Best Jazz On A&M

Though not familiar with all of your selections,the ones that I'm familiar with are favorites of mine,too. The Mulligan AOS,the Jolly SEASONS,the Lewis Quartet-these are played frequently. All of Paul Desmond's A&Ms have all have their moments of brilliance-I listen to this era of Paul's work more than his work with Brubeck, the RCA solos, or the post A&M CTI era. Also,though originally an Artists House release,the Thad/Mel Quartet is no slouch either and has additonal material. Being such a fan of the Jones/Lewis band,I must disqualify myself-I love them all-warts and all. You know,Verve's decision to release the Kellaway Quartet album on CD in a few weeks is a nice surprise but Mulligan,Jones,Lewis,Haden-these deserve an audience for today wether or not they have seen previous CD release. I see that Dr. John's A&Ms are coming out-once again,no argument from me,but there are REAL treasures that need dusting off. Mac

DESMOND!! :cat: DEFINITELY!!!

Who else encompased every cliche of Straight Jazz on his debut, SUMMERTIME--while also covering a Beatles' tune and a movie soundtrack tune Frank Sinatra did and Hugo Montenegro would later cover, while converting a Southern New Orleans-Based Composition, "Struttin' With Barbecue" to a more Latin "Samba With Barbecue", to say the least?!

And also made a "Straight Brasilian" LP, FROM THE HOT AFTERNOON--in the manner Walter Wanderley and Antonio Carlos Jobim were doing with A&M with all the grace and ease and ROOTAGE of Milton Nascimento, the authenticity and inspiration of Sergio Mendes, the 'Pure Jazz Idioms + Samba' of Walter Wanderley and with the depth and experimentation of Tamba 4, while making himself a name ALMOST associated with The Bossa Nova, like Jobim!

While those two were done on A&M/CTi, he did an All-Paul Simon Covers LP, for the Non-CTi A&M Jazz Series with BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER--putting the title song last, (as opposed to S&G using it as the opening track) and making it sound good, whereas the opening track was "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)", the SECOND track on S&G's BRIDGE. "America" is very majestically done...with some FANFARE inserted in the song's coda for a real Dramatic Effect! "Mrs. Robinson" and "Cecilia" are some good, fast moving tracks that are fun to hear. And "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright", as well as "Old Friends/Bookends" are good examples of delicate balladry done The Desmond Way!

His final LP, was a Double-Live set, I unfortunately no longer have, and I forgot the name of. But it shows a good portrait of his ever-inspiring showmanship and on-stage improvasitional prowess there, too.

Dave

...doesn't Alpert qulify as a jazz artist (Coney Island, Masekelax2, Spanish Moon, Abstract, Midnight Sun, Second Wind, Passion Dance)?!

I like Neil Larsen's albums but I'm not sure I'd classify them as jazz!

Stephen

Hey, Spinozza's My Man!! I still have his Solo LP! I didn't see him in the poll; could have read it more thoroughly! :cat:

I have him on the Paul Williams albums and that's him on the Wayne Berry '45' and of course, he played on that obscure Jim Carroll LP. I have him on David Batteau's HAPPY IN HOLLYWOOD--and the Steve Marriott album he drove over from A&M on La Brea to The Record Plant on 3rd Street to play the lead guitar on.

And yes, the stuff he did in New York, including SPINOZZA* is good, too!

Dave

...who likes Chuck & Gap Mangione enough that there was a "tie" in which to vote for, too...

Well, most "Jack-Of-All-Trades" Guitarists do come on as Jazz Guitarists, or given that their LP's are mostly All-Instrumental, that's where the record stores put their stuff.

John Tropea's LP's on Marlin and Larry Carlton's LP's are that way.

Back to A&M Jazz Artists, though, I think Wes Montgomery comes second to Paul Desmond.

Hard to pick which of the three he made, (or four, counting GREATEST HITS--either on vinyl, or the repackaged CD with add'l tracks) would be my fave. They were ALL great! And sadly, this was where Montgomery's career ended, but the ending was, well...good, I should say.

Dave

A little on the David Spinozza solo album-While it doesn't make my cut as an indespensible album,it is quite listenable and is as much a jazz album as anything by Montgomery or Benson. But the scene stealer for me is not Spinozza-sure enough, he comes off as the polished chameleon he isnice ,but so what?-the scene stealer is Mike Mainieri-as co-producer,co-arranger,writer on a pair of tunes,and his actual musical talent,especially his mallet work on the last two tracks. Mike Mainieri would later start the fusionesque Steps Ahead and found NYC Records. Mac

I agree. The album is Mainieri's, too, at times. Warren Bernhardt contributes good keyboard work and Anthony Jackson plugs in a good bass. My favorite moment is Eric Weisberg contributing a banjo & pedal steel on "Country Bumpkin". Which used to be played in the background of a NYC's radio broadcast of A&P SUPERMARKET SPECIALS.

When George Benson made albums where he started singing, I thought his guitar playing was less and less heard, myself. In fact, he hired other guitarists to support him--ie. Lee Riteneour on "Give Me The Night"; Jay Graydon on "Turn Your Love Around", which I thought he also co-wrote.

Dave

I voted for Chuck Mangione. My fav albums of his are Chase The Clouds Away, and Feels So Good. The latter is one of the most relaxing albums I have ever heard. When I have trouble getting to sleep at night, I either play Feels So Good, or Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. More effective than Valium, and safer too!

Murray
...NP Chuck Mangione, Maui Waui...... ZZZZZZZZZZ

I cast my vote for Pete Jolly. While most renowned for his electric piano work on “This Guy’s In Love”, it’s nothing compared to his performances on his own LP’s. His renditions of “The Look Of Love” and “What The World Needs Now” on the A&M album “Pete Jolly - Give A Damn” are my favorites. As a Jazz pianist, I’d rate him up in the same class as Andre Previn and Oscar Peterson.