Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com
Last week, when I posted on Tommy Tedesco's The Guitars of Tom Tedesco (1965), I included a print ad (above) for Magnatone amps from 1958. The ad featured five guitarists in a recording studio—Al Hendrickson, Howard Roberts, Bill Pitman, Bob Gibbons and Tommy Tedesco. When I went to check on the session, I came up empty on October 1958. In my search, I was reminded that all five were on Four Freshmen and Five Guitars for Capitol, which was recorded in June 1959. Was the photo in the ad taken during a rehearsal for that session? So far in advance? And did these pros really need that much rehearsal—or any, for that matter? Or could this have been another date that simply fell through the cracks at Lord's Jazz Discography?
I reached out to Denny Tedesco, who checked his late father's session book and sent along a scan of the page. There on Saturday, October 11 at 1pm was the entry: "5 guitar, Annex." As Denny noted, the "Annex" was Radio Recorders. So what was the session for? Denny reached out to one of his sources, who came back with the answer: The Guitars Inc.: Invitation for Warner Bros. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a listing for the rest of the combo behind the guitar quintet.
I wasn't familiar with the album but did some digging. The jazz-pop release showcased the five guitarists the way other albums featured five great trombones, five saxophones or five of any instrument. But with five guitars, the emphasis was on the fugue-like counterpoint of the various guitar lines. The result was a George Shearing Quintet-like approach to the instrument, with a core guitar running a swinging melody and the others buzzing around like Bach-ian bees. A joy to hear.
JazWax clip: Here's the entire album at YouTube...
Used with permission by Marc Myers
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