Back in the days of You Bet Your Life, Leave it to Beaver, Dennis the Menace and Father Knows Best, the tv studios were brimming with musicians from the swing era that moved out to the West Coast for some steady income and time off the road. Guys like Milt Bernhart/tb, Dick Nash/tb, Buddy Collette/as, Gerald Wiggins/p, Curtis Counce/b, Larry Bunker/d, Russ Freeman/p, Shelly Manne, Jack Nimitz/bar, Gary Peacock/b and Bill Perkins/ts made steady livings working in the Hollywood studios. To keep their jazz chops up, besides local gigs with itinerant artists from New York or creating West Coast Cool, these gents got together for some enterprises to help keep the sounds and feel of the Swing Era alive, mixing vintage sounds for Lindy Hoppers as well as modern moods for Decca, Capitol, Sound Enterprises and Radio Recorders.
Fresh Sound Records is therefore starting a new series, called WEST COAST SERIES, Jazz & Swing Orchestras which is similar to their B Movie & TV Soundtrack series, bringing to back vintage music that got overlooked during an era of a surfeit of exciting swing.
This pair of cds has albums by band leaders you might not be familiar with, but they knew how to turn up the heat. Each session has its own personality and filled with pleasant surprises.
The 1959 Sam Trippe and His Orchestra: Explosion mixes a Basie-mooded sax section and rhythm pulse with Ray Sikora’s sleek charts. The reds are gorgeous as they sway around Trippe’s trumpet on “Dress Blues” and “You Go To My Head” while they stroll down to Kansas City on “How High The Moon” and are in fine form on the sleek “Dress Blues.”
Bob Rogers’ Orchestra has a Woody Herman feel to it, with clever charts by Kip Dubbs, Len Stack and Kenny Farrar. The charts are as polished as fins on a ’61 Chevy, as they croon on a “Lil Darlin’”-ish “A Minute Before I Go” and let Jay Migliori sound like the second incarnation of Eric Dolphy on a wild “Bluesy” while Perkins and Migliori sound glorious on solos during “Alone Together” and “This Too.” This album is a hidden gem!
The second album of the WEST COAST SERIES has Bill Hitz and His Orchestra revisiting hits from the Swing Era with a dash of modernity. The 1956 album includes the hip rhythm section of Gerald Wiggins/p, Curtis Counce/b and Larry Bunker/dr as well as a generous portion of Buddy Collette, who’s given a chance to shine on “In A Sentimental Mood” and “But Not For Me.” Hitz’s clarinet gives an allegiance to Benny Goodman on his solos on “Strike up the Band” and “Stompin’ at the Savoy” and Dick Nash along with Milt Buckner bring their trombones to add color and solos to “You Don’t Know What Love Is” and a silhouetted “Something Blue.”
Greig McRitchie’s Orchestra from ’56 features Chet Baker alumnus Larry Bunker on vibes as well as Shelly Manne’s swinging sticks, giving a rock and roll beat to pieces like “Greig’s Bread” and “Sally’s Back” Collette is featured on a fun “McRitchie Doodle” and “Sometimes I’m Happy” while a suave “Robbin’s Nest” and feisty “Runnin’ Wild” have the sections pulsating like long distance runner. These guys are working on showing that the Swing Era wasn’t over yet, and instead is an attitude as much as an era.
Both albums have interesting liner notes as well as complete studio listings, making this a real education in jazz during Hollywood’s heyday.
Fresh Sound Records