They called him Count, this strange 'Old World' figure, and when Count was on duty, his band mates could be sure those crucial brass passages would bark right out and make the whole band speak. Secondo 'Conte' Candoli is a perfect technician on his instrument. He has a warm sound and a controlled and sharp intonation. He plays 'Cooljazz' - and is a class of his own. As a young player, Candoli developed a bebop style influenced by Dizzy Gillespie. Miles Davis and Clifford were other early influences. Candoli said he didn't come to appreciate Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington until he was older. Conte was a die-hard road musician, wailing night after night with Herman, Benny Goodman, Tex Beneke, and finally, Stan Kenton. Candoli also worked with Dizzy Gillespie, and was one of the many links between bebop and West Coast jazz that some critics suggest never existed. He toured and recorded also with Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz, Shelly Manne, Jimmy Giuffre, Red Mitchell, Charlie Ventura and many others. Together with Frank Rosolino and Warne Marsh he led the famous 'Preservation Bebop Band'. He remained a dedicated jazz musician at all times. He played with almost every LA big band "supergroup" of the last 40 years. He appeared at numerous jazz labs, encouraging a strong academic jazz band movement at such unhip places as Denton, Texas and Wichita, Kansas. His place on the haphazard battlefield of modern jazz rested on his prowess as a trumpet soloist, a narrow specialty in which he was an all time top gun. Even Freddie Hubbard and Nat Adderley feared him. His reputation can be attested to by anyone who has heard Candoli in person with Bill Berry's L.A. Big Band, the Frankie Capp-Nat Pierce Juggernaut, Supersax or the Thursday Night Band, the small group he led weekly at the old Donte's in North Hollywood. Trumpeter Conte Candoli passed away on December 14, 2001 of cancer. His vibrant and influential style was an important voice in jazz for some forty-five years. We are going to miss the Count... But Conte Candoli said he would never forget the night he sauntered into a joint on Vine Street and found Count Basie seated at a table. ''I say, 'Count!,'" cackled Candoli, "and he says, 'Count!' 'And I say, 'You're the real Count.' And he says, 'Naw, naw, you're the real Count.' Can you believe it? Jeesh! Unbelievable.'' The real Count clapped his hands in delight. Featuring Conte Candoli (tr), Bernhard Pichl (p), Martin Zenker (b), Rick Hollander (dr). 6 Tracks. Recorded live at Birdland, Neuburg an der Donau, on May 26, 2000. Total time: 58:04.