Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Blue Note 4003. (1958) One of the greatest jazz records by a giant among men and an all-star ensemble of superstars: LEE MORGAN, BENNY GOLSON, BOBBY TIMMONS, JYMIE MERRITT and ART BLAKEY. Songs here include the jazz standards “Moanin’,” “Along Came Betty,” and “Blues March” among others. The cover portrait was shot by Buck Hoeffler. The session was produced by Alfred Lions and recorded by Rudy Van Gelder of course. Liner notes by Leonard Feather .

A hip little single from Playboy magazine that went to subscribers in 1957 in conjunction with that year’s first annual Playboy Jazz Poll. Included on this record are cuts from the Playboy Jazz All-Stars LP including “Play, Boy” by Shorty Rogers; “Fine’s Idea” by Charlie Ventura; “Sophisticated Rabbit” by Shelly Mann and “Joey, Joey, Joey” by J.J. Johnson. I collect Playboy related records so this is a nice one that’s pretty rare.

Original movie soundtrack to “Bedazzled” written by and starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Produced and Directed by Stanley Donen. Also featuring Raquel Welch “as Lust”.

One of the grooviest soundtracks of the late 60s! The film Bedazzled‘s gotten a lot of attention in recent years — thanks to a so-so remake — but the original film’s far far better, if only for this fab soundtrack! The music was handled by Dudley Moore, one of the stars of the film — and it’s a great mix of jazzy numbers, groovier tunes, and a few wild vocal tracks with a mad mad sound! Among these are the fuzzy-breakbeat classic “Bedazzled” and Peter Cook’s mad rocker “Love Me”. Other tracks are a perfect blend of styles that recall the best of Henry Mancini or Neal Hefti from the same time — and titles include “The Millionaire”, “Moon Time”, “Strip Club”, “Sweet Mouth”, and “Cornfield”, a lively jazzy groover!   – Dusty Groove

JULIAN CANNONBALL ADDERLEY (Leader-Alto Sax); JOHN COLTRANE (Tenor Sax);WYNTON KELLY (Piano); PAUL CHAMBERS (Bass); JIMMY COBB (Drums)

LIMEHOUSE BLUES (Furber-Braham) Harms, Inc. (ASCAP) 4:39.

STARS FELL ON ALABAMA (Prank Perkins & Mitchell Parish) Mills Music, Inc. (ASCAP) 6:15.

WABASH (Julian Adderley) Pure Music (BMI) 5:44.

GRAND CENTRAL (John Coltrane) Jowcol Music, Inc.(BMI) 4:33.

YOU’RE A WEAVER OF DREAMS (Victor Young & Jack Elliott) Kassner Music (ASCAP) 5:31.

THE SLEEPER (John Coltrane) Jowcol Music, Inc. (BMI) 7:15.

This session was cut in Chicago while all the above were sidemen working with Miles Davis’ group at the Sutherland Hotel in 1959!

This epochal jazz session was recorded in February, 1959, at universal Recording’s Studio B, Chicago, with Bernie Clapper, president of the firm, at the audio controls. In order to achieve the epitome in cohesive sound and coordination, the group was set up very tight, the way they worked in personal engagements. Microphone sets were worked out to make for the most possible directivity of sound with very little crossover, because this is fundamentally a session which featured solos by these outstanding progressive jazzmen.

Zounds! The Lennie Niehaus Octet!   Contemporary Records!   1954!

Another beautiful William Claxton cover photograph!   Rich color!   Elegant design!   Natural beauty!   High style!   Cool jazz!

The best of late fifties West Coast Jazz featuring the sounds of Niehaus on Alto; Bill Perkins, Tenor; Pepper Adams, Baritone Sax; Shelly Manne, Drums; Red Mitchell, Bass; Lou Levy, Piano; Bob Enevoldsen, Trombone and others!

Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. Recorded 1967-1969. Bizarre Record Label. Released 1970.

Frank Zappa recruited artist Neon Park to create a subversive image based on a cover story from the September 1956 issue of Man’s Life, a men’s adventure magazine. After showing Neon a copy of the magazine, Zappa inquired, “This is it. What can you do that’s worse than this?” Neon’s answer was to craft a parody of an advertisement for Schick brand electric razor based on the “Weasels Ripped My Flesh” theme.

Conceptually, the album could be considered phase two of Burnt Weeny Sandwich. Both albums consist of previously unreleased Mothers tracks released after the demise of the original band. Whereas the pieces on Burnt Weeny Sandwich generally have a more rigid and planned feel captured by quality studio equipment, Weasels Ripped My Flesh mostly captures the Mothers on stage, where they employ frenetic and chaotic improvisation characteristic of avant-garde free jazz. – Wikepedia

A 78 album cover by David Stone Martin on the DISC label.   A collection of traditional jazz legends.

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Baritone saxophonist Gil Melle was one of the most fascinating and under-appreciated figures in post-bop jazz. A prodigy as both a musician and painter, he was a pioneer of jazz/classical fusion and electronic music. Melle was born in New York City on December 31, 1931. In 1950, at nineteen, Melle became the first white musician signed to Blue Note, and also designed several album covers for records by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins as well as several of his own records. He also introduced Alfred Lion to his friend, recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder, whose methods became an essential element in the Blue Note sound.From the get-go Melle’s music was well advanced beyond modern jazz of the time, reflecting early developments in the classical/jazz fusion he later dubbed “Primitive Modern”.He made several 10″ (including this one) for Blue Note and Prestige in the early 50’s before recording his first lp for Blue Note “Patterns in Jazz in 1956. Patterns in Jazz was one of the label’s most modernistic releases for years to come. Later that year he signed to Prestige, for whom he recorded three albums in one year before leaving the jazz scene in favor of studio work.

In the early 1960s Melle began working as a film and television composer in Los Angeles, writing music for Rod Serling’s “Night Gallery”, “The Andromeda Strain”, and over 125 other movies and TV shows along with more standard orchestral works. Many of his scores were entirely electronic, completely innovative at the time. Melle also pioneered many developments in electronic music, including early analog synthesizers and drum machines. His band The Electronauts was the first all-electronic ensemble to perform at Monterey. Melle only recorded sporadically from the late 1960s until his death, preferring in the end to concentrate on painting and digital art.

Here’s a nice one from a cool Jazz record blog called Orgy in Rythm. In the top right corner RCA Victor seems to put this in the “Savage Drums” category!

Roy Haynes’ excellent bop session, from original Swedish Metronome recordings.

Roy Haynes was a member of Lionel Hampton’s band when the band toured Europe. At the time, Famous Swedish label Metronome recorded so many sessions by the members of Lionel Hampton band. This is one of them.

As far as I know, this LP is Roy Haynes’ first leader session through his entire career. Featured musicians include members of Lionel Hampton band and top Swedish jazz artists. The result was superb – a typical good example of bop sessions in 1954. A few years later these four tracks were reissued on Jazz Abroad coupled with some overseas Quincy Jones sessions.

Roy Haynes was born in Boston, March 13, 1926, and was keenly interested in jazz ever since he can remember. Primarily self-taught, he began to work locally in 1942 with musicians like the Charlie Christian inflected guitarist Tom Brown, bandleader Sabby Lewis, and Kansas City blues-shout alto saxophonist Pete Brown, before getting a call in the summer of 1945 to join legendary bandleader Luis Russell (responsible for much of Louis Armstrong’s musical backing from 1929 to 1933) to play for the dancers at New York’s legendary Savoy Ballroom. When not travelling with Russell, the young drummer spent much time on Manhattan’s 52nd Street and uptown in Minton’s, the legendary incubator of bebop, soaking up the scene.

Haynes was Lester Young’s drummer from 1947 to 1949, worked with Bud Powell and Miles Davis in ’49, became Charlie Parker’s drummer of choice from 1949 to 1953, toured the world with Sarah Vaughan from 1954 to 1959, did numerous extended gigs with Thelonious Monk in 1959-60, made eight recordings with Eric Dolphy in 1960-61, worked extensively with Stan Getz from 1961 to 1965, played and recorded with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1963 to 1965, has intermittently collaborated with Chick Corea since 1968, and with Pat Metheny during the ’90s. He’s been an active bandleader from the late ’50s to the present, featuring artists in performance and on recordings like Phineas Newborn, Booker Ervin, Roland Kirk, George Adams, Hannibal Marvin Peterson, Ralph Moore and Donald Harrison. A perpetual top three drummer in the Downbeat Readers Poll Awards, he won the Best Drummer honors in 1996, and in that year received the prestigious French Chevalier des l’Ordres Artes et des Lettres.

Another nice one from “If Charlie Parker were a gunslinger” ¦” 