Billboard : 05/26/1956
Spotlight on… selection

Hamilton‘s first 12-inch LP (PJ 1209) was an unusual success – commercially and critically. If anything, this new release is even more outstanding. The degree of integration that the fivesome has achieved, down to the subtlest of details, is remarkable. Drums (Hamilton), bass (Carson Smith), guitar (Jim Hall) and cello (Fred Katz) provide a delicate “chamber music-like” backdrop for the blowing of Buddy Collette who successively wields alto, tenor, clarinet and flute. A varied, fascinating program that holds up to the best to come out of West Coast recording studios this year.

—–

Army Times
Tom Scanlan : 05/26/1956

Buddy Collette, a comparative newcomer to the national jazz scene, already ranks as one of the swingingest of all reed man, it says here.

If you have yet to hear Buddy play, I suggest you listen to a new 12-inch LP by the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Buddy plays alto sax, tenor sax, clarinet, and flute on this one and plays each instrument well. Note his Presterish feel on Takin’ a Chance on Love and Topsy. Others in the group are Hamilton, drums; Fred Katz, cello; Jim Hall, guitar; and Carson Smith, bass. The group has given time and thought to the arrangements for this album and it pays off. In general, this is subdued, careful, modern but swinging music. Recommended.

—–

Miami Herald
Fred Sherman : 06/17/1956

An anniversary column of sorts is this one because we have come to the second 12-inch album by Chico Hamilton and his quintet.

This cool department opened six months ago with a review of the first one. And we said then that “it is sound that springs from 18th century chamber music… Bach with a gentle downbeat… the wildness of Indian folk music tempered in the continental mode of Debussy and Ravel.”

Those comments are confirmed in the new Pacific Jazz album, Chico Hamilton Quintet in Hi-Fi.

I don’t think there is anything in this album to surpass the brilliant Blue Sands of the earlier session, but there is a better balance of sound in the newer release.

Hamilton was never more reserved, using his drums melodically to enhance the cerebral swing of the reed, cello, guitar and bass.

This is a happy combination of instruments and a dedicated group of musicians. Buddy Collette emerges the headiest of the quintet as he moves from alto to clarinet to tenor sax. As in the earlier set, you have Fred Katz on cello, Jim Hall on guitar and the bass of Carson Smith.

Best of the set is the opener on the second side, a little over four minutes of Sleepy Slept Here, composed and arranged by Collette. And it is one of the solid points of the album that in the 11 tracks you get a taste of the composing ability of each of the men in the quintet.

This is really listening music. Don’t bother with it if the kids are romping through the living room. Highly recommended.

—–

Oakland Tribune
Russ Wilson : 06/10/1956

The Chico Hamilton Quintet’s second album serves notice that this group may become one of the most important small units organized in recent years. Though the combo’s record debut six months ago was hailed with hosannas, behind these lurked the question of whether the qualities demonstrated could be maintained. Happily the answer is yes. In the interval the quintet has become more closely integrated and thereby has strengthened its collective expression. Meantime the individuality of its members has not been dimmed.

Six of the 11 numbers on the new op. are originals by members of the group: Buddy Collette, alto, tenor, clarinet, flute; Fred Katz, cello; Jim Hall, guitar; Carson Smith (the ex-San Francisco lad), bass; and Hamilton, drums. But don’t let that instrumentation fool you; this group can swing. It also can play lyrically, as is demonstrated by Jim Hall’s arrangement of The Wind, and can employ counterpoint in a manner that has you happily replaying such numbers as cellist Katz’s development of a motif based on, When Your Lover Has Gone.

This is a superb example of jazz chamber music.

—–

Providence Journal – Providence, RI
Philip C. Gunion – 05/27/1956

The increasingly popular Chico Hamilton Quintet is spread out on Pacific Jazz Records Chico Hamilton Quintet in Hi Fi, an example of good, hard West Coast styling, yet with mellowness and variety.

Buddy Collette gets a complete workout with stints on alto, tenor, clarinet and flute, and Jim Hall on guitar contributes some wonderful solo spots as well as working rhythm well with Chico’s drums. Chico’s brush work is outstanding and delicately shaded.

—–

Virginian-Pilot
Robert C. Smith : 05/27/1956

The first recording of the Chico Hamilton Quintet some months ago was enlarged upon in this space and has been a good seller, despite its experimental nature. The quintet “in Hi-Fi,” and it is high fidelity, is more of the same, with Chico thumping to the merry accompaniment of Jim Hall, guitar, Fred Katz, cello, Carson Smith, bass, and Buddy Collette, alto, tenor, clarinet, and flute. There is a lovely guitar-cello duet on The Squimp, some fine Collette on Topsy and assorted moments of happy and easily assimilated modern jazz.

—–

Washington Post
Paul Sampson : 06/03/1956

Second LPs by new jazz groups too often are disappointing, but the new Pacific Jazz LP by the superb Chico Hamilton Quintet is even more delightful than its first. The Quintet plays with bright charm, beautifully interweaving the instruments into a graceful, but pulsating, ensemble. The interplay is often subtle and deft, as in the fluttery original, Chrissie, but the effects never are merely trickery and transcend surface glitter.

The group can dig in and swing too when the occasion demands, as it does on The Ghost and Sleepy Slept Here. Not the least of its assets is the ability of the members to write intriguing originals. Heartily recommended.

—–

Down Beat : 06/27/1956
Nat Hentoff : 4.5 stars

The second volume by the Chico Hamilton quintet (Buddy Collette, alto, tenor flute; cellist Fred Katz; guitarist Jim Hall; bassist Carson Smith) is better in several respects, than the five-starred first, but receives a slightly lower rating because of a general recent stiffening of the ratings and because a few of the tracks, notably 1 and 8, are really quite slight. Also, any unit has to be judged harder the second time around.

But this LP is a firm accomplishment. The men have played together longer and there’s a resultant added sureness and ease in their integration and a deeper, stronger rhythmic pulsation. Retained is the rare, inimitable collective identify of this quintet – a group personality that is fresh, growing, and musically meaningful though still needful of less reliance in places on devices instead of free-flowing emotion.

Again, much of the writing comes from within the group, as the detailed credits indicate. This availability of different perspectives, all from inside the working center, makes for a collective expression that is more varied than most small units’.

The quintet does more than create introspective and/or whimsical chamber music. This set travels from Hall’s rather attractively skittish Chrissie through a lyric treatment of of Russ Freeman‘s The Wind, Katz’ impressionistic expansion of a motif from When Your Love Has Gone, the full-swinging Sleepy and Takin’, the relaxed elasticity of Topsy to Drums West, one of the most cohesive and witty drum solos on record.

The musicianship is excellent and jazz-wise, the particularly striking soloist Hall. Very good recorded sound and helpful notes by Sleepy Stein. It’s important for jazz for this unit to stay together and continue developing.

—–

Liner Notes by Sleepy Stein

It hasn’t been very long since Chico left a very lucrative job as Lena Horne‘s drummer to strike out on his own. His first LP, a ten incher on Pacific Jazz, was just a trio thing. He picked a trio because he wanted to show that the other side of the rhythm section could be melodic, as well as rhythmic. On the date he used George Duvivier, Lena’s great bass man, and guitarist Howard Roberts. Roberts, a tremendous talent, had been working with Bobby Troup‘s trio, backing Bobby’s vocals and consequently had never really had a chance to blow. On this album he really blew! He blew so well that the one LP made him a nationally known artist. But I don’t have to tell you about it. You’ve got a copy in your library and you’ve read the Downbeat review that gave it five stars.

The success of Chico’s first album had opened the door. What now? Chico wasn’t completely satisfied with the sound in spite of the record’s success and he wanted to supplement the trio with a horn, but whose? For several years he had discussed a modern jazz group with a young genius named Buddy Collette. Buddy played tenor, alto, clarinet, flute and a couple of others and all equally well. He arranged like a demon and composed like a saint. Chico decided to build the combo around Buddy’s versatility.

Well, things were happening. He had a quartet. Leave it at that or make it a quintet? It’s a lot easier to get bookings for four men than for five, club budgets being what they are, but the quartet still didn’t have the sound Chico was striving for. He talked to John Graas, the French horn’s gift to West Coast jazz, but John was committed to Liberace. Anyway, that settled that. Then, just like in the movies, the telephone rang. It was Jana Mason who needed a drummer for a club date. Her pianist was also her vocal coach, a round, happy-type fellow named Freddy Katz. Freddy and Chico were old friends from the time that Freddy had played cello with the Lena Horne group. Why not use cello? He remembered the beautiful sounds Freddy had created as concert master for Lena and Freddy’s classical background would be invaluable. It was worth a try.

One rehearsal convinced everyone concerned. The sound was great using augmented parts of the original trio score and it came off right from the start. They experimented with cello, flute and horns and achieved unlimited varieties of sound.

George Duvivier was still with Lena and unavailable, but Carson Smith, with whom Chico had played in the Mulligan Quartet, was in town. Fine. What about guitar? Roberts was still working with Troup and couldn’t come along. John Graas recommended a youngster from Cleveland with whom he had been rehearsing – Jimmy Hall. Jimmy fitted into the group from the first chord. The Chico Hamilton Quintet was in business.

Chico’s playing shows a desire to be a part of the melodic ensemble, rather than just a beat in the background. He seldom uses sticks, confining himself to brushes and the occasional use of mallets on Latin and jungle-type presentations. He tried to make his playing as quiet as possible and this idea alone is revolutionary enough to influence many upcoming young drummers to try for a more tasteful, more delicate type of sound.

Their first twelve inch LP for Pacific Jazz has been chalking up sales records since the day it was released and I feel that this new album will even surpass that. The group here shows much improvement, both individually and collectively. The integration accomplished here is a thing of great skill and beauty and a joy to hear. The tunes are wonderful.

Side one opens with a Carson Smith original dedicated to Joan (Mrs. Carson) Smith and entitled diminutively, Jonalah. This is a short, swinging little opus, featuring Buddy on clarinet.

Chrissie, written and arranged by Jimmy Hall is a Mozart-like thing depicting a flighty little girl of seven or eight. It features Jim’s guitar and some tremendously sensitive flute by Buddy.

Russ Freeman wrote The Wind and Jimmy did the arranging. You may recall the Chet Baker recording of this tune done about a year ago. This is a vehicle for Buddy’s alto, which sounds like the most legit at first and working around to an almost Bird-like quality.

Gone Lover brings forth the talents of cellist Katz. Freddy has developed a motif based on When Your Lover Has Gone. This features one of the quintet’s staggering “Free Forms” intros and has a Daphnis and Chloe flavor.

The first side winds up with Buddy Collette’s The Ghost, purveying some hot cello by Freddy and a guitar solo in which Jim shows oh-so-much influence by Charlie Christian.

The opener on side two is a thing written by Buddy Collette for me to use as a theme on my nightly jazz DJ stint on KFOX, here in Southern California. It’s called Sleepy Slept Here and brings out the wonderful smoothness of Chico’s rhythm section. The balance on this one is too much!

Taking A Chance On Love gets a Latin twist from Jimmy Hall’s arrangement and swings like mad. Again Jimmy gives me the feeling that I’m listening to Christian in spots.

Again Freddy Katz unveiled The Squimp, a shorty with some tricky interplay between guitar and the swinginist cello ever heard!

Topsy. The old Basie evergreen is actually the only heard arrangement in the set. The group sounds so full on this that you can count at least ten or eleven men. Chico did the opening and closing arrangement on this his “Thanks to the wonderful Mr. Count Basie.”

Drums West, the only drum solo in the album was recorded at a recent concert. Normally I don’t dig extended drum solos with much enthusiasm, but this man plays music, not drums. There are enough exciting ideas in this one track for ten separate solos!

The package winds up with Sleep (no relation), originally composed as a waltz. The cross between broken French and guttural African on the opening is just Chico’s usual way of kicking off the tempo. This was a joint arranging effort of Chico and Jimmy Hall.

This is not just a jazz album, it’s an experience in the heights which our art has achieved. The thing that impresses me most is that listening to this LP is like hearing two entirely two different groups. On one hand we have the relaxed, swinging jazz combo of Topsy and on the other the intricate, serious and formal cohesiveness of Gone Lover. You’ll like this set. It’s a ball!

—

West Coast Artist Series 5

Our cover photograph (by William Claxton) of the Los Angeles sculptor, Vito, illustrates the climax of an exciting afternoon at the sculptor’s studio where the Hamilton Quintet performed, entertained and inspired an energetic group of students of Vito’s Clay Workshop.

Since its founding 1947, the Clay Workshop students can boast of having won four first awards in sculpture in various exhibitions in Los Angeles.

Although Vito’s work can be described for the most part as semi-abstract, he is a well-known portraitist and commercial sculptor in the literal-classical concept of interpretation. Vito has just returned from a year’s study in Europe to begin work on his ambition to establish a center of endeavor in the arts – for both adults and children – embracing sculpture, painting, dance, and the theatre arts in Los Angeles.