The Drum Suite + Son of Drum Suite (2 LP on 1 CD)
  • RCA Victor LPM-1279
    RCA Victor LPM-1279
  • RCA Victor LSP-2312
    RCA Victor LSP-2312

Manny Albam-Ernie Wilkins Orchestra

The Drum Suite + Son of Drum Suite (2 LP on 1 CD)

Fresh Sound Records

Personnel:
Manny Albam, Ernie Wilkins (arr), Conte Candoli, Joe Newman, Ernie Royal, Bernie Glow, Clark Terry, Nick Travis (tp), Urbie Green, Chauncey Welsh, Frank Rehak (tb), Bob Brookmeyer (v-tb), Hal McKusick, Gene Quill, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Romeo Penque (reeds), Hank Jones, Eddie Costa (p), Freddie Green, Mundell Lowe (g), George Duvivier, Buddy Clark, Buddy Jones (b), Mel Lewis, Don Lamond, Osie Johnson, Ted Sommer, Gus Johnson, Louis Hayes, Jimmy Cobb, Charles Persip (d)

Reference: FSRCD 837

Bar code: 8427328608374

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

When RCA producer Jack Lewis conceived the album The Drum Suite in 1956, he probably didnt imagine it would sell nearly 100,000 copies, particularly as it was a jazz album. The music, composed by Manny Albam and Ernie Wilkins, is a six-part suite for four drummers Osie Johnson, Gus Johnson, Ted Sommers, and Don Lamond whose solos are written, with no one allocated more than eight bars at a time. As a suite and as a performance, it is entirely successful. The writing is fine, flexible (both the large band and the small group passages) and the playing is flawless. The drums, craftily integrated, never overwhelm the bands swinging.

Four years later, in the age of stereo, RCA released Son of Drum Suite with the idea of capitalizing on their past commercial success. During recording, the five drummers were assembled in a wide semicircle to enhance the stereo sound. There are no self-indulgent, long drum solos, no banging, no machine-gun fire. Every once in a while an exciting ensemble emergesAl Cohn contributed the chartsand there are good solos by Clark Terry, Nick Travis and Bob Brookmeyer.



01. First Movement: DANCERS ON DRUMS (Ernie Wilkins) 5:15
02. Second Movement: BRISTLING (Manny Albam) 5:18
03. Third Movement: CHANT OF THE WITCH DOCTORS (Manny Albam) 6:25
04. Fourth Movement: SKINNING THE VALVES (Manny Albam) 6:01
05. Fifth Movement: CYMBALISMS (Ernie Wilkins) 7:31
06. Sixth Movement: THE OCTOPUS (Ernie Wilkins) 5:57
07. First Movement: SON OF A DRUM (Al Cohn) 4:25
08. Second Movement: BRUSHMANSHIP (Al Cohn) 5:03
09. Third Movement: DR. SKIN AND MR. HIDE (Al Cohn) 3:55
10. Fourth Movement: FIVE DRUMS IN FOUR-FOUR TIME (Al Cohn) 5:19
11. Fifth Movement: DRUMS LOCO (Al Cohn) 4:54
12. Sixth Movement: DRUM SMOKE (Al Cohn) 5:42

Album details

Sources:
Tracks #1-6, from the 12" album "The Drum Suite" (RCA Victor LPM-1279)
Tracks #7-12, from the 12" album "Son of Drum Suite" (RCA Victor LSP-2312)

Personnel on THE DRUM SUITE #1-6:
Manny Albam-Ernie Wilkins and Their Orchestra
The Eight Arms: Don Lamond, Osie Johnson, Ted Sommer, Gus Johnson, drums, with...

Tracks #1 & 4: Conte Candoli, Joe Ferrante, Bernie Glow, Joe Newman, Ernie Royal, trumpets; Urbie Green, Tommy Mitchell, Fred Ohms, Chauncey Welsh, trombones; Hal McKusick, Sam Marowitz, alto saxes; Al Epstein, Al Cohn, tenor saxes; Sol Schlinger, baritones sax; Marty Wilson, vibes, Hank Jones, piano; Freddie Green, guitar, Buddy Jones, bass.
Recorded at Webster Hall, NYC, March 5, 1956

Tracks #2 & 6: Conte Candoli, Joe Ferrante, Nick Travis, Joe Newman, Ernie Royal, trumpets; Jimmy Cleveland, Tommy Mitchell, Fred Ohms, Chauncey Welsh, trombones; Hal McKusick, Sam Marowitz, alto saxes; Al Epstein, Al Cohn, tenor saxes; Ed Wasserman, baritone sax; Marty Wilson, vibes; Eddie Costa, piano; Freddie Green, guitar, Buddy Jones, bass.
Recorded at Webster Hall, NYC, March 6, 1956

Tracks #3 & 5: Conte Candoli, Joe Ferrante, Bernie Glow, Joe Newman, trumpets; John Barrows, Jimmy Buffington, French horns; Urbie Green, Tommy Mitchell, Fred Ohms, Chauncey Welsh, trombones; Ray Beckenstein, Jerry Sanfino, Hal McKusick, alto saxes; Al Epstein, Al Cohn, tenor saxes; Sol Schlinger, baritones sax; Marty Wilson, vibes, Eddie Costa, piano; Buddy Jones, bass.
Recorded at Webster Hall, NYC, March 7, 1956

Personnel on SON OF DRUM SUITE #7-12:
Al Cohn and His Orchestra
Jimmy Maxwell, Nick Travis, Clark Terry, Bernie Glow, trumpets; Jim Buffington, Jim Barrows, French horns; Frank Rehak, Urbie Green, Dick Hixson, trombones; Bob Brookmeyer, valve trombone; Gene Quill, Ed Caine, alto saxes; Zoot Sims, Romeo Penque, tenor saxes; Sol Schlinger, baritone sax; Hank Jones, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Buddy Clark (left); George Duvivier (right) basses; Mel Lewis, Don Lamond, Jimmy Cobb, Charlie Persip, and Louis Hayes #7-9 or Gus Johnson #10-12 (d).
Recorded at Webster Hall, NYC, August 24 & 26, 1960

Recording engineer: Bob Simpson

Drum Suite produced by Jack Lewis
Son of Drum Suite co-produced by Dom Cerulli and Jack Lewis
This CD release produced by Jordi Pujol

Hi Fi / Stereo · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered
Blue Moon Producciones Discograficas S.L.

Press reviews

"This is the most disciplined drum album you'll ever find. It's also the most enjoyable I've heard. All the drummers involved are as skilled as any you could wish for. Because it is written and controlled by Manny Albam, Ernie Wilkins and Al Cohn it also contains some most inspiring big band music. It's also, I hurry to add, packed with good solos from the horns to the extent that everyone you're looking for gets some space - Conte Candoli, Joe Newman, Clark Terry, Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green Frank Rehak, Cohn, Quill and Zoot and a touch of Bob Brookmeyer - you get the idea.

To avoid anarchy, the passages for the drummers are written for them, and no drum solo lasts longer than eight bars, except in Drum Smoke where the breaks last roughly 10 seconds.

Manny Albam was one of the finest arrangers for big band. In recent years he has become a back number, but surely history will correct this. Despite being in the company of Ernie Wilkins and Al Cohn, the tracks that he wrote stand out from the rest. His imaginative Chant is perfect Albam, whilst Skinning The Valves is a simple idea to feature the trumpets. It also, like most of the other tracks, includes good tenor from Al Cohn.

Wilkins and Albam wrote three each for the first suite, whilst Al Cohn composed all of Son Of. It's invidious (and for me difficult) to choose between the fine drummers, but Lamond is particularly impressive on Brushmanship, which has a fetching duet between Terry and Travis and wailing alto from Quill. Zoot floats eloquently over Dr Skin, where Cohn's writing takes on an Albamesque precision, and Brookmeyer sashays after the ensemble. Incidentally, the two fine bass players are used to help spread the beat because the time occasionally passed from one drummer to another who could be 30 feet away."

-Steve Voce (November, 2014)
http://www.jazzjournal.co.uk


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9,95 €  (tax incl.)

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