Trisha Shetty (Editor)

The Three and The Two

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Released
  
1954

Label
  
Contemporary M3584

Release date
  
1954

Genre
  
Jazz

Length
  
48:38

Artist
  
Shelly Manne

Producer
  
Lester Koenig

Recorded
  
"The Three" September 10, 1954; "The Two" September 14, 1954 Los Angeles, California

"The Three" & "The Two" (1954)
  
The West Coast Sound (1953-55)

Similar
  
Swinging Sounds, Shelly Manne & His Friends, More Swinging Sounds, Li'l Abner, Shelly Manne & His Men

The Three and The Two is an album by drummer Shelly Manne, also featuring multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Giuffre, pianist Russ Freeman, and trumpeter Shorty Rogers. It was recorded at two sessions in 1954, originally released separately on ten-inch LPs, and re-released in 1960 on LP on the Contemporary label.

Contents

Background

The first session (The Three) features Manne on drums, Rogers on trumpet, and Giuffre on clarinet, tenor and baritone sax. The second session (The Two) features Manne on drums and Russ Freeman on piano.

At the time of these sessions, the musicians used to play together in the popular West Coast group Shorty Rogers and His Giants; during live appearances, they often performed free improvisations, or unusual renditions of popular songs, as a trio or as a duo.

The sessions forming this record follow the same experimental approach, combining some original compositions and some re-interpretations of jazz standards, exploring different musical forms (including some reminding of European classical music), pursuing interplay and counterpoint, and researching new sound textures, as was often the case in Manne's work.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states: "Although these selections were not influential, they rank second in chronological order (behind Lennie Tristano's performances of 1949) among free jazz records. [...] Overall, a very interesting reissue.".

Track listing

The Three

  1. "Flip" (Shelly Manne) - 2:56
  2. "Autumn in New York" (Vernon Duke) - 4:30
  3. "Pas De Trois" (Jimmy Giuffre) - 4:35
  4. "Three On A Row" (Shorty Rogers) - 5:08
  5. "Steeplechase" (Charlie Parker) - 3:16
  6. "Abstract N°1" (Jimmy Giuffre / Shelly Manne / Shorty Rogers) - 3:34

The Two

  1. "The Sound Effects Manne" (Russ Freeman) - 4:00
  2. "Everything Happens To Me" (Tom Adair / Matt Dennis) - 4:15
  3. "Billie's Bounce" (Charlie Parker) - 4:07
  4. "With A Song In My Heart" (Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers) - 3:46
  5. "A Slight Minority" (Russ Freeman) - 3:22
  6. "Speak Easy" (Russ Freeman) - 4:20
  • Recorded at Contemporary's studio in Los Angeles on September 10, 1954 (tracks 1-6), and September 14, 1954 (tracks 7-12).

    • Personnel

  • Shelly Manne - drums
  • Jimmy Giuffre (tracks 1-6) - clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
  • Shorty Rogers (tracks 1-6) - trumpet
  • Russ Freeman (tracks 7-12) - piano

    • References

    The Three & The Two Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA