I Play Trombone Frank Rosolino & Conte Candoli

• 1 I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful) 07:05
• 2 The Things We Did Last Summer 04:20
• 3 Frieda 06:10
• 4 Doxy 07:50
• 5 My Delux 07:36
• 6 Flamingo 04:38
• Total Runtime 37:39

Info for I Play Trombone

One of the best albums ever cut by trombonist Frank Rosolino – an open-ended quartet session that really lets him do his thing! The tracks are long, with plenty of room for solo space, and Frank's working with a really great quartet that includes the legendary Sonny Clark on piano – a key force on the west coast scene during his stay in the late 50s – plus Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. Rosolino's tone is tremendous – a perfect tone, but never too polished – and although Clark doesn't play with the same sense of fire as on his Blue Note sessions, his presence is still strongly felt on the date. 3 of the album's tracks are over 7 minutes long – quite rare for a Bethlehem session – and titles include 'Doxy', 'My Delux', 'Flamingo', 'I May Be Wrong', and 'Frieda'.

Frank Rosolino, trombone
Sonny Clark, piano
Wilfred Middlebrooks, bass
Stan Levey, drums

Recorded in May 1956 in Hollywood, California

Digitally remastered

Frank Rosolino
It was said that Frank Rosolino played what he did on trombone because he didn’t know it was impossible. First gaining notice with Stan Kenton in the Forties, his fast solos and stratospheric high notes were unlike any heard up to that time. Part of a large crowd to leave Kenton en masse in the Fifties (Art Pepper, Bob Cooper, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne) he was a major part of the West Coast school, even though his hard-charging style didn’t fit the "mellow" stereotype. Best known as a sideman, he rarely got the chance to lead his own sessions; one such effort, from 1958, was planned to be the first West Coast hard-bop album. His attack and his tone helped direct the modern style on trombone.

Frank Rosolino was born into a musical family; his earliest instruments were guitar and accordion. When he was thirteen he began taking trombone lessons and continued through high school, despite being unable to read music. His agility and horn speed supposedly came from his youthful attempts to emulate his brother playing the violin. He served in the Army at the tail end of World War II, stationed in the Philippines. After completing guard duty one night (and bored with it), Rosolino went onstage during an Army dance, and played with the rhythm section during the band’s intermission. The crowd was impressed, and Frank was transferred to a band unit – as was his plan. It was there that he learned how to sight-read, and upon discharge joined the Bob Chester band in 1946. Several jobs followed: the Casa Loma Orchestra in 1947, Gene Krupa in 1948 (Frank’s comedy vocal on "Lemon Drop" might be his most famous performance) and Stan Kenton from 1952 to ’54 … at its peak of popularity.

Frank became a star with Kenton, and shortly afterwards joined the Lighthouse All-Stars, where he played with other Kenton veterans for a number of years. He recorded often in this period, but rarely as a leader; he was particularly upset that Free for All, which he considered his best album, was never released in his lifetime. He became very productive as a studio musician, playing on movie soundtracks, singing occasionally, and working on the pop recordings of Phil Spector. While he still played jazz now and then (he appears on some Paulinho Da Costa sessions for Pablo, and toured with Benny Carter in 1974) but in the Seventies he played commercial music most of the time. In an event still clouded with mystery and speculation, Frank Rosolino died in a group suicide with his two sons. (One of the boys did survive the wounds.) His music remains vibrant, and often emulated.

Born on April 20, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan. Died on November 26, 1978 in Los Angeles, California (Provided Courtesy Of JazzImprov Magazine)

Secondo (Conte) Candoli
was born on July 12th, 1927, in Mishawaka, Indiana, to Italian immigrants who had settled in the US after World War I. His father always had musical instruments around the house as he was a member of a band, which had formed at a local Italian club. Conte and his brother Pete would play their father’s horns. He encouraged his sons to play music from a youthful age.

At age thirteen, Conte Candoli was showing talent playing the trumpet when his older brother, Pete, recommended him for the Woody Herman band during his summer vacation in 1944. Conte filled in for the band while attending high school and later became a full-time member after graduation in the summer of 1945. When he joined the Woody Herman band, Dave Tough was on drums; Chubby Jackson on bass; Flip Phillips on tenor; Bill Harris on trombone; Neil Hefti and Sonny Berman on trumpets; and Ralph Burns on piano. He was drafted by the Army in 1945, leaving the band and civilian life.

After Conte’s discharge from the Army in late 1946, he joined Chubby Jackson’s Fifth Dimensional Jazz Group in 1947. With him were Dave Tough on drums; Chubby Jackson on bass; Ralph Burns on piano; Neil Hefti and Sonny Berman on trumpets; Bill Harris on trombone; and Flip Phillips on tenor. The arrangements for small combos, like the Fifth Dimensional Jazz Group, are usually informal and uncreditable. The group primarily played head arrangements which, “in jazz is an unscored, collaborative arrangement”.1 So called head arrangements were worked out by the band members themselves, memorized immediately, and never written down. They kept it all in their heads.

Candoli joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra for a year in 1948, and for a short time in 1949 he joined Charlie Ventura’s “Bop For The People” band. In 1951 he rejoined the Stan Kenton Orchestra, where he stayed until 1954. Then, that same year, Candoli formed his own band with Chubby Jackson, Frank Rosolino, and Lou Levy. After leading some recording dates, he moved to Los Angeles to take session jobs, in between gigs, with Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All-Stars: Shorty Rogers, Bud Shank, and Bob Cooper. He was with them for four years.

Conte led the Thursday night band from 1957 to 1962. He was usually backed by Ross Tompkins on piano, Roy McCurdy or Lawrence Marable on drums, and Chuck Berghofer on bass. “In essence, the Thursday Night Band hosted the oldest permanent floating jam session in L.A. Every once in a while, Pete Candoli, dean of the studio stalwarts and, like his little brother Conte, a name-band veteran, would stop by with his Martin Committee model trumpet.”2 Later the band became the Candoli Brothers, and they were quite a musical sight and a sound to behold.

From 1959 to 1962 Conte worked regularly with vibes player Terry Gibbs. In 1961 and 1962 he toured Europe for a few weeks with saxophonist Gerry Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band, with Bob Brookmeyer and Bill Holman. He also worked with Woody Herman, Shelly Manne, and Stan Kenton from time to time throughout the 1960s.

In 1967, Conte began to make occasional appearances in the band led by Doc Severinson for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. He became a permanent member of the band when Johnny Carson relocated the show from New York to Burbank, California, in 1972. Candoli retired from the Tonight Show along with the rest of Severinsen’s band when Johnny Carson retired in 1992.

Conte was also a member Supersax, among other L.A. all-star outfits, and also continued his periodic collaborations with his brother Pete. Conte toured with Severinsen’s group and played session work until cancer slowed his activities. He continued recording eighteen months prior to his death. During this time he recorded Candoli Live. His complete discography lists some 770 separate tracks and 123 albums on which he played. He was inducted into The International Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997.

He liked wing era trumpet players like Harry James and Roy Eldridge, but Conte’s style was primarily patterned after Dizzy Gillespie’s own mature style. “His place on the haphazard battlefield of modern jazz rested on his prowess as a trumpet soloist, a narrow specialty in which he was an all-time top gun.”2 Conte’s reputation as one of Jazz’s most resourceful and eloquent soloists is apparent when you listen to his music. Conte Candoli died on Friday, December 14th, 2001 at Monterey Palms Convalescent Home in Palm Desert, California.

This album contains no booklet.