Backgrounder: Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers

With spring less than a week away, it's time for upbeat West Coast jazz. The last time I posted on Shorty Rogers was over the holidays when I highlighted The Swingin' Nutcracker. Before that, I featured Chances Are It Swings as a Backgrounder. This week, it's the finger-snapping Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, as suggested by Todd Selbert.

Recorded in the winter of 1957 between January and April, the album for RCA is a swinger loaded with top West Coast studio players. Here's the personnel on various tracks:

Mountain Greenery and On a Desert Island With Thee (January 30): Shorty Rogers (flhn); Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli, Harry “Sweets" Edison, Maynard Ferguson and Al Porcino (tp); Milt Bernhart and Bob Burgess (tb); John Halliburton (b-tb); Frank Rosolino (tb); Sam Rice (tu); Herb Geller (as); Bill Holman, Jack Montrose and Bill Perkins (ts); Pepper Adams (bar); Pete Jolly (p); Red Mitchell (b) and Stan Levey (d).

I've Got Five Dollars and I Could Write a Book (February 1): George Roberts (b-tb) replaces John Halliburton.

The Girl Friends, Like a Ship Without a Sail and Thou Swell (February 4): Shorty Rogers and Conte Candoli (tp); Herb Geller (as); Bill Holman (ts); Pepper Adams (bar); Pete Jolly (p); Red Mitchell (b) and Stan Levey (d).

It's Got to Be Love, Mimi and Ten Cents a Dance (April 3): Jimmy Giuffre (cl,bar) replaces Pepper Adams.

Here's Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, without ad interruptions. My suggestion is to put this one on a loop. It's rather short and the loop will repeat the album over and over until you leave the page. To set the loop, hold down your control key and click the cursor on the video. A pop-up menu will appear. Click “loop," the first choice on the list. That's it!...