Shorty Rogers

Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on April 14 1924, Milton "Shorty" Rogers was an American jazz musician, and one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. He worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and Red Norvo. From 1947 to 1949, he worked extensively with Woody Herman and in 1950 and 1951 he played with Stan Kenton. Shorty Rogers only produced a couple more albums during the later 1960s, working largely as a sideman during this time. In the seventies he was equally quiet, and while there were a couple of stray releases in the 1980s, the records featured on this four CD set pretty much present the finest music this maverick musician and composer ever made. A superb starting point for those new to the great man’s records, and a delightful reminder for those already familiar, a collection of this magnitude is wholly overdue and this set will surely become the go-to source for fans everywhere.

Avid Jazz here presents four classic Shorty Rogers albums including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered double CD. "The Big Shorty Rogers Express" (1956) - here we find the famed arranger and trumpeter Shorty Rogers moving away from the small group format and into the big band field. Shorty and his fellow musicians Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Jimmy Giuffre, Marty Paich to name but a few, bring a fresh West Coast spirit to the traditional big band swing ethic!
"Shorty Rogers & His Giants" 1953 - Shorty is once again joined by many fine players including Milt Bernhart on trombone, Hampton Hawes on piano, John Grass on French horn alongside stalwarts Art Pepper, Jimmy Giuffre, and Shelly Manne for a combination of swing and small group numbers…

For this slightly unusual LP Shorty Rogers and Andre Previn split the arranging chores in a somewhat competitive fashion. Rogers arranges a standard and then that is followed by a Previn original based on the same chord structure. This procedure is followed until the halfway point of the date when they reverse roles. As performed by a nonet featuring Rogers' trumpet, Previn's piano, altoist Bud Shank, Bob Cooper on tenor, baritonist Jimmy Giuffre, trombonist Milt Bernhart and a rhythm section, the result is a dead heat with some fine swinging solos on tunes (and variations) of such songs as "It's DeLovely," "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" and "You Do Something To Me."

After having produced several reissues during the last fourteen years of some of the great albums Shorty Rogers made for RCA, it's now time to present one of the most valuable treasures that have remained unreleased in the RCA vaults. This album was entirely written by him, and conceived as a suite with the title of "An Invisible Orchard", and was possibly the most personal and ambitious project he ever put together. It was the last album he recorded for RCA, after having been associated with the label from 1953 to 1961, except for the year 1955 when he went to Atlantic as musical director. Unfortunately the policy of RCA at that time resulted in the recording being put on hold for commercial reasons. ..

Although somewhat overlooked in the jazz history books, vibraphonist Teddy Charles was for a period an important participant in the early Third Stream movement, using aspects of classical music to revitalize West Coast-style jazz. This CD reissue features trumpeter Shorty Rogers, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Giuffre, bassist Curtis Counce and drummer Shelly Manne on a couple of advanced originals (one apiece by Giuffre and Rogers) from 1953. After moving to New York, Charles teamed up for a short time with bassist Charles Mingus, performing six other numbers in a quartet with tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose and drummer Gerry Segal. This session alternates cookers with sensitive ballads and is one of the better recorded showcases for Charles' vibes.

Shorty Rogers - West Coast Sounds: Shorty Rogers and His Orchestra, featuring the Giants 1950-1956 (2006) {Fresh Sound Records}
XLD rip | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 808 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 347 Mb
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© 1950-56, 2006 Capitol / RCA / Fresh Sound Records | FSR 2231
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

This 2-CD set truly demonstrates what was defined as the "West Coast style of jazz" but, in fact, was the Shorty Rogers style. We can hear arrangements of a loose variety, played by the most outstanding group of musicians of the Los Angeles jazz scene. The music presented here is a major example of Shorty Rogers' great talent, and a milestone in the orchestral idiom of modern jazz. Shorty's writing and playing were a pretty honest reflection of his own personality. If there was ever an individual to be selected as the head of the West Coast school, it definitely would have been Shorty Rogers.

Mavis Rivers & Shorty Rogers - Mavis Meets Shorty (1962) {2014 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27933}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 208 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 71 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 119 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1962, 2014 Reprise / WEA / Warner Japan | WPCR-27933 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Cool / Trumpet

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Mavis Rivers meets Shorty Rogers – and the result is a hell of a swinging session that may well be the greatest record ever from this overlooked vocalist! Shorty brings a groove into play right from the start – one that pushes Rivers past her sometimes-trilling style, and into a mode that's rock-solid and soulful all the way through – very much in the same spirit that Marty Paich or Oliver Nelson might bring to their own great arrangements for a singer.

Shorty Rogers - You Shorty, Me Tarzan! (1959) {MGM–Giant Steps GSCR032 rel 2010}
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© 1956-59, 2010 MGM / Giant Steps Records / Cherry Red Records | GSCR 032
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Stage & Screen / Trumpet

Assembled is the rare percussive soundtrack to Tarzan the Ape Man that featured the likes of Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Frank Rosolino and other famed West Coasters. Said Shorty: "At first, I was slightly apprehensive when MGM approached me to write and record the soundtrack for a Tarzan movie, but I needn't have concerned myself. They just said, make it exciting with plenty of drumming, and left me alone to get on with it. So I approached it as if I was really making a new Giants album, which is what it really was. I don't want to sound discourteous, but the album we made was much better that the actual movie". Also included is an equally rare 'live' appearance by the Big Band version of the Giants from an appearance on the TV show the Stars of Jazz.

Shorty Rogers - The Fourth Dimension In Sound (1961) {2014 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27927}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 218 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 132 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1961, 2014 WEA / Warner Japan | WPCR-27927 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / Trumpet

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. A really unique little chapter in the career of Shorty Rogers – and a near-lost record that's one of his best from the 60s! As you might guess from the title, the set was recorded as a sort of "stereo dynamics" album – post-bachelor pad, but in a mode that was very concerned with the overall sound qualities as much as the actual music. But the setting turned out to be a really great thing for Shorty, as it encouraged him to open up with his arrangements, and push the group into territory that you wouldn't hear on his 50s albums!

Shorty Rogers - Courts The Count (1954) {2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICP 4272}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 251 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 94 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 338 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954, 2014 RCA / Sony Music Japan | SICP 4272 | Mono
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

Reissue with latest remastering. Comes with liner notes. Shorty Rogers courts Count Basie – but he does so in a way that's definitely all his own! The material may have Basie roots, but the overall execution is Shorty at his early 50s best – in a way that makes the album one of his strongest for RCA at the time – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given the great run of records! The lineup is filled with well-chosen players who fall together wonderfully under Shorty's leadership – Buck Clayton, Pete Candoli, and Harry Edison on trumpets – and reed work from Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Cooper, and Bud Shank. The set swings with all the power of the Basie band, yet has all the wonderful arrangements we love from Rogers – and titles include "Basie Eyes", "Doggin Around", "Jump For Me", "Over & Out", and "Walk, Don't Run".