There are great jazz albums and then there are tasty great jazz albums. This is the latter—Russ Garcia's Four Horns and a Lush Life (Bethlehem). Recorded in Hollywood in November 1955, the band featured four gorgeous trombonists: Frank Rosolino, Herb Harper, Maynard Ferguson and Tommy Pederson (tb) joined by Dick Houlgate (bs), Marty Paich (p), Red Mitchell (b), Stan Levey (d) and Russ Garcia (arr,conductor).
In 2008, I asked Russ about the album during a JazzWax interview:
JW: Four Horns and a Lush Life featured your original four-trombone concept. Who came up with the song title, I'll Never Forget What's Her Name?
RG: [laughs] Oh, that was trombonist Frank Rosolino. The tune actually was Fine and Dandy, but there wasn’t much left of that. I just took the chord structure and wrote an original. I said, “What do I call this?" Frank was a funny, funny guy. He shot out, how about “I’ll Never Forget What’s Her Name." It was too good to pass up.
JW: What is it about writing for the trombone that you love so much?
RG: The instrument can be strong and gutsy and swinging, or it can be soft and beautiful, like a French horn. And it’s in a tenor range, which is always very pleasant. I just kind of enjoy the instrument. I played a wee bit of trombone. After that Four Horns album, I wound up writing a number of trombone-oriented albums in the '50s for Frances Faye and Anita O'Day.
Also note the juicy piano solos taken by Marty Paich and how soft and brief his left was in the bass clef.
Here's Russ Garcia's Four Horns and a Lush Life without ad interruptions...
In 2008, I asked Russ about the album during a JazzWax interview:
JW: Four Horns and a Lush Life featured your original four-trombone concept. Who came up with the song title, I'll Never Forget What's Her Name?
RG: [laughs] Oh, that was trombonist Frank Rosolino. The tune actually was Fine and Dandy, but there wasn’t much left of that. I just took the chord structure and wrote an original. I said, “What do I call this?" Frank was a funny, funny guy. He shot out, how about “I’ll Never Forget What’s Her Name." It was too good to pass up.
JW: What is it about writing for the trombone that you love so much?
RG: The instrument can be strong and gutsy and swinging, or it can be soft and beautiful, like a French horn. And it’s in a tenor range, which is always very pleasant. I just kind of enjoy the instrument. I played a wee bit of trombone. After that Four Horns album, I wound up writing a number of trombone-oriented albums in the '50s for Frances Faye and Anita O'Day.
Also note the juicy piano solos taken by Marty Paich and how soft and brief his left was in the bass clef.
Here's Russ Garcia's Four Horns and a Lush Life without ad interruptions...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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