Four Classic Albums (Jazz And Romantic Places / Jazz Goes Dancing / I Had The Craziest Dream / A Pell Of A Time)

The subject may be "Jazz and Romantic Places" and the locations may range from Paris to Rio but the jazz is strictly West Coast and Cool! Dave Pell on tenor sax is joined by the cream of jazz players from the Les Brown band with whom Pell had played for many years. The band having found time between their lucrative "day job" on the Bob Hope TV show to join their old band mate for the trip! For "Jazz Goes Dancing" Dave Pell writes in the original sleeve notes that for this project he was determined to create a jazz album to dance to, just like in the old dance band days. The swing was away from the clubs and concert stages and back to the dance halls, colleges and proms where Pell's band were making an enjoyable and lucrative living! Pell's octet here includes three members of the Les Brown band, Pell himself on tenor, Dan Fagerquist on trumpet and Ray Sims on trombone., while the other members included Tony Rizzi on guitar from the Lena Horne TV Show and Bob Barnes on bass from the original Dave Brubeck Quartet. What a line up!! The Dave Pell Quartet with the following arrangers-Marty Paich, Shorty Rogers, Bob Holman, Andre Previn, Jack Montrose and Wes Hensel. It's no wonder that "I Had the Craziest Dream" the Octet's album most steeped in the original jazz tradition became one of Dave Pell's most popular albums and one he would get requests both for the arrangements and the playing some forty years after release! "A Pell of a Time" finds Dave Pell getting a little more serious about his jazz! As he writes in the original sleeve notes up till then his style of jazz playing had been dance and fun orientated, tightly arranged , relatively short numbers and with little room for traditional jazz improvisation. For this album he decided to get top arrangers Marty Paich, Bill Holman, Paul Moer and Jack Montrose to loosen up a little and give the Octet room to get "funky" and blow! Joining regulars were some new faces in Jack Sheldon on trumpet and Pepper Adams on baritone sax. Dave Pell's final comments in the original sleeve notes best some up his style and philosophy to playing jazz! "it's been fun all the way, and that's how it should be to listened to!"

All four albums plus have been digitally re-mastered.