Lennie Niehaus - Vol. 5: The Sextet (1956) [Reissue 2001]

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Lennie Niehaus - Vol. 5: The Sextet (1956) [Reissue 2001]

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It was a sad day for cool jazz when Lennie Niehaus made film music - not jazz - his primary focus. From a jazz standpoint, the Los Angeles resident had so much going for him. Niehaus had an attractive tone along the lines of Lee Konitz and early Bud Shank, and he was a talented arranger to boot. Produced by Lester Koenig in L.A. in 1956, Lennie Niehaus, Vol. 5: The Sextet is quite representative of Niehaus' Contemporary output of the 1950s. This album, which Fantasy reissued on CD on its Original Jazz Classics imprint in 2001, finds Niehaus leading a sextet that boasts Bill Perkins on tenor sax and flute, Jimmy Giuffre on baritone sax, Stu Williamson on trumpet and valve trombone, Buddy Clark on upright bass, and Shelly Manne on drums - in other words, the cream of the southern California crop. The performances are swinging, but in a subtle, understated way that often recalls Miles Davis' seminal Birth of the Cool sessions of 1949-1950. Whether Niehaus is embracing original material or standards, this album doesn't get in your face. But saying that these performances aren't aggressive isn't saying that they aren't inspired or that they don't swing - Niehaus, like many other members of jazz's cool school, realized that you don't have to be forceful to be expressive. Unfortunately, a lot of New York jazz critics didn't realize that, which is why cool jazz received so much bad press from the Manhattan jazz police - to them, East Coast hard bop was superior because it was more intense. But, truth be told, cool jazz and hard bop are equally valid parts of the house that Charlie Parker built - and Niehaus has no problem showing listeners the richness of cool jazz on this excellent album.