Shorty Rogers And His Giants - Shorty Rogers and His Giants (2008)

Trumpeter, composer and arranger Shorty Rogers recorded an album with his group His Giants, released by RCA Victor in 1953 as a 10-inch LP and reissued in 1956 in the 12-inch format with four additional tracks. The sessions took place at RCA Studios in Hollywood on January 12 and 15, 1953, while the material for the bonus tracks was recorded on October 10, 1954; the producer was Jack Lewis.

The nonet’s music is in the cool jazz idiom and is close in spirit and orchestration to Miles Davis’s “Birth of the Cool”: the same unusual jazz voices, French horn and tuba. That album was recorded three years earlier but released four years later, and is regarded as considerably more successful. AllMusic gave this record three stars.

Most of the material was written by Rogers himself (“Morpo,” “Bunny,” “Powder Puff,” “Mambo del Crow,” “Joycycle,” “Diablo’s Dance,” “Pirouette”); also performed are Jimmy Giuffre’s “Indian Club” and Al Cohn’s “The Goof and I.” The bonus tracks of the 12-inch edition are “The Lady Is a Tramp” by Rodgers and Hart, Giuffre’s “The Pesky Serpent,” and Charlie Parker’s “My Little Suede Shoes.”

Alto Saxophone – Art Salt (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Arranged By, Conductor, Trumpet – Shorty Rogers
Bass – Curtis Counce (tracks: A5, A6, B5, B6), Joe Mondragon (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Drums – Shelly Manne
French Horn – Johnny Graas* (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Piano – Hampton Hawes (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4), Pete Jolly (tracks: A5, A6, B5, B6)
Tenor Saxophone – Jimmy Giuffre
Trombone – Milt Bernhart (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Tuba – Gene Englund (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Written-By – Shorty Rogers (tracks: A1 to A5, B2, B3)

Tracklist:
1. Shorty Rogers - Morpo
2. Shorty Rogers - Bunny
3. Shorty Rogers - Powder Puff
4. Shorty Rogers - Mambo del Crow
5. Shorty Rogers - Joycycle
6. Shorty Rogers - The Lady Is a Tramp
7. Shorty Rogers - The Pesky Serpent
8. Shorty Rogers - Diablo's Dance
9. Shorty Rogers - Pirouette
10. Shorty Rogers - Indian Club
11. Shorty Rogers - The Goof and I
12. Shorty Rogers - My Little Suede Shoes