John Altwerger, better known 35 George Auld, was a remarkable jazz musician gifted with a chameleon-like personality as a soloist. He managed to adapt himself effortlessly to the different styles and musical contexts in which he took part throughout his long career He played with a distinctive sound on ballads and used a vigorous modem style when playing swing songs.
Born in Toronto, Canada in 1919, he moved with his family to New York when he was ten years old. Two years later he was already playing the alto sax. however, he also look up the tenor in 1935 being impressed with Coleman Hawkins' records. In 1937 he joined trumpeter Bunny Berigan's band, where his sound was similar to Charlie Barnet's at that time. Just one year later, Auld became one of the main soloists in the Artie Shaw Orchestra, and at times led the band in Shaw's absence.
In June 1940 he was recruited by Benny Goodman to join a fantastic septet with superb musicians such as Cootie Williams and Charlie Christian He produced some frisky solos with a style that could be described as a combination of Ben Webster and Lester Young.
In 1942, his old boss Arte Shaw requested him to return to his revitalized big band. However this employment did not last long as he was called up for military service but fortunately for music he failed his medical. After performing with a quartet at the "Three Deuces" in New York, he decided to form one of the first modern big bands that successfully fused swing elements with the new be-bop language.
Between 1943 and 1946 many young jazzmen passed through his orchestras before becoming real stars. Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Butterfield, Trummy Young. Al Cohn, Serge Chaloff, Erroll Garner, Neal Hefti and even Sarah Vaughan, who took part in some record dates. The arrangements were carried out by emerging talents such as Al Cohn, Tadd Dameron and Neal Hefti.
The post War Times were difficult for big bands and Auld had to dissolve his because of the usual financial difficulties, as well as his own health problems. Like many others he moved to California where he worked the West Coast clubs, leading modern-styled combos until 1949, when he organised an excellent short-lived ten-piece orchestra. That very year he made his debut on Broadway as an actor in the comedy "The Rat Race" and in 1950 he was part of Count Basie's famous octet ("The Octet Sounds", CD Ocium OCM 0002}.
Between 1950 and 1951, Auld led a modern quintet together with Frank Rossolino and made some recordings with a small band for the Coral label. These were decidedly commercial and showed his talent as an interpreter of ballads.
In 1954 he opened a dance hall the "Melody Room", in Los Angeles He had returned to California for health reasons, where he had the chance to lead a big band using Billy May's arrangements and a style that was close to that of the Jimmy Lunceford Orchestra of the '40's. In 1958 went back to New York and settled down as an in-demand studio musician participating in many recordings in many styles.
In 1967, after a quick stopover in Las Vegas with Benny Goodman, he resettled in Los Angeles and worked on radio productions and cinema studios in Hollywood. He continued to recorded albums under his own name or as a studio musician. During this period, Auld did many tours to Japan - a country where he had an established audience - for whom he recorded fifteen albums.
In 1977, Auld proved that he was still on top of his form as he was asked by arranger Ralph Burns to play Robert de Niro's solos in Martin Scorsese's "New York, New York", where the esteemed actor played the part of a fading tenor saxist.
Georgie Auld, who died in 1990, was one of the best and most personal tenor sax players in the1940's as well as a qualified conductor.
For this CD release we have focused on two musical scenes with very different styles: with Auld as a leader of an interesting and modern band and also as a ballad performer that followed the traditions of the great stylists.
In January 1949, Georgie Auld and an exceptional group of musicians moved to Los Angeles to do some concerts. By this time Auld's style had surprisingly changed and tended to sound more like post-Lester Young than Hawkins or Webster. This way of playing showed how easy it was for him to adapt himself to the new trends. Between January and March, the little big band recorded two excellent and very rare sessions for Discovery with modern arrangements. The music is in a category between the swing and be-bop, with tunes such as They Didn't Believe Me by Gerry Mulligan and Darn That Dream by Billy Byers. Apart from the leader, we can also hear pianist Jimmy Rowles, Billy Byers on trombone and trumpeter Neal Hefti. These recordings exemplify the kind of jazz that was popular in 1949.
In 1951, Auld showed us another feature of his personality when he signed for Coral, where his version of Rodgers and Hart's Manhattan became a great commercial hit. His tenor sax formula, when playing tender romantic ballads with occasional support from Jud Conlon's vocal group turned out to be commercially successful for several years. This made it possible for him to try other styles and musical scenes. Surprisingly, in the midst of these ballads, we find Just You, Just Me and Lullaby of Broadway which are two fine examples of Auld's fiery attack and mighty tone, a throw-back to a decade earlier.
Tomas Gonzalez
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