Eddie Bert Quintet - Kaleidoscope ('53-54 Discovery_Savoy, '55 &, '59) (Fresh Sound 2005)

CD cover

LP - EDDIE BERT QUINTET (Discovery)

EP 1955 - EDDIE BERT QUINTET - LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME

Include : LP Eddie Bert Quintet (1953-1954 Discovery_SAVOY) plus 1955 & 1959 unreleased material.

Personnel and dates:

Tracks 2-5: Eddie Bert, trombone, Sal Salvador, guitar; Duke Jordan, piano; Clyde Lombardi, bass; Mel Zelnick, drums.
Hackensack, New Jersey, May 11, 1953

Tracks 1,6-8: Eddie Bert, trombone, Vinnie Dean, alto sax; Duke Jordan, piano; Clyde Lombardi, bass; Art Mardigan, drums.
New York City, August 20, 1954

Tracks 9-13: Eddie Bert, trombone, vocal #12; Vinnie Dean, alto sax; Duke Jordan, piano; Clyde Lombardi, bass; Joe Morello, drums.
New York City, November 3, 1954

Tracks 14-17: Eddie Bert, trombone, Vinnie Dean, alto sax; Sal Mosca, piano; Clyde Lombardi, bass; Ed Shaughnessy, drums.
New Rochelle, N.Y., August 5, 1959

Track 18: Eddie Bert, trombone, Duke Jordan, piano; Clyde Lombardi, bass; Osie Johnson, drums.
Live at Gobblers Inn, Point Pleasant, N.J., August 8, 1955

*Tracks 14-18 previously unissued.

1. Kaleidoscope (Eddie Bert) 2:59
2. Love Me Or Leave Me (W.Donaldson-G.Kahn) 2:52
3. Little Train (Eddie Bert) 2:44
4. Prelude To A Kiss (D.Ellington-I.Mills) 2:32
5. Conversation Piece (Eddie Bert) 2:35
6. Interwoven (Vinnie Dean) 3:09
7. Around Town (Eddie Bert) 3:00
8. Broadway (T.Mcrae-W.Woode-B.Bird) 2:58
9. Melting Pot (Bill Holman) 3:27
10. Ripples (Eddie Bert) 2:45
11. Conversation (Eddie Bert) 3:09
12. He Ain’t Got Rhythm (Irving Berlin) 2:12
13. Cherokee (Ray Noble) 4:45
14. Fuguein’ Around* (Eddie Bert) 3:44
15. Ripples* (Eddie Bert) 3:44
16. Conversation* (Eddie Bert) 3:58
17. Blues At Sunrise* (Eddie Bert) 5:50
18. Kaleidoscope* (Eddie Bert) 17:33

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From http://www.freshsoundrecords.com/record.php?record_id=4281

Eddie Bert played in Goodman's boppers from November 1948 to September 1949. By 1950 he had enough of travel and trials of the road, so Eddie decided to concentrate on making his living around New York City, where he was regularly on call for recordings with Ray McKinley, Les Elgart, Elliot Lawrence, and the Sauter-Finegan orchestra. All of which takes us to the time of the sessions here, when Eddie was under contract to Discovery Records until the label went into bankruptcy and was sold to Savoy in 1956.

Yet, back to the three Discovery sessions included in this compilation (1 to 13), all of them feature pianist Duke Jordan, another giant the public has taken much too long to appreciate. Jordan worked for Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker throughout much of the 1940's, and even before that he was in the right place at the right time when bop was born in clubs like Clarke Monroe's in Harlem in 1941. Bassist Clyde Lombardi is also heard throughout these sessions, a musician many of us associate largely with the late Lennie Tristano's first trio performances. Drummer Art Mardigan handles the sticks (who swung Woody Herman's Third Herd for years), and then we segue to Joe Morello—and Eddie Bert recalls this as Joe Morello's very first studio date.

Very few fans ever heard Joe Morello when he subbed for Stan Levey in Stan Kenton's 1953 powerhouse, but broadcasts survive to prove that Joe was there, and his section mate was guitarist Sal Salvador, whom you will hear on the first four tracks of this CD. Eddie Bert likes that trombone-guitar unison in the front line, and he used it again in a session with Joe Puma six months later. Bert also liked the alto saxophone sound of his Westchester County neighbor Vinnie Dean, who had boarded the band bus with Sal Salvador through most of 1952-53 as integral parts of Stan Kenton's most sublimely swinging ensemble.

The last five tracks of this album previously unreleased recordings where we hear Eddie surrounded by his usual musicians. Through the years Eddie often worked with his own jazz group, most of the time including his peers Vinnie Dean, Clyde Lombardi Duke Jordan, Art Mardigan, Eddie Shaughenessy and a variety of drummers. For some gigs he also used pianist Sal Mosca, who grew up, just like Eddie, in Mount Vernon. Mosca, who studied for eight years with Lenni Tristano, doesn’t have a long list of recordings under his name, yet he’s considered by his colleagues as the last living great improvisational pianist of their generation. Tristano wrote that “of all the great people in jazz since the 40s, Sal Mosca is one of the greatest.” We can hear all the expressive range of Sal’s imagination in tracks 14 to 17.

The album finishes the same way it starts, with an also unreleased long version of Kaleidoscope, tune that gives name to this compilation and was recorded live in Gobbler’s Inn, Point Pleasant, New Jersey in August, 1955.

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Linner notes from CD issued by Savoy label (tracks 01-13 only):

Recorded 5/11/53 at Van Gelder Studios Hackensack, NJ Rudy Van Gelder engineer

The first thing to note, with no equivocation, and also without fear of contradiction is that everybody likes Eddie Bert - both as a person and as a great jazz musician. Moreover, it is really impossible to separate the two - Eddie Bert and jazz - especially since he is now well into his fifth decade as a performer. Yes, he has been pumping that gold trombone over forty years, although one would never know it from looking at him, for if anyone has found that elusive Fountain of Youth that Ponce De Leon was searching for, it must be Eddie Bert. Youth and vim and vitality must ooze from the taps in his Mt. Vernon home.

Just ask any of the great leaders: Red Norvo, Charlie Barnett, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, and Bennie Goodman in the 1940's; modernists such as Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk in the fifties and sixties; song stylists like Lena Horne and Peggy Lee in the seventies; or you may have heard him as a soloist with Illinois Jacquet's throbbing ensemble as it toured Europe in 1986. He has starred in roaring big bands and subtle small groups, and in between Eddie Bert has been in the pit (in more ways then one) for dozens of Broadway shows, and even when he has Monday night off he'll motor over to sit-in at the Sonny Igore-Dick Meldonian band rehearsal at Emerson High School in New Jersey. Actually , even the most astute jazz fan would be hard pressed to name any other musician who has worked for and recorded with leaders disparate as Red Norvo, Stan Kenton, Charles Mingus, and Thelonious Monk - all of them so distinctive in their approaches to jazz, all seemingly so incompatible, except in their choice of Eddie Bert as a sideman. Music by Mingus certainly alienated Kenton and vice versa, but Eddie Bert might solo on a Kenton TV show one week and pop up in Mingus' quintet a month later. Again everybody loves Eddie Bert, but few may recall that he was named "Musician of the Year" by Metronome as far back as 1955, and of course he recorded with the Metronome All Stars for Verve a year later. Collectors have treasured Eddie's albums on Discovery, Savoy, and Somerset, and now's the time to introduce all listeners to two Discovery sessions from 1954 that have never been previously released on long playing records. Moreover this album even presents the fabulous trombonist in a completely new role; he always "sings" his horn, but that's his own voice you'll hear on He Ain't Got Rhythm. It's a performance that has been lodged in the vaults far too long, but don't take that title to heart; certainly it doesn't apply to Eddie Bert in any way.

Eddie Bert has demonstrated his rhythm since he broke into the big band business with Sam Donahue's first orchestra in 1940, and then he moved to Red Norvo's septet (or larger ensemble) recording his first solo on Jersey Bounce with Norvo for Columbia on March 5, 1942. The Norvo years saw the formation of a lasting friendship between Red and Eddie, and the trombonist treasures his memories of playing with the vibraphonist, particularly stressing the recorded results from a Town Hall concert from 1945, which has been available for decades, as well as an all night jam session with Norvo's group at the home of critic and drummer George T. Simon, music will soon be available after a wait of "only " 40 years. That Norvo band included major soloists and arrangers like Shorty Rogers, and Ralph Burns , both of whom trailed Eddie Bert to Woody Herman's orchestra in 1943-44. Woody Herman's orchestra was in a transition period then , evolving from "The Band that Plays the Blues" into "The First Herd," but the 1943 ensemble had more than its share of brilliant soloists - trumpeters Ray Wetzel, Cappy Lewis, and Nick Travis come to mind, as well as Johnny Bothwell and the great Ben Webster in the saxophone section, and bassist Chubby Jackson was already aboard to sprinkle his humor around. Unfortunately, though, Eddie Bert's year with Woody Herman also covered most of the time when the American Federation of Musicians, under James C. Petrillo, went on strike and banned all recording. It was a ban that helped to ruin the band business, even though Decca Records was the first major label to settle with the union, which allowed Eddie Bert to record with Woody Herman at the end of 1943.

Next Eddie Bert moved on to Herbie Fields' ensemble, and then in 1947 he received the call to join Stan Kenton, for whom he recorded regularly over the next eighteen months, and his many fans will know Eddie's solos on Unison Riff, Harlem Holiday, and How High the Moon. He particularly treasures the tapes of a Kenton concert in the Midwest (Unfortunately never issued) when Kenton's brand of "Progressive Jazz" came to fulfillment. Still, life on the road was too damaging to Kenton's health and home, so when the leader quit for a year Eddie Bert decided to accept an offer to join Benny Goodman - a transition which again points out his acceptance by leaders who were poles apart in their approach to music. Ironically though, this was the King of Swing's "Bop" band, the one that featured soloists like tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray and Doug Metronome, and pianist-singer Buddy Greco, all delightfully comfortable in arrangements by Chico O'Farril. Again, Eddie Bert glows as he recalls BG's flirtation with be-bop, and he worked for Benny Goodman many times in the succeeding years. He was seen and heard on screen in a television tribute to Goodman in March 1987, performances made only a few months before the great clarinetist's death. Eddie Bert played in Goodman's boppers from November 1948 to September 1949, the dates confirmed by his diary that has been so helpful to discographers and writers of liner notes. That diary even reveals an event sandwiched between his days with Kenton and Goodman, when he went on a short road trip with Boyd Raeburn's orchestra into the New England area in June 1948. One night the Raeburn band was performing in Shelbourne, New Hampshire, and a new lead trumpeter and a drummer had just joined the band. The drummer was Mel Lewis, the trumpeter Al Killian. The Raeburn band was supported by a sextet of Canadian musicians led by a very young trumpeter , and when Killian heard that player solo he told Raeburn , "You gotta get this kid!" Raeburn did, and thus it was that Maynard Ferguson joined his first American orchestra. Of course, Ferguson went on to star with Charlie Barnett and particularly with Stan Kenton, and he has led his own band for thirty years. Still, thanks to Eddie Bert's diary, we know the events that first brought Maynard Ferguson into Boyd Raeburn's orchestra.

By 1950 he had enough of travel and trials on the road, so Eddie decided to concentrate on making his living around New York City. He did form an alliance with Bill Harris and Milt Gold in a rare three trombone team, but they earned only a few schekels at jobs that were distant and scarce. He was also regularly on call for recordings with Ray McKinley, Les Elgart, Elliot Lawrence, and the Sauter-Finegan orchestra. All of which takes us to the time of the sessions here, when Eddie under contract to Discovery Records and was working under the eye of Artist and Repertoire Director Jack Bergman. The company had a marvelous roster of artists, but far too much of their music was unissued when Discovery failed and was sold to Savoy in 1956. More irony pops up here too, for Eddie recalls how his A&R chief prevented him form becoming a partner in the most famous trombone team in the history of jazz. Most fans will recall with joy the team of J. J. Johnson and Kai Winding, an idea which had its genesis in the mind of Savoy's recording director Ozzie Cadena. Cadena initially wanted Johnson and Benny Green in tandem, but Green put a red light to that merger. Cadena next contacted Eddie Bert, but that failed when Discovery Records refused to give its permission for Eddie to record for Savoy. This was only a few months before Discovery went into bankruptcy , which also negated Bert's contract, but by that time Johnson and Winding had their group, and of course they went on to great success. Note, though , that Eddie Bert does not point out these memories in anger, and certainly it did not prevent his growth as a soloist. Furthermore, Cadena was soon free to record Eddie Bert for Savoy some twenty performances that will eventually be re-issued , including the sessions when Eddie teamed up with Bert (via overtracking) to form a most delightful (not to mention close) two trombone front line. Yet back to the sessions of moment here, and momentous they were, covering some 18 months in in Eddie 's career, and all of them feature pianist Duke Jordan, another giant the public has taken much too long to appreciate. Duke Jordan worked for the colossi of the saxophone throughout much of the 1940's, Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker, and even before that he was in the right place at the right time when bop was born in clubs like Clarke Monroe's in Harlem in 1941. He was still in his teens then, but older musicians listened closely to his solos. Roy Eldridge, Oscar Pettiford, and Stan Getz all hired him as well, and through the years he has given us some memorable albums, notably in a tribute session to Charlie Parker (Savoy SJL 2257) and on his own album issued recently where he and Eddie Bert switch roles as leader (Savoy SJL 1169). Both there and here Duke Jordan proves the perfect companion, feeding chords as the trombonist solos, and stretching out on his own in that "subdued, spare style" that critics like Leonard Feather have celebrated so long.

Bassist Clyde Lombardi is also heard throughout the three sessions that create this album, a musician many of us associate largely with the late Lennie Tristano's first trio performances, but Lombardi also worked for Red Norvo, Boyd Raeburn, and Benny Goodman before he went on to staff at CBS almost thirty years ago. The Lombardi and Bert friendship has survived the years and the bassist is heard on nearly all the sessions released under the trombonist's name. As ever, Lombardi proves himself a bedrock of support in the rhythm section, working well with different drummers at each session. Initially Mel Zelnick sets the tempo (Bert's mate in Boyd Raeburn's 1948 ensemble), then Art Mardigan handles the sticks (who swung Woody Herman's Third Herd for years), and then we seque to Joe Morello-and Eddie Bert recalls this as Joe Morello's very first studio date. Of course, Joe Morello went on to attract attention with Marion McPartland's trio, and to gain fame with Dave Brubeck's quartet. Astute followers of this music will also want to correct the Savoy discography that identifies Mardigan as the drummer for this final session, not Morello.

Very few fans ever heard Joe Morello when he subbed for Stan Levy in Stan Kenton's 1953 powerhouse, but broadcasts survive to prove that Joe was there and his sectionmate was guitarist Sal Salvador, whom you will hear on the first four tracks of this album. Eddie Bert likes that trombone-guitar unison in the front line, and he used it again in a session with Joe Puma six months later. Bert also liked the sound of his Westchester County neighbor Vinnie Dean, who had boarded the band bus with Sal Salvador through most of 1952-53 as integral parts of Stan Kenton's most sublimely swinging ensemble. Vinnie Dean led Kenton's saxophone section, and during that year he had all stars like Lee Konitz, Zoot Sims, Richie Kamuca, and Bill Holman sitting at his side. Yet these sessions with Eddie Bert indicate best just how well Vinnie Dean soloed.

-Jack McKinney-

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Great info about Eddie Bert here:
http://www.thedrakenet.com/Eddiebert/default.htm