Description
The vocalise approach; pairing the voices of Jackie Cain and Roy Kral with the sound of the horns, adds not only broadness but the great warmth and appeal that perhaps only the most sensitive and emotional of all instruments, the human voice, can provide. Besides contributing his voice to these efforts, Roy Kral deserves enormous credit for setting the arrangement pattern for the entire repertory.
Charlie Ventura herein demonstrates his fabulous saxophone virtuosity; when it comes to covering his horn and rocking the room, he need take a second chair to no one. Whether the musical matter at hand be the most delicate ballad or a screaming skyrocket, he never misses. Though reminiscent of the boys with the big tones, Herschel Evans, “Chu” Berry and Colman Hawkins, his style is clearly his own and not nearly as derivative as most of the tenor stars of this new music.
Benny “The Duke” Green of Chicago, with this performance, emerges as the great new trombone force. His drive and originality, and most of all his endless ability to improvise excitingly different ideas, makes him the current man on this instrument. Conte “The Count” Candoli of South Bend, Indiana, proves himself one of the few qualified artists in the difficult business of playing Modern Sounds trumpet. His complete control and big sound are a rare phenomena. [from Gene Norman’s notes on the original album.]
| 1. | Gene Norman Introduction | 0:08 |
| 2. | Birdland | |
| 3. | Flamingo | |
| 4. | Body and Soul | |
| 5. | Lullaby in Rhythm | |
| 6. | Boptura | |
| 7. | Over the Rainbow | |
| 8. | Dark Eyes | |
| 9. | High on an Open Mike | |
| 10. | Jersey Bounce | |
| 11. | Sweet Georgia Brown | |
| 12. | Basin Street Blues | |
| 13. | Charley’s Parley |
In the beginning there was Coleman Hawkins! Just about every tenor saxophonist in captivity during the Swing and Bop eras was significantly influenced by him. Charlie Ventura was no exception; you can glean the “Bean” in his sound, in his timbre and in his overall jazz eloquence. Going one step further, Ventura was able to use his improvisational skill and desire to experiment with new concepts to build a bridge the swing and bop idioms.
In 1949, after big band stints with Gene Krupa, Teddy Powell and his own big band, Ventura downsized (yes, it was even happening back then) to lead a number of small combos, the best of which is featured here. The front line sparkled with Conte Candoli, trumpet; Benny Green, trombone; Boots Mussulli and Ventura on reeds. They were constantly goosed by a rhythm section of Dave McKenna, piano; Bob Carter, bass; Ed Shaugnessy, drums.
Jackie Cain and Roy Kral, who must have been joined at the vocal chords, made this combo unique. They not only blended their flawless intonation as a vocal duo, but added it to the combo’s bop unison lines with no seams showing. The marriage of human and instrumental timbres gave this combo an edge over all other groups at the time. [Harvey Siders KABC-TV, Hollywood 1997]
