Live at Dana Point 1957

by Scott YanowJoe Albany, a talented but troubled bop pianist, made some recordings in the late '40s and then was rarely heard on records again until the 1970s. Until now, the one exception was a rehearsal session with tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh that came out as The Right Combination. The music on Live at Dana Point 1957, a two-CD set, was taped at the gig that occurred after The Right Combination rehearsal and it was sitting unknown and unlisted on some reel-to-reel tapes in the possession of Marsh's widow for decades. The recording quality is listenable -- if just adequate -- but the historic nature of the music overcomes the technical deficiencies. The cool-toned Marsh is in excellent form, jamming on 18 standards. Albany has a lot of short solos and bassist Bob Whitlock and drummer Red Martinson are steady in support. Although not quite essential, fans of the always-searching Marsh, Albany, and West Coast jazz in general will find this music quite stimulating.