Don Fagerquist Portrait Of A Great Jazz Artist CD - Import

Marginalized as a result of his limited recorded output -- just one LP as a leader, the excellent Music to Fill a Void -- trumpeter Don Fagerquist remains ripe for rediscovery: a surefooted and expressive trumpeter, his cool, nuanced tones capture the essence of West Coast jazz. Portrait of a Great Jazz Artist is an exemplary introduction to Fagerquist's music, cherry-picking his finest solos from a series of dates spanning from 1955 to 1959 in support of Les Brown, Russ Garcia, and others. Aided and abetted by sidemen including Herb Geller and Zoot Sims, Fagerquist exhibits a stunningly imaginative melodic ability, creating a seemingly contradictory sound that's soft and mellow but boasts diamond-sharp edges. ~ Jason Ankeny

Don Fagerquist (1927-1974) might be one of the most underrated jazz trumpets in history despite countless recordings with Gene Krupa, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Les Brown and Dave Pelf. Although he was a Hollywood studio musician since 1956, over the years Don Fagerquist maintained his contact with the jazz scene, as these tracks can prove. He had a unique sound and phrasing that immediately identified him, allowing us at once to appreciate Don's playing. This CD is more than a collection of mood music and jazz tUnes: it is a delightful, warm and descriptive musical portrait of a great jazz artist. Multiwaves. 2006