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The Bud Shank Quartet returned to The Haig at the beginning of 1957. The Ad Lib column in the January 9, 1957, issue of Down Beat noted that Shank's return gave a boost to business. The same column mentioned that the Jimmy Giuffre Three spent a week at The Haig in December.
Jimmy Giuffre
Three; The Haig, Los Angeles
If
Gerry Mulligan's "new sound" of several years ago was the fortuitous
spur-of-the-moment consequence of a pianoless gig, the equally unconventional
sounds of the Jimmy Giuffre Three add up to an effect carefully planned,
deliberately conceived.
But it is a musically valid, ungimmicked end result—as was
Mulligan's —that Giuffre has created with an instrumentation of bass (Ralph Pena),
guitar (Jim Hall), and clarinet-tenor-baritone
(Giuffre).
All three have ample solo space in this format, but much of
the real excitement lies in the group interplay. What Giuffre and colleagues
achieve as a unit amounts to the most original jazz sound of the year—on the
west coast, at least.
At no time is there a melodic or rhythmic lag between
solos, and rarely is a soloist completely alone; there is usually a secondary
line being developed by another voice. During a Pena bass break, for example,
Giuffre's tenor or Hall's guitar may contribute little spurts of phrases, or
riff in unison, so that the total effect is of constant movement.
The Three's repertoire ranges from a quietly lovely Stella
by Starlight to fast, kicking Parker tunes like Half Nelson and Now's
the Time with baritone the dominant voice. A rubato Two Kinds of Blues finds
happy and melancholy moods explored with Hall waxing Spanish in his moody
solo. Pena's Quiet Cook is taken very up, with rapidly swinging bass
solo lines chased by a fast passage on clarinet above Hall's comping.
Hall, who has quickly developed into a truly outstanding
guitarist, seems to function more freely in this trio than in any other
previously heard context. His instrument sounds "liberated" and
serves as another horn. Whenever indicated, he is joyously contributing
punching chords on funky things like Rollins' Doxie. In Down Home he
riffs Christian-like behind a subdued clarinet in an afterbeat groove
drollishly in keeping with the tune's title.
A delightful touch is the discerning choice of Jimmy's own Four
Brothers as the trio's theme. Not only has this anthem become closely
identified with the composer-leader, but the arrangement for tenor-guitar-bass
is intriguing and attention-getting.
With a first Atlantic album just recorded and an extended
road tour in the offing, 1957 bids fair to be the year for Jimmy
Giuffre.
—tynan
The new owners of The Haig continued to purchase space in Down Beat's "Where To Go" column that noted the Art Pepper Quartet continued to appear at the club on Sunday from 4:00 to 9:00 and Tuesdays from 9:00 until 2 AM.
The next issue of Down Beat announced that Bud Shank would be leaving The Haig when his Jazz West Coast European tour commenced in the spring. Bob Cooper joined Shank on the tour that included Mrs. Cooper (June Christy) who took a brief detour for a concert in Cuba.
The February 6th "Where To Go" column in Down Beat confirmed the Bud Shank Quartet was still in residence but the off night on Tuesday with Art Pepper's group was no longer as the club was closed.
Don Prell, Claude, and Chuck Flores at a recording session.
Red Mitchell
Quartet
Personnel: Red Mitchell, bass; James Clay,
tenor; Lorraine Geller, piano; Billy Higgins, drums.
Reviewed: The Haig, Los Angeles; Zucca's
Cottage, Pasadena, Calif.
Musical Evaluation: In his newly
formed quartet, Mitchell has chosen for his front-line horn tenorman Clay, one
of the most discussed comparatively recent arrivals on the coast. Clay, 21,
hails from Dallas, Texas, and jobbed around town before working a recent stint
with the Jack Millman group. Potentially he is one of the major tenor players,
but at this point his biggest problems appear to be limited technique and a
lousy horn. These obstacles aside, however, Clay plays with such compelling
drive and ceaseless invention that one tends to overlook these relatively
minor weaknesses in favor of an impressively developing talent.
Clay's
treatment of ballads is nothing short of superb. Caressing yet assertive,
lyrical yet masculine, he breathes into Our Very Own a life and virility
that surely few approach. Again, on an untitled song by Mitchell he eloquently
demonstrates that this form is his forte. His tone is big, rough, and
unpolished, but what he has to say is something else.
As
leader, Mitchell is more than generous solo wise; as bass player he is the
group's heartbeat. On It's All Right with Me, for example his solo is an
object lesson in jazz expression on uptempo bass playing. In the rhythm section
he is a giant, compensating for the inexperience of Higgins who has yet to gain
confidence but who is a steady, tidy timekeeper.
Lorraine
Geller is a functional, articulate pianist who works out logically built solos
and comps with funk in the section. Occasionally, however, her solo lines tend
to get cluttered, but this is offset by a basically swinging conception manifested
particularly in her well-received version of The Man I
Love, the hit of that particular set.
The quartet has a good, varied book
with such arrangements as Horace Silver's Nica's Dream; Duke Jordan's Jordu;
Out of the Blue (changes of Get Happy), and an altered-blues original of
Clay's, Rainy Night, particularly notable.
On the latter,
incidentally, Clay reveals that his proficiency on flute is not of mere
second-instrument standing. With high-pitched, almost piping tone, he carries
to the flute the same drive and imagination that characterizes his tenor work.
Audience Reaction:
Generally favorable, particularly when Lorraine steps out to solo with bass
and drums.
Attitude of Performers: Onstand
behavior is exemplary, with Mitchell's announcements informative, brief, and
to the point.
Commercial
Potential: This is a hard - swinging jazz group and will go over best in rooms
adhering to such a policy. Clay's flute, moreover, lends necessary variety in
this commercial-minded music world.
Summary:
Given more time working together, Mitchell and company should turn out a
finished group of true jazz significance. At this point, Red is The Man, but
with a good horn and a deal of woodshedding, Clay's already important
contributions should assume even greater worth.
When I visited 638 South Kenmore back in the 1990s the parking garage entrance had a sign over it proclaiming Wilshire Square. Today google maps shows some colorful graphics over the entrance, times change.