Sports is filled with guys like arranger/composer Marty Albam, someone you may have never heard of but had a great year, rise to the occasion, and then they go off your radar. Beginning as a bari saxist, Albam played in bands such as Charlie Barnet and Charlie Spivak,and then traded in his horn for an arranger/composer’s pen and doing arrangements on sessions like Stan Kenton’s Innovations in Modern Music.
For some strange reason, the stars were aligned in Albam’s favor in 1957,as he released three classic albums, West Side Story, and The Jazz Greats of Our Time Vol 1 and Vol 2.The first session include all stars like Gene Quill/as, Ernie Royal/as, Joe Newman/tp, Jimmy Cleveland/tb, Al Cohn/ts, Hank Jones, Bob Brookmeyer/tb, Milt Hinton/b, Eddie Costa/p and Bob Brookmeyer/vtb just for starters, taking Leonard Bernstein’s compositions to a new level. Quill’s jovial alto and Hank Jones’ piano on “Prologue and Jet Song” are works of art, and the mixing of themes on “Finale” is a tour de force. A few changes take place for the next session, with the addition of Gerry Mulligan/bs, Phil Woods/as, Zoot Sims/ts, Osie Johnson/dr and Art Farmer/tp giving a California Cool mood to the tunes. “My Sweetie Went Away” hints at the West Coast hit “Jeru” and the mix of Cohn with Mulligan make for a hoot of “Poor Dr. Millmous”.
The last outing has Californians “Shelly Manne/dr, Richie Kamuca/ts, Herb Geller/as, Charlie Mariano/as-bari, Conte Candoli/tp, Bill Holman/p and Harry “Sweets” Edison, who’s featured on “Sweet’s-Bread” and the Basie classic “Jive At Five”. The underrated Kamuca’s breathy tenor is evident on “Afterthoughts” and “It’s De Lovely” while Geller’s lovely alto soothes on “Home Brew” and “Interwoven.” This is some of the hippest late 50s large ensemble material you’ll ever come across. As sleek as a valuer pullover.