Pianist Joe Castro had one of those jazz lives that unfortunately got overlooked but fortunately got re-discovered by Sunnyside Records. In the 1950s, he was a fledging bebopper, playing with the likes of Teddy Edwards and Billy Higgins in the West Coast, and a sideman for June Christy, Anita O’Day and Zoot Sims By the 60s his girlfriend, tobacco heiress Doris Duke linked Castro up with her friend Duke Ellington to form a record label in which Castro put together some fantastic albums while also doing some informal recordings of jam sessions with friends. About 4 years ago, Sunnyside put out a multi-volume set of some of those recordings, and they are the essences of relaxed, swinging modern jazz.
This 6 disc set is the second volume, and it is just as tasty, featuring Castro in settings ranging from solo to big band and voices from 1955-1966. One of the discs actually features the 1958 album Groove Funk Soul, a swinging quartet with Castro, Higgins, Edwards and bassist Leroy Vinnegar. This album is vintage West Coast hot, with Edwards’ breathy tenor bouncing to “Groove Funk Soul”, creating smoke rings on “Yesterdays” and floating on “Day-Dream” while Castro slinks to “Play Me The Blues”, gets Monkish on “Lover” and the team digs in hard to Higgins’ joyful ride cymbal on “Day In-Day Out”.
Some others also became actual albums. There’s a collection of trios lead by Castro, rotating bassists of Vinnegar, Red Mitchell and Paul Chambers along with drummers P hilly Joe Jones and Red Mitchell. Castro shows a wide reach of his fingers on “Pennies From Heaven” and hip soloing for “Black and Blue” and rich swinging styles for “Straight Life” and “Zoot Blues”. Another disc is devoted to Castro’s ringer of a team with bassist Teddy Kotick and drummer Paul Motian that finds Castro in a Gene Harris on the blues gospel “The Sidewalks of New York”, a full fisted “One Life To Life” and a rollicking “Funky Blues” with Motian in an extroverted mood, on “Fascinating Rhythm” and deft on the brushes for “Here’s That Rainy Day”. Quite intriguing is Castro’s trio of bassist Ed Shonk and either Jones or Gus Johnson on drums teaming with Ray Ellis’s orchestra and voices, Neal Hefti’s String orchestra and The Neal Hefti Singers. The voices come across like a built up Lambert, Hendricks and Ross on “You Stepped Out of A Dream” and “It’s You Or No One” with rich strings on a haunting “Angel Eyes” . Nat and Cannonball Adderley drop in for extra oomph on a swinging “J.C. Blues” and a hoot of Horace Silver’s “Doodlin’”.
Last but not least is Castro’s trio teamed up with West Coast tenorist/arranger Bob Cooper’s ensemble for some relaxed woodwinds gorgeously floating on pieces like “Sweet Lorraine”, “Get Out Of Town” and “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing”. The enclosed booklet gives some background into the sessions and the secret life of this jazz version of Walter Mitty, but even without knowing anything about this overlooked artists, you’re going to be glad you discovered this underappreciated gem.