HOWARD ROBERTS
Something's Cookin'/Goodies (Euphoria)
Whatever's Fair!/All-Time Great Instrumental Hits (Euphoria)
Jaunty-Jolly/Guilty!! (Euphoria)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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After serving his apprenticeship under the likes of Art Farmer and Bobby Troup and establishing a solid reputation in straight jazz circles, guitarist Howard Roberts made his way to the LA session scene, where he quickly established himself among the A-list players of the day. At his peak, Roberts was cutting over 3000 sides a year playing rock, jazz, commercials, film and TV soundtracks - any job in any genre. If he wasn't one of the best known guitarists by the general public, he was one of the most frequently heard, and undoubtedly one of the most capable.

At the same time that his usually uncredited guitar was gracing the recordings of so many others, Roberts was cutting a series of LPs on Capitol as a leader in his own right. These mainly mid-tempo collections of pop hits and jazz standards are easily lumped under the heading "cocktail jazz," the smooth jazz of the day. Although it can be used as sonic wallpaper, the music on these discs provides ample reward to the attentive listener as well. Roberts had a strong grounding in the blues, and no matter how mellow the mood, he know exactly how, where and when to hit the blues note that would provide just the right edge of tension in an arrangement. On top of that, the man simply couldn't avoid making everything he played swing.

Each of these Euphoria CDs contains two full LPs from Roberts' Capitol catalog, and each has its own charm. If I were to suggest one to start with, it would probably be Something's Cookin'/Goodies, for the top notch brass section that punctuates the Something's Cookin' tracks and the roster of sidemen on Goodies, including Carol Kaye, Hal Blaine, Shelly Manne, Pete Jolly, Tommy Tedesco and others. You really can't go wrong no matter where you start though, or by snatching up each and every one.

Track Lists:

Something's Cookin'/Goodies: Bluesette * A Hard Days Night * The Lonesome Cowboy * Frankie And What's His Name * Blues In The Night * Cute * In A Mellow Tone * Charade * Maniac * Recado Bossa Nova * Something's Cookin' * People * Love * Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) * Three O'Clock In The Morning * Marie * Girl Talk * Fly Me To The Moon * Goodies * More * I Know A Place * Summer Wind * Chim Chim Cher-ee

Whatever's Fair!/All-Time Great Instrumental Hits: The Shadow Of Your Smile * Sweet September * Pussy Cat * Whatever's Fair * This Is The Life * On A Clear Day You Can See Forever * I'll Only Miss Her When I Think Of Her * Manha De Carnaval * Michelle * A Taste Of Honey * Bye Bye Blues * It Was A Very Good Year * Soft Winds * Autumn Leaves * Theme From A Summer Place * Mr. Lucky * Comin' Home Baby * Danke Schoen * Work Song * Desafinado * The In Crowd * Misty

Jaunty-Jolly/Guilty!!: I Will Wait For You * So Nice (Summer Samba) * Winchester Cathedral * Sing No Blues * Theme From The Sand Pebbles * A Man And A Woman * Music To Watch Girls By * All * If She Walked Into My Life * The Face I Love * Mercy, Mercy, Mercy * Whatch What Happens * Ode To Billie Joe * Triste * Can't Take My Eyes Off You * The Look Of Love * Yellow Days * Walk Tall * You And I (Voce E Eu) * O Barquinto (Little Boat) * Wait Until Dark * Up, Up And Away

© 2001 - Shaun Dale