Here are two more releases, both in stereo, in the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series from Craft Recordings.
Led by drummer Shelley Manne, Modern Jazz Performances of Songs from My Fair Lady, a trio recording also features Andre Previn on piano and Leroy Vinnegar on bass. Interpreting and/or re-working in some way songs from the classic period of Broadway musicals by modern jazz artists in the post-war era, right up until the 1960s, is nothing new, but these three pros made a classic album with this 1956 release.
When musical artists render classic songs almost unrecognizable, or dramatically rework them in some way, it can detract from their worth as covers, but in this case, the pure, unfettered simplicity of these re-imaginings of the historic Lerner and Lowe songs is modern jazz at its best. Manne and to a lesser degree Vinnegar bring a cool, laid-back West-Coast vibe to the proceedings, but Previn is the true star. Known more as a leader, conductor, composer, and film soundtrack score maven, to hear him joyfully swing in this bare-bones setting shows just what a brilliant and inventive jazz pianist he was in this period.
Craft Recordings jazz reissues are always bespoke packages with impeccable sound, but this one shines like few others. It’s hard to believe these recordings are getting close to being 70 years old. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP and mastered from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman, this could be a go-to reissue for testing one’s sound system for a natural sound.
As a follow-up to this album, a few years and a few releases later, in 1959, Manne and Previn would reteam with Previn (as the leader and Red Mitchell instead of Vinnegar on bass) and tackle Pal Joey (1957), Gigi (1958), and West Side Story (1959). In 1964, Manne would return to the My Fair Lady material with a much bigger band, for the album My Fair Lady with the Un-original Cast.
While You Get More Bounce with Curtis Counce! from Curtis Counce may be most known for its provocative cover of an alluring woman, (barely) dressed as a nurse, the music on the disc is some of the most celebrated by the bassist as a leader in his short life. Counce died at the age of 37, after recording only four albums in his lifetime as a leader.
This album was his second as a leader and second released in 1957 and second for Contemporary. He would record an album in 1958 before returning to Contemporary in 1960. Counce recorded with many other jazz musicians as a sideman, along with releasing several albums with Shorty Rogers and three apiece with Maynard Ferguson and Herb Geller. The quintet here is rounded out by Frank Butler on drums, Carl Perkins on piano, Harold Land on tenor saxophone, and the multi-talented Jack Sheldon on trumpet.
What is most striking about this album is the ease with which these five musicians interact. While the setting often has a West-Coast cool vibe, the musicians here often stretch out in various directions, particularly on two cuts on side two: the seven-minute original Counce composition “Counceltation” and the nine-minute Charlie Parker-penned “Big Foot.” The other Counce original here is the opening track “Complete.”
Like the My Fair Lady release, the album was pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP and mastered from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman. This album is a testament to the talent as a leader of Counce and a sad reminder of how much more great music as a leader he might have made if he didn’t die so young.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A
