Nat King Cole, The Forgotten 1949 Carnegie Hall Concert (Hep).
Cole’s trio and the Woody Herman Second Herd teamed up for a successful concert tour, with Carnegie Hall a high spot. It was recorded but never before 
issued. Now, here it is, with Cole’s singing and piano playing at a high level. He included many of his famous numbers—“Sweet Lorraine,” “Lush Life,” Body and Soul,” “Bop Kick” among them—and a terrific new piece called “Cuba Libre” by the trio and bongoist Jack Costanzo. Herman’s band shows up only on a supercharged “More Moon.” It ends the CD so powerfully that we can hope there is more Herman from this occasion.
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
According to my friend David Lennick (a broadcaster/producer/monumental collector) and source of the Hep master, it was recorded on a disc (or two, or three), not a tape… To this point, the Herman portion of the concert seems to not have surfaced.
And while annotator Will Friedwald suggests Buddy Savitt is the tenor soloist on “More Moon”, I’d vote for Don Lanphere…
I grew up listening to Lanphere. The solo is his, without a doubt. Furthermore, in my copy of the CD booklet, Friedwald writes, “There are solos by tenor (Don Lanphere), trombone (Bill Harris), and Herman himself on clarinet.”
Hmmm — I swear on the grave of Jelly Roll Morton, my booklet reads (scan available on request): “There are solos by tenor (probably Buddy Savitt), trombone (Bill Harris), and Herman himself on clarinet, plus a few drum breaks by Shelly Manne. Not too shabby.”
I wonder if my booklet is from a different print run?
For what it’s worth, this CD exists with two different covers, the one in this post, and this one. Perhaps there are more differences in the booklet than just the cover.
Fernando, according to Alastair Robertson of Hep, the one you link to was never the cover of the CD but used only as a promotional picture by Hep’s US distributor.
I see, thanks for that. In any case, my booklet reads exactly as Ted O’Reilly’s, thanks for clarifying that it is indeed Lanphere.
Thanks for the recommendation, Doug.
Have ordered the CD right away, and I’m really curious how the unknown tune “Cuba Libre” sounds. (Slightly off topic: By the way, I have a Nat ‘King’ Cole LP, “This Is Nat ‘King’ Cole,” whose former Cuban owner has written the date of the purchase on the back of the cover: “3 de Mayo de 1958″, which was exactly eight months before the Cuban revolution.) – Another reason why I’m especially looking forward to hear “Cuba Libre”.
Bruno, you may want to drink a Cuba Libre as much as hear it… It’s a simple cocktail of light rum, Coca-Cola and lime juice. I’m pretty sure that would be the Cole topic in 1949.
Ted — My late father introduced the cocktail to me when I was seventeen. As soon as the CD arrives here, I will mix one, and then I’m gonna be cooling down with Cole. Whilst anticipating that, I’m waiting for “More Moon”