Californian Paul Smith (1922-2013) was a brilliant and multifaceted pianist whose great talent and extensive training prepared him for any type of commission, becoming in the early ‘50s one of Hollywood’s busiest musicians. By then, and after all of the new and old sounds, the hot sounds and the cool sounds, it took a very imaginative musician to create something truly unusual... To this end, Paul Smith’s idea was to combine the flowing sound of woodwinds with the percussive attack of guitar and piano. He combined flute (Julius Kinsler), clarinet (Abe Most), guitar (Tony Rizzi), bass (Sam Cheifetz) and drums (Alvin Stoller or Irv Cottler).
In early 1954, he recorded the album “Liquid Sounds,” which included eleven tunes on which the ensembles came together extremely well; Smith’s writing was witty and flexible; and his own piano playing was as graceful as ever.
Three more albums in the same vein followed. The music of “Cascades” (1955), “Cool and Sparkling” (1956) and “Delicate Jazz” (1958) was sophisticated, often swinging, and always conveyed impeccable taste and good humor. They formed a string of hit albums in which he produced a type of superior cocktail music, plus something else when Paul, Toni Rizzi, Ronny Lang (alto sax), Bob Cooper, (tenor sax) and Stan Levey (drums) stopped and blew. Most of the melodies are taken at an energetic pace, with few ballads included. The solos are short, tasteful and swinging. The arrangements were cleverly conceived and attractively executed on the restrained terms set forth. Its style defied neat labels, as his appeal was too broad to be labeled “modern jazz,” “cocktail music” or “easy listening music.” It is all of these. If you like jazz blown with the slick, elegant courtesy of Hollywood, you’ll enjoy these Liquid Sounds by Paul Smith.
—Jordi Pujol
Tracklist
CD 1
01. The Lady is a Tramp (Rodgers-Hart) 2:52
02. Low Bridge (Paul Smith) 2:35
03. My Heart Stood Still (Rodgers-Hart) 2:37
04. Thou Swell (Rodgers-Hart) 2:16
05. Spring is Here (Rodgers-Hart) 3:55
06. Hook Up (Paul Smith) 1:54
07. The Blue Room (Rodgers-Hart) 2:44
08. Mountain Greenery (Rodgers-Hart) 1:58
09. Betsy Moo (Paul Smith) 3:04
10. Gary-Boo (Paul Smith) 2:25
11. What's This Thing Called Love? (Cole Porter) 2:20
12. Here's to My Lady (Bloom-Mercer) 3:20
13. My Shining Hour (Arlen-Mercer) 3:23
14. That Old Black Magic (Arlen-Mercer) 4:10
15. No Trump (Paul Smith) 2:23
16. Nice Work if You Can get It (G. & I. Gershwin) 2:38
17. Let's Fall in Love (Arlen-Koehler) 2:53
18. This Can't Be Love (Rodgers-Hart) 2:45
19. Blue Moon (Rodgers-Hart) 3:04
20. You Are Too Beautiful (Rodgers-Hart) 1:54
21. A Foggy Day (G. & I. Gershwin) 2:40
22. Why Shouldn't I? (Cole Porter) 2:58
23. Little Slam (Paul Smith) 3:18
24. The Gnat (Paul Smith) 2:14
CD 2
01. I Remember You (Schertzinger-Mercer) 3:18
02. A Young Man's Fancy (Yellen-Anderson-Ager) 3:47
03. Have You Met Miss Jones? (Rodgers-Hart) 2:38
04. I’ll Take Romance (Oakland-Hammerstein II) 3:31
05. You and the Night and the Music (Schwartz-Dietz) 2:23
06. Dandy Randy (Paul Smith) 2:27
07. Little Evil (Paul Smith) 2:05
08. Alone Together (Schwartz-Dietz) 3:30
09. The Grump (Paul Smith) 2:37
10. Murphy's Light (Paul Smith) 1:53
11. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (Kern-Hammerstein II) 4:16
12. Kempy the Painter (Paul Smith) 2:55
13. The Lady in Red (Allie Wrubel) 2:18
14. Love Walked In (G. & I. Gershwin) 2:59
15. Fool Rush In (Bloom-Mercer) 3:31
16. Cookie Time (Paul Smith) 2:43
17. Fine and Dandy (Swift-James) 2:44
18. Gisele (Phil Baker) 2:41
19. But Not For Me (G. & I. Gershwin) 2:37
20. Why Do I Love You? (Kern-Hammerstein II) 2:53
21. I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Cole Porter) 3:11
22. Chicken Wings (Paul Smith) 2:33
23. It's All Right With Me (Cole Porter) 2:44
24. All of You (Cole Porter) 2:20
Album details
Sources CD 1:
Tracks #2,3,4,7 from the 7-inch EP “Liquid Sounds – Part 1” (Capitol EAP-1-493)
Also issued on the 12-inch LP “Liquid Sounds” (Capitol T-493)
Tracks #1,5,6,8 from the 7-inch EP “Liquid Sounds – Part 2” (Capitol EAP-2-493)
Also issued on the 12-inch LP “Liquid Sounds” (Capitol T-493)
Tracks #9,10,11,12 from the 12-inch LP “Liquid Sounds” (Capitol T-493)
Tracks #16,21,22,23 from the 7-inch EP “Cascades – Part 1” (Capitol EAP-1-665)
Also issued on the 12-inch LP “Cascades” (Capitol T-665)
Tracks #9,12,17,20 from the 7-inch EP “Cascades – Part 2” (Capitol EAP-2-665 665)
Also issued on the 12-inch LP “Cascades” (Capitol T-665)
Tracks #12-18 and 20-24 from the 12-inch LP “Cascades” (Capitol T-665)
Sources CD 2:
TRACKS #1,3,10,12 from the 7-inch EP “Cool & Sparkling – Part 1” (Capitol EAP 1-757)
Also issued on the 12-inch LP “Cool & Sparkling” (Capitol T-757)
Tracks #2,6,7,11 from the 7-inch EP “Cool & Sparkling – Part 2” (Capitol EAP 2-757)
Also issued on the 12-inch LP “Cool & Sparkling” (Capitol T-757)
Tracks #4,5,8,9 from the 7-inch EP “Cool & Sparkling – Part 3” (Capitol EAP 3-757)
Also issued on the 12-inch LP “Cool & Sparkling” (Capitol T-757)
Tracks #13-24 from the 12-inch LP “Delicate Jazz” (Capitol T-1017)
Personnel on CD 1 tracks #1-11:
Paul Smith, piano; Julius Kinsler, flute & alto flute; Abe Most, clarinet; Tony Rizzi, guitar; Sam Cheifetz, bass; Irv Cottler, Alvin Stoller (#5-8), drums.
Recorded at Capitol Studios, 5515 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, January 12 (#1-4), February (#5-8), and December (#9-11), 1954
Personnel onCD 1 tracks #12-24:
Paul Smith, piano; Julius Kinsler, flute & alto flute; Abe Most, clarinet (out on #17-20); Willie Schwartz, clarinet (only #17-20), Ronny Lang, alto sax; Tony Rizzi, guitar; Sam Cheifetz, bass; Irv Cottler, drums.
Recorded at Capitol Studios, 5515 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, February 1 (#12-14), March (#15-16), May 27 (#17-20), and June 8 (#21-24), 1955
Personnel on CD 2 tracks #1-12:
Paul Smith, piano; Julius Kinsler, flute & alto flute; Abe Most, clarinet; Ronny Lang, alto sax; Tony Rizzi, guitar; Sam Cheifetz, bass; Irv Cottler, drums.
Recorded at Capitol Tower Studios, 1750 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, May 6 (#1-4), May 14 (#5-6), and June 7 (#7-12), 1956
Personnel on CD 2 tracks #13-24:
Paul Smith, piano; Julius Kinsler, flute; Bob Cooper, tenor sax; Tony Rizzi, guitar; Joe Mondragon, bass; Stan Levey, drums.
Recorded at Capitol Tower Studios, 1750 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, November (#13-16), and December (#17-20), 1957; and January 1958
All original recordings produced by W.H. Miller
This CD release produced by Jordi Pujol
© 2023 by Fresh Sound Records
Hi Fi · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered
Blue Moon Producciones Discograficas, S.L.
