JAZZ SCENE U.S.A. #14

SHORTY ROGERS & HIS GIANTS

I am in the process of moving my work on this platform to a new home that unites all of my jazz research under one roof. Thank you for looking at my work here at google blogger. I think you will find the new home more user friendly with links and tags to all of my research. This link will take you to this research at the new site where I have updated the links to Jazz Scene USA segments on YouTube.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1962

CBS TELEVISION CITY, LOS ANGELES, CA

Commentary © James A. Harrod, Copyright Protected; All Rights Reserved

Shorty Rogers’ first album as leader was on the Capitol label, MODERN SOUNDS, SHORTY ROGERS & HIS GIANTS.  The session was produced by Gene Norman and licensed to Capitol for release.  Shorty’s compositions and arrangements on this album would come to typify the west coast sound.  The “Giants” description of Shorty’s sidemen would apply to any number of musicians that Shorty would assemble for concerts and recording sessions depending on who was in town and available at the time.  When Shorty was approached to record the fourteenth segment of Jazz Scene U.S.A. his “Giants” included Lou Levy on piano, Gary LeFebvre on tenor sax and flute, Gary Peacock on bass and Larry Bunker on drums.  Later that fall Shorty & His Giants would appear on Frankly Jazz, a short lived TV series on Los Angeles television, and the “Giants” on that show included Joe Maini, Pete Jolly, Max Bennett and Mel Lewis.

Shorty’s latest album on the Reprise label, BOSSA NOVA (Reprise R-6050), was featured on the program when Oscar Brown, Jr. held the album cover before the camera.  The Bossa Nova craze was sweeping America and every major record company had several Bossa Nova albums in their catalogue to tempt record buyers.  In this case Reprise used the same bold title and model for the album cover that had been used on the Barney Kessel album featured in the previous Jazz Scene U.S.A. program #12.

The Shorty Rogers segment was paired with the Shelly Manne program and released by Shanachie on VHS, and later on DVD.

The four numbers performed by Shorty Rogers & His Giants on Jazz Scene U.S.A. have been uploaded to YouTube by Gary LeFebvre and are shown below:

SHORTY ROGERS & HIS GIANTS - GREENSLEEVES 


SHORTY ROGERS & HIS GIANTS - TIME WAS

SHORTY ROGERS & HIS GIANTS - MARTIANS GO HOME

SHORTY ROGERS & HIS GIANTS - THE OUTSIDERS

Shorty in later years with his Flugelhorn (© Ray Avery/CTSIMAGES)

Production credits: Host: Oscar Brown, Jr. 
Executive Producer: Steve Allen 
Producer: Jimmie Baker 
Director: Steve Binder 
Associate Producer: Penny Stewart 
Associate Director: George Turpin 
Technical Director: Jim Brady 
Lighting Director: Leard Davis 
Audio: Larry Eaton 
Art Director: Robert Tyler Lee 
Jazz Consultant: Leonard Feather 
Title Films: Grant Velie 
Cameras: Bob Dunn, Ed Chaney, Gorman Erickson, Pat Kenny