Tag Archives: Mack Gordon

Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly

In December 1958, “Verve” label released “Ella Swings Lightly”, album by Ella Fitzgerald. It was recorded in November 1958, at “Radio Recorders” in Hollywood, and was produced by Norman Granz. This album won Ella Fitzgerald the 1960 Grammy award for the Best Improvised Jazz Solo.

Personnel:

  • Ella Fitzgerald – vocal
  • Marty Paich’s Dek-Tette: Bud Shank – alto saxophone 
  • Bill Holman – tenor saxophone
  • Med Flory – baritone saxophone 
  • Don Fagerquist, Al Porcino – trumpet
  • Bob Enevoldsen – valve trombone, tenor saxophone 
  • Vincent DeRosa – French horn
  • Lou Levy  – piano
  • Joe Mondragon – bass 
  • Mel Lewis – drums 

Track listing:

  1. Little White Lies – Walter Donaldson
  2. You Hit the Spot – Mack Gordon, Harry Revel
  3. What’s Your Story, Morning Glory? – Jack Lawrence, Paul Francis Webster, Mary Lou Williams
  4. Just You, Just Me – Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages
  5. As Long as I Live – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler
  6. Teardrops from My Eyes – Rudy Toombs
  7. Gotta Be This or That – Sunny Skylar
  8. Moonlight on the Ganges – Sherman Myers, Chester Wallace
  9. My Kinda Love – Louis Alter, Jo Trent
  10. Blues in the Night – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
  11. If I Were a Bell – Frank Loesser
  12. You’re an Old Smoothie – Nacio Herb Brown, Buddy DeSylva, Richard A. Whiting
  13. Little Jazz – Roy Eldridge, Buster Harding
  14. You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me – Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal, Peter Norman
  15. Knock Me a Kiss – Mike Jackson
  16. 720 in the Books – Harold Adamson, Jan Savitt, Leo Watson

Ben Webster: Soulville

In November 1957, “Verve” label released “Soulville”, the sixth Ben Webster album. It was recorded in October 1957, and was produced by Norman Granz.

Personnel:

  • Ben Webster – tenor saxophone
  • Oscar Peterson – piano
  • Herb Ellis – guitar
  • Ray Brown – bass
  • Stan Levey – drums
  • Nat Hentoff – liner notes
  • Ellie Hughes – design
  • Tom Hughes – design
  • Phil Stern – photography

Track listing:

  1. Soulville – Ben Webster
  2. Late Date – Ben Webster
  3. Time on My Hands – Harold Adamson, Mack Gordon, Vincent Youmans
  4. Lover, Come Back to Me – Oscar Hammerstein II, Sigmund Romberg
  5. Where Are You? – Lew Pollack, Lou Davis
  6. Makin’ Whoopee – Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn
  7. Ill Wind – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler

Frank Sinatra: Nice ‘N’ Easy

On July 25, 1960, “Capitol” label released “Nice ‘n’ Easy”, the eighteenth Frank Sinatra studio album. It was recorded March – April 1960, at “Capitol Studio A” in Hollywood, and was produced by Dave Cavanaugh.

Personnel:

  • Frank Sinatra – vocal
  • Orchestra Nelson Riddle
  • Nelson Riddle – orchestra conductor

Track listing:

  1. Nice ‘n’ Easy – Alan Bergman, Marilyn Keith, Lew Spence
  2. That Old Feeling – Lew Brown, Sammy Fain
  3. How Deep Is the Ocean? (How High Is the Sky?) – Irving Berlin
  4. I’ve Got a Crush on You – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
  5. You Go to My Head – J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
  6. Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread) – Rube Bloom, Johnny Mercer
  7. Nevertheless (I’m in Love with You) – Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby
  8. (I Got A Woman Crazy For Me) She’s Funny That Way – Neil Moret, Richard A. Whiting
  9. Try a Little Tenderness – Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly, Harry M. Woods
  10. Embraceable You – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
  11. Mam’selle – Mack Gordon, Edmund Goulding
  12. Dream – Johnny Mercer

Lou Donaldson Quintet: Swing And Soul

In July 1957, “Blue Note” label released “Swing and Soul”, album by the Lou Donaldson Quintet (the sixth Lou Donaldson album overall). It was recorded in June 1957, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Hackensack, New Jersey, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
  • Herman Foster – piano
  • Peck Morrison – bass
  • Dave Bailey – drums
  • Ray Barretto – congas
  • Rudy Van Gelder – recording
  • Reid Miles – design
  • Francis Wolff – photography
  • Ira Gitler – liner notes

Track listing:

All tracks by Lou Donaldson, except where noted.

  1. Dorothy – Rudy Nichols
  2. I Won’t Cry Any More – Al Frisch, Fritz Wise
  3. Herman’s Mambo – Herman Foster
  4. Peck Time
  5. There’ll Never Be Another You – Mack Gordon, Harry Warren
  6. Groove Junction
  7. Grits and Gravy

Roland Kirk: Reeds & Deeds

In June 1963, “Mercury” label released “Reeds & Deeds”, the sixth Roland Kirk album. It was recorded in February 1963, in New York.

Personnel:

  • Roland Kirk – tenor saxophone, manzello, stritch, flute, siren
  • Virgil Jones – trumpet
  • Charles Greenlee – trombone
  • Tom McIntosh – trombone
  • Harold Mabern – piano
  • Abdullah Rafik – bass
  • Richard Davis – bass
  • Walter Perkins – drums
  • Benny Golson – arrangements

Track listing:

All tracks by Roland Kirk, except where noted.

  1. Land of Peace – Leonard Feather
  2. Lonesome August Child
  3. Limbo Boat
  4. Hay Ro
  5. Waltz of the Friends
  6. This Is Always – Harry Warren, Mack Gordon
  7. Reeds and Deeds
  8. Song of the Countrymen

The Oscar Peterson Trio: A Jazz Portrait Of Frank Sinatra

In June 1959, “Verve” label released “A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra”, album by The Oscar Peterson Trio. It was recorded in May 1959, and was produced by Norman Granz.

Personnel:

  • Oscar Peterson – piano
  • Ray Brown – double bass
  • Ed Thigpen – drums

Track listing:

  1. You Make Me Feel So Young – Mack Gordon, Josef Myrow
  2. Come Dance with Me – Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen
  3. Learnin’ the Blues – Dolores Vicki Silvers
  4. Witchcraft – Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh
  5. (Love Is) The Tender Trap – Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen
  6. Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week) – Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne
  7. Just in Time – Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Jule Styne
  8. It Happened in Monterey – Billy Rose, Mabel Wayne
  9. I Get a Kick Out of You – Cole Porter
  10. All of Me – Seymour Simons, Gerald Marks
  11. The Birth of the Blues – Ray Henderson, Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown
  12. How About You? – Ralph Freed, Burton Lane

Hank Mobley: Roll Call

In June 1961, “Blue Note” label released “Roll Call”, the 13th Hank Mobley album. It was recorded in November 1960, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
  • Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
  • Wynton Kelly – piano
  • Paul Chambers – bass
  • Art Blakey – drums

Track listing:

All tracks by Hank Mobley, except where noted.

  1. Roll Call
  2. My Groove Your Move
  3. Take Your Pick
  4. A Baptist Beat
  5. The More I See You – Harry Warren, Mack Gordon
  6. The Breakdown

Randy Weston Trio: With These Hands…

In May 1956, “Riverside” label released “With These Hands…”, the fourth Randy Weston album. It was recorded in March 1956, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Hackensack, New Jersey, and was produced by Bill Grauer and Orrin Keepnews.

Personnel:

  • Randy Weston – piano
  • Cecil Payne – baritone saxophone 
  • Ahmed Abdul-Malik – bass
  • Wilbert Hogan – drums

Track listing:

All tracks by Randy Weston, except where noted.

  1. The Man I Love – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
  2. Serenade in Blue – Mack Gordon, Harry Warren
  3. I Can’t Get Started – Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin
  4. This Can’t Be Love – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
  5. These Foolish Things – Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey
  6. Lifetime
  7. Do Nothing till You Hear from Me – Duke Ellington, Bob Russell
  8. Little Niles

Kenny Drew: A Harry Warren Showcase

In May 1957, “Judson” label released “A Harry Warren Showcase”, the fifth Kenny Drew album. It was recorded in February 1957, in New York City, and was produced by Bill Grauer Jr. and Orrin Keepnews.

Personnel:

  • Kenny Drew – piano
  • Wilbur Ware – bass

Track listing:

  1. You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby – Johnny Mercer, Harry Warren
  2. Lullaby of Broadway – Al Dubin, Harry Warren
  3. Remember Me – Al Dubin, Harry Warren
  4. Jeepers Creepers – Johnny Mercer, Harry Warren
  5. I Only Have Eyes for You – Al Dubin, Harry Warren
  6. You’re My Everything – Mort Dixon, Joe Young, Harry Warren
  7. You’ll Never Know – Mack Gordon, Harry Warren
  8. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Al Dubin, Harry Warren
  9. You’re Getting to Be a Habit with Me – Al Dubin, Harry Warren
  10. Serenade in Blue – Mack Gordon, Harry Warren
  11. About a Quarter to Nine – Al Dubin, Harry Warren
  12. September in the Rain – Al Dubin, Harry Warren

Sonny Stitt: Night Letter

In November 1969, “Prestige” label released “Night Letter”, the 74th Sonny Stitt album. It was recorded in 1969, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Bob Porter.

Personnel:

  • Sonny Stitt – tenor saxophone, varitone
  • Gene Ludwig – organ
  • Pat Martino – guitar
  • Randy Gelispie – drums
  • Rudy Van Gelder – engineer

Track listing:

All tracks by Sonny Stitt, except where noted.

  1. Night Letter
  2. When It’s Sleepy Time Down South – Clarence Muse, Leon René, Otis René
  3. Stringin’ the Jug – Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt
  4. Pretend – Lew Douglas, Cliff Parman, Frank LeVere
  5. Blue String
  6. You’ll Never Know – Harry Warren, Mack Gordon
  7. Blues Walk