Play the Great Jazz Arrangements of Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan and Ralph Aldridge
  • Claude Thornhill
    Claude Thornhill
  • Trend TL 1002
    Trend TL 1002
  • London (UK) H-APB 1019
    London (UK) H-APB 1019

Claude Thornhill

Play the Great Jazz Arrangements of Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan and Ralph Aldridge

Fresh Sound Records

Personnel:
Claude Thornhill (p, dir), Randy Brooks, Conrad Gozzo, Steve Steck, Rusty Dedrick, Jack Koven, Louis Mucci, Clarence Willard, Emil Terry, Red Rodney, Paul Cohen, Johnny Carisi, Gene Roland, Sonny Rich (tp), Tasso Harris, Bud Smith, Bob Jenney, Ray Schmidt, Leon Cox, Billy Ver Planck (tb), John Graas, Vincent Jacobs, Fred Schmidt (Frh), Bill Barber (tuba), Danny Polo, Bob Walters, Lee Konitz (cl, as), Gene Quill, Med Flory (as), Ted Goddard, George Paulson, John Nelson, Jerry Sanfino, Brew Moore, Ralph Aldridge (cl, ts), Buddy Dean (cl, bs), Gerry Mulligan (bs), Barry Galbraith, Joe Derise (g), Marty Blitz, Joe Schulman (b), Irv Cottler, Billy Exiner (d), Al Epstein (perc), Buddy Hughes (vcl)

Reference: FSRCD 365

Bar code: 8427328603652

 THIS PRODUCT IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN THE U.S.

This edition presents the historic 1942-1953 recordings of the lively sound of the Claude Thornhill at it's best.

For many years, Claude Thornhill's orchestra of the Forties and early Fifties was frequently referred to as a musicians orchestra, as it focused as much on the musicians as the music itself. Thornhill's music was clearly way ahead of its time, yet today his sumptuous, mellow jazz sound remains one of the biggest influences for many contemporary big band jazz arrangers. He worked to extend the range of a popular dance orchestra by continually adding new harmonies and voices. In the truest sense of the word, the Thornhill orchestra was an experimental group and this experimentation made mostly exciting and provocative listening. As the respected music critic George T. Simon stated: "One of the many charms of Claude Thornhill's music has always been his amazing ability to mingle seemingly opposite forms of dance music with one another, setting one against the other so delicately and so delightfully that each benefits by comparison, and yet never losing its own identity of that of a Thornhill orchestra." The richness of the Thornhill sound ranged from the delicate treatment of ballads to imaginative instrumentals that exploited the full sonorities of the group. The reed section was the most outstanding part of the band. This was more than just a five-man sax team, for a great deal of the material was written with two French horns, then scored right along with the reeds.

Claude, like very few other leaders, always displayed a rare talent for organizing and encouraging adventurous musicians, for uncovering budding talent and giving it the opportunity to grow. In this compilation we can hear the most outstanding jazz arrangements that Gil Evans and Gerry Mulligan penned for the orchestra right before these gifted musicians achieved fame as two of the most talented, creative and progressive arrangers in the modern jazz language. Both were major voices in forcing and shaping the sound of the historic 1949 recordings of the Miles Davis Nonet for the Capitol label. They added both form and depth to Thornhill's style and what is loosely termed as jazz feeling. What started out as the greatest sweet band in the land became one of the finest modern jazz aggregations of them all. In addition, it continued to play the prettiest, most mood-provoking ballads in the history of the dance band idiom. 



01. Buster's Last Stand (Evans-Thornhill) 2:54
02. Under the Willow Tree (B. Reid) 3:07
03. Arab Dance (P.I. Tchaicovsky) 4:21
04. La paloma (S. Yradier) 4:28
05. Anthropology (Gillespie-Parker) 3:02
06. Sorta Kinda (J. Young) 2:46
07. Robbins' Nest (Thompson-Jacquet) 3:14
08. Lover Man (Davis-Sherman-Ramirez) 3:24
09. Polka Dots and Moonbeams (Burke-Van Heusen) 3:15
10. Donna Lee (Charlie Parker) 3:01
11. Yardbird Suite (Charlie Parker) 3:19
12. Poor Little Rich Girl (Rodgers-Hart) 3:08
13. Sometimes I'm Happy (Youmans-Caesar) 2:34
14. Someone to Watch Over Me (G. & I. Gershwin) 2:50
15. Godchild (George Wallington) 3:08
16. The Song Is You (Kern-Hammerstein II) 3:00
17. To Each His Own (Livingston-Evans) 2:36
18. Elevation (Gerry Mulligan) 2:54
19. Jeru (Gerry Mulligan) 3:03
20. Rose of the Rio Grande (Warren-Gorman-Leslie) 2:56
21. Poor Little Rich Girl (Rodgers-Hart) 2:35
22. Five Brothers (Gerry Mulligan) 2:58
23. Family Affair (Ralph Aldridge) 2:57
24. Mambo Nothing (Ralph Aldridge) 2:43

Album details

Arrangements by Gil Evans (#1-11), Gerry Mulligan (#12-22), and Ralph Aldridge (#23-24).

Collective personnel includes:

Randy Brooks, Conrad Gozzo, Steve Steck, Rusty Dedrick, Jack Koven, Louis Mucci, Clarence Willard, Emil Terry, Eddie Zandy, Paul Cohen, Johnny Vohs, Johnny Napto, Johnny Carisi, Dale Pearce, Gene Roland, Bob Peck, Red Rodney, Dick Sherman, Sonny Rich (tp), Tasso Harris, Bud Smith, Bob Jenney, Johnny Torick, Tak Takvorian, Allan Langstaff, Leon Cox, Owen Masingill, Billy Ver Plank (tb), John Graas, Vincent Jacobs, Al Antonucci, Fred Schmidt, Sandy Siegelstein, Walt Welscher, Al Antonucci, Junior Collins (Frh), Bill Barber, Harold Weskel (tu), Bob Walters (cl), Gene Quill, Les Clark, Med Flory (as), Ray Norman, Dave Figg (ts), Lee Konitz, Danny Polo, Bob Walters, Jack Ferrier, Ted Goddard (cl,as), Ralph Aldridge, Brew Moore, Ted Goddard, George Paulson, Jerry Sanfino, Mickey Folus, Mario Rollo, John Nelson, Carl Swift (cl, ts), Gerry Mulligan, Dick Zubak (bs), Bill Bushey, Chat Pardee, Buddy Dean (cl, bs), Joe Derise, Barry Galbraith (g), Claude Thornhill (p), Marty Blitz, Russ Saunders, Richard Iggy Shevack, Joe Schulman, Bob Petersen (b), Irv Cottler , Billy Exiner, Winston Welch (dr), Al Epstein (cga), Buddy Hughes (vcl).

All sessions recorded in New York City:

Track #1, June 19 1942
Tracks #2-3, July 17, 1946
Track #4, August 11, 1947
Track #7, October 17, 1947
Tracks #8-10, November 6, 1947
Track #11, December 15, 1947
Tracks #12,13,14, April 1948
Tracks #15-18, May 1948
Tracks #19-24, April 28, 1953

Liner notes, compiled and produced for CD release by Jordi Pujol

24-Bit High Resolution · Digital Remastering
Price:

9,95 €  (tax incl.)

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