Jack Marshall & Shelly Manne – Sounds (US)

This a very rare and wonderful piece of jazz-related music by Jack Marshall, a perhaps somewhat forgotten composer, guitarist, and arranger, and the marvelous Shelly Mann on drums and percussion. Performed solely as a duo. Jack was more known as a Hollywood composer and arranger. He wrote the theme from the Munsters. Shelley was one of the top jazz drummers on the west coast for decades–check out the Barney Kessel albums with Ray Brown and Shelly–the Poll Winners. Jack plays wonderful nylon-strung acoustic guitar, whistles, etc. Shelley is all over the place with percussion. I have the old stereo record and the sound is great, even on a cassette copy I keep in my office. A bit offbeat but somewhat unique. I am looking for more Jack Marshall as I am writing this. Check out an album with Jack and Howard Roberts( his buddy, which says a lot about Jack’s playing)backing up Jackie Sheldon, Johnny Mercer(the great composer and sometimes vocals), and others at the Royce Hall or somewhere like that. Humorous and jazz at the same time. Great stuff. Unfortunately, Jack passed away in his early fifties in the early 1970s. He should have had more to create. RIP to all the great players who gave us so much.