dave pell r.i.p.

[bichos]

saxophonist Dave Pell, b.2/26/1925, passed away this morning at the age of 92.

 

He worked with the bands of Bobby Sherwood '43; Tony Pastor '44-'45; Bob Crosby '45?; and, most famously, Les Brown '48-'55.

 

He was also an Artists & Repertoire Director ("a&r man") at Tops Records '56-'59.

 

(Information from the CU Glenn Miller Archive)

 

Keep boppin´

marcel

 

[sidewinder]

Sorry to hear that - enjoyed hearing his band perform and rehearse at an event back in the 1990s which I think had tenor Jack Montrose also in the lineup.  Not too many of those 'names' from the golden period of West Coast Jazz still with us, sadly.

Edited May 8, 2017 by sidewinder

[Jaffa]

Sad, sad news.

Time to enjoy this one again !

r.i.p.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Jaffa

[Teasing the Korean]

Dave Pell has the distinction of having the greatest album title ever in the history of LP records:  The Liberty LP JAZZ VOICES IN VIDEO!  When I first found this LP in a thrift store, I could not stop obsessively saying "Jazz Voices in Video" over and over again.  Here is a track:

 

 

6 hours ago, bichos said:

He was also an Artists & Repertoire Director ("a&r man") at Tops Records '56-'59.

 

In this capacity, he produced what must be the greatest exotica one-off LP ever, Robert Drasnin's Voodoo. 

 

Edited May 8, 2017 by Teasing the Korean

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

his work is extremely vast, in many different avenues of west coast jazz.  from classic wcj to all these different studio projects.  his discogs page doesnt list any of his many big band tribute records on yellow vinyl, for the PRI (Precision radiation instruments) label.  tributes to all the big band leaders plus im pretty sure i even have a dave pell pays tribute to Mantovanni lp

Edited May 8, 2017 by chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez

[Gheorghe]

I remember his Name as on the cover of some orchestral thing that was called "Dave Pell´s Prez Conference".

This was during the Super-Sax Era. You remember Super Sax: That was en vogue, everybody had that. Bird´s stuff orchestrated, and because it sounded more "modern" than the old poor recorded Bird records, people even heard it more than the "original". Even me , if I was exhausted I´d relax listening to Super Sax. It was some fashion, it was just that era of the late 70´s when there was a renewed interest in acoustic jazz.

And so, as I had some Super Sax recordings, the record dealer once handed me that "Dave Pell Prez Conference" and said look, that could be something for you. And I bought it. Strange, since I got a turntable again, 2 years ago, I got it some spinning. I don´t know who of the guys was Dave Pell, since they play in ensemble, but also with Supersax I never knew who´s the leader, the only known man on it was Warne Marsh.

[sidewinder]

The 'Prez Conference' LP was quite a popular jazz release over here in the UK when it first came out and I recall it did get reasonable airtime. I think it was a revisited  'Pres Conference' that I caught live back in the 1990s.

[Big Beat Steve]

R.I.P.

One of my earliest exposures to his work was (unknowingly) a "soundie" (shown on TV) of the Les Brown band playing their "Billboard March" (a catchy, precision score that had me hooked).

Over time I bought quite a few of his records unheard-unseen when I was on a WCJ record buying spree every now and then ...
All in all they are fine, but a bit of a mixed bag to me. I like his early Kapp LPs (playing "Irving Berlin" and "Burke and Van Heusen") best and definitely get more out of those of his RCA and Capitol LPs (particularly "Campus Hop" ) that I have heard than did some scribes who reviewed him at the time. But I just cannot get into his "Love Story" LP on Atlantic. Just too sugary for me. I hang on to it to round off things (and maybe one day "its time will come?") but I know this is one where I regretted paying the going rate for a Japanese pressing. I picked up his "Prez Conference" LP (GNPS 2122) too (at a record clearout sale a couple of years ago - at a price where you just can't go wrong) - out of the same reasoning others did: I had liked Supersax in the 80s so this was a safe bet. One casual purchase that surprised me pleasantly among his later recordings, though, is "The Dave Pell Octet Plays Again" recorded in 1984 by and on Fresh Sounds (yes!). They recaptured the WCJ spirit in a nice way.

Edited May 9, 2017 by Big Beat Steve

[BillF]

Love Pell's 50's albums.

I've come across two band leaders here who've been sent arrangements by Dave Pell in recent years.

As you can hear from this clip recorded a few months ago, Dave Pell's music is still very much alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-bhz23MQ9s

[Big Beat Steve]

59 minutes ago, BillF said:

As you can hear from this clip recorded a few months ago, Dave Pell's music is still very much alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-bhz23MQ9s

Very nice! A concert I'd certainly have enjoyed attending.

And a gal in the sax section (and to top it, with the biggest axe)? Wow ... The UK seems to have an ongoing tradition of Kathleen Stobart followers.

[BillF]

1 hour ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Very nice! A concert I'd certainly have enjoyed attending.

And a gal in the sax section (and to top it, with the biggest axe)? Wow ... The UK seems to have an ongoing tradition of Kathleen Stobart followers.

Glad you liked the band. Here's some more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbmulvuH2Tc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2-bJH_h3ho

 

Edited May 9, 2017 by BillF

[brownie]

Sad to hear of his disappearance!

Most of his albums are very enjoyable. Pleasant, uncomplicated and swinging music!

He was also a  very good photographer.

[Teasing the Korean]

 

[duaneiac]

I got to hear him in concert maybe 10 years ago at one of the San Jose Jazz Festivals.  He and Med Flory were the co-leaders of a group, as I recall.  Also got to meet Mr. Pell after the concert and he seemed like a nice guy, still playing and sounding sharp at his age.

May he Rest In Peace.

 

[Bluesnik]

I liked (and like) Campus Hop on RCA and I had the craziest dream on Capitol. Very nice West Coast Jazz.

[Claude Schlouch]

He was a great.

RIP