Brass heads, listen up. If you aren't familiar with the two albums I came across yesterday, you'll be thanking me by the end of this post. The albums are Tutti's Trumpets (1957) and Tutti's Trombones (1966). Tutti was Salvador “Tutti" Camarata—co-founder of London Records, the American arm of English Decca. He also was co-founder of Disneyland Records. London, of course, cleaned up in the 1960s marketing top-selling European Decca artists on the London label in America, from Mantovani to the Rolling Stones. [Photo above of Tutti Camarata]
Born in New Jersey, Tutti's parents had come over from Catania in Sicily. His work ethic was remarkable. He grew up studying trumpet and played in leading big bands of the 1940s. He also arranged for them. He persuaded Billie Holiday to record her first records with strings for Decca in 1944 and arranged those sessions (when he was known as “Toots"). He also conducted a recording by Jascha Heifetz.
After 1945, Tutti spent considerable time in the U.K., helping Ted Heath start his big band and working on a film, London Town, as musical director. Back in the States, he helped start London Records in 1947 and discovered Vic Damone and Teresa Brewer, arranging their early hits for London.
Tutti always had a thing for trumpet sections, so in the mid-1950s, he came up with an idea for an album featuring a collection of star players. Which brings us to how I found Tutti's Trumpets (Disneyland)—looking around for Uan Rasey sessions. The trumpets on the album are Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo, Mannie Klein, Joe Triscari, Short Sherock and Rasey. I know, the equivalent of walking into a garage and seeing six mint Ferraris sitting side by side. [Photo above of Conrad Gozzo]
While the album weaves between dance and easy listening, it's still glorious to hear players of this caliber together and alone. They were accompanied on songs by three different musical backgrounds—with saxophones, with strings or with full orchestra. While Tutti's arranging taste tended to lean toward cinematic mood music, he left well enough alone in most cases to maximize these horn greats.
High points include Klein blowing on Trumpet Soliloquy, the entire section playing the melody on Stardust backed by strings, Trumpet's Prayer featuring Gozzo, and Candoli soloing on Southland. It's astonishing to hear these guys solo and play in formation. In most cases on other albums, you just hear them whisked into a section. [Photo above of Pete Candoli]
In 1966, Tutti decided to give the all-star concept another go—this time on Tutti's Trombones. The trombonists were Dick Nash, Joe Howard, Tommy Pederson, Ernie Tack, Kenny Shroyer, Frank Rosolino, Hoyt Bohannon, Herbie Harper, Gil Falco and Lloyd Ulyate. That's quite a bit of big-band studio firepower. Though the arrangements aren't as deft as the trumpet album, the playing is sweet. The trombones are either bouncing around together like a big rubber ball or individual players are weeping through their horns. [Photo above of Dick Nash]
High points include Mr. Lucky set to a bosa nova with Howard taking the lead muted solo, Nash soloing with an open horn and Rosolino using a cup mute. There's also Four Brothers, which may be the only time this song, written for four saxophones, was handled by a gang of 'bones. The album ends with an excellent frisky tune by Tutti called Tutti's Trombones, on which all of the horns take a turn. The sidemen on both albums are top of the heap. [Photo above of Frank Rosolino]
Tutti Camarata died in 2005. An amazing career. Exhausting just writing about his many accomplishments. And he reportedly was a nice guy to boot!
JazzWax tracks. You'll find Tutti's Trumpets and Tutti's Trombones on a single album here.
It's also free for streaming at Spotify and if you have Amazon Prime. Or you can find many of the tracks at YouTube.
JazzWax tracks: Here's Stardust, with all the trumpets running the melody line together...
And here's Four Brothers...
Born in New Jersey, Tutti's parents had come over from Catania in Sicily. His work ethic was remarkable. He grew up studying trumpet and played in leading big bands of the 1940s. He also arranged for them. He persuaded Billie Holiday to record her first records with strings for Decca in 1944 and arranged those sessions (when he was known as “Toots"). He also conducted a recording by Jascha Heifetz.
After 1945, Tutti spent considerable time in the U.K., helping Ted Heath start his big band and working on a film, London Town, as musical director. Back in the States, he helped start London Records in 1947 and discovered Vic Damone and Teresa Brewer, arranging their early hits for London.
Tutti always had a thing for trumpet sections, so in the mid-1950s, he came up with an idea for an album featuring a collection of star players. Which brings us to how I found Tutti's Trumpets (Disneyland)—looking around for Uan Rasey sessions. The trumpets on the album are Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo, Mannie Klein, Joe Triscari, Short Sherock and Rasey. I know, the equivalent of walking into a garage and seeing six mint Ferraris sitting side by side. [Photo above of Conrad Gozzo]
While the album weaves between dance and easy listening, it's still glorious to hear players of this caliber together and alone. They were accompanied on songs by three different musical backgrounds—with saxophones, with strings or with full orchestra. While Tutti's arranging taste tended to lean toward cinematic mood music, he left well enough alone in most cases to maximize these horn greats.
High points include Klein blowing on Trumpet Soliloquy, the entire section playing the melody on Stardust backed by strings, Trumpet's Prayer featuring Gozzo, and Candoli soloing on Southland. It's astonishing to hear these guys solo and play in formation. In most cases on other albums, you just hear them whisked into a section. [Photo above of Pete Candoli]
In 1966, Tutti decided to give the all-star concept another go—this time on Tutti's Trombones. The trombonists were Dick Nash, Joe Howard, Tommy Pederson, Ernie Tack, Kenny Shroyer, Frank Rosolino, Hoyt Bohannon, Herbie Harper, Gil Falco and Lloyd Ulyate. That's quite a bit of big-band studio firepower. Though the arrangements aren't as deft as the trumpet album, the playing is sweet. The trombones are either bouncing around together like a big rubber ball or individual players are weeping through their horns. [Photo above of Dick Nash]
High points include Mr. Lucky set to a bosa nova with Howard taking the lead muted solo, Nash soloing with an open horn and Rosolino using a cup mute. There's also Four Brothers, which may be the only time this song, written for four saxophones, was handled by a gang of 'bones. The album ends with an excellent frisky tune by Tutti called Tutti's Trombones, on which all of the horns take a turn. The sidemen on both albums are top of the heap. [Photo above of Frank Rosolino]
Tutti Camarata died in 2005. An amazing career. Exhausting just writing about his many accomplishments. And he reportedly was a nice guy to boot!
JazzWax tracks. You'll find Tutti's Trumpets and Tutti's Trombones on a single album here.
It's also free for streaming at Spotify and if you have Amazon Prime. Or you can find many of the tracks at YouTube.
JazzWax tracks: Here's Stardust, with all the trumpets running the melody line together...
And here's Four Brothers...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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