mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (06/15/85)
The return of Blue Note is a godsend to collectors who have been hunting foe those hard to find gems. There are now three re-issue programs: French, Japanese and American Blue Notes. They are generally equal in quality. The imports cost a dollar more, but are completely faithful to the originals; the domestic releases have minor cover differences (the label address, for example, is missing). They all have the pristine production of Rudy Van Gelder with modern mastering techniques. Well, without further ado..... _______________________________________________________________________________ Cannonball Adderley: SOMETHING ELSE (1958) This is to my knowledge the only record where Miles Davis plays but is not the band leader since his successful comeback from heroin addiction in 1954. His presence lends the session an gentle, elegiac feel that is markedly different from the raunchy, bopping records Cannonball made later. Hank Jones' piano shines throughout. Sidney Bechet: JAZZ CLASSICS Volumes 1 and 2 (1952) It is impossible to overpraise these records, the first ever by the then fledgling Blue Note label. These were made between 1939 and 1946 and catch Bechet at his peak. They ALSO have such stellar personel s Sidney De Paris, Art Hodes, Vic Dickenson, Meade "Lux" Lewis, Bunk Johnson, J.C. Higginbotham... Included are THE definitive versions of "Muskrat Ramble", "Summertime" "Old Stack O'Lee Blues" and many others. This is the kind of record no collection should be without. Art Blakey: A NIGHT IN BIRDLAND Volumes 1 and 2 (1954) Clifford Brown's recording debut. The music crackles with his extroverted tone, particularly on "Night in Tunisia", where he goes on for chorus after chorus, with astonishing inventiveness. Then unknown pianist Horace Silver contributes strong, percussive chording. Art Blakey: MOANIN' (1958) This is an alltime classic, for the title tune, and for "Blues March" Here is the first full flowering of Lee Morgan's brilliant trumpet, set in effective contrast with the throaty rumble of Benny Golson's tenor sax. Bobby Timmons lays down piano lines that define the term soulful. The kind of album one plays again and again. Art Blakey: FREE FOR ALL (1964) This later edition of the messengers features Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton and Reggie Workman. This may have been Blakey's best band (I say that in full awareness of the Who's Who of jazz that has passed through the Messengers) Hubbard, Fuller and Shorter crackle with competitive fire, while Walton cuts them all. Behind all this sits Blakey himself, delivering swift kicks in the butt to whomever shows signs of flagging.
mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (06/15/85)
Ornette Coleman: LIVE AT THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, STOCKHOLM Volumes 1 and 2 (1965) It was tough for Ornette to find work during the mid-sixties and the few LPs he made during that period show extreme urgency, as if he felt he had to get it all in quickly. Here, he had been playing for a week, before a sympathetic audience, and had time to relax a bit. He takes time to explore his ideas, rather than throwing them out for us to choke on, and triumphs in the process. On "Faces and Places" he goes on with some astonishing playing; he locks on the gutbucket sound of the blues, without ever hinting at blues forms. On "Antiques" he expresses a ragged lyricism that shines through his anguished, raw tone. Drummer Charles Moffett is not as flexible as, say, Elvin Jones or Billy Higgins but does not get in the way. Bassis David Izenzon more than makes up for him with a masterful job of support and rhythmic counterpoint. Eric Dolphy: OUT TO LUNCH (1962) This is one of the rare LPs where Dolphy had total control: of the personel, the recording conditions, the music... Not coincidentally, it is one of his best. Eschewing the piano, he uses Bobby Hutcherson's airy vibes tone as chordal instrument, giving himself and Freddie Hubbanr plenty of space to stretch. The tunes are challenging: "Hat and Beard" is a 5/4 theme that shifts abruptly to 9/4 at the bridge, and stays there for the theme recap. 17 year old Tony Williams spreads his wings here for the first time. Duke Ellington: MONEY JUNGLE (1963) This records would be notable if only becasue it is a rare Ellington piano session. The two other members of the trio, Charles Mingus and Max Roach, lift to classic rank. Mingus had some feud going with Roach at the time, and the tension is at times electric. Ellington was a master composer and arranger, but his piano work gets little respect. Those who hear this will wonder why. He attacks "Caravan" in the extreme low register, then punctuates in the extreme high, finding his way into the middle for the bridge, and the blues. The other two lock behind him, and off we go, for five choruses of powerhouse piano. His influence on Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor is evident. Dexter Gordon: DOIN' ALLRIGHT (1961), GO (1962) and A SWINGIN' AFFAIR (1963) Dex made these records during visits from Europe. His satisfaction at escaping the enthusiastic but plodding European drummers is evident. Having Billy Higgins to work with also did not hurt. GO may well be his best album ever. Johnny Griffin: A BLOWING SESSION (1957) and THE CONGREGATION (1957) Two solid hard bop sessions from the Little Giant of the tenor sax. The first album gets the nod by virtue of the cutting contest between the leader and fellow tenor gunners John Coltrane and Hank Mobley, all above the drumming of Art Blakey.
mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (06/15/85)
Herbie Hancock: MAIDEN VOYAGE (1965) and EMPYREAN ISLES (1965) The former is of course a classic of modal jazz, with Hubbard, Williams, Ron Carter and George Coleman. The latter is a less known quartet date with Hubbard, Carter and Williams. The former has that impossibly beautiful title tune, and is better known. It has nothing else over the latter, though, which succeeds in its own right. Milt Jackson: MILT JACKSON WITH THE THELONIOUS MONK QUINTET (1952) This is actually a composite of several sessions from 1948-52. One is an embryonic Modern Jazz Quartet, with Jackson, Lewis, Heath, Kenny Clarke and Lou Donaldson. The band swings through some standards, plus a steaming "Bags' Groove". The Monk sessions are from 1948, and were some tunes not released under Monk's name (MASTER OF THE MODERN PIANO) They include such gems as "Eronel", "Criss Cross", "Evidence", "Four in One" and an alternate to "Misterioso". Highly recommended J. J. Johnson: THE EMINENT J. J. JOHNSON Volumes 1 and 2 (1954) JJ's Blue Note debut. These records caught the jazz world by storm, introducing as they did JJ's smooth legato approach to the trombone, and his impossible virtuosity. The influence JJ jad on his contemporaries is such that it took over 10 years and the advent of Roswell Rudd for anyone to sound like anything but a JJ clone. These sessions include Clifford Brown (in a sensational "Get Happy"). Jimmy Heath, Wynton Kelly, Charles Mingus, Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, John Lewis..... Jackie McLean: BLUESNIK (1961), ONE STEP BEYOND (1964), and NEW AND OLD GOSPEL (1967) The former is an all blues date. The middle is the follow-up to the revelatory LET FREEDOM RING, in which hard bopper McLean made his peace with free jazz. STEP is thus more "important", since we get to hear Jackie after the initial thrill of playing with no regards to changes had wore off, when he could concentrate on finding his own voice. But it is hard to overlook people like McLean, Hubbard and Kenny Drew laying down in the gutter with the Blues. GOSPEL feature Ornette Coleman (on trumpet) and promises more than it delivers. There is some nice blowing on side 1, but the two soloists never jell. Hank Mobley: WORKOUT (1962) Mobley was perhaps the epitome of the Blue Note "sound": hard as nails, with a tender side on the occasional ballad, all served with a generous chunk of home fried blues. This reocrd is a perfect example of that philosophy. Wynton Kelly and Grant Green (guitar) contribute solidly, with Paul Chambers and Philli Joe Jones anchoring the bottom. This record makes no false promises: it swings you till you sweat.
mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (06/15/85)
Thelonious Monk: GENIUS OF MODERN MUSIC Volumes 1 and 2 (1954) These two records are the LP versions of tunes issued as 7" 33 RPM and 10-12" 78s between 1947 and 1951. They have limitations in that only a relatvely small fraction of Monk's recordings of that time are on them. Their re-issue, THE COMPLETE GENIUS (1976 double LP) or better yet, THE COMPLETE BLUE NOTE RECORDINGS OF THELONIOUS MONK, on the mail-order label Mosaic (1341 Ocean Ave, Suite 1341, Santa Monica, CA 90401.) No matter, these two volumes are not to bew missed. Here are the key first Monk-led sessions, with the originals of classics like "Round Midnight", "Off Minor", "Misterioso", "Epistrophy", "Let's Cool One", "In Walked Bud", "Straight No Chaser", "Evidence"...... There are some stunning examples of Monk's piano playing: his debt t stride in "Thelonious", his habit of reeling off whole tone runs in "Evidence" and others. If you can't find the others (COMPLETE GENIUS is out of print), by all means pick these up! Lee Morgan: THE SIDEWINDER (1964) The title tune was a huge hit in the mid-sixties. It is an irresistible modal vamp built on two notes, with some incandescent soloing by the leader, tenor man Joe Henderson and pianist Barry harris, with Billy Higgins anchoring things. Herbie Nichols: THE HERBIE NICHOLS TRIO (1956) Nichols was that tragic figure: the ignored creative artist. His music was despised during his lifetime, which forced him to play cocktail lounges to put food on the table. No one would record him, so there are only glimpses of his talent avalable. Simply put, he anticipated the next ten years of jazz development, the first to grow beyond bebop cliches and constraints. This LP collects his Blue Note work (there is another album on Bethlehem) and is superb, from the odd 67 bar structure of "The Gig" to the converging strains of "Hangover Triangle". With Max Roach on drums. Bud Powell: THE AMAZING BUD POWELL Volume 1 and 2 (1953) I know I am repeating myself, but these are also classic sessions. Powell was, simply, THE BEST bebop pianist, and these sessions catch him at his peak, before the mental disorders and alcohol excesses were to undermine him. Here then are "Un Poco Loco", "Dance of the Infidels", "Parisian Thoroughfare", "Polka Dots and Moobeams", as well as incendiary versions of "Night in Tunisia", "Ornithology", "52nd Street Theme", etc. The piano trios with Max Roach and Curley Russell would be sufficient to assure these tunes of immortality, butwe also get the added bonus of several tunes with a Fats Navarro, Roy Haynes, and a very young Sonny Rollins. Ike Quebec: BLUE AND SENTIMENTAL (1961) Re-issuing classics is a safe and sound, but albums like these really warm the heart toward a program. Quebec was an old swing tenor man who got caught in the bebop revolution. In trying to absorb the younger generation, he wound up dropping through the cracks, woodshedding and playing small clubs in nowhere places. He ran into pianist Sonny Clark, who brought him in to record. Blue Note owner was impressed and offered him a contract. He promptly recorded HEAVY SOUL, which as of yet is still out of print. This one followed a yesr later, with the much more sympathetic rhythm team of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. Grant Green's guitar was the chording instrument. Green also provided the beautiful Charlie Christian tribute "Blues for Charlie" Quebec himself does a masterful job on the ballads, like the title tune and "Don't take your love away from me." He was squarely in the Coleman Hawkins school of the tenor sax, with a hard boiled tone that opened to reveal a heart of gold on ballads. An extremely enjoyable album.
mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (06/15/85)
Sonny Rollins: A NIGHT AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD (1957); SONNY ROLLINS Volumes 1 and 2 (1957); NEWK'S TIME (1958) These were recorded within a year of the SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS sessions and represent Rollins' expounding on his thematic improvisation discoveries of that date. Rollins' style, which bypasses the changes or rather makes them only one element in his rigorous dissection of a theme, really prefigures Ornette Coleman. Rollins, however, is measured, always contained. His solos are marked by an incisive logic. Despite the sometimes torrential note streams he plays, his solos seem sparse, concise. This set of LPs and others from the same period, catch him at his peak. VANGUARD is a pianoless session with Elvin Jones, then still groping for his style, and the master bassist Wilbur Ware. The ROLLINS LPs, expecially Volume 2, are the most varied, with appearances by Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, JJ Johnson, Art Blakey and Paul CHambers. The version of "Misterioso", on Volume 2, ranks with the original and the 1958 Five Spot version with Johnny Griffin as one of the three best recordings of that discordant blues. NEWK is a saxophonic tour de force, with just a quartet featuring Wynton Kelly, Doug Watkins and Philly Joe Jones. It has powerhouse tunes like "Tune Up" and "Blues for Philly Joe". The crown jewel, though, is a duet version of "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" with Jones. Here Rollins takes a fairly sappy tune and remakes it whole, harmonically and rhythmically yet remaining in its thematic framework. Jones does some incredible playing throughout, but particularly shines here, prefiguring as he does the free time advances of later drummers as Famoudou Don Moye, Steve McCall or Andrew Cyrille. Wayne Shorter: JUJU (1965); SPEAK NO EVIL (1966); THE ALL SEING EYE (1967); and ADAM'S APPLE (1968) While in Miles' band, Shorter recorded a series of albums for Blue Note. These have been re-issued. Some others are only available as high priced imports (on the Liberty or Applause labels) Others still are out of print. Any one of them is worth hearing, and the most of them are classics. Like EVIL: the weirdly clashing scales of "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum"; the minimalist Coltrane of the title tune; the unspeakably beautiful "Infant Eyes"... Easily one the 20 best of all time. JUJU is a quartet with McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, and shows Miles' influence in its use of spare melodies and shrewdly placed silences. EYE is an energy laden septet session that shows Wayne boldly marching into free jazz territory, and mastering it. The album has somber themes. The title tune is based on a single augmented chord that is slowly developed in ominous minor steps. "Chaos" is virtually themeless, and has two or more divergent solo lines moving at the same time. "Mephistopheles" is built on a menacing bass vamp that overwhelms all else. The soloists seem to shy away from it, as from a great, evil power that is best avoided. APPLE returns to more traditional ground, with a quartet featuring Hancock. Wayne spins out straightforward post bop themes, then develops them in long, elliptical lines that seem to clash, but blend and alter the themes. By the recap, the theem is usually very different. All these records provide much meat for a listener to dig into. Their pleasures are endlessly varied and offer multiple avenues of explration.
mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) (06/15/85)
Horace Silver: BLOWIN' THE BLUES AWAY (1959); FINGER POPPIN' (1959); HORACE-SCOPE (1960); DOIN' THE THING LIVE AT THE VILLAGE GATE (1961); THE TOKYO BLUES (1963); and SILVER'S SERENADE (1964) Horace Silver and Art Blakey were the foremost practitioners of the discipline known as hard bop. They prefigured, and were stars in, the soul jazz movement (which in turn, fused back into R&B to give us great musicians like Jr Walker, King Curtis, etc; but I digress) These records are some of the ones Silver made with his peerless quintet, featuring trumpeter Blue Mitchell and tenor saxist Junior Cook. The band stayed together from 1959 to 1964 and made many fine fine records. Silver is an expert tunesmith, and rehearsed his band endlessly. The result is unique among small groups: the ability to swing as one during ensemble passages, yet remain flexible enough to blow personal lines when the time comes to step forward. These records are all very good, with noteworthy tunes like the incandescent "Blowin' the Blues Away", "The St. Vitous Dance" and "Sister Sadie" on BLOWIN'; "Juicy Lucy", "Swingin' the Samba" and especially "Cooking at the Continental" on FINGER; "Nica's Dream" and the title tune on SCOPE; "Filthy McNasty" and "The Gringo" on DOIN'; "Too Much Sake", "Sayonara Blues" and the title tune on TOKYO; "The Dragon Lady" and "Sweet Sweetie Dee" on SERENADE Jimmy Smith: HOME COOKIN' (1959); MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (1960); BACK AT THE CHICKEN SHACK (1962); and PRAYER MEETIN' (1964) Ah, for the righteous fervor and down home greasy tome of Smith's organ. Yeah, the formula is simple and endlessly repeated. Yeah, he inspired countless mediocre organ trios; yeah, yeah,yeah. I absolutely don't care. This is delicious music, to be savored ,and to have second and third helpings of. Besides, these records are probely the best that Stanley Turrentine has ever recorded (just listen to his solos on "Prayer Meetin'", "When the Saints go Marchin' In", "Back at the Chicken Shack" and others) We also have here the ever tasteful Kenny Burrell, whose spare, clean tone is good contrast to the greasy tenor and organ. Love them all! Cecil Taylor: UNIT STRUCTURES (1967) and CONQUISTADOR (1968) Most of the Blue Note re-issue program makes it seem like the label was only the temple of har bop. In reality, from about 1961 until the label was purchased by Liberty, Frank Wolff retired and Alfred Lion died, Blue Note was also the site for a highly active set of free players. Tempered by the bop verities that were all around them, they never strayed into totally chaotic territopry, but they ventured pretty far. There were may members of that scene: Sam Rivers. Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard (sometimes), Wayne Shorter, Eric Dolphy. It was they who persuaded Wolff and Lion to rescue Taylor from washing dishes and give him a couple of recording sessions. The results, these albums, are breathtaking. Taylor makes completely presonal music that is not for the faint of heart. He also demands TOTAL attention from the listener. Those not willing to provide it should probalby stay away, for they rapidly get the feeling of having stepped into an empty elevator shaft and fall, and fall.... Taylor does not play linear themes. He creates three and sometimes more dimensional sound fields. His use of the piano is intensely percussive. Someone once characterized him as "a musical blacksmith, with his hands as hammers and the keyboard as his anvil, forging out musical entities" STRUCTURES, the better of these two, is a case in point. "Enter, Evening" starts on a gently pastoral theme that Jimmy Lyons's alto and Ken McIntyre's bass clarinet take into slowly diverging paths, with Taylor's piano gosding them further still. Then Cecil himself takes over and the atmosphere changes, to primitive chants in the left hand, with the right hand tapping out a sort of Morse code stylized blues. Describing Taylor's music properly is a task far beyond my writing skills. Some others have done it better. None, however, really captures the expanse of that man's music. It is like no one else's. It is entirely self sufficient and only makes sense if taken in its own context. It is at variance with virtually every rule ever invented. It possesses a rugged beauty and character that will captivate the listener willing to strip away all assumptions and take this music on its own terms. Those who have never heard him would do better to start with his solo albums, not because they are more "accessible", but because there is only one voice to figure out: SILENT TONGUES is the best of those. NEFERTITI, THE BEAUTIFUL ONE HAS COME, is a wonderful trio with Jimmy Lyons and Sunny Murray from 1962. The duet with Max Roach recenly issued is another summit in a tall mountain range. There are many others. They are all worth it. _______________________________________________________________________________ Well, that's all my budget has permitted me to pick up so far. There are many other worthwhile records in this reissue program. I hope others will contribute their opinions of those. I am always looking for tips on things I have not heard yet. Marcel Simon
wjhe@hlexa.UUCP (Bill Hery) (06/19/85)
> > Cannonball Adderley: SOMETHING ELSE (1958) > This is to my knowledge the only record where Miles Davis plays but is not > the band leader since his successful comeback from heroin addiction in 1954. It's the only complete lp, but not the only recordings. Miles was on 4 of the 11 cuts on Michel Legrand's Legrand Jazz (1958) and on two cuts by something called the Brass Ensemble of the Jazz and Classical Music Society (1956). In the 1950's Legrand was putting out mood music LP's for Columbia, but had a strong interest in jazz. He managed to get Columbia to set up three recording dates, each with a different all star ensemble, to record some of his arrangements of jazz classics. One of those ensembles included Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Herbie Mann; they recorded Wild Man Blues (by Louis Armstrong and Jellyroll Morton), Jitterbug Waltz (Fats Waler), Django (John Lewis), and Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk). The cuts and solos are short, but interesting. Musicians in the other ensembles include Ben Webster, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Teo Macero (who later produced most of Miles LP's on Cloumbia), and many of the best known NY studio musicians of the day. The album went out of print in the sixties, but I believe it is available again as a reissue. (Michel Legrand, of course, went on the greater fame as composer of film scores, for which he has won several awards, including a Best Song Oscar for Windmills of Your Mind.) I don't know how the Brass Ensemble cuts were originally released, but I have them on a mid-sixties album called Outstanding Jazz Compositions of the 20-th Century. The title is pretentious and misleading, since the compositions are mostly from the early attempts at third stream music (blending classical and jazz elements) during the mid and late 1950's; however the music is interesting. It includes some otherwise unavailable music by, among others, Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington. The two cuts Miles is on (and solos on) are Jazz Suite for Brass (by J. J. Johnson) and Three Little Feelings (John Lewis). I personally find the attempt to merge jazz and classical in these pieces somewhat contrived (as were many of the other efforts by John Lewis and Gunther Schuller) and unsatisfactory; Miles solos are the highlights. Bill Hery