Bud Shank & Bob Cooper – All of the Pacific Jazz & World Pacific sessions of the 1950s by the two reed players – Mosaic Select

by | Mar 3, 2007 | Jazz CD Reviews | 0 comments

Bud Shank & Bob Cooper  – All of the Pacific Jazz & World Pacific sessions of the 1950s by the two reed players – Mosaic Select 10  (3 CDs, over 70 min. on each) *****:

This fine package from the jazz reissue specialists will warm the heart of any seniors who reveled in the great sounds of West Coast Jazz of the 50s and 60s.  I nearly wore out my World-Pacific LP titled Flute ‘n Oboe, featuring Shank and Cooper. I also still have The Swing’s to TV, and Jazz at Cal-Tech, but I hadn’t known about the other two albums reissued here: Bud Shank and Bob Brookmeyer, and Blowin’ Country. The first features just Shank on alto sax, backed by three trombones plus strings in arrangements penned by Cooper (trombones) and Brookmeyer (strings) . The country album focuses on several different American folk songs. Some of the sessions were live and others were in the studio. Shank played on various tracks alto, tenor and flute. (He put down the flute to concentrate on sax some years ago.) Cooper played tenor sax, bass clarinet, and was the premiere oboist in jazz (maybe the only one, come to think of it!).

The Shank & Cooper duo first came to fame with the Stan Kenton band, then with the Lighthouse All-Stars at that famous club on the Southern California coast. The string section appears again on some of the track from the Flute ‘n Oboe record, and also on the Swing’s to TV album (which was not TV themes, as its title would seem to suggest!).  On the live concert recording at Cal-Tech – one of these best – they restricted their flute ‘n oboe duo to only two tunes. Most of the other players involved in these session were top West Coast Jazz names, including Howard Roberts on guitar, Shelly Manne on drums, and Claude Williamson on piano. Other arrangers involved were Johnny Mandel and Russ Garcia. The last of the sessions took place in l958 at Capitol, so these are all mono, but the sonics are just fine in Mosaic’s remastering, and how nice to be free of those ticks and pops on my well-loved old LPs!

TrackList:


Disc: 1

1. Valve in Head
2. Cool Fool
3. Little Girl Blue
4. Mobile
5. Wailing Vessel
6. Baby’s Birthday Party
7. You Don’t Know What Love Is
8. Sing Something Simple
9. Wailing Vessel [Alternate Take]
10. When Lights Are Low [Live]
11. Old Devil Moon [Live]
12. Nearness of You [Live]
13. Medley: How Long Has This Been Going On/Tea for Two [Live]
14. Lullaby of Birdland [Live]
15. Somebody Loves Me [Live]
16. Moonlight in Vermont [Live]
17. King [Live]
Disc: 2
1. Low Life
2. When Your Lover Has Gone
3. Out of This World
4. There’s a Small Hotel
5. Rustic Hop
6. You Are Too Beautiful
7. With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair
8. Low Life [Alternate Take]
9. Dinah
10. Mutual Admiration Society
11. Steve Allen Theme
12. I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face
13. Blowin’ Country
14. Love Nest
15. As Long as There’s Music
16. Just in Time
17. Two Lost Souls
18. Thanks for the Memory
19. Romantic Guy
Disc: 3
1. Sweet Georgia Brown
2. Gypsy in My Soul
3. I Want to Be Happy
4. What’ll I Do?
5. They Didn’t Believe Me
6. In the Blue of the Evening
7. Tequila Time
8. I Can’t Get Started
9. Blues for Delilah
10. Sunset and Wine
11. When You Wish Upon a Star
12. Put Your Dreams Away (For Another Day)
13. Tenderly
14. Danny Boy (Londonderry Air

– John Henry

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