The Swinging Shepherds

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

In the final installment of my three-part series on off-the-radar jazz supergroups of the 1950s, I'm turning today to Buddy Collette and His Swinging Shepherds—a West Coast quartet of superb flutists who recorded only two albums for Mercury.

Both albums were arranged by Pete Rugolo (above), who pulled out all the stops in terms of writing complexity, since the four flutists in question were studio pros who could handle anything: Buddy Collette and Paul Horn (fl), Harry Klee (pic,fl) and Bud Shank (pic,fl).

Their first album, Swinging Shepherds, was recorded in Los Angeles in March 1958 and featured a rhythm section comprised of Bill Miller (p), Joe Comfort (b) and Bill Richmond (d,cga). Their second album, At the Cinema, was recorded in January 1959 with Bill Miller and John Williams (p), Jim Hall (g), Red Mitchell (b) and Shelly Manne and Earl Palmer (d).

I'm guessing that the group's name was inspired by the Swinging Shepherd Blues, a Billboard pop hit in early 1958. The jaunty song—written by Kenny Jacobson, Moe Koffman and Rhoda Roberts—was a hit for the Moe Koffman Quartet, the Johnny Pate Quintet and David Rose. I'm also guessing that the idea for the group was Rugolo's, to maximize Mercury's new stereo LP line—with two flutists coming out of one speaker and the other two emerging from the second.

The first album consisted of originals by the four flutists, with Machito added by Rugolo. The second album showcased movie hits of the day. Both swing like crazy, with sublime flute work and solos by the players. The only other jazz album I can think of from the '50s that tried the four-flute format was Billy Taylor With Four Flutes (1959), but it was really a showcase for Billy's piano.

When I interviewed Buddy Collette (above) in 2010, here's what he told me about the Swinging Shepherds sessions...

JazzWax: You made quite a few albums on flute.
Buddy Collette: Yes, it’s an instrument that came naturally to me. Which is your favorite record?


JW: I think Swinging Shepherds and Shepherds at the Cinema. You, Paul Horn, Harry Klee and Bud Shank (above) on flutes—wow.
BC: Oh, yes. those came out beautifully. We played so well, we didn’t even listen to the playbacks in the studio. We all had to go and record on other dates and knew they had come out perfectly.


JW: You and arranger Pete Rugolo on those sessions pioneered the four-flutes sound, didn’t you?
BC: Yes. Before these albums [in 1958 and 1959], most bands used one flute in the woodwind section, with a bass clarinet on the bottom to set off the contrast. But when we used just four flutes in that group and pulled it off, the sound was different and other arrangers picked up on it. [Photo above of Paul Horn]


JW: Which arrangers?
BC: At a recording session with Nelson Riddle (above) one time, I noticed that one of the charts called for four flutes. When I looked up at Nelson, he winked at me and said, “Do you recognize that?” I sure did. We pioneered that sound.

Buddy died in 2010, Bud Shank died in 2009, Paul Horn died in 2014 and I'm not sure if Harry Klee is still with us.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find both albums by the Swinging Shepherds on one CD (Fresh Sound) here.

JazzWax clips: Here's The Four Winds Blow from Swinging Shepherds...

And here's The Trolley Song from At the Cinema...

Used with permission by Marc Myers