(LP SABA Gatefold Cover SB 15 158 ST) .... recorded live at the "Domicile" , Munich in January 1968 .... Benny Bailey (tp) + Nathan Davis (ts) + Mal Waldron (p) + Jimmy Woode (b) + Makaya Ntshoko (dr) + Charly Campbell (perc on track A2, B2) .... treasured late sixties live performance recorded in impeccable sound (like all the SABA/MPS releases are) and featuring both Benny Bailey - moonlighting here from his permanent stint with the Clarke-Boland Big Band at that time - and seering tenorsax master Nathan Davis at the peak of their powers .... things get even better as Mal Waldron is heading a superb rhythm section and special mentions goes to the unbelievable groovy bass performance of Jimmy Woode .... dead quiet and superb sounding german SABA vinyl press from 1968 (for CD buffs : this was some times ago released in Japan as Universal Japan UCCU-5526 - if being on offer grab this without reservation) ....
It was the trio setting that put me off buying it for some time, but I'm glad I did. Green is always enjoyable and capable of carrying the day, and he's backed up admirably by Tucker and Bailey.
Curtis Fuller – The Opener [(A) from The Complete Blue Note / UA Sessions] (Blue Note – Mosaic) — Curtis Fuller - trombone; Hank Mobley - tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 3, 5 & 6); Bobby Timmons - piano; Paul Chambers - bass; Art Taylor - drums; first stereo issue
Horace Silver's Song for my Father is a special one to me, as when I decided to learn jazz guitar SFMF was the first song I learned, transcribing Joe Henderson's solo note for note.
These particular box sets are great. I have the Dexter Gordon and just got the Wayne Shorter. As you say a cheap way to fill the gaps. Though NP Chet Baker Sings It Could Happen To You. Riverside RLP-1120.
Fats Theus, BLACK OUT (CTI, recorded in July 1970 at Van Gelder's). Theus was a funky tenor saxophonist who (as on this album) frequently used a Varitone electronic attachment to give a different sound. He's joined here on one of the very first recordings on Creed Taylor's CTI label (catalog number 1005 - ? fifth in line) by none other than Grant Green on guitar, Idris Muhammad on drums, and either Clarence Palmer or Hilton Felder on organ, Chuck Rainey or Jimmy Lewis on bass, and Eddie Moore on saw (yep, saw). It's a nice soul jazz date of the period, with a few nods to rock and even fewer touches acknowledging (but not quite getting into) the avant garde. I'm listening to the Blu-Spec Japanese CD reissue, which has very good sound quality. At this point CTI had not yet developed its "house sound" and approach (a good or bad thing I suppose, depending on your viewpoint - I tend to lean in the former direction myself), and so this sounds very much like the Blue Note soul jazz recordings of Green or Lou Donaldson or John Patton from the late sixties and early seventies. I bought it mostly for Green's presence, and he doesn't disappoint, easily taking solo honors. One interesting thing is that his sound is different than I'm used to - there's more reverb than I'm accustomed to, first of all, and it sounds like he must be playing a different guitar and/or using a different amp than before as the sound has less of the Green "ping" I'm used to. But anyway, Rudy has captured him beautifully, and he's still as creative and relentlessly swinging as ever! The material is hit and miss; Theus' originals don't stick in the memory much, purely functional stuff, but there are nice takes on Jobim's "Stone Flower"and the perennial "Moonlight in Vermont" (hopped up in the intro, then slowing down to more typical tempo, unusual but effective). Worth it for Green's contributions and Muhammad's groove alone, though the other players are solid enough.
Yeah, I don't own a lot of stuff on this label but what I have is great. Chet Baker's Steeplechase run is pretty sweet and I now own almost all of Walt Dickerson fantastic albums. This one was very tough to find on CD though as it is OOP and I went through three CD-R copies until I found a legit version for sale on discogs. It's a beautiful recording.
Jackie McLean - Let Freedom Ring (1963) 2014 Blue Note/HDtracks 96/24 Recorded March 19, '62 at Rudy's Jackie McLean - alto sax Walter Davis, Jr. - piano Herbie Lewis - bass Billy Higgins - drums I only have a few albums with Walter Davis on piano and really enjoy his playing. So Walter, this spin's for you. Pall Mall non-filters, same as my grandma.
(LP Impulse! Stereo Gatefold Cover AS-97) .... recorded March/August 1965 .... Archie Shepp (ts, p) + Bobby Hutcherson (vib) +David Izenzon/Henry Grimes/Barre Phillips (b) + J.C. Moses/Joe Chambers/Ed Blackwell/Rashied Ali (dr, per) + Christine Spencer (voc on the title track) .... this treasurous release features Archie Shepp in a variety of settings mirroring the artistic development he went through during a rather short time span .... Shepp excells - embedded in flowing sound patterns by Bobby Hutcherson - in a beautiful reading of "In A Sentimental Mood" and beneath Shepps`s searching sax it is again Hutcherson who adds some marvellous nearly surreal sounds to "Gingerbread, Gingerbread Boy" (which was part of the Archie Shepp Newport set from July 1965 not featured - due to running time restrictions - on "New Things At Newport" Impulse vinyl release) and the interplay of Barre Phillips and Joe Chambers is exquisite .... excellent sounding Impulse Stereo vinyl press from 1965 (for CD buffs : the complete Newport performance saw release as "New Thing At Newport" Impulse! 543 414-2 and the studio recordings with additional bonus material as "On This Night" Impulse! GRP 11252) ....
Curtis Fuller – Bone & Bari [(B) from The Complete Blue Note / UA Sessions] (Blue Note – Mosaic) — Curtis Fuller - trombone; Tate Houston - baritone saxophone; Sonny Clark - piano; Paul Chambers - bass; Art Taylor - drums; first stereo issue
Larry Coryell – Toku Do (Muse Records) — With Stanley Cowell, Buster Williams, Beaver Harris; tunes by Buster Williams, Coltrane, Monk, Ellington, plus two jazz standards and a CD bonus track of a Stanley Cowell tune.
We spent the weekend in Mass...Found this little gem at a local record store... dirty, but not a mark on it...
Those Donald Byrd/Gigi Gryce Jazz Lab recordings are really nice. I have these on CD: • Jazz Lab – Sony (Japan); 1957 Columbia recordings • Gigi Gryce and the Jazz Lab Quintet – Original Jazz Classics; 1957 Riverside recordings • New Formulas from the Jazz Lab – Vik (Japan); 1957 recordings • Jazz Lab – Fresh Sound (Spain); 1957 Jubilee recordings ( I wish I could find a good-sounding "legit" release of this one) (edit: found a Japanese reissue)
Sun Ra – Continuation - CD 2 (Corbett vs. Dempsey) Personnel: Sun Ra - piano, piano strings, space organ, clavioline, gong; Walter Miller - trumpet; Ali Hasaan - trombone; John Gilmore - tenor saxophone, clarinet, percussion; Marshall Allen - alto saxophone, oboe, percussion; Danny Davis - alto saxophone, clarinet, percussion; Pat Patrick - baritone saxophone, clarinet, percussion; Robert Cummings - bass clarinet; Art Jenkins - space voice, percussion; Ronnie Boykins - bass; Tommy Hunter - drums, percussion, reverb CD 2 consists of unreleased material from the same 1963 NYC session.
