John Pisano & Billy Bean - Makin' It + Take Your Pick

Duetting beautifully in a variety of settings, West Coast based guitarists John Pisano and Billy Bean display their versatility on Makin’ It and Take Your Pick, two late-1950s albums they made for Decca’s Mood Jazz in Hi-Fi series. Both albums were marked by some excellent supporting groups and a well-balanced, expertly played set of tunes with a predominantly jazz feeling.

Standards like Ill Wind are coloured by the pastel shades of arranger Fred Katz; others, such as Linger Awhile and Little Old Lady, by the brassily forthright hand of arranger Calvin Jackson. But they also include simple blowing things like Pixie and Billy’s Beanery, featuring the flowing vibes of Gene Estes, or The Song Is You, in which Pisano and Bean mesh with inventive fluency over the bass support of Hal Gaylor. Bill Potts, the talented Washington, D.C. arranger/composer, contributes three tunes, including the remarkable Pottsville U.S.A.. The sole departure from the jazz approach is Pastorale, by Fred Katz, a study in neo-modern, moody impressionism, where the musical values stressed are collective rather than individual.

Source : http://www.freshsoundrecords.com/makin_it_+_take_your_pick_2_lps_on_1_cd-cd-5771.html

John Pisano
Billy Bean

Makin' It + Take Your Pick

(2 Lps On 1 Cd)

The John Pisano-Billy Bean Recordings on Decca

Tracks

1 Ill Wind (Arlen, Koehler; arr. Katz) 3:48

2 Cirrus (Horn) 3:38

3 Indian Summer (Herbert) 3:52

4 Little Old Lady (Adams, Carmichael; arr. Jackson) 3:40

5 When I Fall In Love (Selden) 4:09

6 Our Waltz (Rose; arr. Katz) 2:16

7 Flute Cocktail (Potts) 3:43

8 The Song Is You (Kern, Hammerstein II) 3:55

9 I See Your Face Before Me

(Schwartz, Dietz; arr. Jackson) 3:29

10 Crazy Head (Potts) 4:19

11 Take Your Pick (Pisano) 4:00

12 Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (Porter; arr. Smith) 3:01

13 Pixie (Pisano) 2:25

14 Pastorale (Katz) 4:09

15 Fat Feet (Bean) 2:50

16 Dingle Bird (Potts) 3:45

17 Billy’s Beanery (Bean) 3:26

18 Pottsville, U.S.A. (Potts) 4:42

19 Half Breed (Potts) 4:04

20 Memento (Pisano) 3:59

21 Motivation (Bean) 3:11

22. Linger Awhile (Rose, Owens; arr. C. Jackson) 2:45

*

Personnel
John Pisano & Billy Bean - g
[# 2, 3, 5, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20 & 21]
Gene Estes - vb
Hal Gaylor - b
Chico Hamilton [# 3] & Larry Bunker - dr
Paul Horn - fl [# 2]

Recorded at the Decca Records Studio in Hollywood, 5505 Melrose Avenue ; January 24 [# 3 & 5], January 30 [# 2], March 14 [# 11, 12, 13 & 17] & March 21 [# 15, 20 & 21], 1958

[# 1 & 6]
Paul Horn - fl
Gene Estes - vb
Calvin Jackson - p
Hal Gaylor - b
Chico Hamilton - dr
Alexander Neiman & Irving Manning - vl
Raphael Kramer & Edgar Lustgarten - cel
Recorded same place as above ; January 30, 1958
 [# 7 & 10]
Paul Horn & William Green - fl & cl
Hal Gaylor - b
Gene Estes - dr
Recorded same place as above ; February 3, 1958
[# 4, 9 & 22]
Pete Candoli, Kendall Bright, Melvin Moore & Irving Goodman - tp
Si Zentner, Karl DeKarske & Hoyt Bohannon - tb
Fred Katz - p
Hal Gaylor - b
Red Callender - tb
Gene Estes - dr
Recorded same place as above ; February 3, 1958
[# 8]
Hal Gaylor - b
Recorded same place as above ; February 3, 1958
[# 14, 16, 18 & 19]
Paul Horn, William Green & Chuck Gentry - fl & reeds
George Smith, Abe Most - cl
Jules Jacobs - ob
Justin Gordon - bass cl
Calvin Jackson - p
Hal Gaylor - b
Larry Bunker - dr
Recorded same place as above ; February 25, 1958

[# 1-10] from the album “Makin’ It” (Decca DL 9206)

[# 11-22]from the album “Take Your Pick” (Decca DL 9212)

*

Two tracks from the album “Makin’ It” (While the Music Plays On and Symphony, arranged by cellist Fred Katz), have not been included in this compilation due to the time limitations of the CD format.

Both tracks are included in a CD release dedicated to Fred Katz (FSRCD 744)
and can be found here