The Bebop Shop : New Releases
The first week of March in 1963 was busy for John Coltrane. He was in the midst of a two-week run at Birdland and was gearing up to record the famed John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman album, which he did on March 7. But there was a session the day before that was the stuff of legend, until now. On Wednesday, March 6, Coltrane and the quartet went to Van Gelder Studios in Englewood, NJ and cut a complete album's worth of material, including several original compositions that were never recorded elsewhere. They spent the day committing these to tape, taking time with some, rehearsing them two, three times, playing them in different ways and in different configurations.
At the end of the day, Coltrane left Van Gelder Studios with a reference tape and brought it to the home in Queens that he shared with his wife, Naima. These tapes remained untouched for the next 54 years until Impulse! approached the family about finally releasing this lost album. Though the master tape was never found-Rudy Van Gelder wasn't one for clutter-the reference tape was discovered to be in excellent condition.
As the legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins so rightly put it, "This is like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid." The musical implications of this album, the original compositions, the arrangements, the band, the year it was recorded, all amount to a rediscovery and re-contextualization of one of the most important musicians of our time.
Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album is a major addition to the Coltrane catalogue and the most important jazz discovery in recent memory. (Universal Music) Price: £13.99
On this album, there are two completely unknown and never-before-heard originals. "Untitled Original 11383" and "Untitled Original 11386," both played on soprano sax. "11383" features an arco bass solo by Jimmy Garrison, a relative rarity, and "11386" marks a significant structural change for the quartet, in that they keep returning to the theme between solos, not typical in the quartet's repertoire (heard in additional takes on this deluxe edition).
In addition to the two unheard originals, "One Up, One Down" - released previously only on a bootleg recording from Birdland - is heard here as a studio recording for the first and only time. It contains a fascinating exchange between Elvin Jones and Coltrane.
"Impressions", one of Coltrane's most famous and oft-recorded compositions, is played here in a piano-less trio. In fact, McCoy Tyner lays out a number of times during this recording session. It's one of the more interesting aspects of this session and reflects the harmonic possibilities that Coltrane was known to be discussing regularly with Ornette Coleman around this time (also heard in additional takes on this deluxe edition).
This studio session also yielded Coltrane's first recording of "Nature Boy," which he would record again in 1965, and the two versions differ greatly. The one we know is exploratory, meandering. This version is tight, solo-less and clocking in at just over three minutes. The other non-original composition on the album is "Vilia," from Franz Lehár's operetta "The Merry Widow". The soprano version on the Deluxe Edition is the only track from this session to have been previously released.
This incredible, once-in-a-lifetime discovery reveals a number of creative balances at work, like developing original melodies while rethinking familiar standards. Like trying out some tunes first on tenor saxophone, then on soprano. Using older techniques like the arpeggio runs of his "sheets of sound" while experimenting with false fingerings and other newer sounds. This session was pivotal, though to call it such overlooks the fact Coltrane was ever on pivot, always pushing the pedal down while still calling on older, tested ideas and devices. (Universal Music) Price: £17.99
The Still Dreaming ensemble performed a series of critically praised international dates in 2017. The Columbus Dispatch said, 'Whether exploring the limits of improvisation or establishing an emotional tone, the group… relied on a dialogue based on listening, respect, and generosity… Its emotional travel was the result of the intuition shared by all four musicians. That dialogue, after all, was at the center of Coleman's innovations.' (Warner Music) Price: £13.99
As on their live debut recording, Sound Prints features pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Joey Baron. The super group heads off into swinging, heartfelt and sophisticated new territory inspired by saxophonist giant Wayne Shorter. Two of Shorter's pieces receive special treatment. A truly fantastic and original group playing new originals and music by Shorter. (Proper Music) Price: £13.99
All the compositions on Music IS were composed by Frisell, some are brand-new - Change in the Air, Thankful, What Do You Want, Miss You and Go Happy Lucky - others are solo adaptions of now classic original compositions Frisell has previously recorded - In Line, Rambler, Ron Carter, Pretty Stars, Monica Jane, and The Pioneers. The focus of Music IS is on the telling of musical stories from Frisell’s original and inimitable perspective. The end result is Frisell at his most distilled and fully realised. (Sony Music) Price: £13.99
Pelt's group is that rarest of all things in jazz, a working band, and the communication that comes from extensive time spent playing together is evident. All the players are among the foremost 30-something neo-bop players in jazz today giving the group an all-star-type reputation with a well-rehearsed sound that comes only with familiarity and countless gigs.
Pelt's own playing has earned accolades for his staggering virtuosity, which has elicited comparisons to trumpet icons like Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard, as well as for his studious, cerebral approach to the music. On this particular night in Paris, Pelt focused all his attention on creating the perfect phrase to fit each musical moment, sculpting long lines that let the music breathe and while building spontaneous ideas into finely-crafted miniatures.(Proper Music) Price: £13.99
Consisting of six Hersch originals and two significant compositions apiece from Thelonious Monk ("We See," "Blue Monk") and Wayne Shorter ("Miyako," "Black Nile"), Live in Europe demonstrates how a working trio breathes as one. Live in Europe finds the trio in near telepathic communion. While each band member is a virtuoso player, individual bravura is always subordinate to group interplay. Lyricism, open-eared interaction and a respect for the power of space are all invaluable components of the trio's identity. In such performances as the frisky "Skipping," the affecting ballad, "Bristol Fog" (dedicated to the late British pianist John Taylor), the joyous "Newklypso (dedicated to Hersch's hero Sonny Rollins) and the bluesy tribute to New Orleans "The Big Easy," Hersch, Hébert and McPherson give a master class in ensemble communication, uniting as one yet allowing each other to freely react with spontaneous invention. A masterful solo encore of "Blue Monk" spotlights the depth of Hersch's undiminished improvisational skills and expressive powers. (Proper Music) Price: £13.99
Taking its title from Hindu philosophy, the Sanskrit Moksha refers to emancipation from the cycle of death and rebirth - to ultimate freedom from earthbound cares and ignorance leading to self-realization and self-knowledge - a form of release recognisable in great music too.
Ivo's own music has been somewhat in the shade of his other successful and better known projects. Moksha allows him to step into the full sun with a bright and beautiful new work. Ivo's sound is contemporary and modern and undeniably his. With Moksha, he has produced an album of sheer brilliance and class. (Edition Records) Price: £13.99
“Awase”, a term from martial arts, means “moving together” in the sense of matching energies, a fitting metaphor for the dynamic precision, tessellated grooves and balletic minimalism of Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin. Six years have passed since the last release from the Swiss group. In the interim, trimmed from quintet to quartet size and with new bassist Thomy Jordi fully integrated, Ronin has become a subtly different band. Bärtsch speaks of a new-found freedom and flexibility in the approach to the material, with “greater transparency, more interaction, more joy in every performance”. The freedom here extends to revisiting early Bärtsch modules alongside new compositions including, for the first time on a Ronin record, a piece by reedman Sha. Awase was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in the south of France in October 2017 and produced by Manfred Eicher. (ECM Records) Price: £14.99
The setting for the recording was quite exceptional and is worth mentioning. On the first day of their recording session in mid-April of 1989 the six jazz musicians performed the pieces highly focused and without disturbance at the Clinton Studios in New York. However, on the second day they invited friends and acquaintances and played some of the same pieces as the day before, but now under more difficult conditions, live on stage in front of an audience. The result is a double album of historical significance for the world of jazz. A must-have for your collection! (Proper Music) Price: £17.99
Audiophile grade 180g vinyl. Price: £22.99
After hitting a career low point in 1968 as a result of his heroin addiction, he was rebuilding his health and career and had thrown himself into a punishing round of ‘live’ work and recording, and was looking for new musical challenges, as the music landscape was evolving rapidly around him, and contemporary musicians were pushing boundaries of their own with psychedelia and progressive rock. He was still in vibrant form and still a master of the kind of hard bop tear-up exhibited in parts of these performances, and still able top find a new way of approaching a standard like “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, as well as introduce his own compositions like “For Members Only”. However, this was one of the final performances of this kind by the quartet, as it was only a month later that he collapsed was hospitalised – the beginning of the health issues which would bring about his demise in 1973. As such it is an important musical landmark, as he saw out the ‘60s in typical style. (Acrobat Music) Price: £19.99
Digitally remastered and slipcased with extensive new liner notes. (Proper Music) Price: £14.99
The recording of Body & Soul was a particular milestone as well-a true gold plated jazz classic which is of course included here. This collection charts his progress through the decade, when he dazzled audiences and fellow musicians alike. This set is superbly remastered and packaged. (Proper Music) Price: £20.99
Jeri Southern started her musical career as a pianist having been classically trained from an early age. During her musical training she had become interested in jazz and during the 1940s duly took off to begin her musical life playing the clubs. It was in these clubs that she began singing and was eventually signed to Decca in 1951. During the 1950s Jeri made a string of outstanding albums of which we have chosen what we consider to be four of her best. Her singing style was quintessentially what became known as the 'torch' style of jazz singing, world weary and somewhat downbeat, it was perhaps overlooked by some listeners because of it. However we think she was fabulous, as did many of the great names in jazz who had the privilege of accompanying her. That list would include the following... Marty Paich, Herb Geller, Georgie Auld, Don Fagerquist, Bud Clark and Mel Lewis. (AVID Entertainment) Price: £8.99
At last, the wait is over, we hear you cry! AVID have finally inducted Miss Peggy Lee into the 4 Classic Albums 'hall of fame'! Ok so we have taken our time in paying tribute to the great lady, but we wanted to get it right, we wanted to select the best albums that truly captured Miss Lee's huge vocal talents. Peggy Lee spent most of her recording career at Capitol Records which she joined in 1947. She had a short break between 1952-56 where she recorded for Decca, and ironically made one of her greatest albums 'Black Coffee' (AVC876). We feature three albums for her Capitol years, a couple of classics arranged by the legendary Nelson Riddle, 'Jump For Joy' and 'The Man I Love' which also features conducting duties by that other rather famous Capitol Records artist, Mr Frank Sinatra! These two are joined by another classic 'concept' album 'Blues Cross Country' arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones. To round off our selections we feature the extraordinarily intimate 'Dream Street' recorded by Peggy for Decca in 1956. And if you need any further proof of the regard Peggy Lee was held in by the jazz fraternity, take a look at some of the names that appear on our selections. Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Pete Condoli, Mel Lewis, Shorty Rogers, Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Bill Perkins, Lou Levy, Max Bennett, Benny Carter and Buddy Collette. Oh and did we mention Nelson Riddle, Frank Sinatra and Quincy Jones?! (AVID Entertainment) Price: £8.99
The recording is centred mostly around cutting edge originals by Hobbs encompassing modern mainstream examples of post-bop, Latin, Funk, Calypso, and more, arranged and performed with the typical creative and hard edged energy you are used to hearing on his past New York Recordings. Hobbs centered the music around marimba, dedicating the recording to his mentor and late friend Bobby Hutcherson. Price: £14.99
Now we can finally hear them in two CD volumes. They show Martial Solal at his best, his incontestable talent, dazzling virtuosity and invention, but also his good taste and sense of humor in the execution. The originality of his conception, paired with his elegant control and technique, put him on a par with the great American pianists. (Fresh Sound Records) Price: £12.99
Drawing equal inspiration from both the recent innovations of Miles Davis and John Coltrane and the energy of his new, young and adventurous sidemen, Hayes was to turn these to-all-intents-and-purposes typical provincial club nights into definitive manifesto statements of his contemporary musical ambitions.
Luckily, excerpts from both these performances were captured on tape. Occasionally bootlegged, the recordings made on these two gigs half a century ago illustrate everything the saxophonist had learned, experienced and pioneered up to that moment; from the blistering paint-off-the-walls bebop of “Walkin’”, a solo to rank alongside any of John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins’ extended forays from the Sixties, through to the astonishing emotional denouement of a seventeen-minute deconstruction of “Dear Johnny B.” - this isn't Hayes merely on form; this is him on fire!
This new Acrobat CD is the first ever release of these recordings and comes packaged with rare, hitherto unpublished photographs and a fascinating booklet note by award-winning saxophonist Simon Spillett – author of The Long Shadow of The Little Giant: The Life, Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes. (Discovery Records) Price: £11.99
She made her recording debut in 1958, and the next few years were among the most prolific of her career, encompassing both studio and ‘live’ recordings as she recorded first for the Bethlehem label and then for Colpix, marking her down as a pianist and singer who was a versatile and unique interpreter of songs from across the jazz, blues and pop spectrum.
This great-value 78-track 4-CD set comprises just about every recording which she released during the formative years of her career and which established her reputation, featuring the tracks from the albums “Little Girl Blue”, “Nina Simone & her Friends”, “The Amazing Nina Simone”, “Nina Simone at Town Hall”, “Nina Simone at Newport”, “Forbidden Fruit”, “Nina at the Village Gate” and “Nina Simone Sings Ellington”.
It also includes tracks released on singles which were not otherwise included on albums, naturally featuring the chart hits “I Loves You Porgy”, “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” and “Trouble In Mind”. It’s a comprehensive overview of the early career of a very special artist. (Discovery Records) Price: £19.99
These two albums comprise the contents of three 10” discs: the original Night in Manhattan, and the Youmans and Berlin song books, which were first issued individually with eight tracks each (on the latter two Wiley is backed by the piano duet of Stan Freeman and Cy Walter). In order to fit all of this material onto two 12” LPs, four tunes from the song books were added to the 12” version of Night in Manhattan (with the remaining 12 tracks from the song books released on the 12” album Sings Vincent Youmans & Irving Berlin). This edition also includes two rare bonus tracks originally issued on the 1956 Columbia LP The Wide, Wide World of Jazz (RCA Victor LPM-1325), which was an anthology featuring various artists. (Discovery Records) Price: £11.99
Thought to be destroyed in a fire and lost, Buddy Rich: The Lost Tapes is a historic preservation and restoration project.
The producers recovered the masters in 1990 and went about restoring the original surround sound track of the last concert Buddy Rich recorded before he passed away in 1987. (Wienerworld) Price: £14.99
180g Vinyl Pressing. Price: £18.99
• Only one song with Roach was included on Mingus at the Bohemia: a unique duet between the drummer and the bassist titled “Percussion Discussion.” Their other two collaborations from the date (“Drums” and “I’ll Remember April”) appeared on the LP presented here. An alternate take of “Drums” has been added as a bonus. (Discovery Records)
Double 180g audiophile vinyl release. Price: £29.99
Gary’s latest album, and his first for Edition, A Meeting of Spirits is an innovative re-interpretation of the music of legendary guitarist, bandleader and composer John McLaughlin that in many ways demonstrates the totality of Husband’s multifaceted talent. In “...dissecting, reforming and freshly presenting...” the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Husband - a long time collaborator with McLaughlin - pays personal and intimate homage to the iconic guitarist while showcasing his own highly distinctive creativity and personal expression. (Edition Records) Price: £13.99
This new Acrobat anthology celebrates the early years of his recorded career at the dawn of the 1960s, a juncture in which Hard Bop, Soul Jazz and the Avant-Garde all jostled for primacy, and which found Ervin a player perfectly equipped for the times.
Featuring all three of his initial albums as a leader – The Book Cooks, Cookin' and That's it! - together with selected appearances with bands led by vibraphonist Teddy Charles, pianists Horace Parlan and Mal Waldron and fellow-tenor Bill Barron (the rare Hot Line album), this 4-CD retrospective is accompanied by an extensive booklet note by award-winning saxophonist and author Simon Spillett, carefully re-examining Ervin's work, and uncovering much hitherto unknown information about his early life, alongside period photographs. (Discovery Records) Price: £19.99
This album is dedicated to one of them in particular: trumpeter Roger Guérin (1926-2010). Despite having very few recordings under his name and spending most of his career as a sideman, Guérin was never underappreciated by jazz fans and critics: after all, he was chosen as the best French jazz trumpeter ten years in a row (1955-65) by the “Jazz-Hot” readers’ and critics’ poll. In these sessions we find him alongside great American jazzmen like James Moody, Jimmy Raney, Benny Golson and Bobby Timmons, but also in the company of his French comrades, giving his best in every performance.
• He was involved in many of the projects that pushed the evolution of modern jazz in France. An arranger of the stature of Billy Byers, who worked in Paris for a while in 1956, described him like this: “There are some very good musicians in France: Roger Guérin is a great jazzman.” (Discovery Records) Price: £12.99
The music here is particularly interesting in that Charles Lloyd is the only horn heard throughout these recordings, while on most of their other collaborations the cello was replaced by a trombone player. The complete 1962 Hamilton/Lloyd album Drumfusion (Columbia CS8607), featuring Garnett Brown on trombone, plus the only alternative take from that session (originally released on the LP compilation The Giants of Jazz (-CS 8770), have been added here as a bonus. (Discovery Records) Price: £17.99
Lucky Thompson (1924-2005) had never been accorded the praise he deserved in the United States, despite the fact that in the 40s many prominent critics and musicians considered him the finest tenor-saxophone player to appear in jazz since the emergence of Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. He never found work easily in his own country, maybe because he expressed his views too forcibly about the various rackets going on behind the glitteringfacade of the musical profession. It got so bad that by the 1950s Lucky was practically ignored by most record labels, which deliberately passed over his name time and time again rather than employ him.
This was the situation in 1956, when he decided to move to Paris—like Don Byas and several others before him—hoping for better things in Europe where his name meant something to jazz critics and collectors. In the months after his arrival in Paris, Lucky appeared on more record sessions than he had in the previous several years in his own country.
These Parisian recordings (1956-1959) went a long way towards proving Lucky Thompson’s stature in jazz; they show that his neglect was uncalled for, and that he was a superb fountain of finely-embroidered jazz improvisation. (Fresh Sound Records) Price: £41.99
For the first of these sessions, Lucky joined the Modern Jazz Group —a ten-piece band— to play a series of compositions written by pianist Henri Renaud, and newly arranged to highlight Thompson’s rhythmic, melodic and harmonic imagination. For the remaining three, he had the backing of Dave Pochonet leading several all-star groups that played originals and well-conceived arrangements penned by Lucky. In addition to his writing, his splendid solos project some hard-driving swing, as well as lyricism in the Hawkins-Webster mood. Most of his charts also offer ample solo space for other band members, who don’t squander the chance and jump in with more than commendable musicianship.
Thompson’s effort to sustain a high, solid mood throughout these sessions is somewhat amazing, making it clear that he was not only a saxophonist of excellent control of tone and ideas, but also an imaginative composer and unpretentious arranger. (Fresh Sound Records) Price: £12.99
The concert presents Mingus at a time in which he had found his musical identity. His group is augmented by the great Max Roach as a special guest, and both masters play, among other tunes, an amazing duet titled “Percussion Discussion”. Mal Waldron’s piano is another of the highlights.
An extremely rare broadcast showcasing Mingus’ group also at the Bohemia the following year has been added as a bonus, including a version of “What Is This Thing Called Love” on which Phineas Newborn, Jr. replaces Waldron on piano. No other recordings of Newborn and Mingus together are known to exist! Studio versions of two of the tunes taped at the Bohemia, “Haitian Fight Song” and “A Foggy Day” complete this release. (Discovery Records) Price: £17.99
This set compiles two previously unreleased broadcasts recorded in Boston and featuring Kelly’s trios with Paul Chambers or Cecil McBee on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. The great Roy Eldridge is added on trumpet on the last two tracks. (Discovery) Price: £11.99
In addition to original compositions, ‘Hudson’ features covers of songs connected to the Hudson Valley by such songwriters as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Robbie Robertson and Joni Mitchell. The music will have broad appeal beyond mainstream jazz confines. The project came together organically as a way to celebrate music legend Jack DeJohnette’s 75th birthday. (PIAS) Price: £13.99
