“Bill’s Recipes”   Bill Le Sage (Accordion, Piano, Vibes) and his band.   SAGA Records

(50 votes, average: 3.94 out of 5)

 Loading ...

“Dig It!”   Bill Evans   Fontana Records (French)   A compilation of tracks from the albums “Everybody Digs Bill Evans”, “New Jazz Conceptions” and “Portrait in Jazz”, each originally issued on Riverside in the late fifties.   One of a series of Jazz reissues that each featured a different hip chick posing in front of a jazz legend.   Search the site for Fontana and see others listed here.   Tracks include:   I Love You / Easy Living / Displacement / Waltz For Debby / Autumn Leaves / Someday My Prince Will Come / Tenderly / What Is There To Say? / Oleo

(41 votes, average: 3.41 out of 5)

 Loading ...

The Cecil Taylor Quintet with John Coltrane, Kenny Dorham, Steve Lacy, Chuck Israels and Louis Hayes.   United Artists   (1958)   Reissued In 1964 as “Coltrane Time.”   Includes “Double Clutching” (Chuck Israels), “Like Someone In Love” (Van Heusen/Burke),   “Shifting Down” (Kenny Dorham), “Just Friends” (Klenner/Lewis).

(47 votes, average: 3.49 out of 5)

 Loading ...

“The Peaceful Side”   Billy Strayhorn   United Artists Records   1961.   A beautiful, typically smokey Herman Leonard photograph.

This is a little-known and rather melancholy set, virtually Billy Strayhorn‘s only recording away from the world of Duke Ellington. The focus is totally on Strayhorn’s piano throughout his interpretations of ten of his compositions (including “Lush Life,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” and “Something to Live For”). Three selections have the Paris Blue Notes adding sparse wordless vocals, two other numbers add some quiet playing by the Paris String Quartet, and bassist Michel Goudret is on five of the ten selections (including one apiece with the strings and the voices). “Strange Feeling” and “Chelsea Bridge” are taken as unaccompanied piano solos. Of the ten songs, only “Just A-Sittin’ and A-Rockin'” hints at happiness; otherwise, Strayhorn’s melodic and concise playing is quite somber, peaceful in volume but filled with inner tension. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

(42 votes, average: 4.26 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Billy Taylor “Cross Section”   Prestige Records. (1954)   Check out the nice old tube amp.

Eight songs with his trio of 1954 (which included bassist Earl May and drummer Percy Brice); the four originals (which alternate with standards) were all dedicated to disc jockeys of the time.   The remaining four numbers match Taylor and May with what was dubbed “Machito’s Rhythm Section”: Charlie Smith on conga, Joe Mangual on bongos, Uba Nieto playing timbales and Machito himself on maracas.     Another Rudy Van Gelder session.   Ira Gitler handles the liner notes.

(60 votes, average: 4.53 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Cool Gabriels Groove Records   (1956)   Andy Warhol illustration and design.

This rare and longtime hard-to-find album was conceived to show how enjoyable cool trumpets can sound. Featured “Cool Gabriels” are Conte Candoli, Nick Travis, Don Stratton, Bernie Glow, Phil Sunkel, Al de Risi and Dick Sherman.   With a rhythm section of Elliot Lawrence (p), Burgher Jones (b), Sol Gubin (d)

The tune contained in this album were selected specifically to give each “Gabriel” a chance to show his stuff and also to demonstrate the various moods that could be brilliantly exemplified with a trumpet ensemble. The fun that the musicians had making these recordings is apparent on every selection.

Elevation (Mulligan-Lawrence) 2:54 / Five O’Clock Shadow (Lawrence-Reichner) 3:56 / Happy Hooligan (Mulligan) 2:54 / Spooky (Cohn) 2:54 / Each Other’s Arms (Lawrence-Reichner-Glenn) 3:59 / The Swingin’ Scot 1 & 2 (Lawrence) 3:10 / Nick (Benson Brooks) 2:59 / Cupcake (Cohn) 2:59 / Mostly Latin (Lawrence) 2:21 / Love is Just Arround the Corner (Lawrence) 2:49 / Something Blue (Selden) 3:59

(40 votes, average: 3.10 out of 5)

 Loading ...

San Francisco Record Tid-bits

(39 votes, average: 3.21 out of 5)

 Loading ...

“Mr. Swing”   Harry “Sweets” Edison   Verve Records     I admit it.   I love Sweets!   Can’t get enough.   Illustration by David Stone Martin.   Here’s a classic Sweets Edison.   This and the Verve album “The Swinger”, both recorded during the same 1958 session has tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest joining Edison in the quintet’s frontline while pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Joe Benjamin, drummer Charlie Persip, and rhythm guitarist Freddie Greene make up the rhythm section. (You can get both LP’s on a single Verve CD.)   Edison (who died of prostate cancer on July 27, 1999, at 83 years of age) was one of the acknowledged masters of swing trumpet.   His trumpet was a recognizable voice in the Count Basie Orchestra from 1938 until it broke up in 1950.   During that period, he was featured on many records, appeared in the 1944 short “Jammin’ the Blues” and gained his nickname “Sweets” (due to his tone) from Lester Young.   In the 1950s, Edison toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic, settled in Los Angeles, and was well-featured both as a studio musician (most noticeably on Frank Sinatra records) and on jazz dates. He had several reunions with Count Basie in the 1960s and by the ’70s was often teamed with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis; Edison also recorded an excellent duet album for Pablo with Oscar Peterson. One of the few swing trumpeters to be influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, Sweets led sessions through the years for Pacific Jazz, Verve, Roulette, Riverside, Vee-Jay, Liberty, Sue, Black Blue, Pablo, Storyville, and Candid among others. Although his playing faded during the 1980s and ’90s, Edison could still say more with one note than nearly anyone.

(58 votes, average: 4.26 out of 5)

 Loading ...

“Coffee and Jazz”   Brazilian Jazz Quartet   Columbia Brazil

(39 votes, average: 2.92 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Baby-Face Willette “Behind the 8 Ball”   Argo.   (1964)   Gene Barge (Sax (Alto), Baby Face Willette (Organ),   Jerold Donavon (Drums), Ben White (Guitar)   Esmond Edwards (Producer), Ron Malo (Engineer), Don Bronstein (Design), Don Bronstein (Cover Photo)   His masterpiece, and one of the greatest Hammond organ albums ever, is his Blue Note release “Face to Face.”   This is his second LP for Argo and his last as a leader.   Baby-Face soon after disappeared and, while unconfirmed, is said to have passed away in 1971.

(68 votes, average: 4.74 out of 5)

 Loading ...