Friday, November 5, 2021

Gerry Mulligan - The Original Quartet With Chet Baker (1998), Pacific Jazz CD CDP 7243 4 94407 2 2

 

Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker's original quartet recordings are a landmark in the history of west coast jazz. And while I claim to be a fan of the genre and have quite a few Mulligan albums as well as a couple of Mosaic box sets (one of which includes his late 1950s "reunion" recordings with Baker), I did not until now own any version of these seminal recordings. So it goes without saying, this collection was a serious must-have. This 2-disc collection is in some sense an abbreviated (and much cheaper) version of the Mosaic 5-LP or 3-CD of Mulligan and Baker's complete quartet and tentette recordings: Disc 1 here exactly matches the first disc of the 3-CD Mosaic set, and Disc 2 here exactly matches the Mosaic Disc 2 except that it omits "Festive Minor" and "All the Things You Are." While Baker may have been the poster boy for west coast or "cool" jazz in the 1950s, Mulligan, as composer and arranger, was one of the primary brains of the style, having been there at the outset playing and contributing to Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool recordings (which were made in New York, by the way) only a few years before the 1952-53 recordings on this set. Although a few of the tracks here include piano, played either by Mulligan in a trio without Baker or by Jimmy Rowles in a quartet without drums, Mulligan's quartet with Baker was considered innovative at the time by omitting the piano.

These recordings really emphasize the more highly arranged "chamber jazz" aspect of the west coast style, but with the minimalist personnel of the quartet, there is still room for Baker and Mulligan to display their improvisational soloing skills, even on the earlier recordings that typically run about 3 minutes or less. While I generally am not a fan of all the previously unissued alternate takes included on the exhaustive Mosaic box sets, largely because the master and alternate(s) differ very little, this set benefits from including both the 10" LP and 12" LP versions of three selections on Disc 2 because the arrangements are vastly different. In general, the 10" versions are a lot edgier than the 12" versions, particularly on a piece like Duke Ellington's "I'm Beginning to See the Light," which begins with an unusual emphasis and de-emphasis of certain notes in the opening rendition of the melody, along with some slightly discordant chords by Mulligan and Baker together throughout. The 12" version smoothes this approach away, giving a more traditional version of the melody. The set ends with the quartet's classic version of "My Funny Valentine," perhaps their best-known collaboration and a fitting end to a partnership that lasted only two years, cut short by Mulligan's incarceration on drug charges. But the music they made together during this brief stint influenced anyone making jazz on the west coast for the rest of the decade.

Do I Really Need This record?  Not only is this set absolutely essential, but I am intrigued by the other titles in the West Coast Classics series advertised on the inside of the tray card and may have to add them to the collection as well, particularly the Jack Sheldon and Bud Shank/Bill Perkins entries.

 

 

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Spanish Harlem Orchestra - United We Swing (2007), Six Degrees Records CD 657036-1134-2

I first heard this album when I was working as the Music Librarian for KOOP Radio in Austin, Texas in 2007, and we received a promo copy for our Music Library. I have been a fan of Latin salsa and Afro-Cuban music in general for some time, so I was blown away by this contemporary large ensemble playing classic rumbas, Cuban sons, and other Afro-Latin styles with such a classic/retro touch and precision. Led by Oscar Hernandez, who also arranges most of the tunes on this disc, this is a 14-member Latin big band with three vocalists as well as multiple trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and a full complement of various percussion instruments. If you like the classic sounds of Machito, Tito Puente's larger groups, Tito Rodriguez, Beny More, etc., then you will definitely dig this group. This is their third full-length, and they released their seventh and latest just last year.

Most of the cuts on this disc are up-tempo salsa dura numbers, featuring call-and-response vocals between the lead singer and the other two vocalists. "Que Bonito" veers a tinge toward a more Latin pop direction, and the closer is a cover of Paul Simon's "Late in the Evening" with Simon making a guest cameo on vocals. This has never been one of my favorite Simon compositions, so it's definitely the weakest track on the disc--good thing they put it last. Reviewing the CD for allmusic.com, Jeff Tamarkin concurs with my opinion and is effusive in his praise of the rest of the album, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Tropical Latin Album of 2007. This group does classic Latin right.

Do I Really Need This record?  Considering that my previous copy of this album was a rip I had made of the promo copy mentioned above, I really needed to upgrade to the manufactured CD version, which I snapped up when I saw it offered for $7 on the Dusty Groove web site. Sonic upgrades are always a necessity, and they don't take up any extra shelf space since they are merely replacements, not additions.