was possibly fortunate enough to share the bandstand with him. When he put his big horn to his lips he made the world grow with life, zest, and unbounded love. For the world was a better place to live in when he played and peradventure this singular power to make it so, was in itself his greatest gift." Gordon'south death was a large blow to Montrose, similar to the one Max Roach would suffer the following yr when 26-year old Clifford Chocolate-brown died, also in a auto accident on his way to a gig. In Gordon'due south death Montrose lost not only a friend, merely his career plans as well: "If he hadn't died, things would have been a lot different in my life, considering we were only just starting time. Nosotros had great plans for the time to come and would have certainly carried on playing together; I actually had some other anthology already written for usa. Nosotros were a partnership, and I have never missed anyone as much equally I missed Bob Gordon". Montrose'southward career never saw the acme of 1955 again, and afterwards a few more years of recordings and side performances, he drifted abroad from the chief jazz scene and ended up playing shows in Las Vegas. But the recordings he fabricated as composer, arranger and tenor sax histrion correspond some of the best in jazz that came from the west coast in the early 1950s.
A number of sources were used during the writing of this article:
Pacific Jazz Records Discography
W Coast Jazz by Ted Gioia
Fifties Jazz Talk: An Oral Retrospective, By Gordon Jack
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Source: https://musicaficionado.blog/2018/03/28/jack-montrose-1953-1955/
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