Jazz / Bop, Swing
Angel Balestier Mixing
Benny Carter Sax (Alto)
Benny Green Liner Notes
Bobby Durham Drums
Clark Terry Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Eric Miller Mixing
Gilles Margerin Design
Jamie Putnam Art Direction
Joe Pass Guitar
Joe Tarantino Mastering
John Timperley Engineer
Keter Betts Bass
Norman Granz Producer
Paul Beattie Engineer
Phil DeLancie Remastering
Phil Stern Photography
Roy Eldridge Trumpet
Tommy Flanagan Piano
Zoot Sims Sax (Tenor)
Norman Granz and Pablo Records took over a large segment of the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival and many recordings resulted. This particular CD is a colorful reissue featuring trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Clark Terry, Zoot Sims on tenor, altoist Benny Carter, guitarist Joe Pass, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Keter Betts, and drummer Bobby Durham performing four fairly lengthy renditions of standards. Everyone is in fine form, but it is the joyful playing of the two complementary but contrasting trumpeters (both of whom can be immediately recognized in a note or two) that makes this a recommended set for fans of straight-ahead jazz. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Jazz at the Philharmonic
Active Decades: '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Bop, Swing, Standards
In 1944, producer Norman Granz organized a concert billed as "Jazz at the Philharmonic" (also JATP) as a fundraiser in Los Angeles. The event, which was recorded, featured Illinois Jacquet, Jack McVea, J.J. Johnson, Shorty Sherock, and a rhythm section with Nat King Cole and Les Paul; Jacquet's playing in particular caused a bit of a sensation. After a few more similar events, Granz in 1946 began organizing extensive annual tours using classic swing and bop musicians in a jam-session setting. Although some critics often complained that these events encouraged grandstanding (R&B honking was getting popular during the era), a great deal of rewarding and exciting music resulted, and Granz recorded (and later released) much of it on his Verve label. He paid his musicians very well and did his best to fight racism every bit of the way. Among JATP's stars through the years were tenors Flip Phillips (whose solo on "Perdido" became famous), Jacquet, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster, and Stan Getz; trumpeters Roy Eldridge, Charlie Shavers, Dizzy Gillespie, and Harry "Sweets" Edison; trombonists Bill Harris and Tommy Turk; altoists Charlie Parker, Willie Smith, and Benny Carter; pianists Hank Jones and Oscar Peterson; a variety of bassists (often Ray Brown); and drummers Louie Bellson, Gene Krupa, and Buddy Rich. Ella Fitzgerald started touring with JATP early on, usually having her own separate set and joining in on a finale, and later tours often also included performances by regular groups such as the Oscar Peterson Trio, Gene Krupa's combo, Stuff Smith, or Lester Young. After 1957, the annual tours stopped, although there was an attempt to revive JATP in 1967; and Granz kept the spirit of Jazz at the Philharmonic alive on his many jam session-type records for Pablo in the 1970s.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
