CD1
The Five
1. Whistle While You Work
2. Perkin'
3. Beyond The Sea
4. I Dig Ed
5. Lullaby Of The Leaves
6. Forelock
7. Soft As Spring
8. Just For Judie
9. If I Love Again
10. Red Eyes
11. Pushin’ Sand
12. I’ll Be In Scotland After You
Bill Perkins - Tenor sax
Conte Candoli - Trumpet
Pete Jolly - Piano
Buddy Clark - Bass
Mel Lewis - Drums
The Brothers!
13. Blixed
14. Kim’s Kaper
15. Rolling Stone
16. Sioux Zen
17. The Walrus
18. Blue Skies
19. Gay Blade
20. Three Of A Kind
21. Hags!
22. Pro-Ex
23. Strange Again
24. Cap Snapper
Al Cohn, Bill Perkins, Richie Kamuca - Tenor sax
Hank Jones - Piano
Barry Galbraith - Guitar
Jimmy Raney (as Sam Beethoven) - Guitar (tracks 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 24)
John Beal - Bass
Chuck Flores - Drums
Tenors Head-On
25. Cotton Tail
Bill Perkins - Tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute
Richie Kamuca - Tenor sax
Pete Jolly - Piano
Red Mitchell - Bass
Stan Levey - Drums
CD2
Tenors Head-On
1. I Want A Little Girl
2. Blues For Two
3. Indian Summer
4. Don’t Be That Way
5. Oh! Look At Me Now
6. Spain
7. Pick A Dilly
Personnel same as track 25 CD1
On Stage
8. Song Of The Islands
9. A Hundred Years From Today
10. Zing! Zang!
11. Let Me See
12. For Dancers Only
13. Just A Child
14. As They Reveled
15. When You’re Smiling
16. Let Me See
Bud Shank - Alto sax
Bill Perkins - Tenor sax
Jack Nimitz - Bass clarinet, baritone sax
Stu Williamson - Trumpet, valve trombone
Carl Fontana - Trombone
Russ Freeman - Piano
Red Mitchell - Bass
Mel Lewis - Drums
In the West Coast jazz scene of the 1950s, Bill Perkins was regarded as a true acolyte of Lester Young with one of the “coolest” tenor saxophone sounds
around. These four re-issues by Avid Jazz capture Perkins during this cool period surrounded by a coterie of like minded musicians who epitomized the era.
CD1
The Five, The Brothers!& Tenors Head-On
Although The Five is promoted as part of the rubric of this Bill Perkins retrospective, in fact according to the liner notes the album was
originally issued under pianist Pete Jolly’s name. Jolly had been gigging around Los Angeles when he was heard by Shorty Rogers, who thought he might just
be the right guy to head a recording session of his arrangements and left it up to Jolly to pick his stablemates.
Perkins at this time in 1955 was still playing in the Stan Kenton band and was only starting to make a name for himself. The compositions and the
arrangements that Rogers prepared for the band were typical of what he was doing in that period. His compositions had a relaxing flow that often was at
odds with their complex structures, and his arrangements could swing without showiness. It would be superfluous to spend any time running down each track
as the length was from two-and-a-half to slightly over three minutes long, structured in more or less the same fashion, with little time for the players to
develop their solo ideas.
As for the key players, tenor man Perkins had a mellow lyrical tone at this early stage in his career, and trumpeter Conte Candoli a somewhat thin sound
with limited range. Pete Jolly originally started out on accordion and later was self-taught on piano. He had a strong percussive single-note style very
much in the Eddie Costa mode, although he was strongly influenced by Bud Powell. Clark and Lewis were more than capable time-keepers who managed to flow
with the charts as required.
The Brothers!
was an appropriate album title as the three saxophonists - Cohn, Perkins and Kamuca – had all been part of the Woody Herman Herds, although none were in
the original “Four Brothers” band. So bringing a unison sax sound was not unfamiliar territory and they start out in exemplary fashion with a Bill Potts
composition and arrangement Blixed. The predicament facing the listener is that their saxophone sound blends so well together and as each comes
from the Lester Young school of playing, that it is literally impossible to tell which one is playing a solo. The liner notes are completely unhelpful in
that regard with the exception of Irving Berlin’s Blue Skies. On that track Kamuca plays the melody while Perkins and Cohn swing along briskly. On
the whole the session is quite pleasurable and swinging but no new barriers were broken.
Comments with respect to Tenors Head-On will come in remarks on CD2.
CD2
Tenors Head-On and On Stage
It was quite a natural development for Perkins and Kamuca to want to get together for Tenors Head-On, as both had worked for Woody Herman in 1954
and had discussed such a possibility, as well as previously recording The Brothers! Bringing such similarly-styled players together might have
seemed to be fraught with difficulties but not so with this session. Arranging for Pete Jolly to head-up the rhythm section was a no-brainer as he was a
known commodity and his firm pianistic approach fit well with their tenor proclivities.
The album starts with a Duke Ellington swinger Cotton Tail which demonstrated that both players were strong improvisers. Although it is often
difficult to differentiate between the two, their tones had evolved somewhat since their earlier recording, with Perkins developing a fuller sound compared
to Kamuca. Nevertheless with their unison lines and in their separate solos, these two players are not in competition but in a simpatico frame of mind as
evidenced on the swinging Benny Goodman classic Don’t Be That Way. Throughout these tracks the impact of pianist Pete Jolly
cannot be under-estimated. With his attacking piano style, Jolly is ever-present with his meticulous solos and his faultless time-keeping.
On Stage
was recorded at the Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, California in February 1956 but it was not a “live“ recording. Furthermore most discographies state
that this was Bill Perkins’ first album as a leader notwithstanding that he had appeared as a co-leader participant in two other albums in this release.
Looking to ensure that this initial release be successful for Perkins, Pacific Jazz Records brought together a number of first-rate West Coast musicians
who either had previously worked with Perkins or with whom he was familiar, along with top-notch arrangers including Bill Holman, Lennie Niehaus and Johnny
Mandel.
Consequently the results were extraordinarily good, starting with the horn statements early in the track on Song Of The Islands, which was then
followed by piano break from Russ Freeman, another percussive Bud Powell influenced pianist. Perkins takes advantage of extensive solo space with his pure
sound without any hard edges. His composing and arranging talents were also on display with the tune Zing! Zang! which had a complex contrapuntal
beginning, then opened up allowing Perkins to showcase his strong articulate horn playing. This is a splendid octet session which has largely been
overlooked.
Bill Perkins was one of the outstanding exemplars of the Lester Young playing style which can be fully appreciated in this Avid Jazz re-issue.
Pierre Giroux
CD Reviews
Avid Jazz AMSC 1121
