This Contemporary album has thus far only been reissued on LP. Three sessions taken from different periods are included, featuring different versions of
the Lighthouse All-Stars.
Howard Rumsey's group is heard on their second earliest session (their first was made for the tiny Skylark label), which was also their debut for Contemporary. The band at the time consisted of trumpeter
Shorty Rogers, trombonist
Milt Bernhart,
Jimmy Giuffre and
Bob Cooper on tenors, pianist
Frank Patchen, bassist/leader
Rumsey, and drummer
Shelly Manne. In addition to cool jazz numbers, they perform the satirical R&B romp "Big Girl" and (with
Carlos Vidal on conga) the rhythmic "Viva Zapata." In addition, the 1953 version of the band (with trumpeter
Rolf Ericson, altoist
Herb Geller,
Cooper,
Bud Shank on baritone, pianist
Claude Williamson, drummer
Max Roach, and
Rumsey) has a couple of straight-ahead numbers and a couple of Latin ones. Plus, there are three numbers featuring
Cooper on oboe and tenor,
Bud Shank on flute and alto, trombonist
Frank Rosolino,
Williamson,
Rumsey, and drummer
Stan Levey. Although a bit of a hodgepodge collection, the music is consistently satisfying and shows that there was actually a lot of fire in the best West Coast jazz. An excellent introduction to
the Lighthouse All-Stars. ~ Scott Yanow