Shelly Manne: Sorta Blue

Track

Sorta Blue

Group

Shelly Manne and His Men

CD

Shelly Manne & His Men Play Peter Gunn (Contemporary OJCCD-946-2)

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Musicians:

Shelly Manne (drums), Conte Candoli (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax), Victor Feldman (marimba), Russ Freeman (piano), Monty Budwig (bass).

Composed by Henry Mancini

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Recorded: Los Angeles, January 19, 1959

Albumcovershellymanneandhismenplaypetergunn

Rating: 96/100 (learn more)

Conte Candoli was Superman's sibling. Pete Candoli, lead trumpeter in Woody Herman's mid-1940s First Herd, would charge onstage costumed as the comic-book hero for high-note shenanigans. Kid brother Conte's cool was closer to mild-mannered Clark Kent. By concentrating on note selection instead of huffing and puffing to blow the house down, Conte became the most interesting West Coast trumpeter following Chet Baker. Here, ensconced in the bathysphere of Victor Feldman's marimba (played with felt-tipped rather than rubber-tipped mallets) and with Shelly Manne's typically splendid support, Conte shows why he could be counted on for Truth, Justice and the American Way.

Reviewer: Alan Kurtz

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  • 1 mort kamins // Jan 28, 2008 at 12:21 AM
    Alan--thanks for the heads-up on this one. It's a great example of the time and the cool West Coast style, and 50 years later it still sounds fresh.