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John Von Ohlen: The Baron (1973)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
The Fender Rhodes electric piano was most popular with jazz and soul musicians and groups from 1970 to 1978, when affordable synthesizers began to replace the warm, dreamy-sounding instrument. For me, the greatest concentration of top-notch Rhodes albums arrived between 1971 and 1973. As you might imagine, I'm a bit of a Rhodes nut and have a fairly large collection. No other instrument says the 1970s like this singular keyboard. Just hearing its ringing notes triggers thoughts of patchouli oil, ...
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Oscar Moore: Enchanting Guitar, 1945-'65
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of the finest and most rewarding box sets to cross my desk this year is The Enchanting Guitar of Oscar Moore: The 1945-1965 Years. Released by Fresh Sound, this three-CD set with terrific liner notes by Jordi Pujol is both captivating and illuminating. Best known as the guitarist in the famed Nat King Cole Trio from 1938 to late 1947, Moore kept solid rhythm for the group with brief solo flourishes. In 1947, Moore joined his brother's group, Johnny ...
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Backgrounder: A.K. Salim on Savoy
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of the least researched and virtually forgotten master arrangers of the 1950s is Ahmad Khatab Salim—better known as A.K. Salim. He had a muscular, orchestral style and lyrical instrumental approach that caught the ear and packed a punch. Salim also arranged for Dizzy Gillespie and had one of the finest Latin-jazz pens, scoring Machito's Kenya in 1957 and tracks for Herman's Heat & Puente's Beat in 1958. A Salim chart required the very best musicians and soloists. In addition ...
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Johnny Richards and Stan Kenton
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Johnny Richards arranged several crackerjack albums for Stan Kenton. They include Cuban Fire!, tracks on Back to Balboa, Kenton's West Side Story and Adventures in Time. Even more exceptional are Richards's albums recorded as a leader, including Something Else, Wide Range, Walk Softly/Run Wild and Aqui Se Habla Español. With Kenton, Richards came a long way from his early neo-classical orchestrations in the late 1940s and early 1950s to the singular mid-decade sound that came to be identified with him. ...
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Backgrounder: Al Sears - Swing's the Thing (1960)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Al Sears was one of those versatile tenor saxophonists who could slide between jazz and R&B in the 1950s. Born in 1910, he landed his first major professional job as the replacement for Johnny Hodges in Chick Webb's group in 1928. In the 1940s, he played with Andy Kirk (1941-42), Lionel Hampton (1943-44) and Duke Ellington (1944), replacing Ben Webster. To teens in the 1950s, he was known as Big Al Sears, recording R&B on a series of independent labels ...
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Earl Swope: 11 Tracks on Trombone
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
With the arrival of bebop in 1946 and the proliferation of independent record labels, trombonists seemed perfectly positioned to take on the new music. Perhaps it was the fluidity of the instrument's slide. Whatever the reason, a surging number began to emerge from the big bands to master the modernist form. The list included J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Bill Harris, Eddie Bert, Urbie Green, Frank Rehak, Frank Rosolino and a pair of brothers named Rob and Earl Swope. Today, I'm ...
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Perfection: Maynard Ferguson - Starfire (1959)
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of the late Benny Golson's prettiest ballads is Starfire. For some strange reason, Benny never recorded it, and now I wish I had asked him why not. The song was recorded only a few times, most notably by Maynard Ferguson and His Orchestra on June 17, 1959. Benny wrote the arrangement for him. Just as puzzling is that no other jazz musician except Joe Beck, Bert Wilson and Barney Kessel has recorded it. Which is truly bizarre given how ...
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Two Dozen More Versions of 'So Rare'
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Following my post on Jimmy Dorsey's So Rare, I received a flood of emails from readers who are fans of the late 1950s version and had favorites. The addictive tune was written by composer Jerry Herst and lyricist Jack Sharpe, but before it was published in 1937, Fred Astaire sang the song early that year on his radio show, The Packard Hour. Over the years, So Rare has been recorded by big bands, jazz combos and pop singers. To help ...
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