"The Sound of Jazz" - December 8, 1957
Hailed as the finest jazz program ever aired, “The Sound of Jazz” was presented as the December 8, 1957 episode of the CBS series “The Seven Lively Arts”. Its premise was simplicity itself— rather than having a “music authority” spend an hour talking endlessly about the rich history of jazz, why not simply bring the musicians who created that history into the studio, and have them play?
And play they did, on that Sunday afternoon— Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Red Allen, Jimmie Rushing, Pee Wee Russell, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Jo Jones… a staggering assembly of talent. And representing the modern “cool” side of the genre were some faces perhaps less familiar to audiences in 1957, but equally well-known today: Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan and Jimmy Giuffre.
Amazingly, the actual live broadcast of the program has never been released. A tie-in “soundtrack” album of the program was subsequently issued in 1958, but as was the practice in those days, it was actually comprised of recordings made during rehearsal sessions for the program. Although marvelous in its own right (how could it not be?), it does miss the “edge” and spontaneity of the live broadcast. Perhaps nowhere is this more true that in Billie Holiday’s showcase number, “Fine and Mellow”, which saw her reunited with saxophonist Lester Young. Although ill and exhausted on the day of the show, Young mustered the energy to deliver a solo that matches Holiday’s vocal performance: alternately delicate and yearning, with a velvet sensuality that is unmatched to this day.
Contents:
1. Open All Night – Count Basie
2. Wild Man Blues – Red Allen
3. Rosetta – Red Allen
4. Blue Monk – Thelonious Monk
5. I Left My Baby – Count Basie, with Jimmy Rushing (vocal)
6. Dickie’s Dream – Count Basie
7. Fine and Mellow – Billie Holiday
8. The Train and the River – The Jimmy Giuffre 3
9. Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me – Pee Wee Russell & Jimmy Giuffre
And play they did, on that Sunday afternoon— Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Red Allen, Jimmie Rushing, Pee Wee Russell, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Jo Jones… a staggering assembly of talent. And representing the modern “cool” side of the genre were some faces perhaps less familiar to audiences in 1957, but equally well-known today: Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan and Jimmy Giuffre.
Amazingly, the actual live broadcast of the program has never been released. A tie-in “soundtrack” album of the program was subsequently issued in 1958, but as was the practice in those days, it was actually comprised of recordings made during rehearsal sessions for the program. Although marvelous in its own right (how could it not be?), it does miss the “edge” and spontaneity of the live broadcast. Perhaps nowhere is this more true that in Billie Holiday’s showcase number, “Fine and Mellow”, which saw her reunited with saxophonist Lester Young. Although ill and exhausted on the day of the show, Young mustered the energy to deliver a solo that matches Holiday’s vocal performance: alternately delicate and yearning, with a velvet sensuality that is unmatched to this day.
Contents:
1. Open All Night – Count Basie
2. Wild Man Blues – Red Allen
3. Rosetta – Red Allen
4. Blue Monk – Thelonious Monk
5. I Left My Baby – Count Basie, with Jimmy Rushing (vocal)
6. Dickie’s Dream – Count Basie
7. Fine and Mellow – Billie Holiday
8. The Train and the River – The Jimmy Giuffre 3
9. Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me – Pee Wee Russell & Jimmy Giuffre