Howard Roberts Good Pickin's CD

This 1998 reissue contains 4 bonus tracks not included on the original release.
Personnel includes: Bud Shank (alto & tenor saxophones, flute); Bob Cooper (tenor saxophone); Claude Williamson (piano); Howard Roberts (guitar).
Recorded in Los Angeles, California between November 1956 and February 1958.
Digitally remastered using 20-bit Super Bit Mapping.
This is part of Pacific Jazz's West Coast Classics series.
Personnel: Howard Roberts (guitar); Bill Holman (tenor saxophone); Pete Jolly (piano); Red Mitchell (bass guitar); Stan Levey (drums); Marty Paich.
West Coast guitarist Howard Roberts was something of an unsung hero of that area's jazz scene. Though his bop-influenced style of cool jazz was tremendously influential, Roberts himself was content to spend the bulk of his career working mainly on the Los Angeles session circuit, where one of his numerous recordings was the eerie theme to THE TWILIGHT ZONE. 1959's GOOD PICKIN'S is an early Roberts effort that finds him performing both original "head" arrangements and bop and pop standards like "Relaxin' At Camarillo" and "All the Things You Are." Demonstrating a fluid, creative style, as well as an obvious affinity for Charlie Parker, Roberts moves easily from the bebop stylings of "Will You Still Be Mine" to the bluesy "Lover Man," aided by the sympathetic accompaniment of his band, which includes his longtime colleague, pianist Pete Jolly, and legendary bop drummer Stan Levey.
West Coast jazz of the 1950s has long had a bad reputation in jazz history books and among East Coast jazz writers who have stereotyped it as an overarranged and bloodless music best heard in movie soundtracks of the era. In reality, it was a multifaceted style, a smoothing of bebop's rough edges that could often be hard-swinging even with its quiet rhythm sections. Two of the finest West Coast players of the '50s were Bud Shank and Bob Cooper. Shank, a cool-toned altoist who on this 1998 CD also plays flute and tenor, appeared on many dates with Coop, who triples here on tenor, bass clarinet and oboe. Despite the CD title (named after a Shank original), the music that they perform on these selections from 1958 (plus five added numbers from 1956) is not country music but swinging jazz. Teamed with either pianist Claude Williamson or guitarist Howard Roberts, bassist Don Prell and drummer Chuck Flores, Shank and Cooper display distinctive but complementary styles, and their tripling on woodwinds gives plenty of variety to the date. Cooper's oboe playing, which preceded Yusef Lateef's, in particular is a joy. Highly recommended. ~ Scott Yanow
Issued in 1959, Howard Roberts' Good Pickin's was his second album for Verve as a leader. It is as straight-up a blowing date as you're likely to find, though it has wonderful harmonic invention thanks to the two arrangers on the date -- Bill Holman, who also plays tenor, and Marty Paich. The rest of the date is rounded out by pianist Pete Jolly, bassist Red Mitchell, and drummer Stan Levey. The tunes range from standards like "All the Things You Are" and "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" to straight-up bebop in Charlie Parker's "Relaxin' at Camarillo" and George Wallington's "Godchild." The lone original on the set, which closes the album, is Roberts' "Terpsichore." It is also the longest on the platter. It's a slow blues that's unimaginative but allows everyone in the band to blow. The tenor/guitar heads on these tunes work well thanks to tight, colorful arrangements that accent the sharpness in the chosen songs. The straight-up soloing works because it is reined in tightly, keeping the melodic invention at the forefront. This is a solid date and should be checked out by anyone interested in jazz guitar. ~ Thom JurekMojo (Publisher) (p.119) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n entertaining combination of jaunty swing-driven grooves and meditative ballads."