The Making of "Jaco Pastorius: Truth, Liberty and Soul"

© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“In recognition for all they do for the music, Resonance Records was recently voted best Jazz Recording Company by the Jazz Journalist Association, the second year-in-a-row that it has been accorded this distinction.

George brings some unique qualities to the recordings that Resonance issues having been a recording engineer himself, as well as, a producer of Jazz concerts and a manager of Jazz musicians and vocalists.

And while the number of recordings that Resonance releases each year is perhaps not on a scale as many of its esteemed predecessors, very few Jazz records are of the quality of those issued by George’s company in terms of a spectacular format made up of beautiful color graphics, superb black and white photographs of the represented artists as taken by leading Jazz photographers, thick insert note booklets jammed package with information, interviews, annotations and observations by some of the leading writers on a variety of Jazz subjects and topics, and, of course, the music itself rendered in the highest audio quality available.

Put another way, George’s spares no expense - including compensating the surviving family or estate of the artist, paying the musicians who appear on these dates and banking the necessary royalties - in putting together a final product that he can be proud of and that you can enjoy from a number of audio-visual perspectives.”

- The editorial staff at JazzProfiles

I made the above statement in the context of a blog posting about two new releases by guitarist Grant Green [1935-1979] on Resonance Records: Funk In France: Paris And Antibes (1969-1970) [HCD-2033] and Slick! Live At Oil Can Harry's [HCD-2034].

While perusing the insert booklet to another Resonance Records CD - Jaco Pastorius: Truth, Liberty and Soul [HCD2027] - I came across this detailed elaboration by Zev Feldman of what goes on, behind-the-scenes in the Resonance Records approach to developing a Jazz recording which adds further substance to my opening comments.

JACO PASTORIUS IMMORTALIZED -A LONG ROAD

“It sure seems that a lot of our productions at Resonance take years and years to come to fruition. This usually happens because there are layers of legal clearances we must obtain and other steps we have to complete before we can even begin production. The actual production itself takes time.

Assembling the accompanying books and the packages entails detailed research, tracking people down and conducting interviews with them, hiring writers, scouring the landscape for photographs, then putting it all together, handing it over to our brilliant designer. Burton Yount, and finally massaging everything through production; it's no small thing.

This was certainly true with this album. It took over six years for it finally to come together, but we were determined. Where most other companies faced with such a complex undertaking would probably just have taken a pass, we felt passionately that these glorious recordings of Jaco Pastorius and the "New York" Word of Mouth big band with special guest,the incredible Toots Thielemans, were precious. Clearly they needed to be treated with utmost sensitivity and care; and above all, with patience.

Thanks to the generosity of executive producer George Klabin, Resonance's founder and president, we were able to make it happen in spite of the many roadblocks we encountered. George allowed us the time and resources to acquire the rights and build the album package in a way that we all felt would do honor to Jaco's art. Above all, we wanted to reach out to the legions of Jaco Pastorius fans out there as well as folks just discovering him for the first time. We were determined to present this material in a way that recognizes the rare and unique piece of history it represents: Jaco, the apotheosis of the electric bass, in a concert recording that most of the musicians closest to him believe is the finest recorded evidence of his musical vision.

The story of our release of this album begins in 2011 when legendary record producer, label executive and great friend of Resonance, Michael Cuscuna, introduced us to Tim Owens, the producer of the nationally syndicated Peabody Award-winning NPR program. Jazz Alive!, which showcased the best jazz of its day — from 1977 to 1983. A portion of the Word of Mouth concert we present here had been the subject of an episode of Jazz Alive!.

Public radio stations across the country broadcast that show and later, in the '90s, NPR aired that portion again on JazzSet with Branford Marsalis. An excerpt of the concert even surfaced illicitly on YouTube, of course with very poor audio, but this concert has never before been heard in its entirety, as we're presenting it here. Indeed, over 40 minutes of music contained in this album have never been heard before at all, even on the NPR broadcasts.

So thanks to Michael, I met Tim Owens for the first time over lunch in Santa Barbara, where he now lives. As we sat and talked,Tim reminded me that he'd produced a broadcast of a Jaco Pastorius Word of Mouth big band concert in New York from 1982, I was beyond excited! I've always considered Jaco a real hero; someone whose recordings I'd collected since I was a teenager. I knew then and there we had to get our hands on that music and release it.

This is an unusually fine-sounding recording thanks to the talents and dedication of Grammy'-winning recording engineer Paul Blakemore,who not only recorded the original concert, but who mixed it again for us decades later — now with the benefit of better equipment than he had access to in 1982. Fortunately, for the original recording, Paul was able to use a first-class remote sound-truck stationed outside Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall and he was able to capture excellent signal quality to tape. So decades later, for this release, he had top-quality source material to mix from.The sound on this album surpassed all of our expectations.

Given the exceptional significance of this material, I wanted our team to build a truly special package befitting the magnitude of the occasion. We wanted to build new reference materials to help us all to understand and appreciate Jaco's genius. While today the validity of his self-assessment as "the greatest bass player in the world" is virtually undisputed, Jaco is also becoming appreciated more and more as a composer and musical catalyst.

This big band, with the participation of the pantheon of New York horn players, represented the culmination of his musical vision. Why is this recording more special than other recordings? You'll have to read what others have to say in this book and listen to the album to learn for yourself.

This was the New York version of the Word of Mouth big band, which was different than the band that played in L.A. or the band that went to Japan.

Over the course of putting this album together, we learned so much and we've gathered the voices of many of the musicians who participated in this event. We also take a look at two individuals who aren't spoken of enough: arrangers Larry Warrilow and Charlie Brent, both of whom collaborated with and influenced Jaco. We have the preeminent authority on Jaco, Bill Milkowski, who has written a fantastic lead essay, as well as Jaco's son John, who shares his memories of his father and of this concert, which he attended when he was eight years old. I'd like to personally thank all who participated in this book, including the legends who gave us their time for interviews and observations, towering figures including Peter Erskine, Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker, Othello Molineaux, Randy Emerick, Lou Marini, Bob Bobbing, Robert Trujillo, Victor Wooten, Jimmy Haslip, Ron McClure, Wayne Shorter, Tim Owens and Paul Blakemore.

The first step in getting this project rolling was to get a deal in place with the estate of Jaco Pastorius. This came about in large part because of the support of our executive producer, Dave Love, an industry veteran, label executive and producer, who knew the family and its legal team. Thanks Dave! Next, the folks at Warner Music Group, which Jaco was under contract to at the time of the recording. Because of the care and understanding of our good friend there, Kent Liu, who recognized the importance of the project and helped shepherd our deal for the rights through, we were able to cross that bridge. Lastly, we had to clear rights with National Public Radio in Washington D.C. and we did that, as well. In the end, as is our practice, we've been able to secure all of the rights needed to release this alburn legally and officially.

In closing, I'd like to thank the estate of Jaco Pastorius and his family; Mary Pastorius, John Pastorius, Felix Pastorius, Julius Pastorius, Rory Pastorius. And special thanks go to Pastorius estate attorney Stephen J. Carlisle.

It was a long and amazing journey to see this project through. I'd like to thank George Klabin again for making it all possible and associate producers John Koenig and Zak Shelby-Szyszko for all their help in joining me to bring this production home. It took a herculean effort by a team. Last but not least, I want to thank the great Burton Yount for continuing to grace Resonance's packages with his brilliant designs.

ZEV FELDMAN Los Angeles, January 2017

Is it any wonder that the finished product at Resonance is so outstanding?

“Low Reed” - Michel de Villers

© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

What I have been referring to as the Fresh Sound “Jazz in Paris” series of recent CD releases continues to delight and amaze me not only for the quality of the music on these discs, but also because they have introduced me to many, excellent French modern Jazz musicians whose existence I was not aware of previously.

A case in point is “Low Reed” Michel de Villers: The Complete Small Group Sessions, 1946-1956 [Fresh Sound FSR CD 951].

Like Lars Gullin, his contemporary in Sweden, Michel played alto saxophone before moving on to the baritone sax. And like Lars, when he did move on to the larger sax, he also adopted the lighter, more airy tone of baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan who was just coming into prominence when he made the switch in the early 1950s.

Fortunately, of the 24 tracks on “Low Reed” Michel de Villers: The Complete Small Group Sessions, 1946-1956, about half of them are on alto which give the listener to compare Michel’s prowess on both instruments.

The following insert notes by Jordi Pujol provide more information about Michel de Villers and the music on this wonderful compilation.

“Michel de Villers (1926-1992) was one of the most important reed players of modern jazz in France. Born in Villeneuve-sur-Lot (Lot-et-Garonne), most of his fellow musicians knew him by his nickname "Low reed". From a very young age, de Villers excelled at alto sax and clarinet, before specializing in baritone, the instrument that earned him first place in the annual readers' poll of the Jazz-Hot magazine fifteen years straight—from 1950 until 1965, when the magazine stopped holding the poll. His fame spread to the United States when he was voted in Down Beat's yearly international jazz critics' poll as fourth best baritone saxophonist in the New Star department.

De Villers started on alto sax when he was 14. In 1943, he played for a while in the American camps before moving to Paris to appear as an amateur in the annual Hot Club contests. There he met altoist André Ekyan, the most creative saxophonist in France — a disciple of Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter, and a major force in the French jazz of the '30s and '40s. Ekyan became de Villers’ first influence, and encouraged him to pursue a career as a professional musician. So after World War II, de Villers began jamming around Montmartre, where he gained the attention of fans and musicians alike. In 1945, he took the tenor for a time to play in the quintet of pianist Jack Dieval.

It was February 1946, and Django Reinhardt had just returned from a brief and eventful tour of England with Stephane Grappelli. They had gathered in an attempt to recreate his famous Quintet of the Hot Club the France from before the war and make some recordings.

But upon his return to Paris, the cabaret where he was supposed to play had closed down, and he found himself out of work. Not for long, though. He spread the word and soon was offered to organize a resident quintet to play at the Rodeo Club.

For his new group, Django called two veterans, guitarist Eugene Vees and drummerAndré Jourdan. He also introduced two young, inexperienced musicians. One of them was Michel de Villers, who Django hired after hearing him play clarinet and alto during a jam session in Pigalle. The other was a pianist Django had discovered in a contest for amateur musicians, Eddie Bernard. But their engagement at the Rodeo didn't last long. The venue closed down too, and so in September, Django and the "little boys" went on a month-long tour of Switzerland before returning to Paris. The group was disbanded after Django signed a contract with a British agent.

He left the following week to play with Duke Ellington in the United States.

After his experience with Django, and just over 20 years old, Michel was already a professional. His reputation was growing steadily, as he led a quintet with his 19-year-old friend, pianist Andre Persiany, and other young boys: Jean Bonal, guitar; Georges Hadjo, bass; and André Baptiste "Mac-Kac" Reilles, drums. After hearing some great performances by the group, Charles Delaunay offered de Villers an opportunity to record for the Swing label in October 1946. It was his debut as leader, and for all the quintet members it was their first appearance on record. That same month, de Villers also recorded with a septet led by popular tenor saxophonist Alix Combelle.

In February 1947, Django returned to Paris from his American tour, with a somewhat bitter taste in his mouth: he had not received the welcome he expected. Upon his arrival, he was hired to perform at the cabaret "Boeuf sur le Toit." For the occasion, Django put together a ten-piece orchestra that featured de Villers on alto sax and clarinet. The engagement lasted for two months, after which the association of de Villers with Django ended.

In March of 1948 de Villers recorded again with a quintet for the Swing label, this time with tenor saxophonist Jean-Claude Fohrenbach, André Persiany or Jacques Denjean at the piano, and Georges Hadjo or Harry Montaggioni on bass. The drummer was Kenny Clarke, the father of all Bop drummers, who had settled in Paris after he finished his European tour with Dizzy Gillespie in February. Clarke brought his usual sturdy support to this date with the quintet, which would become a sextet in May when trumpeter Claude Dunson joined in a conservative-modern jazz session played with taste and feeling.

As an altoist, de Villers is heavily featured through these unpretentious, modern small group sessions, improvising with cohesive driving and a swinging passion. He adopted a clear tone and vocabulary reminiscing of the styles of the leading alto swing players Benny Carter, Willie Smith and Johnny Hodges, introducing some Bird influence in his phrasing. He communicates emotion with easy flow and relaxation in the ballads, and fierce blowing during the up tunes. When he blows, he makes the swing and simplicity seem so natural that it may lead one to believe that perhaps others possessed a better technique and ideas; but the truth is, few surpassed de Villers in soul and feeling.

After a tour with trumpeter Rex Stewart in late 1948, de Villers joined the Edwards Band, the jazz sensation of the time. The band was a septet featuring trumpeter Bill Coleman and tenor saxophonist Don Byas, with Geo Daly on vibes and a rhythm section made up by Bernard Peiffer, piano, Jean Bouchety, bass, and Roger Paraboschi, drums. After a very successful tour of France and Switzerland, the members of the band went their separate ways due to personal disagreements.

De Villers and Daly went on to play at the popular cabaret "La Rose Rouge," in Saint Germain des Pres, which had become the hottest spot after it opened in September of 1948. They formed an excellent group, with a rhythm section which usually included a young Christian Chevallier on piano, bass player Alix Bret, and Bernard Planchenault, aka "Monsieur Tempo", the most appreciated drummer by French musicians at the time. It was then that Michel began to play baritone, which soon became his main instrument, in an effort to achieve a more modern sound and musical style. Tenor saxophonist André Ross and American trombonist Bill Tamper were also regular performers at" La Rose Rouge", where de Villers and Daly remained for six successful years.

In 1954 de Villers formed his Swingtet to record six sides for Ducretet-Thomson. It was a fine and relaxed quartet session in which he was joined by André Persiany on piano, "Popoff" on bass, and Planchenault on drums. On alto or on baritone, de Villers is better heard in this small-context, showing his maturity and continuity of conception. As always, he plays with lucid warmth, sensitivity and feeling in the ballads, but shows incisive drive on his own up tempo composition Fisher's Wife.

In 1955 he joined tenorist Guy Lafitte in a quintet with André Persiany that made the good nights at Trois Mailletz (56, rue Galande). This job lasted five years, during which Bill Coleman and clarinetist Albert Nicholas, were often featured as an attraction. At different points in time the group also included pianist Georges Arvanitas, and drummer Gerard "Dave" Pochonet.

Between 1950 and 1956, in addition to his own recordings as a leader, he also joined in numerous studio sessions as a sideman, mainly on baritone, in groups led by such French musicians as Geo Daly, André Persiany, Gerard "Dave" Pochonet, Bernard Zacharias, Guy Lafitte, Jean-Pierre Sasson, Jacques Dieval, Jean-Claude Pelletier, and Christian Garros.

Over the years, and thanks to his good work on alto saxophone, de Villers achieved considerable respect as a soloist, not only from the musical bohemians of Paris, but also from all the jazzmen in the city. However, it would be with his baritone, that he acquired greater notoriety, affirming himself as a soloist of international level.

On the last two orchestra sessions in this album, we can hear de Villers at his best on baritone. His enduring message is freely shouted here, swinging authoritatively with a muscular fullness of tone, but with the initial fierceness of his attack tempered by the cool influence, of

Bird first, and Mulligan later. And then the slower tunes, handled sensitively, evince his capacity for lyricism beyond his frantic facade.

His skills as a soloist and improviser earned him a place among the best European baritonists. This in turn, led to calls from American jazzmen who were on their way through Paris, such as Buck Clayton, Jonah Jones, Bill Coleman, Lucky Thompson, and even vocalist Jimmie Davis.

In the spring of 1957, without abandoning the baritone, he took his alto saxophone again, to play in the boppish style of Parker-Sonny Stitt. This surprised musicians and audiences who knew him dropped the alto for so long," de Villers said, "it's because it is hard to be a good soloist on two different instruments, one rubbing on the other. I can now play alto without fear that my style borrows too much from my baritone playing."

In addition to his work as a musician, Michel de Villers was also a savvy reviewer and longtime collaborator of Jazz Hot, writing answers for the section "Courrier des lecteurs." In the late 1950s, he began a new career as a disc jockey with two radio shows: "Dansez avec nous" on Sundays, and "Jazz Latitude 49", a program dedicated to French jazz that aired Tuesdays.

Michel de Villers died October 25, 1992 in Rouen, (Seine Maritime). He was a generous soloist and an accomplished composer, who remained one of the most solid individual voices of French jazz. On a purely jazz level, he embraced all styles, with a marked preference for modern jazz, but as he put it: "I get bored deeply when it does not swing." “                                                                                  —Jordi Pujol

Richie Kamuca - The Gordon Jack Interview

© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

In view of how little tenor saxophonist Richie Kamuca [1930-1977] recorded under his own name over the years, I was immensely fortunate to hear him play in performance on an almost weekly basis from about 1958 - 1964.

Of course, this observation is made in retrospect because like everyone else who directly experienced the West Coast Style of Jazz which was in vogue from in California from about 1945-1965, I assumed that the music would go on forever.

From 1958 to 1960, I was an habitué of the Lighthouse Cafe at 30 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, CA and although Bob Cooper was the resident tenor saxophonist, because Richie’s boyhood friend Stan Levey occupied the drum chair, bassist Howard Rumsey, who led the resident Lighthouse All-Stars, would often turn over the last set to Richie and a fabulous rhythm section made up of Victor Feldman on piano and Stan on drums, both members of the All-Stars, and a young bassist phenom, Scott LaFaro.

You can check out this group on the last two tracks of Joe Gordon and Scott LaFaro: West Coast Days [Fresh Sound FSCD 1030], recorded in performance, September, 1958.

A year later in, September, 1959, Richie, then a regular with drummer Shelly Manne’s quintet, would perform with Victor, who was subbing for Shelly regular pianist Russ Freeman on the classic 5 CD set that Shelly’s group recorded at the Blackhawk Cafe in San Francisco, CA [Contemporary, Original Jazz Classic CD OJCCD-656-660].  Needless to say, I wore out the original LP’s during repeated listenings and if you want to hear Richie at the peak of his powers, this is the set to get.

Shelly returned from the cozy atmosphere of the Blackhawk even more determined to open his own club which he did at 1608 N. Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood, CA in November of the following year.

Along with Conte Candoli on trumpet, Richie formed the front line of that band from about 1960-1962 and you can hear the exciting music this band made on a 2 CD set recorded in performance in 1961 and released on Contemporary as Shelly Manne and His Men at The Manne Hole Original Jazz Classics OJCCD 714/715-2]. If you look closely, you’ll find me garbed in a white polo shirt and blue slacks, seated in front of the bandstand with my chair turned around, staring at Shelly so I could pick up a few of his licks, fills and tricks. I caught the group every chance I could and was rarely disappointed in the quality of the band’s playing, especially Richie’s.

Oh, and while all this was going on, Richie was a member of vibraphonist Terry Gibbs’ Dream Band from about 1960-1963 which made regular “off night” [Monday night] appearances at club venues on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, CA.

Talk about a surfeit of riches - or should I say, Surfeit of Richies .

The editorial at JazzProfiles had planned to do a feature on Richie, but when it received word that Gordon Jack had done just that for JazzJournal magazine, we reached out to Gordon about posting his piece on Kamuca on the blog.

As many of you know, Gordon Jack is a frequent contributor to the Jazz Journal and a very generous friend to these pages in his allowance of JazzProfiles re-publishings of his excellent writings. He is the author of Fifties Jazz Talk An Oral Retrospective and he developed the Gerry Mulligan discography in Raymond Horricks’ book Gerry Mulligan’s Ark.

The following article was first published in Jazz Journal August 2017..

For more information and subscriptions please visit www.jazzjournal.co.uk

                                         

© -  Gordon Jack/JazzJournal; copyright protected, all rights reserved., used with permission.

                                                         

Richie Kamuca was already a stellar member of Woody Hernan’s Third Herd when he recorded Johnny Mandel’s Keester Parade with Cy Touff and Harry Edison in 1955. It became enormously popular and helped establish his reputation with jazz audiences especially when it was used as a theme by disc jockey Frank Evans on his Frankly Jazz Show on Mutual KHJ. In 1959 Marty Paich memorably transcribed Mandel’s chart for Mel Torme’ and the Mel-Tones on their Back In Town album (LoneHill Jazz LHJ10304). Keester was to undergo a name-change when Harry Edison performed it as Centerpiece in 1958 with Jimmy Forrest (Fresh Sound FSRCD 547-2). Just like Keester Parade, Centerpiece found favour with another vocal group when Lambert, Hendricks & Ross recorded it on their Giants Of Jazz release – The Hottest New Group In Jazz (CD 53127).

Kamuca was born in Philadelphia on 23 July, 1930. He studied at the celebrated Mastbaum Vocational High School where Red Rodney was a fellow student.  In 1951 he began working with Stan Levey’s quartet along with Red Garland and Nelson Boyd at the local Rendezvous Club. As the house-band they had to be highly adaptable backing non-jazz acts like Burl Ives as well as visiting singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Richie and Stan became very close over the years and Kamuca was Godfather to two of his sons. It was thanks to a recommendation from the drummer that Kamuca joined Stan Kenton on 26 August 1952 – the same day as Lee Konitz. The band was appearing at the Moonlite Gardens, Coney Island, Cincinnati at the time.

Two weeks after his debut Kamuca performed on Kenton’s New Concepts Of Artistry In Rhythm album recorded for Capitol Records in Chicago. The opening title is Stan’s ambitious This Is An Orchestra! which includes his verbal introduction to each band member who then solos briefly.  He highlights Kamuca’s ability to “Swing at the drop of a hat” which Richie ably demonstrates on his album features - Young Blood and Swing House. As Bill Holman said at the time, “Richie is a tried and true Lester Young person… with his own sound that nobody else had”.

During his early career with the band he did not get too many solo opportunities on studio dates but he makes an impressive contribution to Bill Russo’s chart on Fascinating Rhythm along with two of the band’s giants – Frank Rosolino and Lee Konitz.  I still have the L.P. with Alun Morgan’s sleeve-note pointing out that this was the 37th. take yet the performance retains the freshness of a first run-through. Live performances though  – well documented by Sounds Of Yester Year and Submarine – are replete with his contributions to Intermission Riff, It’s The Talk Of The Town, Eager Beaver, Too Marvellous For Words, Jump For Joe, The Big Chase, Royal Blue and Walkin’ Shoes.

Richie was a good looking young man and very popular with the girls who followed the band.  Michael Sparke in his authoritative biography of Stan Kenton reveals that Rosemary Clooney and Johnny Mathis were once in the audience, both clearly enamoured with him.  Andy Hamilton’s book on Lee Konitz points out that this probably occurred at the Blue Note in Chicago. Apparently Kamuca and Ms. Clooney eventually became an item for a while. Richie left Kenton soon after an engagement at Birdland in June 1953 and his place was taken by Zoot Sims. Count Basie apparently wanted him but there were union difficulties that prevented him joining the band.

Kamuca took over from Dave Madden with Woody Herman in October 1954 just as the band finished a two week engagement at the Hollywood Palladium.  Jack Nimitz who played baritone with Kenton and Herman told me in a JJ interview (December 1997) that the money was not as good with Herman. One of Woody’s road-managers - trumpeter John Bennett – put it more bluntly to writer William D. Clancy, “The pay was atrocious…you have to save up for these kind of gigs!”. Travelling between jobs was certainly not as comfortable either. Kenton had an air-conditioned band-bus but Woody’s musicians frequently travelled in four Ford Sedans even on road trips of 800 miles or more. Trumpeter Don Rader who joined the band in 1959 put it quite succinctly to Clancy - “To say that Woody was operating on a shoestring would be an understatement”. Herman’s music though was more straight ahead and swinging than Kenton’s with less emphasis on the experimental.

Richie is heard on a driving Captain Ahab (his favourite solo with the band) and Nat Pierce’s arrangement of Opus De Funk but the highlight of his time with Herman was when Woody took an octet into the Riviera Starlight Lounge in Las Vegas on 8 September, 1955. He only used five horns - Dick Collins and John Coppola (trumpet), Cy Touff (bass trumpet), Kamuca (tenor) and his own clarinet. The engagement lasted three months and after performing nightly from midnight to 6AM the band was really tight as can be heard on the Fresh Sound release that documents the octet’s repertoire. There is a little bow to Basie with numbers like Every Day I Have The Blues, 9.20 Special, Jumpin’ At The Woodside and Broadway which are all perfect fits for Kamuca’s Prez-like tenor. There is plenty of the leader’s clarinet to enjoy and his vocals on Every Day and Basin Street Blues are an added bonus.

Richie finally left the band around July 1956 soon after their appearance at The Lagoon in Salt Lake City, Utah. The venue was an amusement park that also booked bands with Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong all appearing there during the year. Incidentally, Leonard Feather once asked Herman which tenor players impressed him the most of the new generation and he replied, “Richie Kamuca and Bill Perkins”. After four years on the road he probably wanted a rest from travelling so he moved to Los Angeles where he was able to take advantage of all the recording opportunities there. These  were  the boom years for West Coast Jazz and his discography reads like a who’s-who of the Californian scene featuring albums with Bill Perkins, Marty Paich, Stan Levey, Chet Baker, Art Pepper, Maynard Ferguson, Bill Holman, Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Shorty Rogers and Shelly Manne. Living at 1032, North Pass Avenue, Burbank he quite soon became a Lighthouse All-Star and from time to time he returned to the Kenton fold whenever Stan had bookings on the west coast.

One particularly memorable date took place when Manny Albam came to town to record the second volume of his Jazz Greats Of Our Time in August 1957. (The first volume had been recorded four months earlier with the cream of the New York set – Art Farmer, Bob Brookmeyer, Phil Woods, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Gerry Mulligan). Richie more than holds his own with the superior company assembled by Manny Albam including Harry Edison, Jack Sheldon, Herb Geller, Bill Holman and Charlie Mariano. He is at his most poignant on the moody Afterthoughts and his exchanges with Bill Holman on It’s De-Lovely call to mind Al and Zoot at their best. Another album I frequently return to is Just Friends with his good friend Bill Perkins. The title track finds them opening with an unaccompanied chorus of contrapuntal interplay that sets the scene for one of their finest collaborations. In a 1958 Downbeat interview Perkins generously said, “Richie is a much better jazz player than I am…he possesses the most original combination of tonal quality and ideas of any tenor player around”.

Unlike many former Kenton and Herman musicians who had settled In California in the fifties, Kamuca made very few movie recordings. He does appear however in a lengthy scene with Red Norvo and Pete Candoli in the 1958 Kings Go Forth film starring Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood and Frank Sinatra.

In 1961 he performed with Terry Gibbs’ Dream Band at The Summit in Hollywood.  This was the band (with the great Joe Maini on lead alto) that had so impressed Bob Brookmeyer that he recruited Conte Candoli, Buddy Clark and Mel Lewis for Gerry Mulligan’s CJB. A little later he decided to move back east - not to his home-town of Philadelphia but to New York City where he lived at 780, Greenwich Street.  Gary McFarland soon recruited him for his new sextet along with trombonist Willie Dennis.  Richie introduced his oboe on the sextet’s only album and with Willie’s unique slide-work producing numerous overtones they created a distinctive ensemble sound. He often worked at the Half Note with Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Rushing, Jimmy Witherspoon and Roy Eldridge who was one of his favourite musicians.  In January 1964 he performed at Birdland with Mulligan’s CJB playing new material that the band unfortunately never recorded like Al Cohn’s Mama Flosie, Gary McFarland’s Kitch, Wayne Shorter’s Mama G and the standard, I Believe In You. That was the year he became a member of Merv Griffin’s TV Show Band which was a home-from-home for some prominent jazz musicians like Bill Berry, Bob Brookmeyer, Bill Byers, Dick Hafer, Art Davis, Jim Hall and Jake Hanna. He remained with the band when Griffin relocated to Los Angeles in 1971.

Until his death Kamuca remained active on the Los Angeles scene with Mundell Lowe, Bill Berry’s Big Band, the Frank Capp-Nat Pierce Juggernaut and a quintet he co-led with Blue Mitchell. One of his final recordings in February 1977 took place with Dave Frishberg for the Concord label. Dave of course is a consummate songwriter and one of the titles Dear Bix has Richie singing Frishberg’s charming hymn to the trumpeter. It is yet to be released on CD but it can be heard on YouTube. The lyric’s opening line makes it clear just what the trumpeter meant to the composer – “Bix old friend, are you ever going to comprehend you’re no ordinary, standard Bb [B flat] run-of-the-mill type guy”.

When it was discovered in early 1977 that he had cancer a benefit performance was given for him that included Steve Allen, Milt Jackson, Doc Severinsen and others. Towards the end, his good friend Stan Levey used to wheel him to the car and drive him to the beach where he could sit and watch the birds. Richie Kamuca died the day before his birthday on July 22, 1977.

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

As Leader

Cy Touff and Richie Kamuca Quintet Octet (Fresh Sound Records FSR 2237)

Richie Kamuca and Bill Holman: Jazz Erotica (Original Jazz Classics 1760)

Richie Kamuca Quartet (V.S.O.P. 17CD)

As Sideman

Stan Kenton: New Concepts Of Artistry In Rhythm (Capitol Jazz CDP 7 92865 2).

Woody Herman: His Octet & His Band (Fresh Sound FSR 2238).

Frank Rosolino Quintet (Tofrec TFCL-88920).

Bill Perkins:  Just Friends (Phono 870250).

Manny Albam: Jazz Greats Of Our Time Complete Recording (Lonehill Jazz LHJ10118).

Shelly Manne and His Men: Complete Live At The Black Hawk (American Jazz Classics 99009).

Terry Gibbs Dream Band: Main Stem Vol 4 (Contemporary CCD-7656-2).

Richie was often praised for the “appealing freshness" of his "tender ballad style." The following video shows off his affinity for ballads as he joins with Bill Holman perform on Bill's arrangement of The Things We Did Last Summer.