Michel Legrand • Legrand Jazz
 he 1950s were the heyday for jazz in New York City. In addition to
a bustling live-music scene in clubs such as Birdland, The Village Vanguard, The Five Spot
and The Half Note, several record labels, including Columbia, Blue Note, Prestige and
Riverside, released some of the most important and lasting jazz recordings ever. In late
June 1958, three different groups of hand-picked jazzmen were assembled at Columbia
Records' 30th Street studios to record new arrangements of jazz classics by French
composer, arranger, conductor and pianist Michel Legrand. Legrand Jazz was the
first foray into mainstream jazz by the then 26-year old, and what an effort it turned out
to be. Legrand's first album, I Love Paris, released four years earlier, became one
of the best-selling instrumental LPs ever. Legrand went on to become a prolific film-music
composer with over 200 scores to his credit, along with three Oscars, a Golden Globe and
five Grammys. He turns 85 this year, and Impex’s reissue of Legrand Jazz is a
timely tribute.
High points abound and feature a jazz all-star team. The album opens with Fats Waller’s "Jitterbug Waltz," the melody stated by Miles Davis’s languorous open horn. The song proceeds up-tempo with some manic ensemble work from the saxes before Davis takes a solo. Herbie Mann on flute follows Davis, then a Bird-like Phil Woods on alto sax. Next comes John Coltrane on tenor sax, giving a hint of what we will hear from him in the future. Bill Evans wraps it up with a boppish solo before a sudden drum break lays bare the cavernous acoustic space of Columbia's studio. And, just when you think the tune ends, Legrand tacks on a couple of measures of bass and drum, leading to a close --- one of several surprises awaiting the listener. "Nuages," a celebrated tune by the iconic guitarist Django Reinhardt, is up next, featuring some fine, closely scored writing for tuba and a trombone choir (and what a choir it is: Frank Rehak, Billy Byers, Jimmy Cleveland and Eddie Bert -- some of the best in the business). Herbie Mann’s flute doubles the melody carried by the trombones, with much underappreciated Hank Jones contributing some delicious piano fills. A brief trombone statement leads into a throaty Ben Webster tenor-sax solo before Hank Jones returns, taking the song out all too soon. Then Dizzy Gillespie’s "A Night In Tunisia" comes charging out of the gate, with some outstanding ensemble writing pitting the reeds against the brass ahead of Phil Woods’ fiery solo break. A trombone solo precedes the trumpet battle, the four horn men tossing lines back and forth as the saxes punctuate the proceedings with strong riffs. The song ends suddenly after the last trumpet. Count Basie’s ballad "Blue and Sentimental" serves as a vehicle for Ben Webster’s tough tenor sax, whose robust tone a friend described as being akin to "toothpaste being slowly squeezed out of its tube." An apt description, as Webster’s sax, bathed in reverb, smothers the melody, accompanied by a lone trombone. All of that happens on side one. Side two features more Miles, Coltrane, Webster and that trombone choir featured in sparklingly original arrangements of Louis Armstrong’s "Wild Man Blues," Earl Hines’ "Rosetta," an ethereal arrangement of Monk’s "’Round Midnight," Ellington’s "Don’t Get Around Much Anymore," and a zany, whimsical take on Bix Beiderbecke’s "In A Mist," the last few bars of which I’d love to see the chart for. The sound of this recording is to die for, bettering that of my six-eye original in every way. The ensembles are laid (and occasionally outside the boundaries of the speakers) in a panorama of sound from left to right, with ample separation between the reed, brass and rhythm sections. I could have done without some of the reverb attached to a few of the soloists, but this "enhancement" is on the original tapes, not added for the reissue. I’m convinced that what I am hearing is as close as possible to what was heard behind the glass at Columbia Studios. The record itself is a jewel. RTI has pressed a perfectly flat, dead-silent slab of 180-gram vinyl with nary a blemish on either side. The label is an almost perfect facsimile of the original red, white and black six-eye original. All that’s missing is the "deep groove" left by stampers of the particular type of record press used to produce the original over fifty years ago. The cover of the heavyweight gatefold jacket has a beautiful reproduction of the original color photo of a smiling Legrand on a Paris street corner. The back reproduces the original liner notes by Nat Shapiro above which are full session notes, including personnel. Inside are a series of photos of Legrand at work and the reissue credits. With this release, Impex has once again raised the bar
for archival reissues, resurrecting a classic that deserves to be considered along with
evergreens like Kind of Blue, A Love Supreme, Time Out, Getz/Gilberto
and Way Out West. The music is beyond reproach, performed by a who’s-who of
jazz musicians, and captured in close-to-perfect sound. There's much to admire and relish
here. |
