Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Shelley Manne: Plays Checkmate
Shelley Manne: Plays Checkmate
ByShelley Manne, who had previously delved into musicals for fresh ideas (his My Fair Lady is a minor classic), was able to see the possibilities in Williams' noirish themes from Checkmate, a long forgotten TV show. It certainly helps that Manne's 1961 working quintet was filled with fire-breathers like Richie Kamuca and Conte Candoli, but clearly the music simply gave the musicians the opportunity to dig into some fresh material to generate ideas. The music bears the influence of recent modal experiments (“The King Swings” bears more than a passing resemblance to “Impressions”) and Freeman, a stalwart West Coast pianist, demonstrates a knack for working within the loose framework. Other selections are based on sinister bass and prickly drumming that instantly recall numerous spy themes; the horns, in true form, dart around like criminals in the shadows. Clearly with the talent involved, this project was likely to provide some intense blowing; had this been done by anyone else, it might not have been so interesting.
Track Listing
1. Checkmate 2. The Isolated Pawn 3. Cyanide Touch 4. The King Swings 5. En Passant 6. Fireside Eyes 6. The Black Knight.
Personnel
Shelly Manne
drumsShelley Manne-drums; Conte Candoli-trumpet; Richie Kamuca-tenor sax; Russ Freeman-piano; Chuck Berghofer-bass.
Album information
Title: Plays Checkmate | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Fantasy Jazz
< Previous
Handling the Moment
Next >
Cymbalism