Mannie Klein: Keynote, 1946

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Mannie Klein is all but forgotten today. Yet the trumpeter was on 672 recording sessions, topping Louis Armstrong's 658. Klein began recording in 1922 and worked relentlessly over six decades. In 1928 alone, he recorded with Red Nichols and His Five Pennies, the Dorsey Brothers and Paul Whiteman among other leading bands of the day. Throughout the 1930s, Klein recorded in dozens of bands, including those led by Ben Selvin and Frankie Trumbauer. In the early 1940s, he was on Artie Shaw's Frenesi, Freddie Slack's Cow Cow Boogie and Lionel Hampton's Flying Home, appearing in studios almost weekly. By the mid-1940s, Klein was one of the most in-demand big-band section players.

Then in Hollywood in February 1946, Keynote Records producer Harry Lim pulled Klein loose and had him lead a superb sextet. The group recorded four sides—Something to Remember You By, After You've Gone, Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen and At Sundown. The band featured Mannie Klein (tp), Babe Russin (ts), Skitch Henderson (p), George Van Eps (g), Artie Shapiro (b) and Jackie Mills (d). The pairing of Klein and Russin was a stroke of genius on Lim's part. Klein and Russin had recorded together several times in the 1930s and early 1940s, but in this sextet, we're able to hear Klein's gentle, precise conversational trumpet and Russin's insistent, smoky tenor saxophone.

Klein had a highly controlled technique that was seasoned by years of playing in some of jazz's most challenging orchestras. As a leader, he is perhaps best known for directing Frankie Laine's That's My Desire session for Mercury in 1946. He's also on all of the Artie Shaw Musicraft sides, including those with Mel Torne and the Meltones, and was in Billy May's studio bands at Capitol in the 1950s. To give you a sense of Klein's prowess, the May trumpet section in those days typically featured Klein, Conrad Gozzo, John Best and Uan Rasey. Klein also recorded steadily with the Four Freshmen, Ray Anthony and Nelson Riddle, particularly Frank Sinatra's Songs for Swingin' Lovers in 1956. Klein's recording pace slowed in the 1960s, and he made the natural move to record TV-show themes and movie soundtracks. He's on the Gidget and Bewitchedthemes, among many others. Klein died in 1994.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find the four Klein tracks mentioned above on the Keynote Jazz Collection: 1941-1947 (Fresh Sound) here.

JazzWax clips: Here's At Sundown (dig Mannie Klein up against Babe Russin, with Van Eps on guitar)...

Here's Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen...

Here's After You've Gone, which was previously unissued...

After You've Gone

Here's Something to Remember You By, also previously unissued...

Something to Remember You By

Here's Frankie Laine in 1946 singing That's My Desire with a group led by Mannie Klein, with Babe Russin on tenor sax and Don Bonne on clarinet...

Here's a home movie of Klein's birthday party in February 1933 (while Prohibition was still in place). He was 25...

A special JazzWax thanks to David Langner.

Used with permission by Marc Myers