Print

Print


The band on Crown CLP 5159 were Tony Reves, Tommy Tedesco, Darias, Carlos
Meijia, Eddie Cano, Larry Bunker & Buddy Collette. Subtract the
Latin-specific players and you have some of the fundamental backline of the
house jazz band that played at Crown. Larry Bunker came to mind immediately
as he told me he played on a bunch of sessions at Crown. Crowns' office and
studio in Culver City was just east of Hermosa Beach and Howard Rumsey's
Lighthouse, literally down the street from it; I visited the building one
day, it is home to a Latin label now. In the months leading up to 5212
Crown released tributes to Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Charlie Barnet,
Woody Herman etc. usually under the moniker of "Maxwell Davis and members
of [place name of orchestra here]." That might mean as few as two members,
but some of the guys with Rumsey really did play with Goodman, Kenton et
al. And they are not the same fellows who made big band albums for Crown
early on, which are poorly coordinated and ill-rehearsed.

There's a Jimmy Giuffre piece on here that I've never heard of'; what do
you figure the chance is that it's there because Jimmy Giuffre was there to
play it? However, such a theory certainly could not apply to the track
listing following; Parker was dead, and some of these are songwriter
credits. There is a Hawkins LP on Crown but I'm not sure if he made it for
them, or if they got it from elsewhere.

CLP-5212/CST-227 - Modern Jazz Greats - Continental Jazz Octette [1961]
Jumpin' With Symphony Sid - Lester Young/Soft Shoe - Gerry Mulligan/Freeway
- Chet Baker/Confirmation - Charlie Parker/Po Po - Shorty Rogers//The Funky
Shepherds - Bud Shank/Robbins Nest - Sir Charles Thompson & Illinois
Jacquet/Stuffy - Coleman Hawkins/Onithology - Charlie Parker & Benny Harris

Dave Lewis
Lebanon OH

On Sun, Apr 22, 2012 at 7:42 PM, Peter Hirsch <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I have some items in hand with murky discographic trails that I am
> hoping to unscramble, if possible.
>
> Item number one: and LP Crown Records CLP 5212 "Modern Jazz Greats"
> with "The Continental Jazz Octette"
>
> I am assuming that this is a west coast group of players, given the
> presence of Shorty Rogers "Popo", Gerry Mulligan's "Soft Shoe" and
> Chet Baker's "Freeway" plus they sound like it. There are no personnel
> or venues on the jacket. The back is, in fact, a list of all the Crown
> releases, with no notes at all; the sort of thing you used to find at
> the supermarket or discount store. Crown's address, 1435 S. La Cienega
> Blvd., LA, is at the bottom, which further adds to my conviction of
> it's location of origin. I checked my CD-ROM (a very old version -
> 3.3) of Lord and it is there, but with no more info and I can find no
> other release of these same tunes together, so it may be an original
> recording and it is not all that bad. I'd be curious to know if anyone
> has deeper knowledge of who is concealed behind "The Continental Jazz
> Octette"
>
> Second on my list is a CD on the Regis/Forum label (FRC 6108), "Kenton
> Classics". Each tune is identified as to what year it came out and any
> solo singer is also noted, but no more than that. The recordings span
> 1943-51. I would like to link the tracks to specific dates and
> personnel.
>
> Thirdly is another CD with similar problems, Past Perfect 204354-203 -
> "Claude Thornhill - Snowfall". Tunes and vocalists are listed and
> there is a notation "No detailed informations available" at the end of
> the track list on this Japanese production. All of the tunes were
> recorded multiple times by Thornhill and with the same vocalists. I
> don't find mention of either this or the previous CD in my copy of
> Lord, though it may have made it into more recent releases. Help.
>
> I realize that I am probably staring into a black hole, but you never know.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Peter Hirsch
>