Manny Albam's Jazz Greats Of Our Time, Complete Recordings (1957 Decca, 1958 Dot) (LoneHill)

Review by Ken Dryden
Manny Albam led many fine all-star big bands assembled specifically for recording sessions, and this compilation combines two related Coral LPs into a double-CD set. The first volume is a star-studded disc with Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, and Phil Woods in the reed section; Bob Brookmeyer, Nick Travis, and Art Farmer making up the brass section; and the rhythm team of Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, and Osie Johnson. Albam sticks mostly to originals. He spreads the solo responsibilities around a good bit while playing musicians against one another with inspired countermelodies. "My Sweetie Went Away," associated with Lester Young but dating from the 1920s, provides a bit of contrast to the remainder of the material. The second disc focuses heavily on West Coast players like Richie Kamuca, Conte Candoli, Bill Holman, and Shelly Manne, though there's a ringer on trumpet, Harry "Sweets" Edison (identified under a pseudonym on the original record). Edison makes his presence known with "Sweet's -- Bread" and his easily identified muted horn in "Jive at Five." Candoli and Jack Sheldon trade licks in "How Long Has This Been Going On." Although each of these albums was reissued during the LP era, this Lone Hill Jazz compilation marks their first appearance in the CD era.

1 My Sweetie Went Away. Handman, Turk 9:01
2 See Here, Miss Bromley. Albam 4:02
3 Poor Dr. Millmoss. Albam 5:31
4 All Too Soon. Ellington, Sigman 7:12
5 Minor Matters. Albam 4:54
6 Latined Fracture. Albam 5:07
7 Blues from Neither. Coast Albam 4:33
8 Thurnder Burt. Albam 7:32
9 Afterthoughts. Albam 4:39
10 How Long Has This Been Going On?. Gershwin, Gershwin 5:54
11 Jive at Five. Basie, Edison 4:57
12 It's De-Lovely. Porter 6:34
13 Sweet's-Bread. Albam 4:28
14 Intervowen. Albam 4:52
15 Am I Blue?. Akst, Clarke 7:27
16 Home Brew. Albam 5:00
17 My Funny Valentine. Hart, Rodgers 4:35
18 Blues Over Easy, Pt. 1. Ad, Lib 11:18
19 Blues Over Easy, Pt. 2. Ad, Lib 8:03
20 A Little Eye-Opener. Albam 4:44
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Include this two complete lp's (tracks 01-14) plus bonus:

Jasmine re-issue Lp cover

Manny Albam - Jazz Heritage, Jazz Greats of Our Time, Vol. 1 - Coral-Decca 1957

Review by Ken Dryden
Manny Albam's decision to quit playing and stick exclusively to arranging, composing, and leading large ensembles produced many fine records during the 1950s and 1960s, though most of them, such as this Coral LP, have unjustly languished out of print for decades. Albam leads a truly all-star tentet with Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Bob Brookmeyer, Nick Travis, and Art Farmer, along with a rhythm section consisting of Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, and Osie Johnson. Most of these 1957 sessions are devoted to Albam's cool but swinging original works, each of which features great solos and superb interplay among the musicians. One oddity is the inclusion of the 1920s-era My Sweetie Went Away, which somewhat resembles Mulligan's composition Jeru, though the playing is first-rate. Cohn trades his usual tenor sax for baritone to join Mulligan in Albam's humorous Poor Dr. Millmous (whose title was inspired by a James Thurber cartoon). Consider yourself fortunate if you locate a copy of this rare album.

1 Blues from Neither Coast, 2 Latined Fracture 3 Poor Dr. Millmoss 4 Minor Matters 5 My Sweetie Went Away (He Didn't Say Where, When or Why) 6 All Too Soon 7 See Here, Miss Bromley.

Manny Albam - Jazz Heritage, Jazz Greats of Our Time, Vol. 2 - Coral-Decca 1957

Review by Ken Dryden
Manny Albam put out a steady stream of compelling progressive big-band LPs in the 1950s and 1960s, though few of them have been reissued on CD. These 1957 sessions feature numerous so-called West Coast jazz players on the date (Shelly Manne, Richie Kamuca, Conte Candoli, and Bill Holman, among others), though Trumpeter X, actually Harry Sweets Edison, is a notable exception. Albam's charts are consistently challenging to the musicians and there are plenty of great solos, far too many to list individually. If Edison's identity isn't apparent from the liner notes and the song title Sweet's-Bread, his two-chorus muted solo on that swinging track and the single chorus in his own Jive at Five will clear up any doubt. This long unavailable Coral LP will be extremely difficult to acquire.

1 Interwoven 2 Afterthoughts 3 Sweet's Bread 4 Jive at Five 5 Thunder Burt 6 How Long Has This Been Going On 7 It's De-Lovely

BONUS:

Include also two bonus (15-16) from this sessions and formerly included on lp VVAA - Jazz Cornucopia (1958 Coral)

Finally also include the Manny Albam's tracks (17-20) that was included on Two lp's titled : VVAA - Down Beat Jazz Concert vol1-2, 1958 Dot.
These two LP's can be downloaded from another blog, belonging to the friend THE JAZZMAN (sorry, I cannot put link here... if you need blog adresse, please send me a email).