| 2-3-4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1962 | |||
| Recorded | February 5 & 8, 1962 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 41:38 | |||
| Label | Impulse! | |||
| Producer | Bob Thiele | |||
| Shelly Manne chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| DownBeat |  [1] |
| AllMusic |  [2] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
2-3-4 is an album by American jazz drummer Shelly Manne featuring performances recorded in 1962 for the Impulse! label. [4]
2-3-4 was not a typical album for Manne. Primarily associated with West Coast jazz, he flew from Los Angeles to New York City on February 5, 1962, by arrangement with producer Bob Thiele, to be reunited with pioneering tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and pianist Hank Jones, with both of whom he had recorded at different times in the 1940s. In an unusual session lasting through the wee hours of the morning, he ended by recording one tune as a duet with Hawkins, who for the first time in his career was recorded also playing the piano. [2]
The album includes a second recording session at the same studio a few days later. Bassist George Duvivier stayed on with Manne, and they were joined by Eddie Costa for two trio tracks. "The Sicks of Us" has Costa on vibes for "a largely spontaneous trio number"; on "Lean on Me", Costa switches to piano. [5]
The name of the album is derived from its inclusion of a duet ("2"), two trio performances ("3"), and three tunes played by a quartet ("4"). Unusually, the standards "Take the "A" Train" and "Cherokee" were played in two tempos simultaneously, with Manne playing in double time consistently throughout "Cherokee". [2]
A fourth tune recorded by the quartet at the first session, "Avalon", was released at first only in the Impulse! collection The Definitive Jazz Scene, Volume 1. [6] Some thirty years later, it was included on the first CD reissue of 2-3-4 as a bonus track.
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow described the album as "a very interesting set with more than its share of surprises". [2]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Take the "A" Train" | Billy Strayhorn | 7:34 |
| 2. | "The Sicks of Us" | Eddie Costa, George Duvivier, Shelly Manne | 6:00 |
| 3. | "Slowly" | Kermit Goell, David Raksin | 5:34 |
| 4. | "Lean on Me" | Allan Greene, Edwin Waldman | 6:28 |
| 5. | "Cherokee" | Ray Noble | 3:29 |
| 6. | "Me and Some Drums" | Coleman Hawkins, Manne | 5:59 |
| 7. | "Lean on Me" (Alternate take; Bonus track on CD reissue) | Greene, Waldman | 6:24 |
| 8. | "Avalon" (Bonus track on CD reissue) | Al Jolson, Buddy DeSylva, Vincent Rose | 6:34 |
Coleman Randolph Hawkins, nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. One of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument, as Joachim E. Berendt explained: "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn". Hawkins biographer John Chilton described the prevalent styles of tenor saxophone solos prior to Hawkins as "mooing" and "rubbery belches." Hawkins cited as influences Happy Caldwell, Stump Evans, and Prince Robinson, although he was the first to tailor his method of improvisation to the saxophone rather than imitate the techniques of the clarinet. Hawkins' virtuosic, arpeggiated approach to improvisation, with his characteristic rich, emotional, and vibrato-laden tonal style, was the main influence on a generation of tenor players that included Chu Berry, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Ben Webster, Vido Musso, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, and Don Byas, and through them the later tenormen, Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Ike Quebec, Al Sears, Paul Gonsalves, and Lucky Thompson. While Hawkins became known with swing music during the big band era, he had a role in the development of bebop in the 1940s.
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist known for extensive work with Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald.
Edwin James Costa was an American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer and arranger. In 1957, he was chosen as DownBeat jazz critics' new star on piano and vibes – the first time that one artist won two categories in the same year. He became known for his percussive, driving piano style that concentrated on the lower octaves of the keyboard.
George Duvivier was an American jazz double-bassist.
Empathy is a 1962 album by jazz musicians Bill Evans and Shelly Manne. It was recorded and released by Verve Records, the label Evans joined a year after the recording session. The album came about when Manne and Evans were sharing a bill at New York's Village Vanguard nightclub, and Verve producer Creed Taylor proposed a studio collaboration for the two bandleaders. Riverside Records, Evans' label during 1962, allowed Evans to participate, and the trio was completed by Manne's bass player of the time, Monty Budwig.
My Fair Lady, recorded by "Shelly Manne & His Friends" and released in 1956 by Contemporary Records, is the first album ever made consisting entirely of jazz versions of tunes from a single Broadway musical. It was an instant hit and became one of the best-selling jazz albums of its day.
Into the Hot is an album released under the auspices of Gil Evans featuring a large ensemble under the direction of John Carisi and the Cecil Taylor Unit. The album was released on the Impulse! label in 1961.
Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders is a 1958 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the Contemporary label, featuring performances by Rollins with Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne with Victor Feldman added on one track. It was the last studio record Rollins made in the 1950s. Following the recording of "Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders", Rollins toured Europe in the spring of 1959, then took a hiatus from recording and performing in public that ended in 1962 with his LP The Bridge.
Time Remembered is a live album by jazz pianist Bill Evans with Chuck Israels and Larry Bunker partially recorded at the Shelly Manne's club in Hollywood, California in May 1963, but not released until 1983 on the Milestone label as a 16-track double LP. It would be later reissued on CD in 1999, with only 13 tracks. The trio performances were recorded at the same sessions that produced At Shelly's Manne-Hole (1963) and were first released on Bill Evans: The Complete Riverside Recordings (1984). The four solo performances were recorded in a separate session in April 1962 in New York City. "Some Other Time" was recorded in December 1958, in New York City.
This Is How I Feel About Jazz is a 1957 album by Quincy Jones. Jones arranged and conducted three recording sessions during September 1956, each with a different line-up, from a nonet to a fifteen piece big band. Musicians on the album include Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Lucky Thompson, Hank Jones, Paul Chambers, Milt Jackson, Art Pepper, Zoot Sims, and Herbie Mann. The bonus tracks on the CD release include compositions by Jimmy Giuffre, Lennie Niehaus and Charlie Mariano.
Jazz Goes to the Movies is an album by American jazz arranger and conductor Manny Albam recorded in 1962 for the Impulse! label.
Jazz 'n' Samba is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson featuring performances recorded in 1964 for the Impulse! label.
Just the Way It Had to Be is a live album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson featuring performances recorded at Shelly's Manne Hole in 1969 for the Impulse! label.
Evolution is an album by jazz vibraphonist and pianist Teddy Charles recorded in 1953 and 1955 for the Prestige label.
The West Coast Sound is an album by drummer Shelly Manne's group Shelly Manne & His Men, recorded at sessions in 1953 and 1955 and released on the Contemporary label. The album features Manne's first recordings for Contemporary from 1953—eight tracks originally released on a 10-inch album—along with an additional four tracks from 1955.
Jazz Giant is an album by saxophonist Benny Carter that was recorded in 1957 and 1958 and released by Contemporary Records.
Just for Fun is an album by pianist Hank Jones with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, recorded in 1977 for the Galaxy label.
The Three and The Two is an album by drummer Shelly Manne, featuring multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Giuffre, pianist Russ Freeman, and trumpeter Shorty Rogers. It was recorded at two sessions in 1954, originally released on two 10-inch LPs, and re-released in 1960 on a 12-inch LP on the Contemporary label.
Merry Olde Soul is an album by vibraphonist/pianist Victor Feldman recorded in early 1961 and originally released on the Riverside label.
This is the discography for American jazz drummer Shelly Manne.
