JAZZ SCENE USA

In 1962, half-hour episodes of Jazz Scene USA, an intelligent program hosted by Oscar Brown, Jr., were shown on some television channels before passing into history as a legendary series. Shanachie has released eight of the shows on four video tapes. This particular one features two West Coast jazz groups at what was the tail end of the cool jazz era. Drummer Shelly Manne's quintet was particularly strong, since it was comprised of trumpeter Conte Candoli, Rickie Kamuca on tenor, pianist Russ Freeman, and bassist Monty Budwig. Although the material it performs ("Speak Low," a Freeman original, and two songs from the forgotten series Checkmate) is not all that memorable, it is fun to see these players perform together. Flügelhornist Shorty Rogers, who would soon retire from active playing for a long time to concentrate on writing, heads a quintet with the tenor of Gary LeFebvre and a strong rhythm section (pianist Lou Levy, bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Larry Bunker). Their repertoire is more imaginative: "Greensleeves," "Time Was," LeFebvre's "The Outsider," and the near-classic "Martians Go Home." Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow|