In the late 1980s, while I was visiting his record store in Columbia, SC, I asked Papa Jazz if he had any West Coast Jazz. He looked at me and just smiled. The first record he pulled out of his stacks was Shorty Rogers’ Chances Are It Swings, recorded in LA in 1959 on the RCA Victor label.
When he put it on the turntable, I was hooked – I loved that big band sound. Of course I didn’t know it at the time, but Bill Holman plays tenor saxophone on this Shorty Rogers album.
None of the musicians are credited on the back of the album. It wasn’t until many years later I was able to find out on the internet who played on it. Check out this band: Along with Bill Holman on tenor sax and of course Shorty Rogers on trumpet and fugelhorn, there is Conte and Pete Condoli, Al Porcino on supporting trumpets, Paul Horn and Bud Shank on clarinet, flute and alto sax, Richie Kamuca on tenor sax, Barney Kessel and Howard Roberts on guitars, Joe Mondragon on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums, to name a few.
However, that was not my real introduction to Bill Holman. That would take place nearly two decades earlier….
In the fog of my memory, I remember back to 1970 or so. I was probably eight or nine years old. I was driving in a station wagon with my mom and dad and sister, Juli. Also with us were my mom’s sister Val and sister-in-law Rita, who were in America visiting from London. It was sunset in the desert, and we were driving somewhere in the southwest between Flagstaff and Albuquerque. The car radio was playing Wedding Day Blues from The Fifth Dimension’s 1969 album Age of Aquarius. The song was written by Laura Nyro and hit #1 in the pop charts.
At that time in my life, I was known by my first name, Bill, rather than the later Tyler (it’s a long story). Listening to that song, I remember liking the lyrics, “Won’t you marry me Bill?” I guess the song plays on the mind of a kid far from home driving through the desert at sunset….
The interesting thing about this album is that the musical arrangements were by Bill Holman. In fact, for the song Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, he was nominated for a Grammy in 1970 for Best Arrangement for Vocalist or Instrumental. The song also won a Grammy for Record of the Year. As I look back at this album now, I notice that the band from this album had some early West Coast Jazz All-stars like drummer Larry Bunker and pianists Jimmy Rowles and Pete Jolly. This landmark album perhaps made Bill Holman most responsible for ushering in the Big Band genre to the 21st century.
When Bob Cooper left his band, Stan Kenton was looking for a replacement. After having worked previously with the Charlie Barnet big band, Stan Kenton hired young tenor saxophonist Bill Holman:
Before long, Holman became Kenton’s chief arranger. I think some of Kenton’s best music is from 1952 to 1955 when the two primary composers/arrangers were Bill Holman and William Russo. In particular, I like the swinging Holman arrangements for the 1953/54 Kenton band, which had among others the great Zoot Sims, Lee Konitz, Conte Condoli, Ernie Royal, Frank Rosolino, Sal Salvador, Don Bagley, and Stan Levey. Here’s that band playing the song Zoot, arranged by Holman and recorded at a live performance in Paris in September 1953:
Here’s that band again on a Capitol recording playing Holman’s arrangement Of All Things, recorded in March 1954. It features Lee Kontiz on alto:
However, as was the case with Pete Rugolo, I think Bill Holman’s best work came after he left the Kenton band after 1955, when he started recording and arranging for small groups on Capitol, Coral and the independent Andex labels.
The Andex record label was founded by John and Alex Siamas in LA in 1957. The brothers also founded the Keen label, which released the famous Sam Cooke 45rpm You Send Me.
Despite the success of this record, the Andex label was their most prolific label.
John Siamas was the president of Randall Engineering Company in Culver City and a very successful businessman in the aerospace industry. He started the label as a hobby. Located in LA, Andex released a lot of records using terrific West Coast Jazz musicians. Their second Jazz release was Mucho Calor: A Presentation of Latin Jazz by trumpeter Conte Candoli and alto saxophonist Art Pepper in an octet along with tenor saxophonist Bill Perkins, pianist Russ Freeman, bassist Ben Tucker, drummer Chuck Flores and percussionists Jack Costanzo and Mike Pacheko. Bill Holman arranged five songs on this album.
Their fourth Andex release was Bill Holman’s In A Jazz Orbit, released in 1958.
Here’s the Billy Strayhorn tune Kissing Bug with solos from Holman, Frank Roslino and Charlie Mariano. I love Mel lewis’ drumming on this album.
In 1962, Stan Kenton released Adventures In Jazz, which I think is one of Kenton’s better albums.
This album won a 1963 Grammy for Best Jazz Performance – large group (Instrumental). This band featured 22 musicians and a mellophonium section. The best song on the album is Bill Holman’s arrangement of Limehouse Blues, featuring a nice solo by alto sax Gabe Baltazar:
Here’s one more for the road, Swingin’ the Blues from The Wright Approach, arranged by Bill Holman and released in 1959 on the Andex label. This is nice album from a relatively unknown guitarist Dempsey Wright, featuring Richie Kamuca on tenor sax, Victor Feldman on piano and vibes, Ben Tucker on bass, and Stan Levey on drums:
Papa Jazz didn’t know it at the time, but way back then he was introducing me to Bill Holman, one of America’s greatest living composer/arrangers - a real American treasure.
As predicted, next week on that Big River called Jazz we’ll dig our paddles in the waters of William Russo. That would pretty much cover what I think are the three great arrangers who all started their careers in the Kenton band and then go on to even greater fame after they left his band….
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Until then, keep on walking….