What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Bogey]

Winter appeared briefly here but has tucked in its tail and run for cover. Currently it is midnight, and 74°F.
TD
[asin]B000000Y74[/asin]

Just added to my wishlist.  How is Coltrane on this one?

[Bogey]

Another from '57, but spills over into January of '58.  Three sessions months apart to complete this one.  You talk about picking up the phone and seeing who is available.  Garland just failed to show up at the session when the first three tracks were recorded in May.  I even read that this was released in '61 because Prestige records held the rights to a number of "unissued" recordings and these were put together on this album and released as it is here.  That sounds like something that would happen.Imagine owning the rights to some early recordings of the Stones Hendrix and then they hit with Exile on Main Street or Are you Experienced?  Time to cash in!  Byrd's trumpet playing on the title track is enough to warrant the purchase, let alone the early sound of John's sax.  Either way, here are the line ups: 

Tracks 1-3
John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
Earl May – bass
Art Taylor – drums
Tracks 4-5
John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
Red Garland – piano
Paul Chambers – bass
Donald Byrd – trumpet (track 4)
Louis Hayes – drums (track 4)
Albert Heath – drums (track 5)

[Bogey]

Looping back.  I want to give these two another listen or two before moving on as I enjoyed them thoroughly. 

 

[Brian]

Just added to my wishlist.  How is Coltrane on this one?

Bill, Coltrane and Rollins duet on the first (title) track, with really extended solos & interplay. That's Coltrane's only appearance, but it's definitely a major one!

[Bogey]

Bill, Coltrane and Rollins duet on the first (title) track, with really extended solos & interplay. That's Coltrane's only appearance, but it's definitely a major one!

Excellent to know, Brian.  Thanks!  With the rest of the line up, still a "want to have".

[George]

Just added to my wishlist.  How is Coltrane on this one?

There is a Hoffman mastered DCC gold disc for that one, Bill. I have it and it sounds lovely. 

[SimonNZ]

Toshiko Akiyoshi - George Wein Presents Toshiko (1956)
Don Pullen - New Beginnings (1988)



Tony Williams - Ego (1971)

[George]

Inspired by karl.

[Bogey]

A rainy night in NYC and you got the Miles going.  Nice!

[Bogey]

Was considering taking in A Sweet Smell of Success tonight, but before I did thought it would be nice if these two lps found the turntable for an early morning spin. The Elmer Bernstein platter has some of my all time favorite movie jazz and the Chico Hamilton Quintet efforts are terrific. Even the likes of Shelly Manne on drums and THE Johnny Williams on piano are found here. And those Decca covers! Can't beat 'em.

[Spineur]

This CD had been on its shelf for too long

[Bogey]

From 1954.  Blakey smokes on the track Split Kick and Clifford Brown's trumpet is sensational.  Highly recommended.



Notes from the liner that caught my eye:
Recorded between 11-3 AM.
And this quote:
"And because Birdland attracts the kind of audiences who come to listen to the music rather than to incite violence or tear up chairs, the musicians felt that their offerings were falling on appreciative ears."

[SimonNZ]

Was considering taking in A Sweet Smell of Success tonight, but before I did thought it would be nice if these two lps found the turntable for an early morning spin. The Elmer Bernstein platter has some of my all time favorite movie jazz and the Chico Hamilton Quintet efforts are terrific. Even the likes of Shelly Manne on drums and THE Johnny Williams on piano are found here. And those Decca covers! Can't beat 'em.

^One of my top ten favorite films

now:



Richard Wyands - Reunited (1995)
Tony Williams - The Old Bum's Rush (1972)



Toshiko Akiyoshi - Toshiko Meets Her Old Pals (1961)

[Bogey]

^One of my top ten favorite films

now:



Richard Wyands - Reunited (1995)

It's a beauty.  The one liners are some of the best.

[Artem]

I'm not familiar with Criss Cross label at all, but it's releases look very interesting.

[Bogey]

From 1953:



J.J. Johnson – trombone
Clifford Brown – trumpet (except "It Could Happen To You")
Jimmy Heath – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone (except "It Could Happen To You")
John Lewis – piano
Percy Heath – bass
Kenny Clarke – drums

This is Vol. 1 of 2.  The next volume actually has Mingus on it, though you would suppose this did because of the cover.  After reading (and reading again), these two volumes are basically early recordings of Johnson in the lead and are taken from two(?) sessions.  You can WIKI it if you like jigsaw puzzles, but either way you get some fabulous music.  Used to be I avoided trombone unless it was with a swing band, but the Johnson/Stan Getz album I have changed all that.  It's nice to have added this and Vol. 2 to my collection.

[king ubu]

The Jimmy Smith from Paris 1965 has landed - but I received yet another, earlier edition, I guess the first one (from 1992) - looks like this:

[king ubu]

From 1953:

J.J. Johnson – trombone
Clifford Brown – trumpet (except "It Could Happen To You")
Jimmy Heath – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone (except "It Could Happen To You")
John Lewis – piano
Percy Heath – bass
Kenny Clarke – drums

This is Vol. 1 of 2.  The next volume actually has Mingus on it, though you would suppose this did because of the cover.  After reading (and reading again), these two volumes are basically early recordings of Johnson in the lead and are taken from two(?) sessions.  You can WIKI it if you like jigsaw puzzles, but either way you get some fabulous music.  Used to be I avoided trombone unless it was with a swing band, but the Johnson/Stan Getz album I have changed all that.  It's nice to have added this and Vol. 2 to my collection.

These were initially made for 10" LPs - in jazz, only around 1955 the switch was made to 12" (with some exceptions, such as Duke Ellington's "Masterpieces" on Columbia - but that was Columbia and Ellington's prolonged versions of some of his most famous tunes were marketed as something like classical concerti ...). So independent labels like Prestige or Blue Note repackaged much of their catalogue into the new format. For Miles and J.J. on Blue Note for instance , you have two Vols. of 12" albums that in each case contain three 10" albums. In other cases (Monk, Bud Vols. 1 & 2) they compiled singles again (they already had compiled them onto 10"). With these changes in edition, sometimes a different take (whether by choice or by accident) would see the light, too.

Blue Note, when first releasing these sessions on CD, usually went with the 12" covers where they differed. Later on (with the RVG Edition) they switched to using the 10" covers, and in some cases still re-grouped the music (I think the earlier CDs reflecting the 12" releases usually did so, content-wise, as well, but I'm not sure). So with Miles and J.J., you get two ten-inchers (plus bonustracks like alternate takes if available) on one Volume, and the third on a separate volume ... thus what's on the cover will not necessarily reflect what's on the disc.

I like the "complete sessions"-approach, but many collectors seem not to, to the extent that - this was beyond silly if you ask me! - the reissues of Jimmy Smith's "The Sermon" and "House Party" in the RVG series while adding a few bonus tracks, omitted many other tracks that were available on the previous CD incarnations (which again split up the contents into original sessions, while the LPs and again the RVGs mixed sessions). Why they couldn't even included the remaining tracks at the end of the disc (not just alternates in that case, though with such great bands in a lose setting I like alternate takes as well ... heck I generally do like alternate takes anyway!). Seems to many anally retentive collectors complained about them abandoning the original LP configuration that they bowed in ... ridiculous indeed, as if you want to hear original, get first pressings, get a time machine (or at least wear sixties clothes, buy sixties furniture, eat sixties food, smoke sixties cigarettes and play your vinyl on crappy sixties audio equipment to make sure you ruin those first pressings on a small portable rekkid player etc. - never burst your bubble, but don't panick about a CD repacking known music into its own format - a CD will never be original, so what's the matter).

Edited to add: in many cases, an additional session was held to "pimp" an 10" and have the necessary additional 10-15 minutes to make it a 12" ... but sometimes stuff was repackaged in an adventurous way. Guess that was a Prestige specialty and it explains all the odd 12" LPs jumbling sessions that are still well-known today, by Miles Davis or Sonny Rollins or Thelonious Monk. Those silly purists should actually insist on 20-25 minute CDs that contain the 10" versions only, as those were "original".

[George]

Time Out - Dave Brubeck - AP SACD - mastered by Bernie Grundman 

[SimonNZ]

I'm not familiar with Criss Cross label at all, but it's releases look very interesting.

They're consistently strong, though not consistently essential. I'm finding, for reasons I'm still mulling over, that the albums that include a guitarist are usually a cut above those that don't on this label. Like the producer(s) have an extra investment in capturing that instrument/artists well. Or that it adds something new and exciting for the more standard combos.

now:



Toshiko Akiyoshi - Recital (1961)