Here’s a beautiful cover and rare record on Charles Mingus’ Debut Records.   Debut Records Presents Hazel Scott “Relaxed Piano Moods” with Max Roach on Drums and Mingus on Bass.   This was recorded in 1955 and is considered her most enduring jazz recording.   Scott was born in Trinidad, trained at Julliard , played at Carnegie Hall, was married for a time to Adam Clayton Powell, Jr and was the first woman of color to have her own TV show (it lasted only six months before she opposed McCarthy and was accused of being a Communist sympathizer and was blacklisted).   She continued to perform until passing away in New York City in 1981 at 61 years old.

(45 votes, average: 4.07 out of 5)

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“You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce!” Contemporary Records.   (1956)   Great West Coast Jazz featuring Harold Land on tenor saxophone, Jack Sheldon on trumpet, and Carl Perkins on piano.   Listen to “Complete” – the opening track, here.

(85 votes, average: 4.46 out of 5)

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“SwingaBILLYty”     The Versatile Music of Billy Maxted and his Manhattan Jazz Band.   K&H Records

(34 votes, average: 2.82 out of 5)

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“Senor 007”   Ray Barretto   United Artists   (1965)   One of our favorite Ray Barretto albums of the 60s — a real gem from the pre-Latin Soul years! The album’s a clear attempt to cash in on the James Bond craze of the time — issued by United Artists, who were releasing the Bond films, but also had Ray under contract during the period too. But despite that simple gimmick, it’s a great little set — with a quality level that goes way beyond Bond soundtracks, or the usual from Barretto at the time! The tracks are all hard and groovy, with an excellent jazz feel — and some killer arranging from Ray that’s right up there with the work he did for his legendary Charanga Moderna album! You may recognize the song titles — but their versions here are superb, and the album’s filled with many many wonderful moments that step out with mad rhythms and great jazzy touches. Titles include “Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, “OO7”, “Search For Vulcan”, “Thunderball”, and “Goldfinger”. Nice “spy” shot of Ray on the cover, too!   — Dusty Groove

(64 votes, average: 3.47 out of 5)

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Iceberg Slim “Reflections” (1976) ALA Records. Producer: David Drozen; Executive producer: Louis Drozen; Photography: Robert Wotherspoon. Former Chicago pimp and convict, Slim (Robert Beck) reformed and became a published and celebrated author with his first autobiography, PIMP, The Story of My Life in 1969.   Slim passed away in 1992 at the age of 73. Rappers Ice Cube and Ice T, both cite Slim as the inspiration for their names.

With his polished delivery and smooth, almost soothing voice, Iceberg Slim could have been one of any number of beatnik poets, delivering elaborate monologues over smooth background music on 1976’s Reflections. The difference is Iceberg Slim (neé Robert Beck) was a pimp, and his stories are scathingly explicit, and, more often than not, extraordinarily compelling. The language can get graphic; this is not an album for the squeamish. For those who aren’t easily offended, though, this album will be spellbinding. Slim’s skills as a storyteller cannot be overstated; even at his crudest, he still spins riveting yarns. “The Fall” is virtually autobiographical, depicting his last days as a pimp and what sent him on a downfall to prison, leavened with scabrous humor.

“Broadway Sam” is a mean, hilarious story of another pimp who has the tables turned on him in prison. The second half of the record, though, is more poignant, as Slim remembers a lost love on “Durealla” and comes to terms with his relationship with his late mother on “Mama Debt.” Throughout the record, Slim is backed by jazzy music courtesy of the Red Holloway Quartet, which enhances the stories without overshadowing them. Many years later, of course, Slim would serve as the inspiration for gangsta rappers like Ice-T (who named himself after Slim) and Schoolly D. Too many of Slim’s followers, though, lack the mixture of street smarts and the intellectual and emotional depth shown here. For anyone interested in the roots of modern urban culture, Reflections is a must-hear. – Victor W. Valdivia, All Music Guide

(37 votes, average: 3.05 out of 5)

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“Jive for Five” The Bill Holman and Mel Lewis Quintet. On ANDEX is Stereophonic Sound. A swinging West Coast Jazz album featuring Bill Holman (tenor saxophone); Mel Lewis (drums); Lee Katzman (trumpet); Jimmy Rowles (piano); Wilford Middlebrook (bass). Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California on June 6, 1958. Includes liner notes by John Tynan. Featuring these songs: “Out of this World”, “Mah Lindy Lou,” “Liza,” “Beat Generation,” “502 Blues Theme” and “Jive for Five.”

(38 votes, average: 3.61 out of 5)

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Baltimore Jazz by The Pier Five Jazz Band

(49 votes, average: 4.18 out of 5)

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“Jazz Eyes” Regent Records (a division of Savoy). Jazz by John Jenkins, Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor. Supervised by Ozzie Cadena. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder. Album designed by Portrait Productions.

(40 votes, average: 3.58 out of 5)

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A nice illustrated cover by Ben Shahn (1898-1969). “Chicago Style Jazz” on Columbia.

Art, as I saw it one day when I helped hang a National Academy show while I was a student there, was about cows. In those days, early in the twenties, there were many cow paintings. More than that, the cows always stood knee-deep in purple shadows. For the life of me I never learned to see purple where there was no purple — and I detested cows. I was frankly distressed at the prospects for me as an artist.

But there came a time when I stopped painting, stopped in order to evaluate all these doubts. If I couldn’t see purple where there was no purple–I wouldn’t use it. If I didn’t like cows, I wouldn’t paint them. What then was I to paint? Slowly I found that I must paint those things that were meaningful to me–that I could honestly paint in the shapes and colors I felt belonged to them. What shall I paint? Stories. – Ben Shahn

Ben Shahn was an artist who spoke to the world. A man of uncompromising beliefs, he became the most popular artist of his age – his work was on the cover of Time as well as in the Museum of Modern Art.

Shahn came to prominence in the 1930s with “The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti,” a politically pointed series about the Italian anarchists who many believed were framed for murder. He went on to paint murals and take photographs for the government during the New Deal, and to become a successful painter and commercial artist.

In 1956-57, Ben Shahn was the Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University (poetry was broadly defined as “all poetic expression in language, music, or the fine arts.”) During that time he gave a series of lectures, later collected and published by Harvard University Press. The Shape of Content has been in print and widely read since its publication in 1957. In fact, many people come into contact with Shahn’s writing before they are aware of his art.

(40 votes, average: 4.03 out of 5)

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“Beat Generation” Jazz Poetry. Folk Lyrics. John Brent, Len Chandler and Hugh Romney at the Gaslight, Greenwich Village. Musitron Records.

(41 votes, average: 3.66 out of 5)

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