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Manny Albam is a jazz baritone saxophonist, composer, arranger and producer, who started his career in the bands of Muggsy Spanier, Georgie Auld, Charlie Spivak and Boyd Raeburn, before achieving his greatest fame and success as an arranger working with small groups led by top names of the era and leading his own studio bands during the 1950s and 60s on a series of highly-regarded projects, often featuring his own compositions, before becoming a prominent jazz and music educator. The New Grove Dictionary Of Jazz sums his music up with the words One of the most important jazz arrangers of the 1950s and 60s, Albam never lost touch with the qualities of swing and blues in his writing. This great-value 25-track 2-CD set, which includes many extended pieces, comprises recordings from noted sessions and projects he led during 1957, which came out on the Coral label albums Jazz Greats Of Our Time Vols. 1 & 2, The Blues Is Everybody's Business and West Side Story. Jazz Greats Of Our Time features a 10-piece line-up which includes Art Farmer, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Gerry Mulligan, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson performing a mixture of standards and originals. The Blues Is Everybody's Business comprises four extended variations on his composition of that title by different studio line-ups, and the collection concludes with selected titles from his West Side Story album, recorded after he had worked with Leonard Bernstein on arrangements for the original Broadway score. Its a thoroughly enjoyable and impressive showcase for a jazz practitioner who deserves to be much better known. REVIEWS “This is an unexpected and enterprising release from Acrobat. Manny Albam, for all his qualities as a musician/arranger/composer would hardly be in the front rank when it comes to recognition by the jazz loving public but this two CD collection of his work from just one year in his career certainly ought to serve as a reminder of a rare talent… This is a set I will no doubt return to many times in the future and indeed has opened up the prospect of exploring his back catalogue to discover what other riches await! Highly recommended. ” – Gerry Stonestreet (In Tune Issue 336) “This double CD reissue of recordings by Manny Albam, cover a relatively short passage in his career. However, they come from a particularly fertile period and showcase four of his most notable recording sessions… Albam was a notable arranger/conductor and educator. These recordings are a reminder of his contribution to Big Band development and his own forward-thinking, which influenced so many.” – Barry Clare (Just Jazz March 2020) “The art of the arranger and composer has rarely taken centre stage. The work of Billy Strayhorn with Ellington, Neil Hefti with Basie and Nelson Riddle and Billy May working with the great singers could be seen as the exception to the rule. There were, of course, others. One such name - Manny Albam - won the respect of his peers (some of them established jazz musicians, of which some would go on to attain legendary status) and now, nearly 20 years after his death, Acrobat has put together a two CD package which will go some way to ensuring he enters the pantheon of arrangers-composers. Manny Albam’s exceptional talents and the participation of so many household names make Classic Recordings 1957 a five-star release.” – Russell Corbett (Jazz Rag Winter 2020) “This 25-track compilation includes the albums Jazz Greats Of Our Time, Vols. 1 & 2, which included Art Farmer, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton and Osie Johnson setting down an entirely satisfactory programme of originals and standards... Anyone considering buying this splendid and overdue compilation should begin with the West Side Story excerpts. If not immediately converted to the joyous gospel of Manny Albam, they should seek medical or psychiatric advice.” – John White (Jazz Journal Spring 2020) “When the CD for review came through the letterbox, my first reaction was ‘Manny Albam? Who he?’ Then after a little reflection, I remembered I had heard of him and realised after searching that font of all knowledge (Wikipedia) where I had, on many of my records and CDs were the words Manny Albam (arr.cond). Fortunately there are some 16 pages in the CD booklet that have increased this reviewer’s knowledge of Mr Albam, for which he is eternally grateful, not least the fact that in later life Manny Albam sported a large and fine ‘walrus moustache!’ These CDs comprise, to quote from the cover, all the titles from his Jazz Greats of Our Times, the complete ‘The Blues is Everybody’s Business’ and selections from ‘West Side Story.’ The recordings are dated in the booklet as 1957. The list of star names assembled for these sessions is very impressive and too numerous to list here, but suffice to say Brookmeyer, Sims, Cohn, Mulligan, Edison, Farmer and alumni of the Basie Band all feature. CD1 has several originals credited to Manny as well tunes by Porter, Gershwin and Ellington amongst others. CD2 has the ‘Blues is Everybody’s Business’ where we have strings added to the general ensemble, perhaps not to everyone’s taste but featuring great solos from the jazz royalty. It is a shame that there was not enough space to include all the tracks from the West Side Story sessions, but intrepid purchasers will find the West Side Story CD online for a couple of pounds or so. In fact, these CDs from the Acrobat Music Label can be found online for under a tenner and a joy from start to finish, highly recommended. ” – Clive Fleckner (Jazzviews March 2020)
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