With Strings Jazz Albums

[Teasing the Korean]

If we have a thread like this, feel free to link to the other one.  

Two "With Strings" albums I really like for late night listening are the Sonny Stitt album on Verve, with arrangements by Ralph Burns; and the Phineas Newborn album on RCA with arrangements by Dennis Farnon.  

[Milestones]

There is some good stuff out there. The first to come to mind is "Focus" by Stan Getz.

I also like "Forever Love" by Mark Whitfield, though there are quite a few solo guitar pieces interspersed with the string orchestra numbers.

Tom Harrell's "Paradise" is pretty good. Clifford Brown's much earlier strings album is quite different (perhaps too close to "easy listening") but worthwhile as well. 

Some of the selections by Haden's Quartet West with strings added are quite good ("The Left Hand of God" is a jewel), as are some of Joe Lovano's projects with strings.  

And of course this is just scratching the surface.  At one point I would have said, "Totally avoid strings!"  These days I'm pleasantly surprised that more than a handful have turned out really well.

[paul secor]

Here's a previous thread:

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?/topic/79558-jazz-records-with-small-strings-sections/

 

[Milestones]

And I started that one!  But the other is more about small string sections.  The ones on the newer thread are generally rather large string sections.  

[soulpope]

While not being a dedicated follower of "Strings &Jazz" I really do like Art Pepper "Winter Moon" (Galaxy) from 1981 ....

[Joe]

Mentioned previously but worth mentioning again:

(WAY WAY OUT)

[king ubu]

another earlier one:

 

[mikeweil]

Tjader made three albums with strings, arranged by Jack Weeks, Claus Ogerman, and Frank Strazzeri, respectively, all are very good, and all are different.

[felser]

The McCoy Tyner 'Cosmos' set has some pretty interesting string arrangements on some cuts.  I like the Max Roach double quartet recordings also.  

[Teasing the Korean]

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions!

I guess these kind of records fall into a few different categories.  I would consider albums such as those by Stan Getz/ Eddie Sauter and Gary McFarland/Steve Kuhn to be more adventurous jazz/classical/orchestral hybrids.  I love these albums, by the way.

I think of the "With Strings" albums as the jazz guy generally doing his (her?) thing with strings and perhaps woodwinds added for coloration.  These albums tend to focus more on ballads and seem to going for more of a romantic/mood music kind of vibe.

Of course, depending on what the artist, arranger, or A&R guy wanted to achieve, the results could land at various point on spectrum between the two extremes.

Not making the distinction to limit the conversation or suggestions in any way, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

[JSngry]

 

[felser]

41 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions!

I guess these kind of records fall into a few different categories.  I would consider albums such as those by Stan Getz/ Eddie Sauter and Gary McFarland/Steve Kuhn to be more adventurous jazz/classical/orchestral hybrids.  I love these albums, by the way.

I think of the "With Strings" albums as the jazz guy generally doing his (her?) thing with strings and perhaps woodwinds added for coloration.  These albums tend to focus more on ballads and seem to going for more of a romantic/mood music kind of vibe.

Of course, depending on what the artist, arranger, or A&R guy wanted to achieve, the results could land at various point on spectrum between the two extremes.

Not making the distinction to limit the conversation or suggestions in any way, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Yeah,Stan Getz Focus is awesome!  As fare as the other type, I'll take the Clifford Brown with Strings anytime.

[Teasing the Korean]

3 hours ago, Joe said:

I am a Gary McFarland freak, and I completely forgot about this album!

 

1 hour ago, felser said:

The McCoy Tyner 'Cosmos' set has some pretty interesting string arrangements on some cuts.  

I need to revisit this.

2 hours ago, mikeweil said:

Tjader made three albums with strings, arranged by Jack Weeks, Claus Ogerman, and Frank Strazzeri, respectively, all are very good, and all are different.

I have at least two of these.  I love "Latin for Lovers."  I can't remember "Warm Wave."

[medjuck]

Nobody mention Bird with strings yet?  Was it ever a separate Lp? 

[Larry Kart]

A nice one. Flip and arranger Dick Hyman collaborated closely on the charts. Fine RVG recording too. Like his model Ben Webster, Flip was born to play ballads. Good choice of songs; Flip does a few on bass clarinet.

 

	Sample this album
1	Try A Little Tenderness	6:30		$0.99
2	A Cottage For Sale	6:09		$0.99
3	Violets For Your Furs	6:00		$0.99
4	Im Glad There Is You	6:27		$0.99
5	You Don't Know What Love Is	5:40		$0.99
6	This Is All I Ask	6:15		$0.99
7	Street Of Dreams	4:15		$0.99
8	All The Way	4:31		$0.99
9	Dream	4:51		$0.99
10	What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life	4:08		$0.99
11	As Time Goes By	4:40		$0.99
12	Goodbye

[Milestones]

I also like Tyner's Fly with the Wind, which usually features 8-10 string instruments along with a fairly typical jazz combo.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Milestones

[Joe]

The string section on this record is small but mighty.

 

[Teasing the Korean]

1 hour ago, medjuck said:

Nobody mention Bird with strings yet?  Was it ever a separate Lp? 

I was working under the assumption that the Bird and Chet Baker records were cornerstones of the genre. 

[king ubu]

 

[Joe]

1 hour ago, king ubu said:

 

[Teasing the Korean]

I'm seeing a lot of question mark images.  

[Larry Kart]

Have we mentioned this one yet?

[jlhoots]

2 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I'm seeing a lot of question mark images.  

I'm not.

[HutchFan]

14 hours ago, soulpope said:

While not being a dedicated follower of "Strings &Jazz" I really do like Art Pepper "Winter Moon" (Galaxy) from 1981 ....

Yes!!!

 

 

7 hours ago, Milestones said:

I also like Tyner's Fly with the Wind, which usually features 8-10 string instruments along with a fairly typical jazz combo.

Excellent.

 

 

This is one that I've been enjoying lately:

 

I suppose "jazz vocalists with strings" is almost another category unto itself.

 

Edited September 4, 2018 by HutchFan

[sgcim]

13 hours ago, Joe said:

Mentioned previously but worth mentioning again:

(WAY WAY OUT)

In a Twentieth Century Drawing Room was a pisser! Manny Albam wring for four cellos and McKusick's quartet with Barry Galbraith blending in nicely on guitar.

Jimmy Raney recorded an album that never made it to CD called "Strings and Swings" which has some great Raney playing and writing (he did the string writing on it) in his "Suite For Guitar Quintet.

I loved the Deodato arr. of Salt Song on Turrentine's album of the same name.

The Chico hamilton album with Dolphy and strings is so powerful, it's almost frightening. Fred Katz did the arr.

Manny Albam liked to add strings to his big band records.

Johnny Smith did two beautiful "Mood Music" LPs with strings "My Dear Little Sweetheart' and "Guitar With Strings", where he did all the orchestrations.