JazzWax

Tobias, Hank and Jack

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed author Tobias Wolff for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Tobias talked about his difficult childhood and the inspiration for his memoir, This Boy's Life, which was made into a 1993 movie. In short, Tobias traveled around the country with his mother, who left a cheating husband in Connecticut, only to wind up with a boyfriend in Florida who abused her, escaping the boyfriend on a cross-country trip to Oregon but winding up marrying a man who abused her and running away from him back across the country to Washington, D.C. [Photo of Tobias Wolff at his home in Stanford, Calif., by Winni Wintermeyer for The Wall Street Journal]

Here's the movie trailer...

And here's Tobias...

Hank Mobley. Following my post on Hank Mobley last week, I received the following from Doug Benson [Photo above of Hank Mobley by Francis Wolff (c) Mosaic Images]...

Marc, Third Street Jazz in Philadelphia was a record store and meeting place for fans and musicians in the 1970s & '80's. Each Friday afternoon, I'd stop by and check out the latest batch of cut-outs and promotional copies, usually on sale for $1.99 or $2.99 per copy. Once, while flipping through the alphabetical regular priced items, I looked to my right and noticed Hank Mobley flipping through the section on the tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec.

I said: "Hank Mobley..." Hank responded with "Ike taught me so much about the saxophone and the business of jazz." I asked Hank which was his favorite Blue Note album. He replied: Reach Out!, which was already out of print. I told him I could send him a cassette copy if he would provide his mailing address, which he did.

As we were leaving the store together, I offered to buy him a drink at the nearest bar. He said OK and off we went walking west on Market Street toward the In & Out bar south of Market & 8th Streets. In the bar, Hank had two drinks and was very conversational with everyone around him. I paid the tab and headed home with a promise to send him a cassette copy of Reach Out!

Maxine Sullivan and the Bard. Following my post on the 1971 album, Sullivan, Shakespeare, Hyman, I received the following from Joe Lang...

Marc, I also love this album. The first time I saw Maxine in person was at one of Jack Tafoya’s Friday noon concerts in New York at La Martinique on 57th Street. After, I got a chance to speak with her, telling her how much I dug her Close As Pages in a Book album. She smiled and told me that I would also like her next one—an album of songs with a Shakespearean twist. I bought it the day it was released and loved it immediately.

The Monmouth-Evergreen label was a special one that fortunately was purchased by George Buck’s Jazzology group of labels. Bill Borden did a wonderful job of making available much music that had long been unavailable, like the Lee Wiley Songbook albums and a lot of the Al Bowlly/Ray Noble sides, as well as much new material by the likes of Eddie Hazel, Bucky Pizzarelli and Ronny Whyte. There is a complete list of them on the Discogs.com site.

Jack Sheldon farewell. Following my post on the late Jack Sheldon, I received the following from JoAnn Kenton, Stan Kenton's wife in the late 1960s...

Hi Marc, the tribute to Jack Sheldon was a sold-out evening. I don’t know the capacity at Catalina’s in Los Angeles, but I would guess at least 200 people were there. The event was emceed by radio personality and columnist Doug McIntyre and ran about three hours. It opened with Dave Tull singing Yo Mama, accompanied by Tom Kubis and his big band. The next names are in order of their appearance:

• Trumpeter Chuck Findley
• Trumpeter Wayne Bergeron
• Singer Calabria Foti
• Trombonist Bob McChesney
• Trumpeter Ron Stout
• Gordon Goodwin, leader of the Big Phat Band
• Singer Tierney Sutton (my favorite vocalist)
• Singer Patrick Tuzzolino
• Bassist Chuck Berghofer
• Trombonist Dick Nash
• Songwriter Alan Bergman, who sang Nice and Easy and Where Do You Start? (Marilyn was not there.)
• Melissa Manchester
• Bassist Trey Henry
• Drummer Ray Brinker
• Keyboardist Mitch Forman
• Pianist Christian Jacob

And Bill Holman sat quietly at the bar so was only announced. Tierney Sutton closed the show with songs from My Fair Lady and, finally, I’ll Be Seeing You. A magnificent farewell to a man who was genuinely loved. Love your work!

Linda Ronstadt. Last week, Mike Cobb, sent along the following...

Hello Marc, I read your interesting article on Linda Ronstadt in The Wall Street Journal last year and thought you might enjoy reading a recent article in her hometown newspaper, The Arizona Daily Star, by columnist David Leighton about Linda's grandparents being honored with two street names on the former ranch property where Linda grew up in Tucson, Arizona. This came out about a week after the CNN documentary. Go here.

What the heck. From the West Coast list above, let's dig a pair of aces. Here's Texting and Driving by Dave Tull with the Ron Jones Influence Orchestra...

And here's the marvelous Calabria Foti singing Man With a Horn...

Oddball album cover of the week.

Don't be too shocked. Given that the label is incorrectly spelled on top (Capital v. Capitol), clearly this is a jape. The strange thing is it wouldn't be too far-fetched back then or now, with vaping.

Billy Collins on Hank Mobley

My favorite poet digs Hank Mobley. Billy Collins, the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003 and author of 16 books, was so moved by the tenor saxophonist's sound late last year that he wrote a poem about him. Billy has been a jazz fan since childhood (go here), and I've featured his poems on Sonny Rollins here and Roland Kirk here. [Photo above of Billy Collins by Bill Hayes, courtesy of Penguin Random House]

But first, if you're unfamiliar with Billy, here's a video of him delivering a talk last year in Martha's Vineyard, Mass. I must warn you, poets aren't supposed to be this funny...

And now, here's Billy's Hank Mobley poem that he kindly sent along on Wednesday after my Mobley post...

Listening to Hank Mobley around 11 O’Clock
After a Long Fun Boozy Dinner, the Four of Us,
at Captain Pig’s, Our Favorite Restaurant in Town

I’m lying down now, solo on a couch,
imagining along with the music
that if I were, say, 15 or 16 tonight
and in possession of a fresh can
of pink or orange spray paint,
I would climb the 4th Street overpass
and write in big letters
HANK MOBLEY SWINGS
for all to see on their morning drive to work.

But having sailed some time ago
into the quiet cardigan harbor of my life
out of earshot of the siren songs
that lure men onto reefs of foolishness
not to mention the bridges of bravado,
it’s enough to let the soap bubble
of that Hank Mobley thought drift
slowly across the living room and burst
with no warning, much to the amazement of the cat.

—(c) Billy Collins, 2019

Hoagy Sings Carmichael

Hoagy Sings Carmichael has been called many things. I used to refer to the album as a recording by an aging songwriter singing his own songs in the shower. Others have likened Carmichael's voice to something on a fence you throw shoes at to get it to stop. Or a saloon-song album sung by swinging doors that need oiling. All funny and unfair. Carmichael's voice on the album may sound rusty and off-kilter, but he's still the guy who wrote all the music and, in many cases, the words.

Songs like Georgia on My Mind, Skylark and Baltimore Oriole remain bucolic snapshots of America between the wars, when coveralls, dirt and integrity were part of the landscape, before the place was handed off to advertisers and developers who fabricated the American Dream and suburbia. Carmichael's voice and songbook today is a journey back in time, like the sound of horse hoofs or the squeak of a wooden floor.

Hoagy Sings Carmichael was the brainchild of Dick Bock, who produced the music for his Pacific Jazz Records label. Recorded over three sessions in September 1956, the music was arranged and conducted by Johnny Mandel, who wisely colored Carmichael's vocals with just enough jazz to give it a contemporary feel without disturbing the nostalgia or mood. [Photo above of Johnny Mandel in 1953]

The band on the first session on September 10 featured Carmichael (vcl); Harry "Sweets" Edison and Conrad Gozzo (tp); Jimmy Zito (b-tp); Harry Klee and Art Pepper (as); Mort Friedman (ts); Marty Berman (bar); Jimmy Rowles (p); Al Hendrickson (g); Joe Mondragon (b) and Irv Cottler (d). The songs on this session were Baltimore Oriole, New Orleans and Georgia on My Mind. [Photo above of Jimmy Rowles]

The next day, bassist Ralph Pena replaced Joe Mondragon, and Carmichael plus ensemble recorded Memphis in June, Two Sleepy People and Lazy River.

On September 13, Don Fagerquist and Ray Linn (tp), Joe Mondragon (b) and Nick Fatool (d) were in and Harry "Sweets" Edison, Conrad Gozzo, Ralph Pena, Irv Cottler and Marvin Ash were out. The songs recorded were Winter Moon, Skylark, Rockin' Chair and Ballad in Blue. [Photo above of Don Fagerquist]

Most exceptional on this album is Art Pepper soloing throughout on alto saxophone. His yearning, aching sound is a perfect match for Carmichael's rye-soaked rocking-chair voice. Jimmy Rowles's piano bleeding through the arrangements also is perfect. Credit is due Johnny Mandel, whose sensitivity and good taste appear on every track. After all these years, the album's music and Hoagy's voice is still what late night sounds like just as you're heading home. [Photo above of Art Pepper courtesy of Laurie Pepper]

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Hoagy Sings Carmichael here.

The album also can be found at Spotify.

JazzWax clips: Here's Winter Moon, with Art Pepper on alto saxophone solo...

And here's Skylark. Dig Rowles's piano tinkling in the background like a light rain...

A special thanks to Dennis Galloway.

Hank Mobley: Blue Note, 1963-70

Between 1963 and 1970, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded 12 albums' worth of hard bop. Seven were released by Blue Note during this period, while the rest wound up sidelined in the vaults. When discovered in the CD era by producer Michael Cuscuna, the lost Mobley tracks were assembled and released as five additional albums. [Photo above of Hank Mobley by Francis Wolff (c) Mosaic Images]

Now, Mosaic Records (with Michael producing) has released The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions, 1963-70, an eight-CD box with a lush booklet and poignant notes by jazz writer and author Bob Blumenthal. In many respects, this 75-track set is the other shoe many Mobley fans have been waiting to drop.

In 1998, Mosaic released The Complete Blue Note Hank Mobley Fifties Sessions. That six-CD set is now out of print and selling online for around $200. Though all of the Mobley albums on the new box have been released as individual CDs, several have been hard to find or were in need of fresh mastering.

In giving the albums between 1963 and '70 a new listen, I think it's fair to say that Mobley's Blue Note recordings during this period were nearly on par with the Horace Silver Quintet for spunk and compositional excellence. His writing was consistently sharp and distinct, and his arrangements were simultaneously optimistic and mournful in tone—a hip duality of sighing moods and flavors.

Which begs the question: why did Mosaic choose 1963 as the starting point for the artist's second phase rather than pick up in 1960, where the last box left off? Left behind were Soul Station, Roll Call, Workout and Another Workout. Michael says Mosaic skipped them for several reasons: the already large boxed set would have required another two CDs, the albums are still in print and most people already have them in their collections.

From a narrative and stylistic standpoint, 1963 is a valid demarcation. The year was a comeback of sorts for Mobley. In 1961, he was hired to replace John Coltrane in Miles Davis's quintet. But while the idea seemed to be brilliant, it wasn't. Mobley and Davis didn't click, and Mobley was ruthlessly criticized by Davis. So Mobley left the group in 1962. When he returned to the recording studio in '63 as a leader, his attack was more forceful and dynamic, leaving one to wonder whether his brief period with Davis had altered his feel.

If there is a story to be told here over these seven years, it's about a vibrant tenor saxophonist finding his way as the music business began to close in like a vise. On one side was John Coltrane's muscular flamboyance. On the other was soul-jazz and Latin-soul rising in popularity. Standing out wasn't easy. Many other tenor saxophonists ran aground, either joining the Coltrane camp, playing in Las Vegas and on cruises, quitting the business to teach, or continuing to record exhausted material as if the calendar still read 1959.

What's remarkable about Mobley during these seven years is that he remained unique. His original compositions were, for the most part, shrewd and sophisticated. Listen to the ballads My Sin from The Turnaround! and No More Goodbyes from Reach Out! He also advanced hard bop with fresh energy and elan. Dig Pat 'n Chat (from The Turnaround!) and Third Time Around (on A Caddy for Daddy).

Even the bossa-boogaloo bag Blue Note became famous for pioneering during these years were crafty and complex in Mobley's hands, such as The Turnaround!'s title track and The Dip from Dippin', to name just two. On A Caddy for Daddy, Mobley applied a new cool that was likely influenced by Wayne Shorter. You can hear this on songs such as Ace Deuce Trey and An Aperitif.

By his last album—The Flip, recorded in 1969 and released a year later—Mobley had grown noticeably weary. Many of the tracks featured dull phrases or were pocked by repetitive soul riffs. Lung problems forced Mobley to retire from playing in the mid-1970s. He did perform again in New York in late 1985 and early '86 but died of pneumonia in May of that year.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions, 1963-70 (Mosaic) here.

The set's sound is rich and vivid. The box's material was mastered from high-resolution files of the original analog masters by Malcolm Addey, using 24-bit technology.

JazzWax tracks: Here's the complete Dippin' album...

And here's the complete Turnaround!...

Carl Saunders: New Standards

Carl Saunders is one of jazz's best-kept secrets, and he kind of likes it that way. Born in 1942, Saunders is a trumpeter, composer and educator of the highest order who has worked with a long list of jazz giants, from Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald to Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson. Many factors set Saunders apart, including his skills as a player-composer, his warm tone and his exquisite taste. [Photo above of Carl Saunders]

Even more significant is his vast catalog of original compositions that are built to stand the test of time. Fortunately, the brilliant minds at Summit Records decided to release four albums dedicated to his music, featuring different leading jazz musicians. Summit was founded in 1988 by trumpeter David Hickman and trombonist Ralph Sauer, and the Saunders series began in 2013.

Born in Indianapolis, Saunders fell in love with the sound of Don Fagerquist's trumpet and the Dave Pell Octet. He began playing trumpet in the seventh grade and became a high-school star without taking lessons. After graduation, he joined Stan Kenton's band. His first recording with Kenton's orchestra was Horns of Plenty Vol. 1 (Tantara) in 1961, in the mellophonium section. For a more robust bio, visit Saunders's site here.

Much of Saunders's career in the 1960s and beyond has been spent in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. All of his recordings are worth owning. Start with Phil Urso & Carl Saunders Salute Chet Baker and Phil Woods & Carl Saunders Play Henry Mancini.

Now, for the Summit series. Each of the four albums features New Jazz Standards in the title. While that claim may seem brash, once you hear Saunders's works, you'll realize that "new standards" is hardly an overstatement. All of Saunders's songs are richly melodic and engaging in their construction. At the heart of each piece is a singable melody that builds neatly and tells a story.

The New Jazz Standards series features albums by flutist Sam Most (2013), trombonist Scott Whitfield (2016), pianist Roger Kellaway (2018) and guitarist Larry Koonse (2019). All of the songs are by Saunders, and each album provides takes on songs chosen from his catalog. The artists chosen are impeccable. I wish I could tell you that one of these albums is the best of the bunch or that one is a perfect gateway to the series, but they're all marvelous. I'd buy all four. Each is executed at a high level, deeply personal from the artist's perspective and captures the spirit of Saunders's remarkable talent. [Photo above of Carl Saunders]

Of the four artists, only Sam Most is no longer with us. He died in 2013.

JazzWax tracks. You'll find the New Jazz Standards series for Most, Whitfield, Kellaway and Koonse here, here, here and here.

The albums also are available at Spotify and at YouTube.

JazzWax tracks: Here's Larry Koonse playing Saunders's A Poor Man's Mister Evans, with Josh Nelson (p), Larry Koonse (g), Tom Warrington (b) and Joe LaBarbera (d)...

Here's Roger Kellaway playing Saunders's Calming Notion, with Jay Leonhart (b) and Peter Erskine (d)...

Here's Scott Whitfield playing Saunders's Prudence, with Scott Whitfield (tb), Christian Jacob (p), Kevin Axt (b) and Peter Erskine (d)...

And here's Sam Most playing Saunders's Twinkling Eye, with Sam Most (fl, alto fl, clarinet, bari, voc), Christian Jacob (p), Kevin Axt (b), Santo Savino (d) and Leddie Gardia (perc)...

Bonus: And here's Carl Saunders and tenor saxophonist Phil Urso playing Line for Lyons...

Maxine Sullivan: Shakespeare

One of the most interesting albums singer Maxine Sullivan recorded in the 1970s was Sullivan, Shakespeare, Hyman in June 1971. The album's subtitle says it all: "Maxine Sullivan sings the songs of William Shakespeare as set to music by Dick Hyman." Dick, of course, has been one of the most prolific and versatile jazz pianists as a performer and recording artist and as a composer and arranger. Recorded for Monmouth Evergreen Records, the album at first glace would seem like a yawn, a high-culture overreach that imposes the Bard on Sullivan, draining jazz of its essential oils.

Quite the contrary. The album is alive with original music and arrangements, and Sullivan was put to the test, giving listeners an opportunity to hear how she takes on material that wasn't readily familiar to anyone except Dick. The musicians on the album accompanying Sullivan were Rusty Dedrick (tp,flhrn), Dick Hyman (p,harpsichord), Bucky Pizzarelli (g), Milt Hinton (b) and Don Lamond (d). [Photo above of Dick Hyman]

Dick was first asked to come up with melodies for a series of Shakespearean ballads in 1961 while working with the Arthur Godfrey TV and radio shows. Paul Kapp, who founded General Music Publishing Company and was associated with the Godfrey shows, suggested the idea. [Photo above of Maxine Sullivan at the Village Vanguard in 1947 by William P. Gottlieb]

Columbia's A&R executive Ernie Altschuler heard Dick's songs on the Godfrey show and asked Dick to come up with Bardian tunes for Earl Wrightson, a singer with an earnest and seemingly dated musical-theater voice. The result was Shakespeare's Greatest Hits. Wrightson's album has not aged well, though the songs retain their charm.

Fast forward 10 years. Though the liner notes on the Sullivan album say that the pieces were performed first by other singers, Dick said he had Sullivan in mind when he originally wrote them. Dick knew Sullivan from accompanying her on two earlier albums produced by Leonard Feather—Leonard Feather Presents Maxine Sullivan (1956) and A Tribute To Andy Razaf (1957).

All of the lyrics on the Sullivan songs were based on original Shakespeare verses. The album goes by fast, since the longest song is 3:18 and the shortest is 1:34. Here are the songs and the related Shakespeare plays:

• When That I Was a Little Tiny Boy (Twelfth Night; Act V, Scene 1)
• O Mistress Mine (Twelfth Night; Act II, Scene 3)
• Will You Buy Any Tape? (The Winter's Tale; Act 14, Scene 3)
• Winter and Spring (Love's Labour Lost; Act V, Scene 2)
• It Was a Lover and His Lass (As You Like It; Act. V, Scene 3)
• Take O Take Those Lips Away (Measure for Measure; Act IV, Scene 1)
• Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind (As You Like It; Act Ii, Scene 7)
• Under the Greenwood Tree (As You Like It; Act Ii, Scene 5)
• Sigh No More, Ladies, Sigh No More (Much Ado About Nothing; Act II, Scene 3)
• Come Away, Come Away, Death (Twelfth Night; Act II, Scene 4)
• When Daffodils Begin to Peer (The Winter's Tale; Act IV, Scene 2)
• Lawn as White as Driven Snow (The Winter's Tale; Act IV, Scene 3)

What I love about this album is that the songs are unknown, so instead of listening to familiar standards, this is off-beat, forcing you to listen to the quality of Sullivan's execution. In addition, the music is bouncy and upbeat, as if they were written for a musical. Interestingly, Sullivan sounds a lot like Peggy Lee here. She leaves lots of space, her voice is soft and all of the songs are jaunty. And it's a joy to hear Dick Hyman play piano and harpsichord behind her. [Photo above of Maxine Sullivan and Bob Wilber in 1969]

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Sullivan, Shakespeare, Hyman here.

The album also is available at Spotify.

JazzWax clips: You can listen to the entire album at YouTube here...

Bonus: To give you a feel for Wrightson's voice...

...here's a clip from Shakespeare's Greatest Hits...

A special thanks to Dennis Galloway.

Susan, Steve and Maxine

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Susan Mailer, daughter of novelist of Norman Mailer, for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Susan talked about her mother moving her down to Mexico City when she was still a baby after she divorced Norman. Susan also talked about her years spent with her father in New York and Connecticut. [Photo above of Susan Mailer in her Manhattan home, on a desk that belonged to her father, Norman Mailer, by Matt Furman for The Wall Street Journal]

Over the holidays, my column interviews were with actor Masi Oka (go here), Booker T of the MGs (go here) and Arlo Guthrie (go here) on his father, Woody Guthrie. [Photo of musician Arlo Guthrie at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Mass., by Jason Grow for The Wall Street Journal]

SiriusXM. If you missed my December appearance on SiriusXM to talk about my "Anatomy of a Song" column for the WSJ on Steve Miller's Fly Like an Eagle, you can listen for free here...

Maxine Sullivan. After my post on singer Maxine Sullivan, I received the following from photographer and author Hank O'Neal...

Hi Marc. Nice to see such good words and clips about Max. I met her in 1965 at the Manassas Jazz Festival where she was possibly the classiest person there. She was married to Cliff Jackson at the time and
Cliff was playing regularly at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. I visited Max and Cliff at their home on Ritter Place in the Bronx in 1986. The street is now called Maxine Sullivan Way. I recorded Cliff at Sherman Fairchild's within the year, his last solo record, I think, and then did an album of Max with Earl Hines in 1970. I hadn't thought about Max and Cliff in some while. Glad you made me remember. [Photo above of Maxine Sullivan in 1986 by Hank O'Neal]

I also heard from Danilo Morandi in Italy...

I really enjoyed your clips on Maxine Sullivan, a beloved figure in Europe at the beginning of the 1980s, where she made five delightful records with the Swedish All Stars on Kenneth Records. Here is a  great version of Fine and Dandy led by alto saxophonist Göran Eriksson, who also solos. 

La Notte. Over the holidays, during my "JazzWax Film Festival," I received the following from Ettore Ulivelli in Italy on my post about the film, La Notte [Photo above of Jeanne Moreau]...

Dear Marc, there are two mistakes in your post on La Notte: While much of the film was indeed shot in Milan, the jazz performance scenes and party scenes were shot at a villa in Barlassina, about 25 miles from Milan. It was a sprawling villa that was more like a country club with a pool and golf course.

As for the musicians, let me correct the information you provided: the tenor sax player was Eraldo Volonte, the pianist was Giorigio Gaslini, the bassist was Alceo Guatelli. I should know, since I was the drummer! By 1959, Gaslini was considered one of the top European players. [Photo above, on the set of La Notte, from left, Alceo Guatelli, Eraldo Volontè, Giorgio Gaslini, Jeanne Moreau, Ettore Ulivelli and Marcello Mastroianni]

As for the film at large, director Michelangelo Antonioni was famous for using 5,000 meters of film and then cutting it down to 3,000. Unfortunately, I have no particular recollection of the two leading actresses except their ravishing beauty.

I was the only amateur musician in the group. I continued drumming for three or four years after the film but soon quit to pursue a career in marketing. As a last remark: all in all, the film was a terrible bore, believe me. I have a VHS of La Notte that I've repeatedly watched and have never changed my opinion.

Thanks for your efforts. Keep it up, man!

My post has been updated.

Movies Til Dawn. Director Raymond De Felitta's podcast interview with director John Sayles (Lone Star, Matewan, Eight Men Out, Honeydripper, Go for Sisters) is up at Raymond's site here (click on the "episodes" tab for Sayles and other directors). [Photo above of John Sayles]

Lorez Alexandria radio. Sid Gribetz will present the singer Lorez Alexandria on Sunday (January 12), from 2 to 5 p.m. on “Jazz Profiles” on WKCR-FM in New York. You can listen on your phone, iPad or computer from anywhere in the world by going here.

What the heck. Here's Gene Pitney singing Town Without Pity...

Oddball album cover of the week.

Two monogrammed towels and a woman in a pink dish who looks like a bar of soap.

Doc: Jack Sheldon, 2008

Who was Jack Sheldon and why does he matter? Part of the answer can be found in Trying to Get Good: the Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon, a documentary released in 2008. Produced by Doug McIntyre and Penny Peyser, the film is part biography, part confessional and part intervention as Sheldon and his music colleagues shed light on the West Coast jazz scene in the 1950s and Sheldon's playing gifts and puckish personality. Jimi Mentis sent along links to the documentary below.

My only quibble is that the film missed critical moments to follow up on. For example, early on we learn that Sheldon's father abandoned Sheldon's mother and that she spent years looking for him. That thread is dropped instantly. Wow, I have at least five followup questions on that alone, since the abandonment surely had everything to do with Sheldon's personality and life.

But more to the point, the documentary is a loving tribute, and it's a joy to see so many talented artists talk about one of West Coast jazz's trumpet greats. To purchase the documentary, go here.

Here's Part 1...

And here's Part 2...

Maxine Sullivan in 10 Clips

The female jazz vocal starts with Maxine Sullivan. No knock on Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday or other great vocalists of the 1930s and '40s, but they were really show-time swing singers at the time. Sullivan was first to bring a conversational intimacy to the jazz vocal that was better suited to small rooms than theater stages. She began her singing career in the mid-1930s and her first recordings were in June 1937, with Claude Thornhill. Two months later, she had one of her biggest hits, Loch Lomond, again, with Thornhill. Her voice throughout her storied career was a work of relaxed perfection and sublime beauty.

Sullivan was married four times, and exchanged vows with her fourth husband in 1950. Which helps explain why her 1950s discography is so light. Spending time at home was probably a better move for Sullivan and her family than recording and touring. A shame she didn't record much more at her peak in the 1950s, when albums would have made her a superstar, like many pop singers of the period. Also a shame she wasn't in film more. She had the most amazing smile, and the camera loved her.

Despite Sullivan's towering significance as the first modern female jazz vocalist, she's just a name to most people today. So I figured I'd provide you with 10 audio and video clips so you have a sense of her qualities and an understanding of why I rave about her.

Maxine Sullivan died in 1987.

Here's Maxine Sullivan in 1938 with Bobby Hackett on cornet singing Easy to Love...

To hear Sullivan ace Loch Lomand in 1939, move the time bar up to 1:37...

Here's Sullivan with Teddy Wilson in 1944, with Charlie Shavers on muted trumpet singing Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye...

Here's Sullivan singing I'm the Caring Kind with Benny Carter's band in 1946...

Here's Sullivan with the Ellis Larkins Trio singing Takin' My Time in 1946. Larkins was one of the great accompanists...

Here's Sullivan singing I'll Remember April with Lionel Hampton's band in 1952...

Here's Sullivan singing Stompin' at the Savoy from the album A Tribute to Andy Razaf in 1956 with a pack of Leonard Feather All-Stars, including Charlie Shavers on trumpet and Dick Hyman on piano and Milt Hinton on bass...

Here's Sullivan on Art Ford's Jazz Party in 1958 singing I Can't Get Started and Ace in the Hole. That's Sir Roland Hanna on piano, another brilliant accompanist, Tyree Glenn on trombone and Mary Osborne on guitar...

Here's Sullivan singing We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye with Ernie Carson (cnt), Jack Howe (ts), Spencer Clark (bar), Art Hodes (p,arr), Johnny Haynes (b) and Tom Martin (d) in 1978...

Here's The Lady's in Love With You with Glenn Zottola (tp), Phil Bodner (cl,as), Keith Ingham (p), Marty Grosz (g), Phil Flanigan (b) and Jackie Williams (d) in 1985...

And here's Sullivan singing Something to Remember You By in Tokyo in 1985 with Scott Hamilton on tenor saxophone...

Tutti's Trumpets and Trombones

Brass heads, listen up. If you aren't familiar with the two albums I came across yesterday, you'll be thanking me by the end of this post. The albums are Tutti's Trumpets (1957) and Tutti's Trombones (1966). Tutti was Salvador "Tutti" Camarata—co-founder of London Records, the American arm of English Decca. He also was co-founder of Disneyland Records. London, of course, cleaned up in the 1960s, marketing top-selling European Decca artists on the London label in America, from Mantovani to the Rolling Stones. [Photo above of Tutti Camarata]

Born in New Jersey, Tutti's parents had come over from Catania in Sicily. His work ethic was remarkable. He grew up studying trumpet and played in leading big bands of the 1940s. He also arranged for them. He persuaded Billie Holiday to record her first records with strings for Decca in 1944 and arranged those sessions (when he was known as "Toots"). He also conducted a recording by Jascha Heifetz.

After 1945, Tutti spent considerable time in the U.K., helping Ted Heath start his big band and working on a film, London Town, as musical director. Back in the States, he helped start London Records in 1947 and discovered Vic Damone and Teresa Brewer, arranging their early hits for London.

Tutti always had a thing for trumpet sections, so in the mid-1950s, he came up with an idea for an album featuring a collection of star players. Which brings us to how I found Tutti's Trumpets (Disneyland)—looking around for Uan Rasey sessions. The trumpets on the album are Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo, Mannie Klein, Joe Triscari, Shorty Sherock and Rasey. I know, the equivalent of walking into a garage and seeing six mint Ferraris sitting side by side. [Photo above of Conrad Gozzo]

While the album weaves between dance and easy listening, it's still glorious to hear players of this caliber together and alone. They were accompanied on songs by three different musical backgrounds—with saxophones, with strings or with full orchestra. While Tutti's arranging taste tended to lean toward cinematic mood music, he left well enough alone in most cases to maximize these horn greats.

High points include Klein blowing on Trumpet Soliloquy, the entire section playing the melody on Stardust backed by strings, Trumpet's Prayer featuring Gozzo, and Candoli soloing on Southland. It's astonishing to hear these guys solo and play in formation. In most cases on other albums, you just hear them whisked into a section. [Photo above of Pete Candoli]

In 1966, Tutti decided to give the all-star concept another go—this time on Tutti's Trombones. The trombonists were Dick Nash, Joe Howard, Tommy Pederson, Ernie Tack, Kenny Shroyer, Frank Rosolino, Hoyt Bohannon, Herbie Harper, Gil Falco and Lloyd Ulyate. That's quite a bit of big-band studio firepower. Though the arrangements aren't as deft as the trumpet album, the playing is sweet. The trombones are either bouncing around together like a big rubber ball or individual players are weeping through their horns. [Photo above of Dick Nash]

High points include Mr. Lucky set to a bossa nova rhythm with Howard taking the lead muted solo, Nash soloing with an open horn and Rosolino using a cup mute. There's also Four Brothers, which may be the only time this song, written for four saxophones, was handled by a gang of 'bones. The album ends with an excellent frisky tune by Tutti called Tutti's Trombones, on which all of the horns take a turn. The sidemen on both albums are top of the heap. [Photo above of Frank Rosolino]

Tutti Camarata died in 2005. An amazing career—it's exhausting just writing about his many accomplishments. And he reportedly was a nice guy to boot!

JazzWax tracks. You'll find Tutti's Trumpets and Tutti's Trombones on a single album here.

It's also free for streaming at Spotify and if you have Amazon Prime. Or you can find many of the tracks at YouTube.

JazzWax tracks: Here's Stardust, with all the trumpets running the melody line together...

And here's Four Brothers...