[MRL 364] Various Artists - Yesterday

Originally issued as M56025



Also issued 1974 as one of the 2xLP set Helen Merrill Mixes MRL 804/MSTD 101



1991 resissue as MDCD 722



Personnel

Diaper Pin, As I Live In Bop, Interlude In Bop
Stan Getz - tenor
Jimmy Raney - guitar
Al Haig - piano
Clyde Lombardi - bass
Charlie Perry - drums

Recorded NYC, October 25 & 26, 1948


Stoned
Wardell Gray - tenor
Al Haig - piano
Clyde Lombardi - bass
Charlie Perry - drums

Recorded NYC sometime 1948-49


In A Little Spanish Town, Talk A Little Bop
Jimmy Raney, Terry Swope - vocals
Al Haig - piano
Don Russo - bass
Charlie Perry - drums

Recorded as Al Haig Quintet NYC sometime 1948-49


Sleepy Time Gal, Birdland Jump
Paul Quinichette - tenor
Freddie Green - guitar
Kenny Drew - piano
Gene Rainey - bass
Gus Johnson, Jr. - drums

Recorded NYC December 1952



Hot Halavah, In The Merry Land Of Bop
Dave Lambert, Buddy Stewart, Blossom Dearie - vocals
Allen Eager - tenor
Gerry Mulligan - baritone sax
Benny Green - trombone
Al Haig - piano
Clyde Lombardi - bass
Charlie Perry - drums

Recorded as Al Haig Sextet NYC May 1948

Many tracks were also issued by Shad on his Jade and Jax imprints and some were also released on long-time Shad associate Frank Abramson's Dale Records. Recording session info taken from jazzdisco.org. According to them, the Quinichette songs were recorded for Jax at the end of '52, the year during which Sittin' In With was shuttered by Shad and his brother Mort.

Tracks

1. Diaper Pin
2. Interlude In Bebop
3. Hot Halavah
4. Birdland Jump
5. In A Little Spanish Town
6. As I Live In Bop
7. Talk A Little Bop
8. Sleepy Time Gal
9. In The Merry Land Of Bop
10. Stoned



Liner Notes
c/o Gerry Mulligan Recordings

An expression that is no longer heard is "bop" or "bebop". It was the beginning of a new form of Jazz, a radical change from the Swing and Jazz school. It eventually evolved into other forms which were called progressive, cool jazz, and various other titles. The emergence of "bop" can be likened to the growth of contemporary music. Composers like Varese, Cage, Ives were looked upon as untouchables until continuous performances of these composers' works through the years have worn down the resistance of the masses to a point where their music has gained some acceptance. Composers of contemporary classical music are finding their compositions part of the repertoire of the leading symphony orchestras. This has also led to a whole new school of contemporary composers headed by Earle Brown, Luigi Nono, Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

"Bebop" met with critical denunciation and was extremely controversial, like any new form of art or music whose basic elements and concepts go against the grain of the stereotyped. In fact, a station in Los Angeles, KMPC, banned "bop" and Time magazine assaulted it calling "bop" "over-heated Jazz, with overdone lyrics full of bawdiness, references to narcotics and doubletalk." There were though the intelligent, gifted musicians whose constant search for new sounds and insatiable thirst for originality made them pioneers.

Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Lennie Tristano were a few of the names who helped originate music in the "bop" idiom in the early '40's. It reached its apex around the late '40's when the banal imitators buried it. The late '40's saw the emergence of creative talents like Stan Getz, Paul Quinichette, Warden Gray, Gerry Mulligan, Buddy Stewart, Dave Lambert and Jimmy Raney. This album is a "look at yesterday" and some of the recordings, especially those by Getz and Quinichette, sound as if they were made for today's market. All the recordings in this album were originally on the Sittin' In label, a label whose name was based on the Chu Berry tune.

The Stan Getz sides were recorded in 1948 and the side "DIAPER PIN" was one of Stan's biggest records. The other two sides "AS I LIVE IN BOP" and "INTERLUDE IN BEBOP" adhere to the belief that Stan was ahead of his time. His single line duet with Jimmy Raney was characteristic of the early "bop" idiom. The rhythm section, which consisted of Al Haig on piano, Clyde Lombardi, bass and Charlie Perry on drums, was on most of the "bop" recordings of the late '40's.

"HOT HALAVAH" and "IN THE MERRY LAND OF BOP" featured the voices of Buddy Stewart and Dave Lambert with Blossom Dearie joining Buddy and Dave on "HOT HALAVAH." Both sides feature solos by Benny Green and Allen Eager with Gerry Mulligan, who arranged "HOT HALAVAH," performing on the ensembles. Jimmy Raney and Terry Swope, in the tradition of Jackie Kane and Roy Kral, make a harmonious blend in "TALK A LITTLE BOP" and "IN A LITTLE SPANISH TOWN." Jimmy supplies the articulate guitar which reminds the listener of Charlie Christian. Another influential tenor man in the style of Stan Getz and Allen Eager was Wardell Gray. His performance on "STONED" shows a crisp tone supported by taste and a fertive gift for improvisation. Paul Quinichette had his own unique style which was incisive and definite. There is no denying that Paul was influenced by Lester Young. "BIRDLAND JUMP" and "SLEEPY TIME GAL" are excellent examples of Paul's mature playing. The imaginative backing was by Gene Rainey, bass; Freddie Green, guitar; Kenny Drew, piano and Gus Johnson, Jr., drums. "A LOOK AT YESTERDAY" reflects the "Bop Era" of the late '40's. It points out the uphill struggle that these dedicated musicians were facing in gaining recognition for this new style of music. The playing may be a little ragged in spots, but one must remember that these musicians were still trying to tell and convince themselves.