Big Pacific

Buddy Rich - The New One! (1967) {Pacific Jazz ‎724349450721 rel 1998}
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© 1967, 1998 Pacific Jazz / Capitol | 7243 4 94507 2 1
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Swing / Bop / Modern Big Band / Drums

Despite its title, this was actually the third album by Buddy Rich's still-new big band. The recording is taken from two different periods that, although only five months apart, find the band undergoing some major turnover; only six of the 15 sidemen are the same. With such players as altoist Ernie Watts, trumpeter Chuck Findley, and usually Jay Corre on tenor, this was a strong outfit. Most of the material (other than "Chicago" and "I Can't Get Started") was new; among the high points are "The Rotten Kid," "New Blues," and the complex "Diabolus."

Buddy Rich - Big Swing Face (1967) {Pacific Jazz CDP 7243 8 37989 2 6 rel 1996}
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© 1967, 1996 Pacific Jazz / Capitol Records | CDP 7243 8 37989 2 6
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Mainstream Jazz / Swing / Drums

This album came out a year after I'd caught Rich with Sinatra, a period when, above all, the great drummer wasn't afraid to swing! Beginning in 1968 Rich, like so many other jazz musicians, practically became paranoid of the walking-bass 4/4 swing pattern that had served everyone from Basie to Charlie Parker to Bill Evans so well. A pulse as fundamental to life as a heart beating or a lung breathing was no longer sufficiently "emphatic" to be heard, or understood, by the '60s generation. Rich tried to "connect" with the Beatles-Stones audience by going to a quasi-rock repertory along with the addition of electric bass. Fortunately, this phase lasted for only several years, and by 1974 Rich was once again validating the swing tradition of Basie, Goodman, Dorsey and his own roots.

Buddy Rich - Swingin' New Big Band (1966) {Pacific Jazz CDP 7243 8 35232 2 1 rel 1995}
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© 1966, 1995 Pacific Jazz / Capitol Records | CDP 7243 8 35232 2 1
Jazz / Bop / Modern Big Band / Mainstream Jazz / Swing

1966 was a most illogical time for anyone to try forming a new big band but Buddy Rich beat the odds. This CD reissues the first album by the Buddy Rich Orchestra, augmenting the original Lp program with nine previously unissued performances from the same sessions. The arrangements (eight by Oliver Nelson along with charts by Bill Holman, Phil Wilson, Jay Corre, Don Rader and others) swing, put the emphasis on the ensembles and primarily feature Corre's tenor although trumpeter Bobby Shew, altoist Pete Yellin, pianist John Bunch and guitarist Barry Zweig are also heard from.

Chet Baker - Chet Baker Big Band (1956) {Pacific Jazz CDP 0777 7 81201 2 4 rel 1993}
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© 1956, 1993 Pacific Jazz / Capitol | CDP 0777 7 81201 2 4
Jazz / Big Band / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

This highly enjoyable 1993 CD issue compiles the original six-song Chet Baker Sextet 10" EP as well as the Chet Baker Big Band 12" album. Although these two sessions were held more than two years apart, this was due primarily to an extended European tour during the intervening months and Baker's obvious unavailability stateside. Releasing an entire album under the moniker Chet Baker Big Band is a bit of a misnomer, as only the first four sides actually incorporate an 11-person configuration. The remaining tracks from the long-player feature a slightly smaller nonet configuration. Among the luminaries joining Baker (trumpet) and participating in the big-band arrangements are Art Pepper (alto sax), Bud Shank (alto sax), Phil Urso (tenor sax), and Bobby Timmons (piano).

Buddy Rich - Mercy, Mercy (1968) {Pacific Jazz ‎CDP854331 rel 1997}
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© 1968, 1997 Pacific Jazz / Capitol | CDP 7243 8 54331 2 2
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Mainstream Jazz / Bop / Drums

This CD reissue brings back the finest all-round recording by Buddy Rich's big band. The original version of "Channel 1 Suite" is a classic and contains tenor saxophonist Don Menza's most memorable solo, plus a couple of brilliant improvisations from the explosive drummer/leader. Another highlight is an inventive Phil Wilson arrangement of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," and even "Alfie" (a melodic feature for altoist Art Pepper) and "Ode to Billie Joe" come across well.

Clare Fischer Orchestra - Extension (1963) {Pacific Jazz PJ77 rel 2012}
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© 1963, 2012 Pacific Jazz Records / International Phonograph | PJ 77
Jazz / Modern Big Band / West Coast Jazz / Piano / Modern Arrangement

An early moment of genius from the young Clare Fischer – one of his first sets for a larger ensemble, and the start of years of great work to come! Previous Pacific Jazz sessions featured Fischer in a piano trio – but this album lets Clare loose on a host of his own inventive arrangements – a set of charts and compositions that easily move between the modern and the groovy – sometimes using offbeat tones and sounds that rival the best that Ellington or Gil Evans had to offer – other times coming across with this fluidity that's a perfect summation of the way that Fischer pulled together all of the California cool of the 50s, and managed to come up with something completely fresh for the 60s!

Gil Evans - The Complete Pacific Jazz Sessions (1958-59) {Blue Note Connoisseur CD Series rel 2006}
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© 1958-59, 2006 Blue Note / Capitol | 0946 3 58300 2 6
Jazz / Cool / Modern Big Band / Progressive Jazz

Gil Evans released two records on World Pacific in 1958 and 1959. They were among his earliest dates as a leader. Gil Evans & Ten was issued by Prestige in 1957, but these dates stand out more. New Bottle, Old Wine was the first of the pair and the band included four trumpets, a trio of trombones, French horn (played by Julius Watkins), a pair of tubas, Cannonball Adderley as the lone saxophonist, and a rhythm section that included either Philly Joe Jones or Art Blakey on drums, Paul Chambers on bass, and Chuck Wayne on guitar.