Shelly Manne & His Friends’ Shelly Manne & His Friends Vol. 1

I’m a big fan of Sonny Rollins and absolutely love his 1957 album Way Out West, one of a handful Rollins recorded for Contemporary Records. Rollins is accompanied on WOW by Contemporary mainstay Shelly Manne and bassist Ray Brown. I’ve been a fan of Ray Brown for years, but Manne’s performance on WOW has always stood out for me. He has such a light touch on the album, playing off Rollins’ virtuosity in ways that so clearly suit the music.

But as much as I admire the musicians on WOW, the star of the show on this as well as many other Contemporary releases might be sound engineer Roy DuNann. In Roy’s uncanny ability to convey the sheer size and physicality of a recorded instrument he has few peers. Listening to a Roy DuNann engineered record, we don’t so much have the experience of being in the audience at the performance as literally SITTING IN WITH THE BAND!

DuNann’s work affords the listener an intoxicating intimacy with the performers. And like the rare flavors of a fine wine that’s been cellared well and aged gracefully, the sound of the early Contemporary Records releases played on the more revealing modern audiophile gear CAN strike a perfect balance between depth and structure, featuring both the warm, deep, full bodied sound of these early tube mastered recordings paired with the clearer, sharper, transient edges we get with higher quality system front ends. The operative word here however is “CAN,” as the balance described here is only struck on these early pressings when they’re mastered properly.

In the case of Way Out West, the early pressings have the bloated, overripe qualities of a good wine past its prime. This is good news for anyone who cares more about good sound on a record than collectibility. Early pressings of WOW in good condition can sell for very high prices, while reissues with better mastering and far better sound can be had for much less.

Also good news is that there are many other titles in the Contemporary catalogue of many other great performances by some very talented jazz musicians, and some of the original pressings of these titles are both mastered well and relatively inexpensive. Among these is the debut of Shelly Manne and His Friends, a trio that pairs Manne with bassist Leroy Vinegar and pianist Andre Previn, originally released in 1956.

When I realized that original pressings of Contemporary releases were often sitting in record store bins at bargain prices, I started looking. What I found was Shelly Manne and His Friends Vol. 1. I think I paid $10 for a VG+/VG+ copy. I cleaned it and set it a aside for a while before ever playing it.

Yesterday I decided to give it a spin and I have to say, it impressed me. It has everything you want in a Roy DuNann engineered record and terrific, near telepathic performances from a trio of artists that clearly enjoy playing together. Manne’s drums have snap and whomp, Vinegar’s bass sounds big, warm and weighty and Previn’s key strokes strike firmly and tonally correct. My copy also has good transparency and I was drawn right into the performances and stayed in for both sides of the record.

Many of the original pressings records Roy DuNann engineered for Contemporary are a little pricey and somewhat scarce, but there are a few that seem to have been overlooked, including some of those featuring Shelly Manne. Fantasy records has reissued quite a few of these early Contemporary releases and I know some copies of the OJC pressings do end up for sale on Better Records so there are clearly some very good reissues available.

In the meantime, I can recommend seeking out a an original pressing of Shelly Manne and His Friends Vol. 1. Copies in good condition can be had for under 10 bucks and both the sound and the music won’t disappoint!