Although the group was just a trio, this recording packs quite a wallop, with workouts on jazz warhorses like “Satin Doll” and “On Green Dolphin Street” and on Kessel’s own “Minor Mood.” Some of the tracks have a decidedly late-night vibe and the guitar work by Kessel is restrained and, as always, evolving. The name Poll Winners derives from that fact that these musicians were winners of many polls from such publications as Downbeat and Playboy as being the best at their instruments. This is the group’s debut album and the members would record four more albums together. Poll Winners, featuring Shelly Manne on drums, Barney Kessel on guitar, and Ray Brown on bass, was originally released in mono in 1957 and stereo in 1958. The next two reissues were originally released on the Stereo imprint of Contemporary, a label launched to show off the then very new stereo technology format. The sound on the album is bright and smooth and overall, this is an excellent sounding reissue. While the vibe is chill, the intricate and full-bodied arrangement by Paich makes this a jazz classic with a style that is almost unclassifiable. Some of the cream of the West Coast jazz artists of this period were at various times members of the Tonight Show band during Johnny Carson’s tenure, including three that are on this album: Russ Freeman, Pete Candoli, and Bill Perkins, a testament to how great that band was under the leadership of Doc Severinsen. It features a long list of players, interpreting Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Sonny Rollins, to just name four, with arrangements by Marty Paich. The album wouldn’t be strictly classified as a West Coast jazz album. The debut stereo release of the series is Art Pepper +Eleven, originally released in 1959. Rumsey and Manne were also integral to two key West Coast jazz clubs-The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, California, which Rumsey got off the ground in 1949 and which featured his All-Star’s, but which was owned by John Levine, and Shelly’s Manne-Hole, which opened in 1960 in Hollywood. Those artists included Chet Baker, Howard Rumsey, and several artists that are part of the Craft reissue series, including Art Pepper, Shelly Manne, Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel and others. It became very identifiable with the cool school of West Coast jazz. The label’s heyday lasted until the early 1960s. All three reissues boast the original liner notes from the legendary jazz scholar, author and journalist Nat Hentoff.Ĭontemporary Records was founded in 1951 in Los Angeles by Lester Koening. The key to why these particular recordings sound so good is the superb original engineering of Roy DuNann. The records were pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP with Stoughton old-style, tip-on jackets, include the iconic black-and-gold Contemporary label of the period, and come with archival sleeves. While the Blue Note and Verve label reissues from the last few years have paved the way for bespoke jazz archival releases, the recent series from Craft Recordings of reissues of albums from the Contemporary Records jazz label to celebrate its 70th anniversary, as part of the Acoustic Sounds Series, are just as welcome.Īll of the albums are mastered from the original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman. 2022 continues to be another banner year for audiophile jazz reissues.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |