The Bebop Shop : New Releases
Albert Ayler’s two-week tour of Europe in November, 1966, most of it with that year’s annual “Newport in Europe” package, was a high point of this great, tragic artist’s career. Now that his innovations have been so influential in 21st-century jazz, younger listeners may not feel the exhilarating impact that his music had at the time. The nightly concerts featured a succession of stars – Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Illinois Jacquet, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins. Following these main stream artists, the final act, the show’s only avant-garde act, blew away audiences with Ayler’s gigantic tenor saxophone sound, the liberated unique sound of his group, its sweet-singing repertoire.
Wherever they played, said the Dutch violinist Michel Samson, the crowds went wild with delight, “almost like with the Beatles.” (Harmonia Mundi) Price: £13.99
The repertoire on the recording is wide ranging and unusual yet is complimented by two catchy and accessible originals from the pen of each player. Beautifully recorded at Castle Sound Studios, this disc sees the two musicians bring out the best in each other in an “after hours” session which, whilst clearly virtuosic, features some beautifully relaxed playing. (Proper Note) Price: £13.99
After a remarkably productive decade which saw him writing stellar orchestral arrangements for recordings by Bjork, Melody Gardot, Sting and Joni Mitchell (he won Grammy Awards for his contributions to her ‘Both Sides Now’ in 2000 and ‘Travelogue’ in 2003), Vince Mendoza has shifted focus back to his own compositions for the first time in 13 years. On this eagerly-awaited followup to ‘Epiphany’, Mendoza recruited an all-star cast of long time collaborators like guitarists John Abercrombie, John Scofield and Nguyen Le, drummer Peter Erskine, percussionist Luis Conte, organist Larry Goldings, steel drummer Andy Narell, pianists Kenny Werner and Alan Pasqua, plus saxophonists Bob Mintzer and Joe Lovano.
He is also joined by such new friends as Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza, Malian kora player and singer Tom Diakite, young American jazz stars in bassist Christian McBride, drummer Greg Hutchinson and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. Along with members of the Metropole Orkest, the Dutch ensemble that Mendoza has presided over as chief conductor for the past six years, they bring to life these evocative pieces that flow directly from the composer’s heart to his pen. His most personal and compelling project to date, ‘Nights on Earth’ is yet another crowning achievement in the career of the acclaimed composer-arranger-conductor. (Proper Note) Price: £13.99
Very much in the mould of Stan's landmark recording ‘Under Milk Wood’ from the Sixties, this was another popular story in the Tracey household at that time and ever since. “I've always had a particular fondness for A Child's Christmas in Wales because it evokes so many memories of the festival when I was a child. I was, therefore, delighted when Clark suggested that I should write something based on Dylan's story and wondered why I hadn't thought of it first. I hope the music reflects some of the pleasure it has given me.” Stan Tracey (Proper Note) Price: £13.99
Due to the presence of Benny Golsen and Roger Spotts as arrangers (and composers of six out of eight tunes), this session comes off as more of a little-big-band event than the kind of hard-bop situation which Morgan in particular would soon come to epitomise. The four horns are lush and confidant, creating the illusion of a much larger ensemble, and each musician is carefully featured in turn. (Proper Note) Price: £9.99
Fruscella who never enjoyed the recognition he deserved, was a poet of the trumpet with a veiled, haunting sound and a touching, very personal approach. The other unsung hero of this date is Brew Moore, a warm, emotional swing player whose musical god was Lester Young.
An addition to this legendary session are two sides recorded in 1955 while the trumpeter was a member of Stan Getz’s quintet, full of all the lyrical fire for which the group was celebrated.
Personnel : Tony Fruscella (tp), Brew Moore (ts), Bill Triglia (p), Teddy Kotick (b), Bill Heine (d) - New York, March 22, 1954. Bonus Tracks : Tony Fruscella (tp), Stan Getz (ts), John Williams (p), Bill Anthony (b), Frank Isola (d) - New York, January 31, 1955 (Discovery Records) Price: £11.99
The recordings from their 1967 European tour are some of the only existing documentation of the band performing compositions from the extraordinary series of studio albums they made between 1965-1967 -- E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer and Nefertiti. (Sony Music) Price: £23.99
Limited edition 180 g vinyl, super fidelity audiophile pressing. Price: £17.99
Limited edition 180 g vinyl, super fidelity audiophile pressing.
Price: £17.99
The resulting album, ranks among these musicians’ best work, and it captures the quintet playing their own adventurous compositions at a superlative level of intuitive interplay. Profound and playful, sophisticated and emotionally direct, the music is the expression of five highly distinctive personalities collaborating without ego and with complete confidence in each other. (Proper Note) Price: £9.99
For anyone interested in swinging, intelligent straight ahead jazz played with sensitivity and committment this album cannot be reccommended more highly. (Trio Records) Price: £13.99
In contrast is ‘London Swings’, the second album compiled on this release, a swinging, jazzy, big band affair conducted and arranged by Johnny Scott, erstwhile leader of British jazz group The Johnny Scott Quintet. Recorded in Abbey Road Studio No.2, the music is centred on the city of London, and Johnny Scott comes up with inspired arrangements of famous numbers including Chelsea Bridge, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square and London By Night as well as a light sprinkling of original compositions. (Dutton Vocalion) Price: £10.99
Another aspect that added fame as well as notoriety to the Phil Seamen phenomenon was his well known drug addiction. Seamen could handle large amounts of drugs, washing them down with a large intake of alcohol. There are countless anecdotes still told about Phil Seamen, some comic, some tragic and some apocryphal, most of them a mixture of all three. He was a born raver. (Proper Records) Price: £15.49
We follow Sonny’s path from early 1954 with early solo performances through to trio tunes from 1960. Along the way we hear Sonny collaborating with the likes of John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Max Roach and other leading lights. This 4 CD set comes with a booklet with Sonny’s story and discographical information. (Proper Records) Price: £15.49
Originally released on various LPs, all of the original master takes from these sessions are contained on this wonderful set, which contains some of the most exciting swing music ever recorded. (Discovery Records) Price: £19.99
Personnnel : Bob Brookmeyer (tb) & Jimmy Raney (g) on all tracks, plus (on ‘Street Swingers’) : Jim Hall, guitar; Bill Crow, bass; and Osie Johnson, drums. On ‘Dual Role’ : Teddy Kotick (b), Mel Lewis (d), Teddy Charles (vib), Ed Shaughnessy (d), Nancy Overton (vcl on one track). Price: £10.99
Savage-Solweig Records is dedicated to the release of previously unissued recordings by the late, great British jazz virtuoso Tubby Hayes. With unique access to the tapes left in Hayes personal archive after his death, many hours of recordings have been unearthed and carefully restored to create a series which displays this much-missed genius at the peak of his powers. Each release features extensive booklet notes by Hayes biographer Simon Spillett, contemporary photographs and reminiscence by those directly involved in the actual recordings.
Recorded: The Dancing Slipper Ballroom, West Bridgford, Nottingham, February 12th 1964. (Proper Note) Price: £10.99
All four albums have been digitally re-mastered for probably the finest ever sound quality! (AVID Entertainment) Price: £8.99
Earl "Bud" Powell was born into a musical family in New York in 1924. Leaving school at 15 he gained his first professional experience at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem where as a precocious teenager he would astonish jazzmen sitting in on a series of experimental sessions along the way becoming a pioneer along with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie or the new jazz movement………bebop! On three of our selections we find Bud in a trio format with George Duvivier on bass and Art Taylor on drums. For the "Genius Of Bud Powell " album, Bud is heard primarily solo but is joined on two tracks recorded in New York in 1950 by bassist Ray Brown and legendary drummer Buddy Rich.
Son of legendary Boogie Woogie/Stride pianist Albert Ammons we feature son Gene on "Groove Blues", "Boss Tenor", "Blue Gene" and three tracks from "The Happy Blues" (currently only available as an expensive import).
"Groove Blues", driven by Billie Holidays’ pianist Mal Waldron who wrote three of the four featured tracks also features one of the rare occasions when legendary Tenor sax giant John Coltrane is featured on alto sax. As described in Joe Goldberg’s liner notes " These solos are, I think, some of his very best on any horn!" Gene Ammons breaks out of his unfair label as a rhythm and blues player rather than a jazz player with a classic line up of solid jazz musicians including Coltrane, Waldron, Art Taylor, Pepper Adams and Paul Quinchette. 1960’s "Boss Tenor" finds Ammons with perhaps one of his finest rhythm sections including Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins, Art Taylor and Ray Barreto who between them had played with the likes of JJ Johnson, Miles Davis, Art Blakey and Thelonius Monk. "Blue Gene" from 1958 again finds pianist Mal Waldron writing all four of the featured tracks accompanied by Idrees Suliman on trumpet and again the rhythm section from "Boss Tenor". Finally "Happy Blues" features a superb line up including Art Farmer, Jackie Mclean, Duke Jordan, Addison Farmer and Art Taylor. "It’s a happy session, a blowing session, featuring a blues, a standard and an old but not so standard!"
All three albums plus have been digitally re-mastered for probably the finest ever sound quality! (AVID Entertainment) Price: £8.99
Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond were two of the most mischievous men in jazz,kindred spirits united in their wit, sense of humour and approach to music. There was a genuine fellow feeling between them, an affinity that extended beyond playing in time or fitting lines together.
However, as might be expected of any group that featured Gerry with a piano-less rhythm section, this unit took on the informal personality of a Mulligan quartet; there were a couple of planned unison lines, but arrangement was kept to a minimum. And, as befits such a spectacularly happy union, it produced spontaneous creative combustion of the first order, full of excitement and felicitous surprises. (Discovery Records) Price: £11.99
All preserved music from this broadcast, which doesn’t duplicate a single note of the aforementioned album, is presented on this release. Among its highlights are a long version of an untitled original tune, and Trane’s final version of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life”, which only appears in his discography on two other occasions.
Personnel : John Coltrane, soprano sax, tenor sax; Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax; Donald Garrett, bass clarinet, bass; McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Elvin Jones, drums - live broadcast from The Penthouse, Seattle, Washington, September 30, 1965. (Discovery Records) Price: £11.99
Among the many highlights here are revised versions of “Lonely Woman”, from that album, and “The Sphinx”, from Ornette’s first album, ‘Something Else!’, as well as various tunes from the quartet’s reunion studio album, ‘In All Languages’, which was recorded during the same year this concert was taped.
Personnel : Ornette Coleman, alto sax; Don Cherry, cornet; Charlie Haden, bass; Billy Higgins, drums - NDR Jazzworkshop 219, Hamburg, Germany, October 29, 1987. (Discovery Records) Price: £16.99
Among the many highlights, it presents versions of tunes rarely recorded by Rollins, like “Darn That Dream” or “The Song Is You”.
Initially a follower of Charlie Parker, then an important figure in recordings by illustrious modern jazz icons like Clifford Brown, Max Roach, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, tenor sax giant Sonny Rollins had evolved beyond the bebop idiom and was expanding into freer forms by the mid-‘60s. Just as he had done on his celebrated album ‘Way Out West’ - and at this 1965 Munich concert, Rollins refrained from using a piano, opting instead for a trio format backed only by bass and drums. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
Coltrane would leave Miles shortly afterwards to form his own celebrated quartet. As a bonus, a quartet set by Coltrane with Miles’ rhythm section recorded in Dusseldorf during that same tour (Miles didn’t play for contractual reasons).
Coltrane’s playing in1960 was very different from that of his studio recordings with Miles. He seems to be playing in a very exploratory way, more for himself than for the quintet, which was surely enhanced by the fact that Miles would leave the stage when he played his long solos.
Personnel : Miles Davis trumpet; John Coltrane tenor sax; Wynton Kelly piano; Paul Chambers bass; Jimmy Cobb drums. On bonus tracks: same personnel except Miles Davis omitted; Stan Getz (ts) added on “Moonlight in Vermont” only. (Discovery Records) Price: £19.99
Added, as a bonus, are six out of the seven tunes from an interesting session recorded five years earlier (Dexter doesn’t play a solo on the missing tune). It presents exactly the same instrumentation of tenor sax, trombone, trumpet and rhythm section, and features such stars as Frank Rosolino and Conte Candoli.
Personnel : Dexter Gordon, tenor sax, on all tracks, with : Richard Boone, trombone; Martin Banks, trumpet; Dolo Coker, piano; Charles Green, bass; Lawrence Marable, drums - Los Angeles, October 13, 1960. On bonus tracks : Frank Rosolino (tb), Conte Candoli (tp), Lou Levy (p), Leroy Vinnegar (b), Stan Levey (d) - Los Angeles, September 27 & 28, 1955. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
Of the 1953 sessions Stitt gets most of the solo space but Kai Winding, Don Elliott, and the rhythm section also deliver some of the set’s most memorable moments. On the second (1955) album Stitt is again the main soloist, playing alto—his best instrument—but there are significant contributions from Hank Jones, Oscar Pettiford, and Jimmy Nottingham throughout. (Discovery Records) Price: £11.99
On “Steveireneo!,” her second album, she handles a dozen of Steve Allen’s songs with complete command. Under the direction of Al Cohn, the band consists of front-rank East Coast personnel delivering fine solos in a savoury showcase for a superior singer. (Discovery Records) Price: £11.99
Sonny was in one of his more whimsical and sardonic moods that night, but as inspired as always. Milt and Connie buckle down to some real great, swinging playing. Percy joins the fun, as in ‘Bags’ Groove’, where he plays, for instance, a typical ‘oom-pah’ bass line with a funky swing, and Rollins enters with humorously disjointed parodies of Milt’s theme, while John prods him soberly with beautiful sustained chords. There are many wonderful moments of simultaneous improvisation throughout.
Personnel : Sonny Rollins (ts), John Lewis (p), Milt Jackson (vib), Percy Heath (b), Connie Kay (d). Tracks #1-4 taken from original Stereo 12" LP "Sonny Rollins at Music Inn / Teddy Edwards at Falcon's lair with Joe Castro" (Metrojazz E1011) - produced by Leonard Feather. Tracks #5-10 from the 12" album: "The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn. Guest Artist: Sonny Rollins" (Atlantic 1299) - produced by Nesuhi Ertegun. (Discovery Records) Price: £11.99
NTSC format, 89 mins. Price: £15.99
NTSC format, 60 mins. Price: £15.99
DAVID MURRAY, I’M A JAZZMAN (2008 - 53’) A slice in the life of saxophonist David Murray captured by the camera, a privileged testimony of a life merged with the story of jazz, as one of its ultimate heroes.
Featured artists: Cassandra Wilson, Gwo Ka Masters, Amiri Baraka & others.
DAVID MURRAY AND THE GWO KA MASTERS - LIVE IN SAINTE LUCIE (2008 - 46’)
This film, shot during a stopover at Sainte Lucie, an island in the West Indies, restores the energy of a masterful concert performed with traditional Guadeloupian drums – gwo ka – fused with supremely avant-gardist jazz.
DAVID MURRAY BLACK SAINT QUARTET - LIVE AT BANLIEUES BLEUES FESTIVAL
(2010 - 38’) A film in the form of a style exercise, or an exercise with style, pertinence and sensitivity, like a mirror in which jazz would be reflected.
Featuring Lafayette Gilchrist (p), Jaribu Shahid (b), Hamid Drake (d). (Wiennerworld)
NTSC format, 137 mins. Price: £17.99
10 tracks, all standards, including 2 Ballad Medleys and three songs (“You Go To My Head”, “Lover Come Back To Me”, and “I’ll Remember April”) in extended 10 minute-plus versions, with all the instrumentalists taking solos. There are also fine individual contributions from Brownie in "No More", Harold Land in "Darn That Dream", and Herb Geller in "Crazy He Calls Me".
Personnel : Dinah Washington, with – Clifford Brown, Clark Terry, Harold Land, Junior Mance, Max Roach, Harold Land, Herb Geller, and others. Total time: 72:52 min. - 10 tracks - Recorded in Los Angeles, 1954. This Phoenix edition replaces the previous Lonehill issue. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
This Phoenix edition replaces the previous Jazzbeat issue, on which much of the bonus material appeared on CD for the first time ever. This is the Ellington leading his legendary dance band, not the concert hall purveyor of extended suites.
"Ellington Indigos is virtually a dance set. Duke mixes some of his tunes with some standards by other composers and plays them with emphasis on shades of colour.... this shouldn't be missed." 4.5 stars Down Beat (1957) Dom Cerulli.
Personnel : Clark Terry, Willie Cook, Cat Anderson, Harold "Shorty" Baker (tp), Ray Nance (tp, vln, vcl), Quentin Jackson, John Sanders, Britt Woodman (tb), Jimmy Hamilton (cl, ts), Russell Procope (as, cl), Johnny Hodges, Rick Henderson (as), Paul Gonsalves (ts), Harry Carney (bar, cl, b-cl), Duke Ellington (p), Jimmy Woode (b), Sam Woodyard (d), Jimmy Grissom (vcl), Ozzie Bailey (vcl). (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
As a bonus is added Adderley's 1957 Mercury classic album "Sophisticated Swing" which appears here complete with the sole exception of a short trio version of 'Stella by Starlight' (played only by the rhythm section, without Cannonball or Nat), which could not be included due to time limitations.
The booklet includes the original liner notes for both albums, plus the 1958 Down Beat review for Somethin' Else by Dom Cerulli and the complete 1959 Cannonball Adderley blindfold test by Leonard Feather, which also appeared on Down Beat magazine.
Personnel : Cannonball Adderley (as), Miles Davis (tp), Nat Adderley (cnt), Hank Jones, Junior Mance (p), Sam Jones (b), Art Blakey and Jimmy Cobb (d) - Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, in Hackensack, New Jersey, on March 9, 1958 - and New York, February 6-11, 1957. Total time: 76:48 min. - 14 tracks. This Phoenix edition replaces the previous Jazz Track issue. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
These sets showcase the delightful innocence of Baker’s vocal sound during his early twenties, prior to the intense physical & emotional wear and tear caused by his long term drug habit.
Featured musicians include : Russ Freeman, Carson Smith, Joe Mondragon, Jimmy Bond, Bob Neel, Shelly Manne, Peter Littman, & Lawrence Marable. This Phoenix edition replaces the previous Gambit issue.
The CD’s final four songs – included here as bonus tracks – feature Baker and Freeman in a quartet setting with an overdubbed string section that also boasted flautist Bud Shank and harpist Corky Hale. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
Tracks: Tin Tin Deo / Visa / Supper At Phil's / Hook's Way / The Trolley Song Price: £10.99
The thirteen tracks on offer here were composed by and feature British jazz and rock and roll legend Tony Crombie and includes an extra track that was not included on the original album.
Wonderfully remastered and with extensive notes by Simon Spillett this is a great and entertaining sidebar to the main development of Britain's Legendary modern jazz icon. (Jasmine Records) Price: £11.99
This collection features the four classic LP sessions; Blue Train, Soul Trane, Giant Steps and Coltrane Jazz which contain fifteen of Coltrane's original compositions including; 'Naima', 'Giant Steps' and 'A Moments Notice'.
Over two and a quarter hours playing time with accompaniment from jazz giants, Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Wynton Kelly and Philly Jones among others. This is an exceptional collection that shows just why the now legendary John Coltrane was and still is so inspiring and influential. (Jasmine Records) Price: £11.99
Although she was well-known among fellow musicians, Helen Merrill wasn’t a star like Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald or even Dinah Washington at the time these two albums were made. She only gained greater fame after she started touring Europe shortly after the two albums compiled here were made. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
Personnel : Dexter Gordon, tenor sax; Woody Shaw, trumpet; Ronnie Mathews, piano; Stafford James, bass; Louis Hayes, drums - Live at the Village Gate, New York, October 25, 1976. On bonus track : Dexter Gordon (ts), Woody Shaw (tp), Milt Jackson (vib), Kirk Lightsey (p), David Eubanks (b), Eddie Gladden (d) - “Playboy Jazz Festival”, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, June 20, 1982. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
Although ‘Welcome to the Club’ (also Capitol) was actually a studio recording, it captures the magic of Cole’s voice as it sounded on the road. On this second album, Nat is accompanied by the Count Basie orchestra (minus Basie, who couldn’t sit in due to contractual reasons and was replaced by pianist Gerald Wiggins). (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
These recordings derive from a series of intense sessions, throughout the 1950s, during which Peterson and his band recorded many different songbooks by the most renowned American composers. (Discovery Records) Price: £10.99
As a bonus, this extended edition adds all of the Warren & Youmans compositions recorded during 1953-54 by the Peterson trio with Brown and Barney Kessel or Herb Ellis on guitar (which were originally issued on two separate 10” LPs) plus an additional extended version of “Tea for Two” by the Oscar Peterson Quartet. (Discovery Records) Price: £16.99
"The greatness of jazz is that it is an art of the moment………..particularly through improvisation………..and through the successive relation of one composition to another" So speaks Charlie Mingus in the liner notes for his large band tribute to the blues on "Blues And Roots," the first of our four albums devoted to the legendary bass player, pianist, composer and arranger. On "Mingus Three" by contrast, Mingus is joined by pianist Hampton Hawes and we can witness the two sparring with each other while Mingus stalwart Dannie Richmond provides the beat in a session from 1957. Forward to 1959 and we find Mingus in concert with his Jazz Workshop at the Nonagon Art Gallery in New York for "Jazz Portraits". Among a superb band we will discover alto man John Handy in his very first recording date before leaving to form his own band as well as tenor man Booker Ervin again a first timer in the studio. "…..I think I am finally composing" Mingus was heard to say during editing for the album…….he wasn’t wrong! Finally "Jazzical Moods" takes us into the realm of the avant garde where Mingus’ music delves deeper into the emotions using rhythmic, harmonic and emotional conflict to challenge the listener to the point where they may well feel this is not jazz at all!
All four albums plus have been digitally re-mastered for probably the finest sound quality ever! (AVID Entertainment) Price: £8.99
What can we say about Billie Holiday that has not already been said before? Coming to prominence in the 1930’s where she played with the Teddy Wilson band in 1935, went solo in 1936, joined Count Basie in 1937 and finally Artie Shaw in 1938 before finally stepping out on her own again as one of the greatest jazz singers who ever lived! There is something about her voice that sets "Lady Day" apart from any of her contempories, or indeed anyone who tried to follow in her giant footsteps. Perhaps it was her tough upbringing, playing in the small bars of Harlem (including a spell in a brothel), that gave her voice that special anguish, pain and sadness, a yearning for something or someone better in her life. Our four selections, plus, cover a ten year period in the career of Billie Holiday, from 1945 where she is captured live at the Philharmonic Hall, through to 1957 where she is again captured live at the Newport festival. We stop off in 1955 to listen to two studio albums "Music For Torching" and " Velvet Mood" and fast forward to 1957 for "Body and Soul" before taking our seats at Newport to listen to a 42 year old veteran carrying the weight of a troubled life in every word she sings. To these ears, Billie Holiday was to jazz singing as Marvin Gaye was to soul singing. There are many great jazz and soul singers in the world but no one sounded quite like these two. They carried the pain and anguish, sorrow and fear of their lives in the heartbreaking way they sang their songs. No one else comes close!
