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Joe Mondragon
A versatile and supportive bassist, Joe Mondragon appeared with the who's who of jazz during a two-decade period. Self-taught on bass, Mondragon started out working locally in Los Angeles. After serving in the Army, he was with Woody Herman's First Herd in 1946. He then went into the studios, working with a countless number of top musicians and singers (mostly on the West Coast). Among his many associations on record were June Christy, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Buddy Rich, Buddy DeFranco, Marty Paich, Claude Williamson and many others. Mondragon, who recorded the Duke Ellington Songbook with Ella Fitzgerald from 1956-57, was a fixture in the studios; among the more jazz-oriented soundtracks for films that he appeared on were The Wild One and Pete Kelly's Blues. Mondragon never had a chance to lead a session of his own. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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Chet Baker & Jack Sheldon: In Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album
by Pierre Giroux
In Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album presents an intriguing collaboration between trumpeters Chet Baker and Jack Sheldon. Derived from a newly unearthed studio session from 1972 and released on the Jazz Detective label, it was co-produced by Zev Feldman and film producer Frank Marshall. Backed by a stellar ensemble featuring Jack Marshall (guitar), Dave Frishberg (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass) and Nick Ceroli (drums), the sextet swings through a repertoire drawn mostly from the Great American Songbook, supplemented by one original ...
read moreChet Baker: Chet Baker and Strings
by C. Michael Bailey
With Strings. I have been listening to a several recordings of Jazz artists performing with a string section, including: Clifford Brown With Strings (Emarcy 814 642), Charlie Parker with Strings (Verve 314 523), Art Pepper's Winter Moon (OJC 677), Wynton Marsalis' Midnight Blues: Standard Time Volume 5 (Columbia 68921), and most recently, Chet Baker and Strings (Columbia Legacy 65562). I am enamored with all of these discs. Some of them have stood the test of time, some have not. They ...
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