Warne Marsh • Jazz Of Two Cities

 

Review
by Brandon Burke  
A classic album of Tristano-school cool jazz with subtle leanings toward the avant-garde. While this set is not without a number of typical West Coast jazz tendencies (i.e., cool reed tones, a stiff rhythm section, happy-go-lucky heads, etc.), it has an interestingly wide-open and probing vibe. This band was simply bursting with ideas. On "Ear Conditioning," for example, the tenor tandem of Marsh and Ted Brown weaves in and out of the head with the proficiency and grace displayed -- admittedly, to greater effect -- on Lennie Tristano's "Wow," a tune also featuring Marsh, only with Lee Konitz on alto instead of Brown on tenor. Like "Ear Conditioning," "Smog Eyes" and the title track both employ long and busy heads. In a manner typical of compositions by Tristano's associates, many of these themes are very complicated and take several measures to achieve resolution. That having been said, comparisons to the Tristano Capitol sessions are simply inevitable, as they laid the foundation for everything heard here. To judge the quality of one versus the other, though, is trivial. Jazz of Two Cities has many treasures all of its own. Thankfully, both historic sessions have been reissued together on the Capitol Jazz CD Intuition. Included in the collection are both the stereo and mono takes of four different pieces from the Marsh date. This is because Jazz of Two Cities was issued once in mono and later in stereo with the new title The Winds of Marsh. The two versions of the record feature altogether different takes of two numbers ("Jazz of Two Cities," "I Never Knew") and different solos on the other two ("Ear Conditioning," "Lover Man"). In other words, fidelity is not the only difference between Jazz of Two Cities and The Winds of Marsh; though in and of itself, that's probably not reason enough to spend an arm and a leg on both copies, since they're quite rare and all versions are included on the CD. This is some very fine music by a band with an exceptionally rich collective imagination. It is clear that, in the hands of this combo, every theme is treated like a question with an absolutely limitless amount of harmonic and melodic answers.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/jazz-of-two-cities-mw0000732028


Biography
by Scott Yanow
Along with Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh was the most successful "pupil" of Lennie Tristano and, unlike Konitz, Marsh spent most of his career exploring chordal improvisation the Tristano way. The cool-toned tenor played with Hoagy Carmichael's Teenagers during 1944-1945 and then after the Army, he was with Buddy Rich (1948) before working with Lennie Tristano (1949-1952). His recordings with Tristano and Konitz still sound remarkable today with unisons that make the two horns sound like one. Marsh had occasional reunions with Konitz and Tristano through the years, spent periods outside of music, and stayed true to his musical goals. He moved to Los Angeles in 1966 and worked with Supersax during 1972-1977, also filling in time teaching. Marsh, who collapsed and died on stage at the legendary Donte's club in 1987 while playing "Out of Nowhere," is now considered legendary. He recorded as a leader for Xanadu, Imperial, Kapp, Mode (reissued on V.S.O.P.), Atlantic, Wave, Storyville, Revelation, Interplay, Criss Cross, and Hot Club.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/warne-marsh-mn0000193802/biography

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Reseña
por Brandon Burke  
Un álbum clásico de cool jazz de la escuela de Tristano con sutiles inclinaciones hacia la vanguardia. Si bien este conjunto no carece de las típicas tendencias del jazz de la Costa Oeste (es decir, tonos de caña fríos, una sección rítmica rígida, cabezas alegres, etc.), tiene un ambiente interesantemente abierto y de prueba. Esta banda estaba simplemente llena de ideas. En "Ear Conditioning", por ejemplo, el tándem de tenores formado por Marsh y Ted Brown entra y sale de la cabeza con la destreza y la gracia que se muestra -de hecho, con mayor efecto- en "Wow" de Lennie Tristano, un tema en el que también participa Marsh, sólo que con Lee Konitz como contralto en lugar de Brown como tenor. Al igual que "Ear Conditioning", "Smog Eyes" y el tema que da título al disco emplean cabezas largas y ocupadas. De manera típica en las composiciones de los socios de Tristano, muchos de estos temas son muy complicados y requieren varios compases para lograr su resolución. Dicho esto, las comparaciones con las sesiones de Tristano en Capitol son simplemente inevitables, ya que sentaron las bases de todo lo que se escucha aquí. Sin embargo, juzgar la calidad de una frente a la otra es trivial. Jazz of Two Cities tiene muchos tesoros propios. Afortunadamente, ambas sesiones históricas se han reeditado juntas en el CD Intuition de Capitol Jazz. En la colección se incluyen tanto las tomas en estéreo como en mono de cuatro piezas diferentes de la fecha de Marsh. Esto se debe a que Jazz of Two Cities se publicó una vez en mono y posteriormente en estéreo con el nuevo título The Winds of Marsh. Las dos versiones del disco presentan tomas totalmente diferentes de dos números ("Jazz of Two Cities", "I Never Knew") y diferentes solos en los otros dos ("Ear Conditioning", "Lover Man"). En otras palabras, la fidelidad no es la única diferencia entre Jazz of Two Cities y The Winds of Marsh; aunque en sí misma, probablemente no sea razón suficiente para gastar un brazo y una pierna en ambas copias, ya que son bastante raras y todas las versiones están incluidas en el CD. Se trata de música muy fina de una banda con una imaginación colectiva excepcionalmente rica. Está claro que, en manos de este combo, cada tema es tratado como una pregunta con una cantidad absolutamente ilimitada de respuestas armónicas y melódicas.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/jazz-of-two-cities-mw0000732028


Biografía
por Scott Yanow
Junto con Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh fue el "alumno" más exitoso de Lennie Tristano y, a diferencia de Konitz, Marsh pasó la mayor parte de su carrera explorando la improvisación de acordes a la manera de Tristano. Este tenor de tono frío tocó con los Teenagers de Hoagy Carmichael durante 1944-1945 y, después del ejército, estuvo con Buddy Rich (1948) antes de trabajar con Lennie Tristano (1949-1952). Sus grabaciones con Tristano y Konitz todavía suenan de forma notable, con unísonos que hacen que las dos trompas suenen como una sola. Marsh se reunió ocasionalmente con Konitz y Tristano a lo largo de los años, pasó periodos fuera de la música y se mantuvo fiel a sus objetivos musicales. Se trasladó a Los Ángeles en 1966 y trabajó con Supersax durante 1972-1977, ocupando también tiempo en la enseñanza. Marsh, que se desplomó y murió en el escenario del legendario club Donte's en 1987 mientras tocaba "Out of Nowhere", es considerado ahora una leyenda. Grabó como líder para Xanadu, Imperial, Kapp, Mode (reeditado en V.S.O.P.), Atlantic, Wave, Storyville, Revelation, Interplay, Criss Cross y Hot Club.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/warne-marsh-mn0000193802/biography

Tracklist
1 - Smog Eyes 3:34
2 - Ear Conditioning 5:14
3 - Lover Man 4:28
4 - Quintessence 4:14
5 - Jazz Of Two Cities 4:33
6 - Dixie's Dilemma 4:21
7 - Tschaikovsky's Opus #42, Mt.3 3:59
8 - I Never Knew 5:02


Credits:
    Bass – Ben Tucker
    Drums – Jeff Morton
    Piano – Ronnie Ball
    Tenor Saxophone – Ted Brown, Warne Marsh

Notes:
Tracks A1-A4 originally recorded on October 3, 1956 at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles, CA.
Tracks B1-B4 originally recorded on October 11, 1956 at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles, CA.   

Label: Imperial – LP 9027, Classic Records – LP 9027
Genre: Jazz
Style: Bop, Cool Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/release/5140527-Warne-Marsh-Jazz-Of-Two-Cities

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