Before rock and roll turned the guitar into a Stratocaster food fight on the frets, the jazz guitar was a subtle and swinging collection of six strings. Here are a couple of reissues by Fresh Sound Records that rekindle a flame that used to burn brightly, but needs to be put back in the window sill.
The Guitars Inc. was a clever idea to put together some of the best studio guitarists and see what they can do with well arranged pieces. For the 1958 sessions, Tommy Tedesco, Al Hendrickson, Howard Roberts, Bobby Gibbons and Bill Pitman got together with a collection of rhythm teams that included Mel Lewis-Larry Bunker-Alvin Stoller/dr and Joe Mondragon-Buddy Clark/b. The clever and nifty arrangements by artists including Mary Paich, Bill Holman and Lennie Niehaus keep the songs in concise forms of 2-3 minutes, but a lot goes on with some wondrous swingers such as “Lullaby of Broadway,” “Get Happy” and a danceable “El Cumbanchero” while the strings float like flakes on “Snowfall” and resign in reflection on “Darn That Dream.” This is a one of a kind team that needs to be brought back to the table!
Al Caiola made a successful living as a studio musician, working with artists like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett as well as making defining work on TV shows like Bonanza or movies like The Magnificent Seven. Here, he’s on a pair of mood to be wooed albums with a tasty rhythm team of Hank Jones/p, Clyde Lombardi/b and Kenny Clarke/dr and either Bernie Privin/tp-fh or Romeo Penque/fl-bcl-Ehrn for countertones. There are a couple of snappy toe tappers such as “There Will Never Be Another You” but for the most part, Caiola keeps it cool and subtle. Privin’s horn has a vibrato big enough to park your Buick in, and his tone is Harry James strong, as on “Deep In A Dream” and “I Got A Crush On You.” Penque creates exotic moods with his flute on “Indian,” while “Drambuie” has foreboding tones from the bass clarinet and “Moments Like This” is pastoral with the English Horn. In this day and age,it’s easy to forget that at one time music was meant to be romantic. What a concept!
Fresh Sound Records