Session Horns

The first of the famous Buck Clayton jam sessions, the exciting music on this long out-of-print LP has been reissued as part of a Mosaic box set. Two songs ("Sentimental Journey" and "Moten Swing") are from a December 1953 session in which the trumpeter/leader is teamed with trumpeter Joe Newman, trombonists Urbie Green and Benny Powell, altoist Lem Davis, Julian Dash on tenor, baritonist Charlie Fowlkes, pianist Sir Charles Thompson, guitarist Freddie Green, bassist Walter Page and drummer Jo Jones. However it is "How Hi the Fi" (cut along with "Blue Moon" on March 31, 1954) that is most memorable…

Russ Garcia was a popular arranger in the mid-'50s, often working with some of the best jazz artists of the day. On this session for Bethlehem, he conducts an octet with four trombonists (including Maynard Ferguson, Frank Rosolino, Herbie Harper and Tommy Pederson), plus baritone saxophonist Dick Houlgate, pianist Marty Paich, bassist Red Mitchell and drummer Stan Levey. Most of Garcia's cool arrangements are of standards, while his "I'll Never Forget What's Her Name (The Lo-est)" is a barely disguised reworking of the chord changes to "Fine and Dandy." Obviously, the trombonists are the primary focus of the solos, though Paich, Houlgate and Mitchell get a chance to get in a few licks of their own. Garcia's use of a trombone choir is very effective in the warm treatment of "Lush Life" and a cooking "What Is This Thing Called Love."

Mosaic Select is a jazz reissue series of numbered limited-edition releases that focus on an artist's important but neglected work in a 3 CD set.
This most recent addition to Mosaic's limited edition Select series bundles five early Weston releases from 1957-63, plus half an hour of unreleased material and one piece from a Roulette sampler.