Graded on a Curve: Shelly Manne & His Men, At the Blackhawk, Vol. 1

Although he’s famous for intensive and numerous credit as a sideman and as a contributor to numerous scores for tv and movie, drummer Shelly Manne stays greatest generally known as a pacesetter, and significantly for a string of albums starting within the early Nineteen Fifties piloting Shelly Manne & His Men. This contains 4 LPs launched collectively in 1960 that doc a stay stand at San Francisco’s Black Hawk membership from September of the earlier 12 months. At the Black Hawk, Vol. 1 is reissued March 15 on 180 gram vinyl as a part of Craft Recordings year-long collection reissuing choose titles from the catalog of Contemporary Records.

Make no mistake; when it comes to numbers, Shelly Manne’s discography is an enormous achievement, and that’s excluding sideman credit and soundtrack contributions. When a physique of labor grows to that measurement, clearly there’s a a lot smaller proportion gathering the necessities plus some extra increased high quality work. For Shelly Manne, the 4 At the Black Hawk, Vol. 1 units belong to that class. This first quantity is a wise place to start investigating Manne’s work, but it surely additionally serves to broaden West Coast jazz of the Nineteen Fifties past the stereotype.

First, the band; there’s Joe Gordon on trumpet, Richie Kamuca on tenor sax, Victor Feldman on piano, and Monty Budwig on bass. This isn’t the highest-profile lineup of the Men, as prior iterations featured altoists Art Pepper, Bud Shank, and Charlie Mariano, together with Jimmy Giuffre on baritone sax, however the taking part in is persistently robust and the environment throughout At the Black Hawk, Vol. 1 by no means falters.

And the atmosphere is a giant a part of this report’s enchantment. High high quality recorded documentation of strong jazz captured in a nightclub that catered to precisely that kind of factor simply wasn’t that widespread within the retail bins throughout this period, so when Contemporary dished out all 4 volumes in 1960, events might collect some perception into how a working band operated throughout quite a few units and nights throughout a membership engagement.

But At the Black Hawk, Vol. 1 nonetheless shines when thought-about singly, partially resulting from how the band spreads out on the fabric. There’s two items a facet, plus the transient set-closing theme “A Gem From Tiffany.” The opening model of the Gershwin-Hayward commonplace “Summertime” is a direct consideration grabber, with Gordon’s muted trumpet enhancing the slow-build humidity.

Kamuca’s tenor is authoritative however appropriately smoldering after which Feldman hits a mid-point between sophistication and the tune’s important bluesy taste. Budwig’s basis is massive however calm (heard first, alone) as Manne accents and provides rhythmic depth, however subtly; absorbed with out context, one would do not know the drummer was main the band.

Tadd Dameron’s “Our Delight” kicks the set into excessive bop gear, as this cooker’s vibe is decidedly extra East Coast in nature (Manne was born in New York City and established himself as a participant there earlier than shifting to Los Angeles). And it’s additional notable that when it’s Manne’s time within the highlight, he shares it with Budwig, the pair expressively spurring the momentum.

Over on the flip, “Poinciana” is one other up-tempo tackle a regular that blurs the coastal distinctions. It’s actually the ultimate monitor, a model of trombonist and former Manne bandmate Frank Rosolino’s “Blue Daniel,” that situates the considerably Shorty Rogers-esque quantity as a byproduct of sunny California. At the Black Hawk, Vol. 1 grows in stature when absorbed alongside its companion volumes, however energetic and versatile, this kickoff set holds up effectively by itself.

GRADED ON A CURVE:
A

This entry was posted in The TVD Storefront. Bookmark the permalink. Trackbacks are closed, however you may .