Cool.....love Monks work with the underrated Charlie Rouse...even if it is tracks we have heard a zillion times before (and on Impulse!! no less) The Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 was also a fabulous release. One of my favourites by Monk.
Thelonious Monk - Palo Alto After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, racial tensions across the country rose. Palo Alto, a largely white college town in California, was not immune to the events of the day. Danny Scher, a rising junior at Palo Alto High School, had a dream to bring Thelonious Monk to Palo Alto to perform and help bring about racial unity in his community as well as raise funds for his school’s International Committee. After somehow securing Monk’s services to perform on Sunday, October 27, Scher initially had trouble selling tickets and convincing people that Monk was even going to show up. With many twists and turns along the way and several hundred people waiting in the school’s parking lot to await Monk’s arrival before purchasing tickets, the concert eventually happened and was a triumph in more ways that Monk or Scher could have imagined. This is a recording of that historic concert. The band is Thelonious Monk – piano. Charlie Rouse – tenor saxophone. Larry Gales – bass / Ben Riley – drums. 1. Ruby, My Dear 2. Well, You Needn’t 3. Don’t Blame Me 4. Blue Monk 5. Epistrophy 6. I Love You Sweetheart of All My Dreams
Awesome! Looks like its being put out with some care based on photo. Is this the same Impulse team for Coltrane's Blue World? Not much detail on mastering and pressing on the Amazon page
RUDOLPH JOHNSON / THE SECOND COMING / BLACK JAZZ / 1973 / US FIRST STEREO - QUADRAPHONIC PRESSING BJQD 11 LP Rudolph Johnson, next to Walter Bishop Jr., represents the more "maintream" side of the Black Jazz label. No electrified instruments and no funk, but pure acoustic jazz with lots of soul. This isn't to say Johnson produced an average 60's hard bop recording, far from that. His compositions are straight and melodic, almost catchy, but not lacking improvisation. I haven't been able to find out much about Johnson apart from the usual promo-blurbs that accompany reissues. Johnson didn't do a lot of recordings; there are his two albums on Black Jazz and another one on a certain "Gallo" label. This seems to be all he ever did, at least as a leader. He is also heard as a sideman on one or two other Black Jazz albums, but that seems to have been it. That's a shame, considering how much potential especially "The Second Coming" holds. It actually could have appealed to a wider audience, but I guess that's the downside of small independent / private labels that offer full artistic freedom, but can't provide the "networking" service bigger labels offer. A quick word on the sound quality: Black Jazz recordings have outstanding sound quality. Also, the stereo imaging is fascinating, even in plain stereo, with a drum kit that occupies the whole soundstage (without sounding fuzzy).
Happy birthday, Eric Dolphy — born June 20, 1928. His masterpiece — an album way ahead of its time that still sounds modern and contemporary even today. A big favourite . . . 1964/2009 Music Matters Ltd. – MMBST-84163, Blue Note – BST 84163 Blue Note The Definitive 45 RPM Reissue Series — KG&SH@ATM
Monday Miles — with band; Sam Rivers (tenor saxophone), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Tony Williams (drums) . . . Recorded at Kohseinenkin Hall, Tokyo — July 14, 1964 1969/2019 Get On Down – GET51279-LP Black Friday RSD 2019 Edition limited to 2,200 copies.
I don't know unfortunately. This is the only version of the album that I've owned and I previously only listened to tracks via streaming online. It's a UA recording though, and was never an example of a well-recorded session like many from that studio (for whatever reason). But, while it may come across as lo-fi, it's a favorite of mine. Procession is a pantheon song. I'm betting that the Japanese SHM will probably be the best sounding digital copy out there but it's price may be prohibitive. Either way, I'm happy with this version.
Jaco's Twins - side by side/back to back! TWINS I & TWINS II - JACO PASTORIOUS BIG BAND (Warner Bros.) CD 24-bit remasters Recorded live at Aurex Jazz Festival '82 with Word Of Mouth BIG BAND I had almost forgotten how knockout these two killer releases sounded until I listeneded to both of them again over the last couple of days. Both have stood the test of time very well. Big and fresh big band sound and with stunning bass runs! All recordings also issued on the double CD... Twins I & II - LIVE IN JAPAN 1982 - JACO PASTORIOUS BIG BAND
A mid-morning coffee and some Kenny Burrell — perfection . . . 1963/2014 Music Matters Ltd. – MMBST-84123, Blue Note – BST 84123 Blue Note The Definitive Vinyl Reissue Series – KPG&RR@CA
Spinning more Kenny Burrell — with the sweet-sounding Blue Note Tone Poet reissue, Introducing . . . 1956/2019 Blue Note – 1523 Blue Note Tone Poet Series – KPG/JH@CA
Recorded June 25, 1960 — a True Blue masterpiece . . . 1960/2008 Music Matters Ltd. – MMBST 84041, Blue Note – BST 84041 Blue Note The Definitive 45 RPM Reissue Series – KPG&SH@ATM
Disc 5 from this month's most visited boxset - 10 YEARS / 6 DISCS - THE FRED HERSCH TRIO SUNDAY NIGHT at the VANGUARD | the FRED HERSCH TRIO (Palmetto) CD Recorded March 2016. This is an excellent album not to be overlooked by anyone who appreciates piano led Jazz trios. The CD was mastered by Mark Wilder and it sounds just as wonderful as the music. Fred Hersch later stated the Trio were 'in the zone' at the time they played this concert. The musicianship throughout this recording certainly confirms that.
