This week on Night Lights we’ll feature the fifth and sixth volumes of Decca’s 1950s Jazz Studio series–the label’s West Coast-influenced answer to Norman Granz’s Verve jam session releases. V. 5, led by pianist and arranger Ralph Burns, includes trumpeter Joe Newman and little-known alto saxophonist Dave Schildkraut, who was once mistaken for Charlie Parker by Charles Mingus during a blindfold test. Selections include Burns’ originals “Cool Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Nocturne,” as well as Alec Wilder’s “I’ll Be Around.” V. 6 was led by French hornist/pianist and Jack Kerouac collaborator David Amram, along with tenor saxophonist George Barrow; both were members of Charles Mingus’ Jazz Workshop, and this date bears a highly modernist stamp.
Be sure to check out blogger Marc Myers’ series on David Amram this week at JazzWax.
Air date: October 20, 2007
Original air date: August 6, 2005
