Don Fagerquist (1927-1974) might be one of the most underrated jazz trumpets in history despte countless recordings with Gene Krupa, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Les Brown and Dave Pell. Although he was a Hollywood studio musician since 1956, over the years Don Fagerquist mantained his contact with the jazz scene, as these tracks can prove. He had a unique sound and phrasing that immediatley identified him, allowing us at once to appreciate Don's playing. This CD is more than a collection of mood music and jazz tunes: it is a delighful, warm and descriptive musical portrait of a great jazz musician.
Tracklist
Total time: 59:26 min.
01. Autumn Serenade (DeRose-Gallop) 5:57
02. Fedj (Pollard) 3:43
03. Almost Like Being in Love (Loewe-Lerner) 3:16
04. The Way You Look Tonight (Kern-Fields) 3:27
05. Love is just around the Corner (Gensler-Robin)3:32
06. The Man I Love (Gershwin) 3:17
07. Worry-go-round (Garcia) 2:43
08. The Boy Next Door (Martin-Blane) 3:30
09. I'm Glad There's You (Dorsey-Madeira) 4:20
10. Body and Soul (Green-Heyman-Sour) 4:15
11. Out of Nowere (Green-Heyman) 2:55
12. Coquette (Green-Lombardo-Kahn) 3:05
13. You're Looking at Me (Troup) 3:07
14. Time after Time (Styne-Cahn) 2:47
15. Aren't You Glad You're You? (Van Heusen-Burke) 3:25
16. Love is here to Stay (Gershwin) 3:37
17. I Remember You (Schertzinger-Mercer) 2:24
Album details
Personnel on tracks #1-3: Don Fagerquist (tp), Terry Pollard (p), Howard Roberts (g), Herman Wright (b), Frank DeVito (d).
Recorded in Hollywood, January 10, 1955
Personnel on tracks #4-6: Don Fagerquist (tp), Zoot Sims, Dave Pell, Bill Holman (ts), Bob Gordon (bs), Vernon Polk (g), Donn Trenner (p), Buddy Clark (b), Bill Richmond (d), Wes Hensel and Marty Paich (arr).
Recorded in Hollywood, June 21, 1955
Personnel on tracks #7-8: Don Fagerquist featured with Russell Garcia & his Orchestra
Don Fagerquist, Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Childers, Wes Hensel, Cappy Lewis (tp), Murray McEachern, Harry Betts, Lloyd Ulyate, James Henderson, Joe Howard (tb), Herb Geller (as), Bill Ulyate (bs), Howard Roberts (g), John T. Williams (p), Max Bennet (b), Alvin Stoller (d).
Recorded in Hollywood, July, 1956
Personnel on track #9: Don Fagerquist (tp), Howard Roberts (g), Rickey Marino, Bill Kurash (v), Stan Harris (viola), Fred Katz (cello), Bob Enevoldsen (tb), Don Heath (d), Russell Garcia (arr, cond).
Recorded in Hollywood, 1957
Personnel on tracks #10-12: Russell Garcia & his Orchestra
Don Fagerquist (tp), John T. Williams (p), Howard Roberts (g), Joe Comfort (b), Alvin Stoller (#10) or Jack Sperling (d), Ted Nash (as on #12).
Recorded in Hollywood, 1957
Personnel on track #13: Heinie Beau & His Hollywood All-Stars
Don Fagerquist (tp), John Graas (fh), Heinie Beau (cl), Buddy Collette (ts), Chuck Gentry (bs), Howard Roberts (g), Frank Flynn (xyl), Red Mitchell (b), Bill Richmond (d).
Recorded in Hollywood, June 30, 1958
Personnel on tracks #14-15: Don Fagerquist (tp), Bob Enevoldsen (tb), Herb Geller (as), Ronny Lang (bs), Al Viola (g), Marty Paich (p,arr), Buddy Clark (b), Mel Lewis (d).
Recorded in Hollywood, from the "Stars of Jazz" TV Show, November 11, 1958
Personnel on tracks #16-17: Les Brown and His Band of Renown.
Don Fagerquist, Al Porcino, Wes Hensel, Dick Collins, Jerry Kadowitz, Clinton McMahan (tp), Roy Main, Dick Kenney, Jay Hill, Clyde Brown (tb), Matt Utal, Ralph LaPolla (as), Billy Usselton, Al Aaron (ts), Butch Stone (bs), Donn Trenner (p), Bob Bertaux (b), Mel Lewis (d). Arrangements by Bill Holman.
Recorded in Hollywood, May 29, 1959
Produced for CD release by Jordi PujolPress reviews
"Marginalized as a result of his limited recorded output -- just one LP as a leader, the excellent Music to Fill a Void -- trumpeter Don Fagerquist remains ripe for rediscovery: a surefooted and expressive trumpeter, his cool, nuanced tones capture the essence of West Coast jazz. Portrait of a Great Jazz Artist is an exemplary introduction to Fagerquist's music, cherry-picking his finest solos from a series of dates spanning from 1955 to 1959 in support of Les Brown, Russ Garcia, and others. Aided and abetted by sidemen including Herb Geller and Zoot Sims, Fagerquist exhibits a stunningly imaginative melodic ability, creating a seemingly contradictory sound that's soft and mellow but boasts diamond-sharp edges."
Jason Ankeny -All Music Guide
