Styles: Jazz
Year: 2020
Time: 77:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 178,3 MB
Art: Front
( 3:57) 1. Sharly My Boy
( 3:36) 2. All About Henry
( 4:09) 3. Poca Nada
( 3:27) 4. Big “P”
( 3:03) 5. Pot Luck
( 3:03) 6. D.A.V.
( 4:10) 7. Sweet Lump
( 5:02) 8. Bésame Mucho
( 4:34) 9. Goodbye
( 4:17) 10. The Call
( 4:13) 11. Dead Ringer
( 5:22) 12. Dill Pickles
( 3:27) 13. My Lady
( 3:42) 14. Good 'n Plenty
( 4:15) 15. Big, Bad & Beautiful
( 6:26) 16. Ain't No Doubt About It
(10:20) 17. Trilogy for a Boy
When the dust from the collapse of the Swing Era settled, there were few big bands left that had survived. Yet, because they loved the swinging drive of a full-on jazz orchestra, a series of adventurous and unsung bandleaders optimistically organized some fine, but short-lived, new orchestras that were packed with jazz and studio musicians, holding the flag of Swing high.
Gene Estes (1931-1996) had a richly varied and successful musical career as a drummer, vibraphonist, composer and arranger, writing for, and performing equally well with small groups and big bands. His career went through several stages, not the least of which was his attempt to keep a big band going in Hollywood during the ‘60s. He organized it in the fall of 1964 to play his own compositions and arrangements. The first iteration lasted only one year, but in 1966 he reorganized it and was able to keep it active until the end of 1968. “Over the years we’ve had many different good players and always a good band,” Estes mentioned, but then he also recognized that this particular version of the band was his favorite. This is the only recording that exists of this magnificent big band.
Dick Grove (1927-1998) was a rare and unique composer-arranger-conductor, and just as Clare Fischer, Gil Evans and other arrangers of renown, he had to wait until he was in his thirties before he could make any impact on the jazz scene. This album proves he was an inventive, polished arranger, who scored a wide sampling of contemporary musical styles beyond the then accepted boundaries of jazz. All are Grove originals, in a program that jumps from straight-ahead driving tunes, to bossa nova grooves, blues and jazz rock pieces. The interesting performances are spiced by the brilliant solo work of saxophonists Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins, Bob Hardaway and Bill Hood; trumpeters Joe Burnett and Jay Daversa; pianist and organist Pete Jolly; trombonist George Bohanon; and the brilliant drummer Roy Burns (1935-2018), who adds to the music his masterful technique and rhythmical drive.
Sources:
Tracks #1-9, from the album “Westful” (Nocturne Hollywood NRS-701)
Tracks #10-17, from the album “Big, Bad & Beautiful” (First Priority Music FPM 1001)
Personnel on "Westful":
Conte Candoli, Ollie Mitchell, Ralph Osborn, trumpets; Herbie Harper, trombone; Bob Enevoldsen, valve trombone; Dick Leith, bass trombone; Med Flory, alto sax; Tom Scott, alto sax & clarinet; Bob Hardaway, tenor sax & clarinet; Jay Migliori, tenor sax; Bill Hood (#1,3,4,5) or Meyer Hirsh (#2,6,7,8 & 9) baritone sax & clarinet; Joyce Collins, piano; Alan Estes, vibes (#3,4,8); Jim Hughart, bass; Gene Estes, drums, arranger & conductor.
Recorded in two sessions at the MGM Sound Stages, Culver City, Cal. March 23, 1968
Personnel on "Big, Bad & Beautiful":
Buddy Childers, Jack Feierman, Hal Espinosa, trumpets; Joe Burnett, Jay Daversa, trumpet & flugelhorn; Charles Loper, George Bohanon, Bob Edmondson, Dick McQuarry, trombones; Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins, alto saxes; Bob Hardaway, soprano & tenor sax; Bill Robinson, clarinet & tenor sax; Bill Hood, baritone sax; Pete Jolly, piano, Fender Rhodes & organ; Norm Jeffries, vibes; Al Viola, guitar; Gene Cherico, double bass & Fender bass; Roy Burns, drums; Dick Grove, composer, arranger & conductor.
Recorded at TTG Studios, Hollywood, Cal., summer of 1973
West Coast Series - Jazz & Swing Orchestras, Westful/Big, Bad & Beautiful
