Phil Sunkel
Jazz Concerto Grosso

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Gene Allen, Eddie Bert, Bob Brookmeyer, Don Butterfield, Milt Hinton, Cliff Hoff, Osie Johnson, Dick Meldonian, Gerry Mulligan, Frank Rehak, Bill Slapin, Al Stewart, Don Stratton, Phil Sunkel, Nick Travis, John Wilson

October 14, 1957

 

Bob Brookmeyer, Harold Granowsky, Wendell Marshall, Gerry Mulligan, Jim Reider, Phil Sunkel, John Wilson

October 15, 1957

 LINER NOTES

I HAVE always been fascinated by the acoustical and rhythmic possibilities of three voice writing. My first opportunity to do something professional in this direction came in 1955 when I joined the Stan Getz Sextet. Stan had previously commissioned me to write some things for his quintet and it was from this material that I now drew and enlarged upon to meet the needs of the new group. The instrumentation was valve trombone, cornet, and tenor backed by bass, drums and piano. The soft broad qualities of the valve trombone and cornet blended well with Stan's warm tenor sound and the resulting textures proved ideal for the moody intimate type things I had written.

My intentions were to retain the harmonic framework of these little songs while injecting a linear feeling into each of the individual horn parts. To do this, each voice was made to fall naturally and uncontrived and so designed rhythmically as to sustain the pulse and present a completeness within themselves. The bass, drums and piano served to underline, punctuate, and reinforce this linear harmonic activity. The further possibilities of using a three voice group superimposed on a similarly conceived orchestral backdrop soon presented itself as an interesting project for future consideration.

About a year ago I hit upon a theme that seemed to be of a character suitable for this expanded type of treatment.

The stark simplicity of its obvious construction made it perfect raw material for the compositional presentation I had in mind. Standing alone, this musical fragment had a naked, self-conscious air; but, after being melodically extended and placed in context, it suddenly took on a noble, earthy quality. This was exactly what I was looking for and with this good strong basic material at hand the piece began to shape itself.

Now that the whole thing was straight in my own mind I presented the idea to the record company. Creed Taylor was immediately enthusiastic and suggested that I sound Gerry Mulligan and Bob Brookmeyer to appear as soloists. Gerry and Bob liked the idea and their acceptance pushed the work toward its final stages. The members of the band were chosen, the date set, and all that remained was the completion of the score.

The sketches and fragments that had accumulated over the last year now shaped themselves into a meaningful whole, and we recorded the finished work on October 14, 1957.

PHIL SUNKEL

SIDE ONE
JAZZ CONCERTO GROSSO
(Phil Sunkel) (Ampco Music-ASCAP) Time 15:40

The theme for the Concerto is a major triad sounded de-
scending (C-A-F) and all the transitional and background
material as well as the song line itself are derived from it.
A secondary theme is created by an inversion of the main
theme with one internal change (C-E flat-F). This second-
ary theme becomes the subject matter for the introduc-
tion and interludes and contributes its modal flavor to
background and melodic lines throughout the entire piece.

SIDE TWO

Band l.- SOMETHING FOR THE LADIES
(Phil Sunkel) (Arkayem Pub]. Co.-ASCAP) Time 9:10

Band 2: SONG FOR CORNET
(Phil Sunkel) (Ampco Music-ASCAP) Time 7:53

The two pieces on this side of the album were recorded
October 15, 1957 with a seven-piece group. The instru-
ments here are cornet, fluegal horn, valve trombone, tenor,
baritone, bass and drums.

Something for the Ladies was written sometime ago but
reorchestrated for this occasion. The song seemed to
lend itself well to this particular instrumentation.

Song for Cornet is a piece written especially for the
instrument and is the type of thing I refer to as serious satirical.