Shelly Manne

Though he contributed to countless recordings across his long career, Shelly Manne earned his greatest recognition as an affable bandleader who preferred to share the spotlight rather than dominate it. Although most closely linked with West Coast jazz, his broad range allowed him to move comfortably through swing, bebop, avant-garde, and eventually fusion settings. He appeared as a sideman alongside hundreds of fellow musicians and contributed drums to numerous film and television scores. His first album as a leader, Here's That Manne, came out in 1952. From 1954 to 1962 he recorded extensively for Contemporary, producing titles such as The West Coast Sound and the celebrated four-volume At the Black Hawk set in 1959, along with studio sessions involving Benny Goodman and Ornette Coleman. He fronted a trio that included Bill Evans, then spent the rest of the decade recording for Capitol on Manne, That's Gershwin in 1965 and for Atlantic on Boss Sounds in 1967. He returned to Contemporary for Outside in 1969 and later led dates for Mainstream on Mannekind in 1972, Flying Dutchman on Hot Coles in 1975, Discovery on Rex: Shelly Manne Plays Richard Rogers in 1976, and Galaxy on Essence in 1977. Tom Waits employed him as studio drummer for Small Change and Foreign Affairs, and Manne issued The Shelly Manne Trio in Zurich in 1984 as his final album under his own name.

Although he became closely identified with the West Coast and cool-jazz circles, Sheldon Manne entered the world in New York City in 1920. After beginning on saxophone, he took up drums at age eighteen, inspired by the example of his father, Max, and his uncles. Jo Jones shaped his swing conception, while Broadway percussionist Billy Gladstone provided formal instruction. Work arrived quickly: he joined the Bobby Byrne Orchestra in 1940 and Joe Marsala’s group, making his first recordings in 1941. Brief stints followed in the big bands of Will Bradley, Raymond Scott, and Les Brown, and he played on Coleman Hawkins’s landmark 1943 session for “The Man I Love.”

Between 1946 and 1952 Manne worked intermittently with Stan Kenton, toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic from 1948 to 1949, and appeared with Woody Herman in 1949. Once he left Kenton he settled in Los Angeles and soon became the busiest jazz drummer on the scene, recording with Chet Baker, Jack Montrose, Stan Getz, Pete Rugolo, Jimmy Giuffre, Teddy Charles, Stan Kenton, Shorty Rogers, and many others. He served as Barney Kessel’s drummer from 1954 to 1960 and backed Lena Horne and Peggy Lee on record.

Manne launched his career as a bandleader with the 1952 release Here's That Manne. In 1953 he formed Shelly Manne & His Men and recorded two self-titled albums for Les Koenig’s Contemporary label. The continually changing ensemble went on to issue a long series of Contemporary recordings between 1955 and 1962, among them the classic four-volume At the Black Hawk collection (a fifth volume appeared posthumously in 1991). Sidemen over the years included Stu Williamson, Conte Candoli, Charlie Mariano, Herb Geller, Bill Holman, and Jimmy Giuffre, among many others.

He enjoyed particular success leading the date that produced Modern Jazz Performances of Songs from My Fair Lady with pianist André Previn and bassist Leroy Vinnegar. His openness to new approaches surfaced in the piano-less trios and duets of The Three and the Two with Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, and Russ Freeman, while in 1959 he participated in sessions with both traditionalist Benny Goodman and avant-gardist Ornette Coleman. By any measure he remained nearly omnipresent throughout the 1950s.

Manne appeared on countless film and television soundtracks and even took an acting role in The Man with the Golden Arm. He collaborated closely with Henry Mancini, whose scores benefited from Manne’s fluid blending of jazz, pop, and classical elements. Among the films were Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961, Hatari! in 1962, and The Pink Panther in 1963. Their partnership extended to television with the Peter Gunn series from 1958 to 1961 and Mr. Lucky from 1959 to 1960. He also worked on scores and soundtracks by Elmer Bernstein, Pete Rugolo, and John Williams, including the 1961 film version of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, and he composed and recorded the score for The Proper Time that same year.

In 1960 Manne opened the popular jazz club Shelly’s Manne Hole, which he operated until 1974. During 1962 he recorded with Jack Sheldon on Out, Peggy Lee on Bewitching-Lee, Barney Kessel on Let’s Cook!, and Art Pepper on The Artistry of Pepper. He also released 2-3-4 on Impulse with Hank Jones, Coleman Hawkins, George Duvivier, and Eddie Costa, and Empathy on Verve, leading a trio featuring pianist Bill Evans and bassist Monty Budwig. In 1964 he issued My Fair Lady with the Un-Original Cast, arranged by John Williams and supported by orchestral horns and strings with vocalists Irene Kral and Sheldon.

Manne continued to explore freer musical territory, working with Junior Mance, Howard Roberts, and Lalo Schifrin. In 1966 Shelly Manne & His Men released the charting Boss Sounds on Atlantic, and the following year he appeared on Frank Zappa’s Lumpy Gravy, Oliver Nelson’s Sound Pieces, Bill Evans’s A Simple Matter of Conviction, Leontyne Price and André Previn’s Right as the Rain, and his own television scores Jazz Gunn and Daktari. The remainder of the decade found him almost constantly occupied. In 1968, besides backing composer-pianist Michel Legrand at Shelly’s Manne Hole, he recorded on Bud Shank’s Plays the Music and Arrangements of Michel LeGrand: Windmills of Your Mind.

Alive in London, issued in 1971, featured an electric quintet with pianist Mike Wofford, bassist Roland Haynes, trumpeter Gary Barone, and tenor saxophonist John Gross. In 1972 Manne played on saxophonist John Klemmer’s pre-fusion album Constant Throb. After contributing to John Williams’s score for Earthquake in 1974, he participated in two important Oliver Nelson sessions: the 1975 jazz-funk album Skull Session and Stolen Moments. He joined the L.A. 4 for The L.A. Four Scores! in 1975 and recorded with Sonny Stitt on Dumpy Mama. The next year he appeared on more than ten albums, including Pepper’s The Living Legend, Art Farmer’s On the Road, and the self-titled The Three with Joe Sample and Ray Brown.

He also performed on Tom Waits’s Small Change and the following year’s Foreign Affairs, and rejoined the L.A. 4 for Pavane pour une Infante Defunte and Going Home.

From 1976 to 1978 Manne played in Lew Tabackin’s band on several recordings. He also participated in trio sessions by Claude Bolling on California Suite, Victor Feldman on Together Again, and Hampton Hawes on At the Piano. He reunited with Hank Jones and George Duvivier for Easy to Love. In 1979 he released French Concert with Lee Konitz and The Manne We Love, the final album by Shelly Manne & His Men, although the group also appeared on the co-billed A Sophisticated Lady with vocalist Teresa Brewer, issued on Columbia in 1981.

On September 9, 1984, two weeks before his death from a sudden heart attack, the City of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Arts Council honored him by declaring the day “Shelly Manne Day.”

Contemporary Records issued a fifth volume of At the Black Hawk in 1991. On Record Store Day in April 2024, Reel to Real released the previously unissued Jazz from the Pacific Northwest by Shelly Manne & His Men, documenting three archived live performances: one at the inaugural Monterey Jazz Festival in 1958 and two at Seattle’s Penthouse club in 1966.