UK based Avid Records continues to bring to surface vintage sounds from the 50s and 60s. This time around they bring into focus a trio of overlooked female vocalists, some hip and cool sounding swingers and one of the founding fathers of rock who almost stole the show at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
Recently departed, Chuck Berry was one of the pioneers of what was then called “rock and roll,” mixing bluesy guitar licks with a swinging beat. What set him apart was his themes of teenage life, depicted perfectly on his four earliest (and best) albums from ’57-60. With Willie Dixon on bass most of the time, Berry delivers some hip riffs on “School Day (Ring Ring Goes the Bell)” 
and “ Too Much Monkey Business” with a vocal style that sounds like a precursor to rap. His gitar work is swinging on “Roly Poly” and “Berry Pickin’” and early rock never sounded better than “Sweet Little Sixteen,” “Maybellene”, “Johnny B. Goode” and the influential “Roll Over Beethoven” that inspired a British quartet called The Beatles. Essential sounds! John Graas played the French horn, and had a short but interesting career in jazz with Claude Thornhill and Stan Kenton’s orchestra. HE was part of the “West Coast Sound” of the 50s, mixing classical harmonics via reeds and brass, usually in a swinging fashion, but other times in a more cerebral “Third Stream” mode. These four albums have two sessions from 1956; one with Bud Shank/as, Russ Freeman/p, Shorty Rogers/tp, Jim Giuffre/bs, Shelly Manne/dr, Jack Montrose/ts and Gerald Wiggins/p have some hip and short pieces like the clever “Frappe” and “Pyramid” while a ’57 session with Buddy Collete, Art Pepper/as, Pete & Conte Candoli/tp, slide through Gerry Mulligan’s “Walking Shoes” and Graas’ own ‘Blues Street” with West Coast coolness, while “Midnight Sun” and “You And the Night and the M usic” are both cerebral and bopping. A West Coast All Star Jazz Ninetet/Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra sounds like modern classical on the “Jazz Symphony No. 1” and “Jazz Chaconne No. 1” making the mood more for a “B” film noir.
Herbie Mann has two fleet of flute sessions with Bobby Jaspar along with Tommy Flanagan/p, Joe Puma/g, Wendell Marshall/b and Bobby Donaldson/dr with a hip “Tel Aviv” and bopping “Chasin’ The Bird” whle the flutes are flying on “ Tuttie Flutie,” Flute BassBlues” and “Flute Bob.” Three years later, Mann teams up with three trumpets including “Doc Cheatham, and a pair of congas along with others on a vibrant “I’ll Remember April” and “You Stepped Out of a Dream.” From 1961, the classic At the Village Gate has Mann with Hagood hardy/vib, Ahmed Abdul-Malik-Ben Tucker/b, Ray M antilla-Chief Bey/perc and Rudy Collins/dr as they get soulful n the ultra hip “Comin’ Home Baby” and dig a deep groove on “Summertime.” Timeless!
Ann Richards was a singer for Charlie Barnet as well as for her husband Stan Kenton. She had a strong voice, and knew how to use her dynamics to dramatic benefit, particularly with a big band. There is a 1958 session with Brian Farnon conduction some extroverted charts on “Moanin’Low” and “I’m In The Market For You.” A 1960 album with arrangements by Bill Holman includes clever reads of “By Myself,” and “Lazy Afternoon.” In 1960, she fronts a Hollywood session orchestrated by husband Stan Kenton and goes in various directions on a wild roller coaster of “I Got Rhythm” and brooding over “All Or Nothing At All.” The most intimate setting comes from 1961 with Richards joined by Jack Sheldon/tp, Barney Kessel/g, Red Callender/b and Larry Bunker/dr for some gracious and cozy reads of “There’s a Lull In My Life” and “You Go To My Heard” while she gets down and dirty on “ Evil Gal Blues” and “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby.” Concluding with a tragic ending, she was overlooked and underappreciated.
Ditto for the career of Betty Roche’, who made her name as vocalist for Duke Ellington in the 1940s. Her three albums here are sprinkled with Ellingtonia, and she makes it work well with clever interpretations of “In A Mellow Tone” and “All Too Soon” from 1956 with a small chamber band with Eddie Costa on vibes. She gets a bit more sassy in 1960 with Jimmy Forrest’s thick tenor, Jack McDuff’s B3, and R&B grooves by Bill Jennings/g, Wendell Marshall/b and Roy Haynes/dr on “ Come Rain OR Come Shine” and “ Day By Day” while showing some nice bop chops on “Billie’s Bounce.” Even more delicate is her with Jimmy Neeley/p Wally Richardson/g, Michel Mulia/b and Rudy Lawless/dr for a rich read of “ For All We Know” and the obscure “Maybe You’ll Be There.” The 2 disc set also includes a 1957 album by Marilyn Moore, who uses her Blossom Dearie-toned voice with Don Abney’s Orchestra (including Joe Wilder/tp, Al Cohn/ts/cl, Milt Hinton/b and Osie Johnson/dr for a luscious “Ill Wind” and bopping “Lover, Come Back to Me.” Where does AVID find these?