West Side Story | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 1, 1961 | |||
Recorded | October 18, 1960 | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Label | Fantasy 3310 (mono) / 8054 (stereo) | |||
Cal Tjader chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Billboard | [2] |
The Christian Science Monitor | favorable [3] |
High Fidelity | favorable [4] |
The Washington Post | favorable [5] |
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [6] |
West Side Story is an album featuring American vibraphonist Cal Tjader, consisting of musical numbers from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story in jazz arrangements, by Tjader's pianist and musical director Clare Fischer, without vocals. It was recorded in October 1960 and released on the Fantasy label in January 1961 as Fantasy 3310 / 8054 (reissued on LP in 1968, in stereo only, as Fantasy 8379). On July 30, 2002, Fantasy would reissue it – along with the 1962 LP Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen – on CD as Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen and West Side Story.
Notwithstanding their respective billing, West Side Story devotes relatively little space to Tjader's – or any – improvisation, and thus remains notable, more as an early showcase for Fischer's arranging and orchestral prowess, and as the first recorded document of the pair's longstanding association. [lower-alpha 1]
In January 1961, having approached this West Side Story adaptation with few expectations, High Fidelity's reviewer was pleasantly surprised:
Just when it seemed that the idea of doing jazz versions of Broadway scores had been proven pointless, along come Tjader and arranger Clare Fischer with a brilliantly apt treatment of "West Side Story." [4]
Billboard concurred, citing Fischer's work in particular:
A highly polished and feelingful musical interpretation of "West Side Story" is the latest LP by Cal Tjader. The music has been specially arranged by Clare Fischer and his work is particularly in tune with the original. [2]
Reviewing the album's first single, "Maria," Billboard was even more effusive, especially regarding the writing: "An intriguing arrangement... with strings and vibes featured. Delightful harmonies are introduced here." Billboard's B-side assessment (of the uptempo, non-orchestral rendition of "Cool") was likewise framed primarily in terms of Fischer's involvement: "... this time, much more in a driving framework. Another good arrangement." [2] The Washington Post's Tony Gieske also focused on Fischer's contribution, and in somewhat greater detail: [lower-alpha 2]
"And on a remarkable new album, arranger Clare Fischer does at least three things that I wish Ramin and Robert Russell Bennett would listen to. First, he makes a nice little combo of tuba, French horn, flute and trombone, adding fresh colors to a Bernstein score which is itself one of the few which seems to attend in the least to how the orchestra sounds. Second, he makes the fiddles cool it with that fruity vibrato, opening them up so they sound like a few violins instead of a bad imitation of a lot of violins.
And in the third, he has a real rhythm section – Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell, Mongo and himself – instead of two bored automatons. [5]
Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group modern jazz, even as he continued to perform music of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
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Douglas Clare Fischer was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University, he became the pianist and arranger for the vocal group the Hi-Lo's in the late 1950s. Fischer went on to work with Donald Byrd and Dizzy Gillespie, and became known for his Latin and bossa nova recordings in the 1960s. He composed the Latin jazz standard "Morning", and the jazz standard "Pensativa". Consistently cited by jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock as a major influence, he was nominated for eleven Grammy Awards during his lifetime, winning for his landmark album, 2+2 (1981), the first of Fischer's records to incorporate the vocal ensemble writing developed during his Hi-Lo's days into his already sizable Latin jazz discography; it was also the first recorded installment in Fischer's three-decade-long collaboration with his son Brent. Fischer was also a posthumous Grammy winner for ¡Ritmo! (2012) and for Music for Strings, Percussion and the Rest (2013).
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