Jack Montrose's "Blues & Vanilla"

[Larry Kart]

Picked this up yesterday:

http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Montrose-Blues-Vanilla-Horns/dp/B0032BH1OM

and Montrose's style as a soloist and a writer remains as peculiar to me now as it did back then. In particular, as a player it's the peculiar neo-folksy/speech-like character of his lines, not unlike on the neo-folksy side what Jimmy Giuffre would get into a bit later on with his "Train and the River" trio, while the typically rather short-breathed, speech-like, "hocket-y" phrasing reminds a bit of Shafi Hadi. Montrose's often contrapuntal writing (though it usually lacks all trace of the typical West Coast "progressive" flavor) flowers (as did his solo work) in the company of his close friend baritone saxophonist Bob Gordon, who died in a car accident in 1955, but absent Gordon both his writing and playing can sound rather finicky at times and is marked by a rather "Indian beat" rhythmic feel, if you know what I mean -- a la "From the Land of Sky Blue Waters" or "Hawaiian War Chant." He made a late album for Don Schlitten, which I've never heard.

His obit:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jack-montrose-474568.html

Just thought of who Montrose's solo style reminds me of -- Sam Donahue! Not impossible that there was some influence there; Donahue was a popular player in the '40s and led a fine service band, which he took over from Artie Shaw after Shaw was invalided back to the States.

[Peter Friedman]

I have long enjoyed Jack Montrose's Pacific Jazz and Atlantic albums, but never cared for this RCA session. Found it rather dull.

Montrose made a much later CD on the Holt label. He is joined on this one by Bill Watrous, Pete Jolly, Chuck Berghofer and Nick Martinis. All the tunes on this 1990 date were written by label owner David Jack Holt. It is ,in my view, an interesting CD.

[king ubu]

Very interesting, Larry, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I've long loved the Monterose/Gordon combination (picked up the West Coast Classics disc back in the 90s from Trueblue without having ever heard either of them before, needed the Koch/Atlantic after that, too!). The Giuffre connection makes sense to me ... can't say anything about Donahue though. Are there any recommended discs where he can be heard? I'm familiar with his name but can't really place him. I see there are several Hep releases ...

[sidewinder]

I remember seeing the Jack Montrose group back in the 90s, playing some of those Montrose/Gordon arrangements. Good stuff.

[Larry Kart]

Very interesting, Larry, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I've long loved the Monterose/Gordon combination (picked up the West Coast Classics disc back in the 90s from Trueblue without having ever heard either of them before, needed the Koch/Atlantic after that, too!). The Giuffre connection makes sense to me ... can't say anything about Donahue though. Are there any recommended discs where he can be heard? I'm familiar with his name but can't really place him. I see there are several Hep releases ...

The Hep albums are what you want to check out. As for opportunities for influence, both Donohue and Montrose came from Detroit, though Donohue of course was a good deal older. A comment from Amazon on one of the Hep albums:

'Holy Cow does this thing swing like crazy! The finest group of all the "War" bands assembled. The trumpet section alone makes the knees buckle -- Conrad Gozzo,Frank Beach, Johnny Best and Don Jacoby! Sam basically took over Artie Shaw's Navy Orchestra, but turned it into a more "Basie" styled swing outfit. And boy did he succeed!!'

Me again. Donohue added an extra alto to the sax section, which allowed him to indulge in some rich, thick voicings.

[Big Beat Steve]

I like Donahue (very much so) and I like Montrose but unless one went into dissecting the music to bare bones I cannot quite see the very direct and immediate connections that would be evident to the listener (as opposed to "analyst"). There is a stylistic divide betwen them after all. The Donahue band has that distinctive "modernistic" edge of mid-40s swing big bands that shows the things to come and gives the band that special "bite" but the music still is rooted very firmly in the swing idiom. As for its general appeal, IMO more like a case of the modernized Krupa band or the Rich band of that time (or of the forward-looking charts of mid-40s Dorseys) than the Thornhill or Raeburn bands, for example.

BTW, the Capitol studio recordings by the Donahue band are worth exploring too. In some cases you wonder if not only the charts but even the recordings found their way into the Navy band" reissues.

[Larry Kart]

I like Donahue (very much so) and I like Montrose but unless one went into dissecting the music to bare bones I cannot quite see the very direct and immediate connections that would be evident to the listener (as opposed to "analyst"). There is a stylistic divide betwen them after all. The Donahue band has that distinctive "modernistic" edge of mid-40s swing big bands that shows the things to come and gives the band that special "bite" but the music still is rooted very firmly in the swing idiom. As for its general appeal, IMO more like a case of the modernized Krupa band or the Rich band of that time (or of the forward-looking charts of mid-40s Dorseys) than the Thornhill or Raeburn bands, for example.

BTW, the Capitol studio recordings by the Donahue band are worth exploring too. In some cases you wonder if not only the charts but even the recordings found their way into the Navy band" reissues.

I meant that I heard some similarities (in particular, short-breathed, rhythmically compulsive, "hocket-y" phrasing) between Donahue and Montrose as soloists, not between the style of Donahue's band and Montrose (though of course Donahue's solo work was heard within the context of his bands).

[Bluesnik]

Isn't that the one with Red Norvo? I have a RCA reissue, while I also have his Westcoast Classics album. Being interested in West Coast jazz I like Montrose a lot.

[Larry Kart]

Isn't that the one with Red Norvo? I have a RCA reissue, while I also have his Westcoast Classics album. Being interested in West Coast jazz I like Montrose a lot.

Yes, with Norvo.