Customer Reviews

Swingin Mr Rogers

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This is an overdue re-issue of one of the greatest among the great jazz albums of the 1950s. "Martians Go Home" is witty though slightly dated and over-cool. The leader's somewhat whiny but distinctly original trumpet style might be an acquired taste but it shouldn't take long to acquire it. Jimmy Giuffre is brilliant on clarinet, tenor, and baritone sax. And pay close attention to Pete Jolly on piano, especially on "My Heart Stood Still," where he comps like a restless panther in a cage until Rogers' solo seems (intentionally, I think) to run out of gas and the cage is opened and Jolly leaps out like a bad boy. Shelly Manne is a subtle genius on the drums.

I've had the LP fifty years and never tire of playing it.

Shorty Rogers had recorded many albums with groups of various sizes by the time he did this session in 1955. But this was the first time he took his own quintet into the studio and played the same tunes that they performed for nightclub audiences. If you put this album on while relaxing with your favorite beverage, you may find yourself transported to the time and place where this kind of music was heard nightly. No wonder this type of material - much of it written by Shorty - was used to set the mood in so many movies and TV shows of that era.
Shorty typically worked with the best players on the west coast. The sidemen in his quintet were Jimmy Giuffre (clarinet, tenor & baritone saxes), Pete Jolly (piano), Shelly Manne (drums), and Curtis Counce (bass). All were solo artists with their own recording contracts.
As was his custom, Shorty wrote many of the tunes and all of the arrangements for the album. There's plenty going on, but it's never too busy and everyone gets a chance to stretch. When I joined jam sessions in high school and college, this is the way we all wished we could play.
The original liner notes are included in the package.

A vivid reminder of what the very best West Coast jazz sounded like in the mid-1950's. Rogers solos are melodic, rhythmic, propelling. A delight to the ear, even after 50+ years.