Year: 2005
Time: 67:15
File: MP3 @ 128K/s
Size: 62,5 MB
Art: Front
(5:21) 1. Captain Perfect
(5:08) 2. Just Feelin' So Blue
(7:10) 3. Trollin' For Thadpoles
(9:05) 4. Lookin' For The Back Door
(4:27) 5. Samba De Elencia
(9:35) 6. Brief Encounter
(7:29) 7. Ballad For Gary
(7:16) 8. A Final Farewell
(5:18) 9. A Pair of Threes
(6:22) 10. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
You may not realize it, but if you have a TV, you've heard Alf Clausen's music many times before this. The two-time Emmy winner composed the music for Moonlighting, The Critic, ALF (no relation), Bette, Police Story, and many other TV series, served as musical director for numerous variety shows, and for the past 15 years has been the composer and songwriter on The Simpsons. But now, for the first time, Alf is presenting the music that is his first love.
"I've loved big band music since I was in my late teens living in North Dakota," he recalls. "It had a very strong allure. I ended up attending the Berklee College in Boston to learn the craft necessary to become a professional big band arranger. After graduation, my quest for 'gainful employment' dictated that I was going to have to move to either New York or Los Angeles. So, in 1967, I chose Los Angeles. It was a fortuitous move because many of the television shows were moving to the West Coast at that time, so there was a lot of work for arrangers out here.
"I couldn't specialize in big band music exclusively and still support a family, so I broadened my horizons and concentrated on writing music for television and film. I never lost my love for big band music; I just put it aside for the moment. That 'moment,' unfortunately, turned out to be quite a few years.
"In my early days I wrote a lot of original charts for bands and was fortunate enough to have some of them recorded by Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton and Ray Charles. But I always wanted to present my own take on my music with a select group of jazz musicians." And this group is very select, a collection of first call studio regulars, gifted jazz players who don't get the chance to play much jazz in their day-to-day gigs. "Quite a few of them are guys who have been playing in my studio orchestra for more than 25 years," Alf points out. "And I think they just played their livin' hearts out!"
The opening track, Captain Perfect, pays homage to one of Alf's arranger-composer heroes, the late Thad Jones. The soprano saxophone lead is a very 'Jonesian' trait, as is the judicious use of dynamics. "That's what I always loved about Thad and Mel's band," he comments. "It never overplayed. It was all so musical." The soloists are Bob Summers on muted trumpet and Dan Higgins on soprano saxophone, and you can't help but be struck by the strong lead trumpet of Gary Grant. "Gary and I have been working together," Alf recalls, "since I was musical director for The Donny and Marie Show back in 1976."
Alf's melancholy ballad, Just Feelin' So Blue, which was once recorded by Woody Herman, serves here as a showcase for the sensuous alto saxophone of Brian Scanlon. "I was trying to write a ballad that was somewhat reminiscent of the Duke Ellington band,' he explains, "one that would have some fairly angular melodic turns to it. I always loved Duke's ballads, 'Prelude to a Kiss' and 'Sophisticated Lady' and all those beautiful Ellington-Billy Strayhorn tunes."
The inspiration for Trollin' for Thadpoles is quite obvious both from the title and the writing. Alf's tricky unison theme draws upon his hero's love of timbre and tone color, as all five trumpeters use different mutes, and all five woodwind players play different instruments - including piccolo! There is a terrific solo line-up - Andy Martin on trombone, Bob Summers on trumpet, Bob Sheppard on tenor sax, Mike Lang on piano, and, dominating the powerful coda, Bernie Dresel's drums as well as a meticulously played, soprano-led saxophone soli chorus. More.....https://www.jazzbob.com/notes.php?id=14
Personnel: Acoustic Bass – Ken Wild; Alto Saxophone – Brian Scanlon, Dan Higgins; Baritone Saxophone – Bob Efford; Bass Clarinet – Bob Efford; Bass Trombone – Alan Kaplan; Clarinet – Bob Sheppard, Terry Harrington; Drums – Bernie Dresel; Flugelhorn – Bob Summers (3), Charley Davis, Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Warren Luening; Flute – Bob Efford, Bob Sheppard, Brian Scanlon, Dan Higgins, Terry Harrington; Piano – Mike Lang; Piccolo Flute – Dan Higgins; Producer – Alf Clausen; Soprano Saxophone – Brian Scanlon, Dan Higgins; Tenor Saxophone – Bob Sheppard, Terry Harrington; Trombone – Andy Martin, Bob McChesney, Bob Payne; Trumpet – Bob Summers, Charley Davis, Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Warren Luening
"I've loved big band music since I was in my late teens living in North Dakota," he recalls. "It had a very strong allure. I ended up attending the Berklee College in Boston to learn the craft necessary to become a professional big band arranger. After graduation, my quest for 'gainful employment' dictated that I was going to have to move to either New York or Los Angeles. So, in 1967, I chose Los Angeles. It was a fortuitous move because many of the television shows were moving to the West Coast at that time, so there was a lot of work for arrangers out here.
"I couldn't specialize in big band music exclusively and still support a family, so I broadened my horizons and concentrated on writing music for television and film. I never lost my love for big band music; I just put it aside for the moment. That 'moment,' unfortunately, turned out to be quite a few years.
"In my early days I wrote a lot of original charts for bands and was fortunate enough to have some of them recorded by Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton and Ray Charles. But I always wanted to present my own take on my music with a select group of jazz musicians." And this group is very select, a collection of first call studio regulars, gifted jazz players who don't get the chance to play much jazz in their day-to-day gigs. "Quite a few of them are guys who have been playing in my studio orchestra for more than 25 years," Alf points out. "And I think they just played their livin' hearts out!"
The opening track, Captain Perfect, pays homage to one of Alf's arranger-composer heroes, the late Thad Jones. The soprano saxophone lead is a very 'Jonesian' trait, as is the judicious use of dynamics. "That's what I always loved about Thad and Mel's band," he comments. "It never overplayed. It was all so musical." The soloists are Bob Summers on muted trumpet and Dan Higgins on soprano saxophone, and you can't help but be struck by the strong lead trumpet of Gary Grant. "Gary and I have been working together," Alf recalls, "since I was musical director for The Donny and Marie Show back in 1976."
Alf's melancholy ballad, Just Feelin' So Blue, which was once recorded by Woody Herman, serves here as a showcase for the sensuous alto saxophone of Brian Scanlon. "I was trying to write a ballad that was somewhat reminiscent of the Duke Ellington band,' he explains, "one that would have some fairly angular melodic turns to it. I always loved Duke's ballads, 'Prelude to a Kiss' and 'Sophisticated Lady' and all those beautiful Ellington-Billy Strayhorn tunes."
The inspiration for Trollin' for Thadpoles is quite obvious both from the title and the writing. Alf's tricky unison theme draws upon his hero's love of timbre and tone color, as all five trumpeters use different mutes, and all five woodwind players play different instruments - including piccolo! There is a terrific solo line-up - Andy Martin on trombone, Bob Summers on trumpet, Bob Sheppard on tenor sax, Mike Lang on piano, and, dominating the powerful coda, Bernie Dresel's drums as well as a meticulously played, soprano-led saxophone soli chorus. More.....https://www.jazzbob.com/notes.php?id=14
Personnel: Acoustic Bass – Ken Wild; Alto Saxophone – Brian Scanlon, Dan Higgins; Baritone Saxophone – Bob Efford; Bass Clarinet – Bob Efford; Bass Trombone – Alan Kaplan; Clarinet – Bob Sheppard, Terry Harrington; Drums – Bernie Dresel; Flugelhorn – Bob Summers (3), Charley Davis, Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Warren Luening; Flute – Bob Efford, Bob Sheppard, Brian Scanlon, Dan Higgins, Terry Harrington; Piano – Mike Lang; Piccolo Flute – Dan Higgins; Producer – Alf Clausen; Soprano Saxophone – Brian Scanlon, Dan Higgins; Tenor Saxophone – Bob Sheppard, Terry Harrington; Trombone – Andy Martin, Bob McChesney, Bob Payne; Trumpet – Bob Summers, Charley Davis, Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Warren Luening
Swing Can Really Hang You Up the Most
