Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne & His Men At The BlackHawk Vol. #1-5

These are five discs that bear witness to three magnificent evenings, specifically September 22, 23, and 24 of 1959, featuring West Coast drummer Shelly Manne and his men at the Black Hawk club in San Francisco. Manne's aforementioned men are in detail: Joe Gordon on trumpet, Richie Kamuka on tenor sax, Victor Feldman on piano, and Monty Budwig on bass.

The first disc opens with a long and dark version of the standard "Summertime", moving to the exuberance of the beautiful "Our Delight" by Tadd Dameron, equally successful is the dreamy waltz of "Blue Daniel". The second disc offers chills with the splendid interpretation of the nocturnal blues "Step Lightly", another gem is Charlie Mariano's "Vamp's Blues" where the musicians, after presenting the theme, offer us highly inventive solos. The third disc starts with the track "I Am In Love" where Richie Kamuka gives us his most beautiful solo (of all three concerts), poetic and enchanting. The two versions of "Whisper Not" are intense and soft (personally, I slightly prefer the second version). But what about the eighteen-minute track completely improvised on the spot "Black Hawk Blues" (what a coincidence)? If not that it's undeniable proof of the great skill of these musicians? Even the standard "Cabu", the opening track of the fourth volume, is rich in dynamics, with solos full of inventiveness. The version of Ellington's "Just Squeeze Me" is a tender and lyrical waltz. The fifth disc is the last testament to these dazzling, extraordinary, and inspired evenings at the Black Hawk, containing other gems like "Wonder Why" (the only trio piece among all 5 volumes), "This Is Always", and "Eclipse Of Spain".

I highly recommend any jazz enthusiast who doesn't have them yet to get them to discover an exceptional drummer and to enjoy an exciting cool-bop concert.