Chico Hamilton Quintet - Chico Hamilton Quintet (2017)

Chico Hamilton Quintet Featuring Buddy Collette is not drummer Chico Hamilton’s debut, but it is the first recording to present his famous quintet and its signature west coast “chamber jazz” sound. In the 1950s the term denoted jazz with a marked influence of classical chamber music written for small ensembles; today it is often applied to music closer to art pop and new age.

The record feels patched together: half the material is believed to come from one studio session and half from a live date, and noticeable differences in sound quality suggest further sources. The studio pieces are intricately arranged chamber works, while the live ones are relaxed west coast hard bop with an easy swing.

The opener, “A Nice Day,” sets the chamber tone: cello and clarinet lines are carefully woven, solos are concise, and the arrangement is the main point. About four tracks sound like this. The rest, recorded in a club, are mellow jams with sparse arrangements and plenty of room for guitar and saxophone solos; cellist Fred Katz, if he plays on them at all, is barely audible. The studio cut “Blue Sands” is an “exotic” number that foreshadows Hamilton’s turn toward world fusion in the 1960s, but the recording is murky and seems made elsewhere. The live “Free Form” is an odd experiment, not free jazz but an improvised piece in the spirit of modern classical music; it partly works but sits awkwardly beside the mellow west coast bop.

The album is decent and will appeal to fans of Hamilton and creative 1950s west coast jazz, but it is not the place to start with him.

Tracklist:
1. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - A Nice Day (Remastered 1997)
2. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - My Funny Valentine
3. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - Blue Sands
4. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - The Sage (Remastered 1997)
5. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - The Morning After (Remastered 1997)
6. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - I Want To Be Happy (Live/1955 / Remastered 1997)
7. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - Spectacular (Live/1955 / Remastered 1997)
8. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - Free Form (Live/1955 / Remastered 1997)
9. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - Walking Carson Blues (Live/1955 / Remastered 1997)
10. Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton Quintet - Buddy Boo (Live/1955 / Remastered 1997)