Buffalo Music: Trumpeter leaves behind a lifetime of great performances

Here is Buffalo jazz historian Jack Nossavage’s assemblage of the best of Sam Noto’s easily available performances.
Image above: Illustration based on cover of Sam Noto’s “Noto-riety” album. HERE is Jack’s remembrance of Sam Noto.

“Cherokee” (LIVE) – Stan Kenton & His Orchestra with Charlie Parker – 1954 (Sam Noto is playing the lead trumpet part here with Kenton’s Orchestra, backing alto saxophonist and bebop architect Charlie Parker)

“The Opener” – Stan Kenton & His Orchestra – 1954 (Sam is one of the featured soloists on this recording of what would become a classic Bill Holman arrangement. Sam was 24 years old here)

“Everything Happens to Me” (LIVE) – Stan Kenton & His Orchestra, featuring: Sam Noto – 1957 (This is an early ballad feature for Sam that illustrates the intensity and musical sensitivity that he was known for)

“Jumpin’ at the Woodside” (LIVE) – Count Basie – 1964 (Rare video of Sam and fellow Upstate New York tenor saxophonist Sal Nistico featured on this burning Basie classic)

“Spanish Boots” – Don “Red” Menza Sextet – 1964 (This local jazz gem became the unofficial anthem for generations of Buffalonian jazzers. Featured here are Don Menza, tenor saxophone; Larry Covelli, tenor saxophone; Sam Noto, trumpet; Tom Azarella, bass; & Clarence Becton, drums. Each if these men had lengthy musical careers in and outside of Buffalo)

“Bye Bye, Love” – Count Basie – 1965 (This track features Sam on this Billy Byers arrangement of a Felice and Boudleaux Bryant’s rockabilly classic that was made famous in 1957 by the Everly Brothers)

“Cross Chris” – Sam Noto Quintet – 1966 (This was Sam’s house band when he owned and operated the original Renaissance, a jazz club and coffee house on N. Pearl Street off of West Tupper. Sam wrote this song for his son, Chris Noto. This recording is an incredible glimpse into what Buffalo’s jazz scene sounded like in the mid-1960s)

“Superbop”- Red Rodney & Sam Noto – 1974 (Don Schlitten, who produced this record, founded his own record label in 1975 called Xanadu. He went on to record 4 albums of Sam’s music, in addition to using Sam as a regular sideman for other musicians recording sessions)

“Entrance” – Sam Noto – 1975 (The title track off of Sam’s first commercially released record as a leader)

“Lady Bird” – Dexter Gordon with Al Cohn, Sam Noto, and Blue Mitchell – 1976 (Sam sits rightfully amongst these leading voices in jazz. The song is a melding of two melodies played over the same chord changes. Sam suggested the two tenor saxophones play Tadd Dameron’s “Lady Bird,” while the two trumpeters played Miles Davis’ “Half Nelson.” The idea stuck and here we have a burning version of both songs rolled into one. This recording was the first made by Dexter Gordon after returning to the United States after self-exiling to Europe for the better part of 14 years. In attendance at this recording session was the Baroness of Jazz, Pannonica de Koenigswarter.)

“My Man Bill” – Rob McConnell & The Boss Brass – 1976 (Sam’s first recording with Rob McConnell after Sam had relocated to Canada. Sam was a natural fit for Rob’s brass-heavy arranging style. Sam would work with Rob’s band into the 1990s). (Note: This video has settings that don’t allow embedding, so you’ll have to go to YouTube to hear it).

“Quasinoto” – Sam Noto – 1977 (Sam was known for altering trumpet mouthpiece by drilling the bore out to be larger, shaving the rims flatter, and grinding the shanks down to fit into the trumpet farther. This can easily destroy a mouthpiece if not done properly. This recording was made on a mouthpiece Sam, regrettably, had drilled out too far. For most trumpeters, this would have been catastrophic, but not Sam Noto. I think he sounds pretty darn good here)

“Context” – Kenny Drew – 1978 (Sam delivers a great bop influenced solo on this Kenny Drew original).

“These Are the Things I Love” (LIVE) – Don Menza Sextet – 1981 (Sam Noto may have been at his absolute peak on this Fall night in Sherman Oaks, California. Sam is accompanied on this ballad by another Upstate New Yorker, pianist Frank Strazzeri. You simply cannot play better trumpet than this)

“Forward Motion” – Kirk MacDonald – 1990 (Kirk MacDonald told me that when Sam Noto moved to Toronto in the late 1970s, Sam changed the way jazz was played in Canada. Sam and Kirk eventually formed a close musical partnership and friendship. This track, entitled “Forward Motion,” encapsulates the feeling that Sam Noto brought to the band stand. Hard-swinging, serious playing that, perpetually, pushed onward and upward.)