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VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Contemporary Records Story (Contemporary)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
When Lester Koenig's career in the film industry was short circuited by the HUAC blacklist in 1951, he turned his full interest to the record business, where he'd made an early mark as the head trad jazz label, Good Time Jazz, in the late '40s. This time he turned his attention to the burgeoning LA jazz scene, a sideline for many of the musicians who were doing studio and soundtrack work around town. The establishment of Contemporary Records was a seminal event, allowing many of those musicians to turn full time attention to jazz as the new outlet for their recordings increased their visibility and demand in clubs and concert halls on the West Coast and beyond.
In many ways, in fact, the Contemporary Records story is the West Coast Jazz story. The label presented many of the biggest names in the West Coast school - including Shelly Manne, Hampton Hawes, Leroy Vinnegar, Shorty Rogers, Andre Previn, Barney Kessel, Red Mitchell and Art Pepper - in various combinations, helping to define the sound with the tight rhythm sections and breezy solos that were typical of so many Contemporary albums.
That was only part of the story, though. As the label's reputation for exceptional sound quality and Koenig's exceptional (for the record industry, particularly) business ethics grew, artists from outside the LA circle that originally formed around the Lighthouse in Hemosa Beach came aboard, Sonny Rollins being a notable example. Koenig was also willing to take a chance with a variety of sounds, as well, recording hard boppers alongside his West Coast 'cool' performers, and giving early opportunities to avant gardists like Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor.
It's all documented on this four disc set, which samples 36 years of Contemporary releases (the label remained independent until its sale to Fantasy in 1984). Many of the performances are favorites from albums which have been classics for decades, some are nearly forgotten gems rescued from the catalog by the Fantasy Records archivists. Every note of every track is worth owning, playing and celebrating.
This indispensable set is augmented by excellent commentary by LA Times contributor Richard S. Ginell, archival photography (including cover art from every album represented on the 57 tracks) and a full discography including session notes. While the lapse of independent labels is often lamented, it's hard to complain when the result is that an archive as valuable as the Contemporary Records catalog is treated as well as this. Fantasy should be as proud of this release as you will be pleased to own it.
Track List:
Disc One: Lighthouse All-Stars/Big Girl * Lighthouse All-Stars/Viva Zapata! * Shelly Manne & His Men/You And The Night And The Music * Barney Kessel/Lullaby Of Birdland * Lighthouse All- Stars/Bag's Groove * Lennie Niehaus Quintet/Day By Day * Shelly Manne "The Three"/Flip * Shelly Manne "The Two"/Billie's Bounce * Hampton Hawes Trio/The Champ * Hampton Hawes Trio/Blues The Most * Lyle Murphy/Blue Moon * Duane Tatro/Easy Terms * Shelly Manne & His Friends/Collard Greens And Black-Eyed Peas * Buddy Collette/Ruby * Shelly Manne & His Friends/I Could Have Danced All Night * Curtis Counce/A Fifth For Frank
Disc Two: Gerald Wiggins/Seranade In Blue * Art Pepper/All The Things You Are * Art Pepper/Star Eyes * Red Norvo/Paying The Dues Blues * Sonny Rollins/I'm An Old Cowhand * The Poll Winners/Jordu * Red Mitchell/Scrapple From The Apple * Benny Carter/Old Fashioned Love * Leroy Vinnegar/On The Sunny Side Of The Street * Benny Golson/Whisper Not * Andre Previn & His Pals/I Could Write A Book * Harold Land/Grooveyard * Victor Feldman/Serpent's Tooth * Ornette Coleman/Invisible
Disc Three: Hampton Hawes/Hip * Art Farmer/Stablemates * Cecil Taylor Quartet/African Violets * Andre Previn/Autumn In New York * Sonny Rollins/I've Told Every Little Star * Benny Carter/Someone To Watch Over Me * Helen Humes/Bill Bailey * Shelly Manne & His Men/Peter Gunn * Elmo Hope/Barfly * Bill Smith Quartet/Greensleeves * Art Pepper + Eleven/Airegin * Barney Kessel/Down Among The Sheltering Palms * Shelly Manne & His Men/Blue Daniel * Art Pepper/Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise * Teddy Edwards/The Sermon
Disc Four: Ben Webster/Stardust * Teddy Edwards/Misty * Howard McGhee/Summertime * Phineas Newborn, Jr./Oleo * Shelly Manne/Exodus * Woody Shaw/A Deed For Dolphy * Art Farmer/My Funny Valentine * Hampton Hawes/Morning * Art Farmer/Will You Still Be Mine? * Chico Freeman/Beyond The Rain * Ray Brown/Love Walked In * Art Pepper/Over The Rainbow
© 2004 - Shaun Dale