Personnel:
Heinie Beau (cl, as, fl, arr), Milt Bernhart (tb), Don Fagerquist, Pete Candoli, Ray Linn (tp), Jack Cave, John Graas, Vince De Rosa (Frh), Bill Ulyate (tb, bs, b-cl), Bob Enevoldsen (v-tb), Tommy Johnson (tuba), Ted Nash (fl, as, cl), Buddy Collette (fl, ts, cl), Chuck Gentry (bs), Milt Raskin (p), Frank Flynn (vib, perc), Tony Rizzi, Howard Roberts, Billy Bean, George Van Eps (g), Red Callender, Red Mitchell (b), Jack Sperling, Bill Richmond, Larry Bunker, Mel Lewis (d), Victor Gottlieb, Ed Lustgarten, George Neikrug, Kurt Reher (cellos), Fred Katz, Calvin Jackson (arr)
Reference: FSRCD 1061
Bar code: 8427328610612
Fresh Sound Records presents:
Rare and Obscure Jazz Albums
A CD series created for the most discerning jazz collectors
· Hard to find albums in Collector's Edition
· 2 Original LPs on 1 CD
· Original Cover Art, Liner Notes
· Complete Personnel Details
· Stereo / Hi Fi Recordings
· Newly Remastered in 24-Bit
Moviesville Jazz
Heinie Beau (1911-1987), was not only a fine instrumentalist —clarinet, alto sax, flute— but also one of Hollywood’s finest independent arrangers, who worked for countless top orchestras and artists, including Tommy Dorsey, Red Nichols, Axel Stordahl, Paul Weston, Peggy Lee, and others. He was also an arranger for major TV and radio shows for a time, and a frequent contributor to motion picture scores. "Moviesville Jazz" is mood music in the jazz idiom. Each track is loaded with excellent solos by some of the best Hollywood studio jazz musicians, and Heinie Beau’s compositions and orchestrations provide the cohesion, purpose, and integration that make the music so enjoyable. For when jazz goes to the movies, a good time is had by all.
The Sound of Bernhart
Milt Bernhart (1926-2004) grew up as a musician playing in the bands of Boyd Raeburn, Buddy Franklyn, Jimmy James, Teddy Powell and ultimately Stan Kenton. His years with Kenton (1946-1951) led Bernhart to considerable popularity with jazz fans. After leaving Kenton, he devoted all of his time to studio work in Hollywood, where he participated in countless recordings. "The Sound of Bernhart" comprised of scores of sounds, five different groups all in all, playing mostly standards, with two originals, one each by Calvin Jackson and Fred Katz, who did most of the arranging. It is an out-and-out tour de force album, offering much variety, great musical interest and wonderful changes of pace, with Bernhart sliding fromlusty jazz blowing, to tight collaboration with the classically scored cellos. In addition, all the playing is excellent and the writing is too.
How did we miss all of these? Rare and Obscure Jazz Albums...
"Fresh Sound Records, the label that has given us collection of music from B movies and undeservedly overlooked vocalists, has now expanded their horizons with a brand new mouth watering category of recordings. This latest set consists of albums made by musicians that made a living in the studio and got one or two chances on their own, or for some strange reason were simply overlooked.
There isn't a single album here that isn't essential for jazz fans. Each packet comes with (usually) a list of all of the musicians and some fantastic liner notes to give you some background to the featured artist. Sure, I'm going to review them, but the subtitle under each summary is “Go get it... NOW!”
Heinie Beau teams up with fellow Hollywood studio gents from a pair of 1958 sessions that include the likes of Don Fagerquist/tp, Ted Nash-Buddy Collette/wwinds, Red Mitchell-Red Callender/b, Howard Roberts/g and Bill Richmond/dr on a collection of originals. These guys are just having too much fun as they give a Tiki Room treat of “The Gina Pastrami Cha Cha Cha” and cleverly bop on “Gullibles Travels”. They swing like Basie on “Under the Blow top” and bop with coolness for the fun “Scotland Yardbird” with a trip to noir alley on “In Your Private Eye”. Each of the song titles deserve to be put in the penitentiary.
Trombonist Milt Bernhart is best remembered for his classic solo on Frank Sinatra's “I've Got You Under My Skin”. Here is teamed up in smaller groups from various 1958 sessions with the likes of Red Mitchell/b, Mel Lewis-larry Bunker/dr, George Van Eps/g among others. There's a five member brass section for a palpably rich “Valvitation Trombosis” and swinging “Marty’s Tune” while a duet between Bernhart and Mitchell give a gorgeous take of “I'm Beginning to See The Light”. Some strings give parlor textures to “Get Out Of Town” and a dainty “Balleta”. Fortified bones."
—George W. Harris (January 10, 2022)
https://www.jazzweekly.com
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"Le nom de la série est Presenting... Rare and Obscure Jazz Albums, avec un sous-titre adéquat, Created for the most discerning jazz collectors. Le New Grove Dictionary of Jazz ignore Heinie Beau (1911-1987), clarinettiste connu pour ses disques avec Red Nichols chez Capitol (1947). Egalement sax alto, il a travaillé pour Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, Eddie Miller et il a servi de «nègre» pour des arrangements signés par Axel Stordahl et Billy May. Le voici seul responsable de l'album Moviesville Jazz (Coral 757247), dont il a composé tous les thèmes servis, en dehors de lui, par des pointures des studios d'Hollywood. En revenant du cinéma, Beau écrivait une satire musicale de ce qu'il avait vu. Douze de ces impressions constituent un disque très agréable, stylistiquement dans le courant dit «west coast» des années 1950. Tout est bien. Soulignons toutefois «The Man With the Golden Embouchure», une ballade qui met en vedette Don Fagerquist (tp) et Heinie Beau (cl). Notons deux caricatures de musiques pour films policiers, «The Tattooed Street Car Name Baby» où Don Fagerquist (plunger), Beau (cl), Ulyate (bs) et Graas font merveille, et «Moonset Boulevard» qui vaut pour l'alto lancinant du leader et bien sûr, Fagerquist. L'évocation du western est évidente dans «The Five and a Half Gallon Hat Story» qui permet d'entendre un solo de cor (Jack Cave, ex-Harry James). L'influence des Giants de Shorty Rogers se remarque dans «Under the Blowtop» (Flynn, vib, Roberts, g, Mitchell, b), «Gullible Travels» (Fagerquist, excellent, Beau proche de Gus Bivona, cl, Nash, as, Sperling, balais à la Shelly Manne) et «The Cool Tin Roof Story» (Mitchell, b, Beau, cl, Collette, ts, Roberts, g).
Cette réédition est couplée avec l'album The Sound of Bernhart (Decca 9214). Milt Bernhart (1926-2004) dont c'est le deuxième de ses seuls disques en leader, était extrêmement occupé dans les studios d'Hollywood. Ex-élève de professeurs légendaires (Forrest Nicola, Donald Reinhardt), il fut un incontournable sideman doté d'une sérieuse technique (Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, Maynard Ferguson, Shorty Rogers). Il a fallu trois séances pour enregistrer ces onze titres destinés à montrer l'étendue des compétences de Milt Bernhart, car entouré de pointures des studios, quand l'un était libre, un autre ne l'était pas. En tempo médium qui balance bien, Bernhart aborde d'abord «Love Is Sweeping the Country» des frères Gershwin (Flynn, vib, Raskin, p, Mitchell, b sur le bon drumming de Mel Lewis). Il phrase avec souplesse dans un style sweet le «Don't Blame Me»; Urbie Green n'aurait pas fait mieux. Les arrangeurs ont placé le virtuose qu'était indiscutablement Bernhart dans des environnements influencés par la musique savante européenne: ensemble de cuivres dans l'ambitieux «Valvitation Trombosis» de Calvin Jackson (avec passages en staccato... que des pointures: Pete Candoli, Vince DeRosa, Tommy Johnson) et «Carte Blanche» attribué à Bernhart et Candoli qui est de l'improvisation libre, une section de violoncelles («Poor Pierrot», «Legend», «Balleta») ou enfin des percussions («Karabali» de Lecuona, Mel Lewis, cga/bgo, Flynn, timbales). Il y a aussi des arrangements qui swinguent, comme «Martie's Tune» (Red Mitchell, b, Larry Bunker, dm) et «I'm Beginning to See the Light» (duo Bernhart et Red Mitchell). Bref, un disque indispensable pour les amateurs de cuivres, mais moins pour les exclusifs du jazz."
—Michel Laplace
© Jazz Hot, 2022
