High Noon: The Jazz Soul of Frankie Laine
DownBeat
April 2009
By Paul de Barros
What a dandy recipe went into this curious retrieval. Take the highromantic sentimentality of post-WWII pop singer Frankie Laine (“That’s My Desire,” “Mule Train,” “We’ll Be Together Again”), slice and dice for coolly crisp “little big band” then add liberal amounts of fiery, swinging baritone sax solos. Weird. And wonderful.
Bari man Gary Smulyan, who plays with a husky yet never heavy, heart-felt tone, is in unusually fine form, ringing the bells of the changes while taking care to create pungent new melodies. On the brisk, swinging opener, “I’d Give My Life,” he covers the horn from sewer to chimney, making a sweet turnaround after the first 16 bars. On the super slow “Baby, Baby All The Time,” he’s pretty and passionate. Occasionally, Smulyan falls into headlong notiness (“It Only Happens Once”), but for the most part, he leaves plenty of air and space around his ideas. The closing cadenza on “We’ll Be Together Again” is masterful.
But with due respect to Smulyan, the secret ingredient here is Southern California arranger Mark Masters, whose way with winds (including French horn and bass clarinet) is so fresh you can taste it. Masters teaches at Claremont McKenna College in Pasadena, where his American Jazz Institute specializes in such tributes. After Smulyan played on one of them (to Clifford Brown), he suggested this paean to Laine.
The band establishes an ebullient, optimistic tone right out of the gate with “I’d Give Up My Life.” Masters’ tasty voicings have that classic “West Coast” feel of being dense and wide-open at the same time. He’s especially deft at switching timbre in little bursts (“It Only Happens Once”) and using quick tempo changes as a compositional device (“Put Yourself In My Place, Baby”). The clever rewrite of “When You’re In Love” implies the melody without ever stating it. Snappy without being flip, happy but never sappy, Masters’ pen combines punch with restraint with cool élan.
Others shine, too. Scott Robinson’s bass clarinet solo on the high-drama movie score of “High Noon” is a knockout, and John Clark’s French horn outings are immaculate, free of the slippery burbling one hears so often from that difficult instrument. Trombonist John Fedchock is so fleet it’s sometimes hard to tell him and Clark apart, especially when they trade fours. (Plentiful round robins keep the pace from flagging.) Saxophonist Dick Oatts chirps bright as brass and bassist Andy McKee solos as well as anchors several tunes with nicely exposed lines. The rhythm section consistently swings deep.
This is a sweet project, one that manages to dip into two nostalgias—pop melodies and “cool” arranging—yet still sound fresh and present. Nice work.
