An appealing album that takes me back to those halcyon days when so much jazz was being played and recorded on America's west coast. Musicians such as Shelly Manne, Shorty Rogers, Lennie Niehaus, Howard Rumsey, Gerry Mulligan and many more, worked days in the film studios and played the jazz spots in the evening.
There was much innovation particularly in the use of instruments not generally seen in a jazz setting. Bob Cooper frequently recorded on oboe and at least once on cor anglais. I don't know if he ever dabbled on bassoon.
In more recent times one who has done more than dabble on bassoon is Frank Morelli. Frank has given the bigger of the three main double-reeded instruments a genuine jazz sound - and what a sound!. He shows a dexterity that defies the odds. In combination with Oxman's tenor they blow contrapuntal lines, feeding off each other the way Mulligan and Baker did in Mulligan's original pianoless quartet, as well as soloing individually to great effect. The boppy unison passages add to the enjoyment.
With piano, bass and drums - totally au fait with what's going on up front - providing cushioned support and a choice selection of GASbook gems, show tunes and a couple of classical compositions, this swings as cool as anything their predecessors at Laguna Beach laid down back in the day.
I want a bassoon for Christmas! Lance
Release date Nov. 20,
Cool; I Remember You; Tangerine; My Reverie; Come Sunday; Softly as in a Morning Sunrise; Sicilienne; Not Since Ninevah; And This is my Beloved; Modinha; Lover Come Back to Me; There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York
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