LP-708

Don Goldie - Trumpet Caliente

Released 1963

Recording and Session Information

Don Goldie, trumpet; Leo Wright, alto saxophone, flute; Patti Bown, piano; Barry Galbraith, guitar; Ben Tucker, bass; Ed Shaughnessy, drums; Willie Rodriguez, prcussion; Ray Barretto, congas; Manny Albam, arranger, conductor
RVG, Englewood, New York, October 3 1962

11935 There will never be another you
11936 Nightingale
11937 Fast thought
11938 I hear a rhapsody
11939 Shiny stockings
11940 Goldie's thing

Track Listing

Nightingale	Cugat, Rosner, Wise	October 3 1962
Fast Thought	Don Goldie	October 3 1962
I Hear A Rhapsody	Grgos, Baker, Gaspare	October 3 1962
Shiny Stockings	Frank Foster	October 3 1962
Goldie's Thing	Don Goldie	October 3 1962
There Will Never Be Another You	H. Warren, M. Gordon	October 3 1962

Liner Notes

HOT TRUMPET," which is the translation of this album's title, characterizes only part of Don Goldie's impact. In addition to his crackling swing, Goldie is a hornman of unusually clear and mellow tone, exceptionally fluent technique and taste. There are several other trumpeters, in and out of jazz, with this kind of prodigious technical ease, but not all escape the trap of exhibitionism. As for Goldie, however, he points out: "I've always tried to remember not to let the technique get in the way of the music."

From June, 1959 to September, 1962, Don was a member of Jack Teagarden's band, and with Teagarden, he learned to further deepen his conception. "With Jack," Goldie recalls, "what you leave out is often more important than what you play." Another aspect of Goldie's jazz is that, like Teagarden, he falls into no quick category. He has a broad grasp of the whole jazz tradition, and rather than staying in any one fashionable "bag," Don has developed a personal style that nonetheless fits into a wide range of musical situations.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 1930, Don came from a thoroughly musical family. His father, Harry Goldfield ("Goldie") was first trumpet and assistant conductor for Paul Whiteman for eighteen years. For some of those years, his section colleague was Bix Beiderbecke. Don's mother was concert pianist. After initial instruction on violin and piano, Don switched to trumpet at ten. His first gig was with his father's orchestra When Don was fourteen. After an army term from 1951-54, Don worked with Joe Mooney, acquired more seasoning at Nick's and Condon's, headed his own combo, played with Neal Hefti, and then joined Teagarden. His base is now New York, and he hopes soon to take out his own band.

For this album, Don chose sidemen with whom he felt most in rapport. Manny Albam's scores for the three "bossa nova" numbers are also accurately fitted to Don's approach to jazz. "Manny," Don points out, "is expert at simplicity. Like Jack Teagarden, he too knows what not to put in." From the opening Nightingale on, the music moves with easeful clarity. Listening to Goldie's sweeping thrust, it's illuminating to remember that as a boy, his primary influences were Bunny Berrigan and Louis Armstrong. Added in the following years were Charlie Shavers, Billy Butterfield, Dizzy Gillespie and Clifford Brown. And now, Don is very much his own man. On this track, as throughout the album, there are incisive solos by Leo Wright, until recently member of Dizzy Gillespie's unit, and Patti Down, a forcefully economical pianist who became best known for her work with Quincy Jones' band.

Fast Thovgbt is a Goldie original, and is so titled because that's how it came into being. Built on an ingratiating riff, the tune is first elasticized by Leo Wright. Don's solo is characteristically lucid, flowing and brimming with the promise of latent power. Patti makes her distilled points, and the band swings on out.

I Hear A Rhapsody, Shiny Stockings and Goldie's Thing are in the "bossa nova" framework — a modernized, more supple samba. Barry Galbraith is vital in setting the particular "bossa nova" rhythmic direction. On Rhapsody, besides Wright's song-like flute and Don's warm, muted trumpet, there is a delightfully limber solo by Patti Down. Shiny Stockings, long a staple in the Count Basie book, also takes on an airy resiliency. Worth noting is the discretion and yet also the buoyancy of the rhythm section. Of his rhythm colleagues all through the album, Don emphasizes: "They do more than keep time. They anticipate. They're really listening hard to ererytbing that's going on." Leo Wright is still on flute in the floating Goldie's Thing. "I don't know anyone in jazz." says Goldie, "who gets better sound out of the flute than Leo."

I Hear A Rhapsody is a summing up of Don Goldie's skills — the unforced deftly accurate sense of swing; the thoughtfulness of his conception ("I try very hard to avoid clichés"); the consistent quality of tone; and the use of technique as an expressive means, not as glittering goal in itself. At base, Goldie's jazz is a combination of gracefulness and power. Finding both attributes in one player is not at all a paradox. Goldie has become sure enough of himself not to have to continually prove how hard and fast he swings. He, therefore, utilizes his resources with care and sensitivity. His is indeed a trumpet but it is also a trumpet lirica.

Nat Hentoff

LP-707

Gene Shaw Quintet - Break Through

Released 1962

Recording and Session Information

Clarence "Gene" Shaw, trumoet, arranfer; herman Morrison, tenor saxophone; James Taylor, piano; Sidney Robinson, bass; Bernard Martin, drums; unknown, latin percussion
Ter Mar, Chicago, October 11 1962

11927 It's a long way
11928 A.D.'s blues
11929 Tonight
11930 Our tune
11931 The thing
11932 Marj
11933 Six bits
11934 Autumn walk

Track Listing

Autumn Walk	James Taylor	October 11 1962
Ad's Blues	C. E. Shaw	October 11 1962
Marj	C. E. Shaw	October 11 1962
Six Bits	Carl Davis	October 11 1962
The Thing	C. E. Shaw	October 11 1962
Tonight	Leonard Bernstein	October 11 1962
Our Tune	Jack DeJohnette	October 11 1962
It's A Long Way	Carl Davis	October 11 1962

Liner Notes

AS THE FIRST ALBUM featuring Gene Shaw, this recording will serve for many as an introduction to his immense talents as trumpet artist, composer-arranger and leader. Gene is a member of the original contingent of Detroit-based jazz musicians who came into national prominence during the fifties — a remarkable group that included Thad Jones, Kenny Burrell, Pepper Adams, Donald Byrd, Tommy Flanagan, Yusef Lateef and Barry Harris — and he is far from being an unknown among the inner circle of musicians. But the release of this, his first LP for Argo, should bring him into long overdue recognition as an important contributor to the current musical scene.

Relating his musical biography, Gene began "I was born in Detroit, June 16, 1926. I started taking piano lessons — oh, When I was four years old, then switched to trombone when I was six." He reflected, then added, "I went back to classical piano for two years." He became interested in the trumpet while convalescing in an army hospital in Detroit. "I had an old beat-up cornet I bought in the Philippines. I left it laying around until I heard Hot House by Dizzy Gillespie over the radio and thought to myself, "that's gibberish. I can do better. So with the help of a friend, Allen Bryant, I learned how to make trumpet sounds. Three weeks later I had my first job at the Hut Bar in Detroit."

"Later, Skee Wilson and Barry Harris told me, and then showed me on the piano, that there were little things called chord changes and that Dizzy Gillespie was a master in the use of these and had actually extended on them. I was stunned by my ignorance and quit the job."

Following this revealing experience, Shaw enrolled in the Detroit Institute of Music to study harmony, theory, composition and arranging. After completing his course he went out among his contemporaries, playing and gradually picking up bits of knowledge about the trumpet. From these formative years, Gene recalls in particular "Little John" Wilson, a Detroit trumpeter who gave of his professional experience and guidance.

Moving on to New York, he gigged with Wardell Gray, Lester Young, Lucky Thompson and Others. During this period he met and worked with Charles Mingus, appearing on several of the controversial bassist/composer's recording sessions. Concerning Gene's work on the album Tijuana Moods, recorded in 1957 but not issued until five years later, Mingus recently remarked, "If this album had been released in 1957, Shaw would be a star today." In turn, Shaw sums up his debt to Mingus saying, "Mingus' ability to see music through the 'eyes of life' forced me into a new depth of endeavor. It is my aim to follow the path he began, as far as possible, towards its conclusion, For his teaching shall be eternally grateful.

In each of the eight selections on this LP, Gene and the Quintet have tried to project a personal feeling or message. For example, Six Bits might a portrait of a man who is literally down to his last six bits; instead of despondent or disillusioned, he tries to make the best of things with the little he's got. Avenue Walk depicts the mature years of a man's life when he counts up his accomplishments and resources as he faces the cold of the coming winter. And The Thing is the monster that lurks in each of us. The gentle and timid soul who feeds the birds and gives candy to children may explode for no apparent reason and commit some horrendous act.

ABOUT THE OTHER MUSICIANS

SHERMAN MORRISON, on tenor saxophone, may well become one of the dominant voices on his instrument in years to come. He has absorbed much from the work of such giants as John Coltrane and Hank Mobley without being absorbed by their influence. He is currently studying at the Chisago Conservatory and hopes to do some scoring for films and television.

Pianist JAMES TAYLOR came to Chicago from New York in 1959 and has been working around Chicago with various local groups, playing both piano and organ. His interest is divided equally between playing and composing. The intrguing Autumn Walk is his composition.

SIDNEY ROBINSON, whose strong bass lines are the foundation of the rhythm section, began playing bass in the army and has gigged around Chicago for the past few years. He is student of James Palacek who holds the second bass chair of the Chicago Symphony.

Chicago-born BERNARD MARTIN, like the others, has appeared with a number of groups in the Chisago area. His work on drums, tasty but never obtrusive, shows a sensitive awareness of shading and dynamics.

Alfred W. Bowman

LP-706

The Mike Mainieri Quartet – Blues On The Other Side

Released 1962

Recording and Session Information

Mike Mainieri, vibraphone; Bruce Martin, piano; Julius Ruggiero, bass; Joe Porcaro, drums
Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, September 5 1962

11875 B.R. blues
11876 Blues on the other side
11877 When I fall in love
11878 Waltzin' in and out
11879 When I grow too old to dream (unissued)
11880 If I were a bell
11881 Tenderly

Track Listing

Blues On The Other Side	Mike Mainieri	September 5 1962
If I Were A Bell	Frank Loesser	September 5 1962
Tenderly	Walter Gross	September 5 1962
B. R. Blues	Mike Mainieri	September 5 1962
When I Fall In Love	Victor Young	September 5 1962
Waltzin' In And Out	Mike Mainieri	September 5 1962

Liner Notes

THE REALITIES of commerce and the artistic temperament both being What they are, it is likely that the careers of many jazzmen have been stunted by an idealistic refusal to admit that they are in show business. This refusal can manifest itself in attitude the audience, or in an attempt to remove the element of entertainment from their music. Whatever size the career of vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, whose first LP as a leader is contained in this LP as a leader is contained in this jacket eventually assumes, such attitudes will have little to do with it. He has been of show business for as long as he can remember. Both his parents are veterans of vaudeville...his father was a tap dancer...and so he is thoroughly versed in the discplines of entertainment. His first professional appearances were spent performing a vibraphone display-piece that had been transcribed from Flight Of The Bumblebee. When he was fifteen, he had formed a trio that was appearing on a Paul Whiteman radio show. Not Bumblebee, though, He had already become aware of Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo, and was playing jazz.

Today, less than a decade later. his career had already undergone enough twists and turns to make up a full life for someone twice his age. A drummer friend of Mainieri's, Pete Voulo, was also a friend Buddy Rich. Rich had, a years back, retired from the big band scene because of illness, and was now seeking to return to active life via a small group. Rich's unit was playing at New York's Village Gate one night when Voulo brought Mainieri down to sit in. The vibraphonist looks even younger than he is, and Rich, fearful of what might happen, made him stay until the club had begun to empty before allowing him to play. It is sufficient to say, minus the star-is-born details, that when the evening ended, Mainieri had a job in the Rich group, and had signed a personal management contract with the drummer. He stayed with Buddy for two years, and feels today that any jazz notoriety he has came about as a result of Rich's attention, concern and promotion.

One tangible result of the association was the New Star vibraphone award which Mainieri won in the Down Beat Critics' Poll in 1961. Fittingly enough, an original on this LP as a leader is titled, in thanks, B. R. Blues.

Such recognition, coming as it did before he had any albums of his own released (and only two with Rich), might have seemed to the beginning of an unstoppable career. But things were not to work out that way. In 1961, Mainieri went on a State tour lasting six months. That in itself is enough to take one out of the viciously competitive and short-memoried jazz limelight, but on his return he came with an ailment contracted overseas. Hospitalized for three months, he was unable to play for two more. Other new musicians have come to notice in that time, so this album, made soon after Mainieri was able to play again, represents, in a very real sense, the comeback of a twenty-four year old musician.

What all this amounts to, in a sense is the strange opposite of the Sonny Rollins sabbatical; a promising musician absent from the scene through no fault of his own, unattended by publicity. But in another sense, it is similar, in that Mainieri will startle no-one with an all-new, all-different style. He plays much the same sort of music that brought him to his recent attention, plays it with more authority because he is more mature, and plays it better.

The musicians who play With him on this album were the ones he had worked with around his home in Yonkers, New York, after his release from the hospital. Drummer Joseph Porcaro Jr., has played with different bands, most notably one led by Bobby Hackett. Bassist Julie Ruggiero was a member of the trio that played on the Whiteman show, and is currently a member of the Tonight Show band led by Skitch Henderson. Mainieri, in speaking of the album, dwells very little on his own work, but stresses that of the pianist, Bruce Martin. Martin studied for two years with Oscar Peterson ("You can hear some of, Mainieri says), and was working with trumpeter Charlie Shavers at the Metropole in New York when Mainieri heard him. Mike strongly believes the pianist to a future star, and succintly sums up the rapport he feels when working with him: "We've kind of got our own little bag."

Out of that bag comes some of the pleasant, unassuming yet thoroughly musicianly albums in quite a while. Three of the tunes are well-known standards: Temderly, If I Were A Bell, and When I Fall In Love. The latter two are closely associated with Miles Davis, but their inclusion is sheer coincidence. They are played "because the piano player and I like them," not because of an influence. Mainieri, who professes not to listen to other vibraphonists very much, names the same two musicians when asked the inevitable question: Clifford Brown and Charlie Parker in that order.

The remaining three are Mainieri originals. Two of them are blues: the slow, moody Blues On The Other Side and the faster, previously mentioned tribute to Buddy Rich. For this listener's tastes, the most distinguished track is the final Waltzin' In And Out, which manages to bring a fresh inventiveness to funk at this late date. But the entire set, from the joyous Bell to the Tenderly played with perfect attention to the title, is enough to make Mike Mainieri's return so welcome that many will wonder why they didn't know he was away,

Joe Goldberg