Personnel:
Tommy Tedesco, Al Hendrickson, Howard Roberts, Bobby Gibbons, Bill Pitman (g), Joe Mondragon, Buddy Clark (b), Larry Bunker, Mel Lewis (d), Alvin Stoller, Carlos Mejía, Mike Pacheco (bongos), Jack Marshall, Marty Paich, Warren Barker, Lennie Niehaus (arr)
Reference: BMCD 874
Bar code: 8427328008747
· Collector’s Edition
· Issued in Digipack
· 2 Original LPs on 1 CD
· Original Cover Art and Liner Notes
· Stereo Recordings
· Newly Remastered in 24-Bit
These two 1958 albums, “Invitation” and “Soft and Subtle,” brought together five of Hollywood’s finest guitarists—namely Tommy Tedesco, Al Hendrickson, Howard Roberts, Bobby Gibbons, and Bill Pitman—under the direction of Jack Marshall, and with the corporate name The Guitars, Inc. Five talented musicians, each an outstanding soloist in his own right, but all challenged and pleased with the possibilities of the group guitar sound. All five were in constant demand for recordings, radio, television and motion pictures, but they joined forces to combine this unique instrumentation with great musicianship and inventiveness, playing a careful selec- tion of material: the familiar and the obscure, the dreamy and the up-tempo, the swinging and the delicate. You are invited on a voyage of discovery to a new musi- cal realm where taste, subtlety, imagination and charm conspire to bring back the joy of listening to fine music.
"Before rock and roll turned the guitar into a Stratocaster food fight on the frets, the jazz guitar was a subtle and swinging collection of six strings. Here's a reissue by Fresh Sound Records that rekindle a flame that used to burn brightly, but needs to be put back in the window sill.
The Guitars Inc. was a clever idea to put together some of the best studio guitarists and see what they can do with well arranged pieces. For the 1958 sessions, Tommy Tedesco, Al Hendrickson, Howard Roberts, Bobby Gibbons and Bill Pitman got together with a collection of rhythm teams that included Mel Lewis-Larry Bunker-Alvin Stoller/dr and Joe Mondragon-Buddy Clark/b. The clever and nifty arrangements by artists including Mary Paich, Bill Holman and Lennie Niehaus keep the songs in concise forms of 2-3 minutes, but a lot goes on with some wondrous swingers such as “Lullaby of Broadway,” “Get Happy” and a danceable “El Cumbanchero” while the strings float like flakes on “Snowfall” and resign in reflection on “Darn That Dream.” This is a one of a kind team that needs to be brought back to the table!"
George W. Harris (May 23, 2016)
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