HOWARD ROBERTS - The Swingin' Groove of Howard Roberts (2018) FLAC (tracks), lossless

When Howard Roberts (1929-1992) decided to teach himself guitar, he decided to visit every black jazz club in his native Phoenix, Arizona. “All we did was play the blues. And that’s what I came out of—the blues.” Roberts, however, felt the need to learn more about the complexities of the profession, and so he started studying harmony and composition.

Looking for more musical activity, he moved to Los Angeles in 1950, where he gigged around the city in jam sessions at after-hours clubs. There, he developed his dazzling technique and fine harmonic sense. Having played with the best instrumentalists and composers, he started getting calls for session work.

He established his reputation with the Bobby Troup trio, which appeared on TV from coast to coast, and consolidated the fame of Troup’s group with some brilliant playing of his Gibson guitar, so much so that the Down Beat jazz critics accorded Roberts the New Guitar Star Award of 1955.

In the years following he continued recording with top jazz singers and instrumentists, and eventually made his first albums as a leader for Verve. In 1959 Roberts started getting more and more work on TV and film, but not content with settling down in the Hollywood studios, in a kind of prosperous obscurity, he kept very active in the jazz scene, playing concerts and recording his own albums.

Howard Roberts was a skilled guitarist with a fondness for direct and unencumbered jazz playing, his tone always bright and penetrating, never twangy. A fine technician, he was able to execute difficult passages cleanly and forcefully. He forged a sound of his own, fiery and hard-swinging, creative and unpretentious. These sessions are an example of his jazz work, as a sideman and as a leader. freshsoundrecords
Tracklist:
01. How Do You Do? (Bert Dahlander) 3:20
02. Johnson’s Wax (Terry Gibbs) 5:13
03. When the Lights Are Low (Carter-Williams) 5:07
04. Hip Soup (S.Swenson) 6:21
05. But Not for Me (G. & I. Gershwin) 3:58
06. Emma (Bert Dahlander) 5:47
07. Room 608 (Horace Silver) 4:17
08. Ballad Medley 6:28
-Everything Happens to Me (Dennis-Adair)
-Moonlight in Vermont (Blackburn-Suessdorf)
-Flamingo (Grouya-Anderson)
09. All the Things You Are (Kern-Hammerstein II) 2:41
10. Lover Man (Ramirez-Davis-Sherman) 4:28
11. Easy Living (Rainger-Robin) 4:05
12. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Arlen-Koehler) 2:42
13. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World (Rodgers-Hart) 2:51
14. In a Little Spanish Town (Wayne-Lewis-Young) 2:23
15. I’ll Take Romance (Hammerstein-Oakland) 2:57
16. Zigeuner (Noel Coward) 4:17
17. Aunt Orsavella (John T. Williams) 2:25
18. Anything Goes (Rodgers-Hart) 2:30
19. Caribe (John T. Williams) 2:14
Note
Tracks #1-8, from the album “Skål by Bert Dahlander and his Swedish Jazz”
(Verve MG V8253)
Tracks #9-12, from the album “Good Pickin's” (Verve MG V8305)
Tracks #13-16, from the album “The John Towner Touch” (Kapp KL-1055)
Tracks #17-19, from the album “Modern Jazz Gallery” (Kapp KXL 5001)

Personnel on #1-8: Howard Roberts, guitar; Victor Feldman, vibes & piano; Curtis Counce, bass; Bert Dahlander, drums.
Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, September 17, 1957

Personnel on #9-12: Howard Roberts, guitar; Pete Jolly, piano; Red Mitchell, bass; Stan Levey, drums.
Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, January 20, 1959

Personnel on #13-16: Howard Roberts, guitar; John T. Williams, piano; Joe Mondragon, bass; Jack Sperling, drums.
Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, October 3, 1956

Personnel on #17-19: Howard Roberts, guitar; John T. Williams, piano; Curtis Counce, bass; Jerry Williams, drums.
Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, November 2, 1956