Manny Albam
WEST SIDE
STORY & STEVE'S SONGS (2 LP ON 1 CD)
Personnel:
Ernie Royal,
Joe Newman, Art Farmer (tp), Jimmy Cleveland (tb), Bob Brookmeyer, Bob
Enevoldsen (vtb), Gene Quill (cl, as), Frank Socolow, Al Cohn (ts), Hank Jones,
Dick Katz (p), Milt Hinton (b), Osie Johnson (d)
Reference: FSRCD 545
In the late
40s Emmanuel (Manny) Albam put away his baritone saxophone because it was
getting in the way of his pen. From then on, he established himself firmly as
one of the most skilled, perhaps the busiest, of all the freelance arrangers on
the New York scene. Although he worked with great success in the pop field, he
was usually associated with jazz. His originals for Basie, Herman, Gibbs,
Ferguson, and other big bands are as familiar as the many remarkable LPs listed
under his own name.
With
"West Side Story", Albam achieved one of his greatest works. Most of
the material is emotionally charged and moody, but the precise execution of
Albams inspired arrangements, along with superbly apt solos, injected
considerably more jazz life into Bernsteins provocative score. "Steves
Songs", the second album on this CD, illustrates how unpretentiously
Mannys arrangements married swing to function. Tasty.
Tracklisting:
01. Prologue
And Jet Song
(Bernstein-Sondheim)
(4:57)
02.
Somethings Coming
(Bernstein-Sondheim)
(3:34)
03. Cool
(Bernstein-Sondheim) (4:38)
04. Maria
(Bernstein-Sondheim) (3:19)
05. Tonight
(Bernstein-Sondheim) (5:48)
06. I Feel
Pretty (Bernstein-Sondheim) (3:30)
07.
Somewhere (Bernstein-Sondheim) (2:27)
08. Finale
Medley, Part 1
(Bernstein-Sondheim)
(2:19)
-America
-Cool
-Jet Song
-Somethings
Coming
09. Finale
Medley, Part 2
(Bernstein-Sondheim)
(2:39)
-One Hand,
One Heart
-Somewhere
-Cool
-I Feel
Pretty
10. Mister
Moon (Steve Allen) (2:38)
11. South
Dakota (Steve Allen) (2:47)
12. An Old
Piano Plays The Blues
(Steve
Allen) (3:12)
13. Spring
Is Where You Are (Steve Allen) (3:06)
14.
Indubitably (Steve Allen) (2:56)
15. There
She Goes (Steve Allen) (2:22)
16. Youre
The One For Me (Steve Allen) (3:00)
17. Spring
In Maine (Steve Allen) (2:40)
18. I Guess
I Never Had A Chance
(Steve
Allen) (3:20)
19. Baby
(Steve Allen) (3:28)
20. Thats
What They Always Say
(Steve
Allen) (3:03)
21. Monday
(Steve Allen) (3:07)
Total time: 69:23 min.
Sources:
Tracks #1-9,
from the 12" album
"Manny
Albam And His Jazz Greats Play Music
from the
Broadway Musical West Side Story"
(Coral CRL
57207)
Tracks
#10-21, from the 12" album
"Steve's
Songs" (DOT DLP 29008)
Personnel on "West Side
Story":
Bernie Glow,
Ernie Royal, Joe Newman, Al DeRisi, Nick Travis (tp), Jim Dahl, Tom Mitchell,
Jimmy Cleveland, Jim Dahl, Chauncey Welsh, (tb), Bob Enevoldsen (vtb), Gene
Quill (cl, as), Frank Socolow, Eddie Wasserman, Al Cohn (ts), Sol Schlinger
(bars), Eddie Costa (vb), Hank Jones (p), Milt Hinton, Wendell Marshall (b) and
Osie Johnson (d). Manny Albam (arr).
Recorded in
New York City, on October 10, 1957
Personnel on "Steve's
Songs":
Bernie Glow,
Ernie Royal, Nick Travis, Art Farmer (tp), Jim Dahl, Tom Mitchell, Dick Hixson
(tb), Bob Brookmeyer (vtb), Gene Quill (as), Al Cohn, Frank Socolow (ts), Gene
Allen (bs), Dick Katz (p), Eddie Costa (vb), Milt Hinton, Joe Benjamin (b) and
Osie Johnson (d). Manny Albam (arr).
Recorded in
New York City, on July 29, 1958
Produced for
CD release by Jordi Pujol