Billboard : 06/30/1956
Score of 76

A re-issue of the material on the 10-inch LP (Prestige 164) called “New Directions, Volume 3” – and adding two takes of Bobalob (one of which is in Prestige 169) and Margo previously unissued. The latter features Charles on piano and Jimmy Giuffre on tenor. The recordings were made in 1953 and were widely studied for their harmonic and contrapuntal innovations. The sounds are still fresh – and as the jazz public matures, are bound to find an increasingly large audience.

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Liner Notes by Ira Gitler

recorded August 21, 1953 in Hollywood

Collaboration: West comes as a direct outgrowth of considerable playing along the new lines indicated in New Directions Volumes 1 and 2. On the West Coast during the summer of 1953, Teddy Charles had the opportunity to work with a group of serious and sympathetic musicians, putting into practice the theoretical material and its consequent discoveries initiated in the earlier works by Hall Overton and himself. The fortunate combination of this experience with the talents of Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, and Curtis Counce has produced very effective, swinging jazz within a strikingly different medium. It is not a radical departure from what has become conventional jazz playing but is rather an evolution to a jazz style more controlled with regard to form, unity of materials and development while generating through this medium a greater freedom for solo and group improvisation. The restricting of materials to circumscribed limits permits a freedom impossible where all players pull in completely independent directions. Teddy believes by using materials unfamiliar to conventional jazz playing, using conventional materials in unfamiliar ways and using compositional techniques in treating these materials, a cohesive jazz environment is produced which at once liberate the soloist.

A left hand device employed by Bud Powell to free his right hand for extended melodic exploration is the basis for Variations On A Motive By Bud. It consists of constant fluctuation between F and Gb tonalities around a center of C with resultant polyphonic melodic possibilities. The bridge contains the only real chord progression. Consequently the solos show great freedom.

In Wailing Dervish Shorty Rogers used an F minor tonality with an interlude of C and Db whole tone basis and a chordal bridge section. The piece has a “dancing” character.

In Further Out the first trumpet solo has a polytonal setting as do the short vibes sections In the “blowing” section, the essentials of the composition are assembled into a chordal pattern of minor mode with a polytonic bridge. The ad lib contrapuntal ideas of both trumpet and vibes affect the bass progressions.

Etudiez Le Cahier utilizes a white note modal idea with harmonic flux arising between 5th and #5th which combines with a strong chromatic bridge and irregular drum rhythms to give it an unusual character and great freedom for improvising.

The musicians in this group have the technical ability and the background to attempt pieces of this type and play them successfully.

Shorty Rogers is esteemed not only for his playing but more specifically for his composing and arranging for the bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Les Brown and his own. His contribution to this album, Wailing Dervish, is a departure from anything he has presented before and stems from studies with Dr. Wesley La Violette in Hollywood. His playing in this album is abundant in new ideas without sacrificing any of the drive or taste which were always its important parts.

Much has been written in praise of Shelly Manne. His fame is wide spread among the world’s jazz fans due to his long tenure with Stan Kenton. Unlike many other “big names” whose reputations are a result of repetition of those same names, Shelly’s recognition is well merited. His reputation is backed by his versatile talents on an instrument where versatility is a salient factor. In addition, Shelly has studied composition. His knowledge is not confined to the rhythmic aspects of music. This is an invaluable asset whether it is being utilized directly or indirectly.

Curtis Counce is a veteran West Coast musician who recorded with Lester Young in the Forties, and has played with many groups in the Hollywood area including Wardell Gray‘s. His performance here is more than workmanlike. Listen to his intense drive behind Shorty Rogers’ second chorus on Variations.

A major achievement has been reached in this album. It is the most successful wedding of elements from modern serious music and jazz. Important qualities of each have been retained and utilized effectively.

Hall Overton‘s statement, “The challenge of the new materials serves as a spur to greater excitement,” has been borne out of the vibrant, electric quality of the music and Teddy Charles through his playing and writing (Further Out, Variations and Etudiez Le Cahier) has clearly established himself as one of the important figures of the post bop transition period.

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Liner Notes by Hall Overton

recorded August 31, 1953 in Hollywood

With Jimmy Giuffre an additional collaborator, Teddy Charles continues his explorations in experimental jazz. All five musicians display here an exceptional ensemble feeling for an idiom which lies well off the beaten path of jazz, striking a neat balance between the written and the improvised sections in each piece. In an age of all-star soloists it is refreshing to hear jazz musicians working together for the sake of the over-all musical result.

The elements that distinguish this music from the standard jazz idioms are —

1. longer forms than the usual 32 bar song form
2. a much more varied type harmony (polytonality, 4th chords)
3. spontaneous counterpoint, whenever performers feel an extra melodic line fits
4. fluctuating tonal centers

It is important to note that the improvised portions on these sides match the written portions to the extent that it is often difficult to tell them apart. This is clear proof that the group understands in an intuitive, improvisational way, what it is doing and it marks an outstanding achievement in jazz of this type.

Margo written by Teddy is a slow, ballad-type piece, introduced by Teddy’s piano and featuring very sensitive melodic support from Jimmy Giuffre. This is perhaps the first successful slow piece in this new idiom, projecting a prolonged lyrical statement without losing harmonic freshness.

Bobalob presented here in two takes, happened spontaneously. The second version is a head arrangement of the ideas that “happened” in the first take. It reflects the group’s ability to take impulse from each other’s ideas and carry them out.

Those who are familiar with Teddy Charles’ previous New Directions records know that he has worked consistently, with the highest integrity, to inject new sounds into jazz, relying on the intuitive response of his fellow performers. He believes jazz has exhausted most of its harmonic resources and by emphasizing improvisation in unfamiliar harmonies, good jazz musicians can and will find new and fresh melodic patterns. The soundness of his theory is amply justified by the music presented here.