Manny Albam
put out a steady stream of compelling
progressive big-band
LPs in the 1950s and 1960s, though few of them have been reissued on CD. These 1957 sessions feature numerous so-called
West Coast jazz
players on the date (
Shelly Manne
,
Richie Kamuca
Conte Candoli
, and
Bill Holman
, among others), though "Trumpeter X," actually
Harry "Sweets" Edison
, is a notable exception.
Albam
's charts are consistently challenging to the musicians and there are plenty of great solos, far too many to list individually. If
Edison
's identity isn't apparent from the liner notes and the song title
"Sweet's-Bread,"
his two-chorus muted solo on that swinging track and the single chorus in his own
"Jive at Five"
will clear up any doubt. This long unavailable
Coral
LP will be extremely difficult to acquire. ~ Ken Dryden