One of the first albums ever cut as a leader by trombonist Frank Rosolino – a hip set issued under the Stan Kenton Presents banner for Capitol in the mid 50s – but done in a smaller combo mode than you'd hear with Stan! The setting provides a great showcase for the emerging solo talents of Rosolino on trombone – a player with a soulful swing that get way past his goofy image on the cover – and which is set up here in the company of some great collaborators who include Charlie Mariano on alto sax – playing so strongly, the album might well include him as a co-leader – plus piano from either Claude Williamson or Pete Jolly, trumpet from Sam Noto, bass from Max Bennett or Curtis Counce, and drums from Mel Lewis or Stan Levey. There's not only a lot of Kenton influence in the players, but a lot of Bethlehem Records styles as well – a reference that definitely shapes the sound of this set, and makes it a strong one for any fan of 50s work on that label – or Mode Records as well. Titles are a mix of standards and originals – and include "Ragamuffin", "Linda", "Carioca", "Besame Mucho", "Yo Yo", and "Freckles". LP, Vinyl record album

A very nice little LA jazz session – not necessarily for Rosolino's trombone, which is still pretty nice, but really for the presence of Charlie Mariano, who gets a good chance to lay down some great solos in the session's small quintet with Walter Norris, Max Bennett, and Stan Levy. The tracks are tightly arranged – as you'd expect from an album like this in the "Kenton Presents" series – but Mariano always manages to get a bit of soul in, and has some very nice moments that are worth the price of the album. Titles include "Slan", "Kingfish", "The Missus", and "Now I Lay Me Down To Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

Although Rosolino and Candoli were shining brightest during the late 50s west coast scene, this 1975 MPS session shows that they still could play quite strongly when encouraged! The encouragement here comes from a live crowd at Munich's Domicile, where the set was recorded – and from some tight backing by bassist Isla Eckinger, pianist Rob Pronk, and drummer Todd Canedy. Both Rosolino and Candoli are freer, and possibly sloppier, in their tone – but that's what makes the album so refreshing, as it's got a lot more of a gutbuckety approach than you'd ever hear from the players in the old days. Titles include "Doxy", "Yesterdays", "Darn That Dream", and "Like Someone In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best albums on the rare Mode label – and a great quintet side by trombonist Frank Rosolino! The group here features Vince Guaraldi on piano, Richie Kamuca on tenor, Monty Budwig on bass, and Stan Levy on drums – and the sound's a lot harder than you'd expect from the combo. Guraldi's especially rough-edged – with a soulful sound that's quite different than his 60s recordings, one that sounds great next to Rosolino's horn. Titles include "Tuffy", "Fine Shape", "Cherry", "Let's Make It", "Fallout", "Thou Swell", "How Long Has This Been Going On" and "They Say". LP, Vinyl record album

A gem from Frank Rosolino – one of his best albums of the 70s, recorded in Italy with a very hip lineup that includes Franco D'Andrea on piano, Bruno Tommaso on bass, and a guest appearance by Gianni Basso on sax on one track. The presence of these younger modernists pushes Rosolino way past his west coast roots – and the overall sound of the set is great, with an approach that's swinging and measured, but also free-thinking in the best moments. Tracks are long, and titles include "Waltz For Roma", "Free For All", "Alex", and "Skylab". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent French session – with Zoot on tenor, Frank Rosolino on trombone, Jimmy Gourley on guitar, Henri Renaud on piano, Don Bagley on bass, and Jean-Louise Viale on drums! Titles include "The Late Tiny Kahn", "Toot's Suite", "Great Drums", "Call It Anything", and "Zoot's Suite". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent session cut during a stretch when the Candoli/Rosolino team were doing some of their best work – playing in Europe with a number of hip backup groups. This set features an Italian trio of Franco D'Andrea on piano, Giovanni Tomasso on bass, and Gege Munari on drums. Tracks include "Marla", "Attention", "Let's Burn", and "Conversation". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-titled album from the great Benny Carter – already a giant in jazz, thanks to countless years blowing the alto sax as a leader and sideman in other groups – really opening up a fresh chapter of his career in a great run of smaller combo work in the second half of the 50s! This set's a great demonstration of the way that Carter was able to bring an older jazz experience into more modern modes in the postwar years – an edge on his horn that's still one of the most distinct voices on the alto, yet very different than Charlie Parker or other modernists who came after him – exquisitely matched here in a combo that includes Ben Webster on tenor, Frank Rosolino on trombone, and Barney Kessel on guitar. Rosolino and Webster drop out on two tracks, piano is by Andre Previn or Jimmy Rowles, and the group's completed by Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. Titles include "Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me", "Blue Lou", "A Walkin Thing", and "Old Fashioned Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Helen Humes gets great small combo backing – from players who include Benny Carter on trumpet, Frank Rosolino on trombone, Teddy Edwards on tenor, Andre Previn on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and either Shelly Manne or Mel Lewis on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful modernist work from Kenton – one of the first albums to cull his genius together as a whole, filled with the kind of tracks that perfectly sum up his unique approach at the time! If you've ever wondered what makes Kenton so great, this is the album to begin with – as it's filled with fantastic original tunes that provide a shimmering solo showcase for work of players like Lee Konitz, Frank Rosolino, and Bill Holman. Titles include "23 N - 82 W", "Young Blood", "Improvisation", and the haunting "Invention For Guitar And Trumpet", which features Sal Salvador and a young Maynard Ferguson. LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from Kenton – warm and seductive, yet also modern and adventurous, tunes that are familiar, yet inexplicably transformed by the Kentonite approach! The record's got a similar feel to some of the best work coming out of the Kenton school at the time – and players on the set include Lee Kontiz, Frank Rosolino, and Conte Candoli – all of whom get in some good solos on the record. Arrangements are by Bill Russo and Kenton – never too over the top or complicated, but complex enough to please our modern ears, and to make the set much more than a package of big band standards! Titles include "There's A Small Hotel", "Lover Man", "Fascinating Rhythm", "Sophisticated Lady", "Shadow Waltz", and "Pennies From Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

Featured soloists include Milt Bernhart, Frank Rosolino, Maynard Ferguson, Richie Kamuca, Vince De Rosa, Stu Williamson, Charlie Mariano, and Marty Paich. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most obscure albums of the 70s from jazz vibes legend Cal Tjader – a set that was originally done as a direct-to-disc session for an audiophile label, but one that has Tjader recording with some of his grooviest modes of the time! The group here is wonderful – and the album sparkles with all these wonderful electric piano lines from the great Clare Fisher, a player who always seems to bring out the best in Cal – working alongside Gary Foster on flute and alto, Willie Bobo on timbales, Frank Rosolino on trombone, and Pancho Sanchez on congas! The whole thing's wonderful – and titles include "Ritmo Caliente", "Desposado", "Funquiado", "Tres Palabras", and "Huracan". Very likely Cal Tjader's best Latin LP of the 70s! LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite recordings ever of George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess – done by Bethlehem Records in the mid 50s, and featuring nearly every one of the label's great talents at the time! The choice of the lead characters is a bit odd – as Mel Torme plays Porgy and Francis Faye plays Bess – but both singers are actually pretty darn great for the set, and really bring a lot out of the tunes. Plus, the other artists on the set really keep things interesting – as the collection features vocal performances by Johnny Hartman, Frank Rosolino, Betty Roche, Bob Dorough, and Sallie Blair. Plus, the whole thing's presented as Gershwin wrote it – complete with narration by Al Jazzbo Collins, and a number of strong instrumental passages. Music is performed by groups led by Russ Garcia, Duke Ellington, Pat Moran, and Stan Levy – and players are an array of the best of both the New York and LA scenes at the time! LP, Vinyl record album

Features work by Conte Candoli on trumpet, Bob Cooper on tenor, Paul Horn on flute, Bud Shank on alto, and Frank Rosolino on trombone. LP, Vinyl record album

A great big band indeed – a session from 1960 that has Bill Holman still sitting nicely at the top of the west coast large group format from the 50s! As with previous dates of this nature, Holman's got a way around the charts that few can match – a way of swinging the whole ensemble strongly, yet never in ways that are cloying, commercial, or cliched. All the right players find a space for expression – and the lineup includes Richie Kamuca and Bill Perkins on tenor sax, Frank Rosolino on trombone, and Conte Candoli on trumpet – all players who really sparkle nicely when they step out from the larger group. Titles include "Stereoso", "Shadrack", "Quickstep", "Aura", "The Moon Is Blue", "June Is Busting Out All Over", and "Spinuet". LP, Vinyl record album

A hard-swinging session that's much hipper than you might guess from the "hi fi" or "west coast" in the title – recorded with none of the cliches that both tags might make you think – and instead a well-crafted set of solos from the mighty Richie Kamuca! Back in the 50s, Kamuca really had a tremendous tone – one that was often buried in larger groups, but occasionally got to take the solo spotlight on gems like this – stepping out with a raspy, almost gritty undercurrent – a sense of deeper soul in the sound that was uncommon for the west coast scene, and which we might almost compare to the similar qualities of a young Charlie Mariano on the alto sax. Although the group here is fairly largeish – with Bill Holman on baritone sax, Frank Rosolino on trombone, Conte Candoli on trumpet, and Vince Guaraldi on piano – Kamuca's clearly the main solo star, and is set up nicely in some subtle arrangements by Holman. Titles include "Linger Awhile", "Star Eyes", "Stella By Starlight", "Blue Jazz", and "Way Down Under". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Roy Eldridge, Anita O'Day, Frank Rosolino, Charlie Ventura, Red Rodney, Buddy Stewart, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the best work ever from one of the most under-acknowledged jazz composers and arrangers of the 50s! Johnny Richards is probably best known for his recordings with Stan Kenton in the early part of the decade – but when he moved out on his own, he developed a tremendous sound that was even richer, even more full of color and tone than Kenton's own – and which was often done without any arch-modern tones, yet still fresh and free of cliche. The album's one of Richards' first as a leader – and features a wonderful lineup filled with top-shelf players – including Charlie Mariano on alto, Richie Kamuca on tenor, Stu Williamson and Pete Candoli on trumpets, and Frank Rosolino and Milt Bernhardt on trombones – all players who really bring a bold sort of energy to Johnny's vibrant arrangements. The sax work alone is tremendous – cutting with a beautiful edge across the larger charts – and titles include "Waltz Anyone", "Turn Aboot", "Band Aide", "Dimples", and "Burrito Borracho". LP, Vinyl record album

The Supersax ensemble takes on the classic concept of Charlie Parker with strings – really sticking true to the groundbreaking spirit of the original experiments, while also bringing things forward a bit with their wonderful multi-horn approach! The group features lead alto from Med Flory, plus tenor from Warne Marsh and Jay Migliori, additional alto from Joe Lopes, trumpet from Conte Candoli, and trombone from Frank Rosolino – the latter two of whom really get in some nice solos of their own! Strings are well-scored – with the kind of subtle swing of the old days, and an occasional solo from Bobby Bruce on violin – and titles include "April In Paris", "All The Things You Are", "Cool Blues", "Kim", "Ornithology", "If I Should Lose You", and "Sign Off". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album that's as compelling as its title! The set was one of the classic early 10" jazz sides recorded for Bethlehem in the early years of the label – and it features a group led by bassist Max Bennett, and featuring Charlie Mariano on alto, Stan Levy on drums, Claude Williamson on piano, and Frank Rosolino on trombone. Helen Carr makes a vocal appearance on a track or two, and the album's got a nicely schizophrenic style that pushes it past simple expectations – really cooking with a mean Mariano solo one minute, and laying back for a mellower vocal passage the next. Titles include "Rubberneck", "Just Max", "They Say", "TK", "Do You Know Why", and "I'll Never Smile Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous early album from this west coast tenorist – really breaking out here in a smaller group setting than usual! Coop plays tenor, in a group with Victor Feldman on vibes, Loy Levy on piano, Frank Rosolino on tormbone, and Mel Lewis on drums! LP, Vinyl record album

70s issue of the mid 50s recording from Levey, a nice little bit of bop from LA – featuring drummer Stan Levey at the head of a sextet that includes Dexter Gordon, Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Lou Levy, and Leroy Vinnegar. Tracks are harder than the usual Bethlehem LA set, thanks to the bite of Gordon's tenor, and most tracks run for longer than five minutes, giving the players more space than usual to solo. Titles include "Diggin For Diz", "Ruby My Dear", "Tune Up", "Stanley The Steamer", and "This Time The Drum's On Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool record! The album's sort of an American tribute to the emerging French sex goddess Brigitte Bardot – one that features a gatefold cover with a wraparound photo of Brigitte, and some nice images on the inside. Music on the set is by Pete Rugolo – the master arranger who'd worked with June Christy, Stan Kenton, and others – and although Bardot doesn't sing or even make an appearance on the set, Pete does more than enough of a good job of conjuring up her presence with a good selection of jazzy tunes. Players include Pete Candoli and Jack Sheldon on trumpets, Frank Rosolino on trombone, Paul Horn and Bud Shank on reeds, and Laurindo Almeida on guitar. Gloria Wood sings on one track – and titles include "Arsenic Blues", "Paris BB", "Jeff's Blues", "Mambo Bardot", "A T'Aimer", and "The Night Heaven Fell". LP, Vinyl record album

Bop modes, updated strongly for the 70s – and played by a hip group of older players who really know how to cook! Supersax is led by Med Flory on alto, who also did the arrangements – and works here with great reed help from Warne Marsh and Jay Migliori on tenor, Joe Lopes on alto, and Jack Nimitz on baritone – plus soaring sounds from Conte Candoli and Blue Mitchell on trumpets, Frank Rosolino on trombone, and Lou Levy on piano – all of whom really help the reed players find their groove! Charts are large, as is the ensemble, but there's a nice sense of individual personalities too – even when all the saxophonists are taking a solo together at once. Titles include "Shaw Nuff", "Drifting On A Reed", "Oop Bop Sh'Bam", "Now's The Time", and "The Song Is You". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare material by the legendary Three Sounds – recorded in the early 60s by Gene Harris and combo, but never issued at the time! The work follows very strongly in the best spirit of the Three Sounds' more famous albums from the time – a unique blend of soul jazz piano with some of the more sprightly pianistics that had been showing up on trio records in the 50s – never too over the top, but with enough creativity to make the group a key crowd-pleasing act at the time! Harris' work on the keys is extremely magical, and there's some tunes on the set that give the album a slightly different feel than usual. Highlights include great readings of Randy Weston's "Babe's Blues", Nat Adderley's Work Song", and Frank Rosolino's "Blue Daniel" – plus the originals "Wait A Minute" and "Lazy Cat". LP, Vinyl record album

A real cooker from Georgie Auld's years on Mercury – a record that comes across with some "hi fi" dynamics, but which also features a strongly swinging group overall! Auld's playing here with Frank Rosolino, Ray Linn, and Maynard Ferguson – and the mode's a bit like some of Ferguson's albums for Mercury in the same stretch – shorter tracks but with strongly voiced solos, especially on Auld's saxophone – which hangs nicely here between two eras of jazz in its phrasing. Titles include "In The Land Of Hi Fi", "Dinah", "Tippin In", "I May Be Wrong", "Swingin In The Moore Park", and "For You". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautifully soulful set from Horace Silver – hardly the "with brass" session you might guess from the title, and instead a well-integrated album that really showcases a new level of arranging genius from Horace! The set is heavy on hip horns – with work from Oscar Brashear, Bobby Bryant, and Tom Harrell on trumpets – plus Frank Rosolinon on trombone, Jerome Richardson on alto and soprano sax, Buddy Collette on flute, and Bob Berg on tenor – but these instruments are often wrapped up in this warmly rolling groove driven by the bass of Ron Carter and drums of Al Foster – inherently funky, but much more complicated from a rhythmic perspective – and rolling out beautifully with a really imaginative vibe! Tunes are all originals by Silver – wonderful little numbers filled with passion and life – almost painting in sound, with really rich tones and colors throughout. Titles include "The Sophisticated Hippie", "Dameron's Dance", "Barbara", "Adjustment", "Mysticism", and "Kissin Cousins". LP, Vinyl record album