Shelly Manne - Yesterdays (2019) [Hi-Res]

Shelly Manne and Norman Granz are two names that one doesn't hear in the same sentence very often. Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic tours tended to have a lot of flashy solos, and Manne wasn't about flashiness; he was a subtle drummer who knew the value of economy. Nonetheless, Granz admired Manne's playing -- and even though Manne had reservations about taking part in J.A.T.P., Granz managed to persuade him to join J.A.T.P. on a tour of Europe in 1960. Recorded in Zurich, Switzerland, and Copenhagen, Denmark, Yesterdays finds Manne leading a diverse yet cohesive quintet that also includes trumpeter Joe Gordon, tenor saxophonist Richie Kamuca, pianist Russ Freeman, and bassist Monty Budwig. The performances on this CD went unreleased for 43 years, but in 2003, they finally saw the light of day when Fantasy released them on Granz's Pablo label. Although Manne made many valuable contributions to cool jazz, he didn't play with cool musicians exclusively -- unlike many of the New York jazz critics who loved to bash cool jazz in the '50s and '60s, he wasn't a narrow-minded dogmatist. Manne was smart enough to realize that cool jazz and hard bop were equally valid areas of the house that Charlie Parker built; as a result, he saw no reason why a cool-toned, Lester Young-influenced improviser like Kamuca couldn't have a rapport with Gordon (a big-toned trumpeter along the lines of Clifford Brown and Fats Navarro). In fact, Manne and his colleagues have no problem finding common ground on standards that include "Poinciana," Milt Jackson's "Bags' Groove," and Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser." Although enjoyable, Yesterdays isn't as essential as other Manne discs that were recorded in the early '60s; nonetheless, the drummer's more devoted fans will welcome the arrival of these previously unreleased performances. ~ Alex Henderson