The Charlie Shavers & Ray Bryant Quartet - Complete Recordings 1958-1964 (FLAC) [3 CD, 2005]

 

Complete Recordings Vol.1 1958-59

Pure and simple genius from trumpeter Charlie Shavers – a player with a sweet tone and a fluid groove – stepping out here with great accompaniment from pianist Ray Bryant! The CD brings together work from the albums Charlie Digs Paree and Charlie Digs Dixie – both originally recorded for MGM Records in the late 50s, and done in a clean, uncluttered style that really brought a strong focus to Shaver's solos, but also gave some excellent rhythmic support from Bryant – working here at the height of his early powers, in a mode that's clearly relaxed enough to get with the spirit of each different session.

Shavers plays in a mostly-muted style on the first set, and with a more open horn on the second – and titles include "Domino", "Petite Fleur", "The Last Time I Saw Paris", "Pigalle", "Jazz Me Blues", "Comme Ci Comme Ca", "Muskrat Rumble", "Daddy's Got The Gleeks", and "At The Jazz Band Ball". Added to the CD are 4 tracks from the Le Crazy Horse album – featuring Shavers on trumpet and vocal with an unknown French group – on titles that include "Man With A Horn", "One O'Clock Jump", and "Back Home Again In Indiana". (4 tracks are from ' At Le Crazy Horse Saloon').

Contains:
- “Charlie digs Paree” (complete LP)
- “Charlie digs Dixie” (complete LP)
- “At Le Crazy Horse Saloon” (4 tracks)


01. C'est Si Bon
02. Domino
03. Mam'selle
04. The Last Time I saw Paris
05. Pigalle
06. Song from "Moulin Rouge"
07. Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup
08. Petite Fleur
09. My Man
10. I Kiss Your Hand, Madame
11. Comme ci, Comme çà
12. I Love Paris
13. Alexander's Ragtime Band
14. Basin Street Blues
15. Jazz Me Blues
16. Beale Street Blues
17. If I Could Be with You
18. Royal garden Blues
19. At the Jazz band Ball
20. Muskrat Ramble
21. Margie
22. St. Louis Blues
23. Daddy's Got The Gleeks
24. When the Saints Go Marching in
25. One O'Clock Jump
26. Man with a Horn
27. You Come a Long Way from St. Louis
28. Back Home Again in Indiana.




Tracks #1-12: Charlie Shavers (tp), Oliver Jackson (d), Aaron Bell (b), Ray Bryant (p). NYC, 1958-1959

#13-24: Charlie Shavers (tp, vcl), Oliver Jackson (d), Tommy Bryant (b), Ray Bryant (p). NYC, 1958-1959

#25-28: Charlie Shavers (tp, vcl) acc by unknown p, b and d. Paris, ca 1964.


Complete Recordings Vol.2 1959-60

Sublime work from trumpeter Charlie Shavers – a player with a wonderful tone, and a clear, straightforward sound that was often sadly overlooked! The CD brings together the full tracks from 2 albums that Shavers recorded with pianist Ray Bryant – Memorial, from 1959, and Here Comes Charlie, from 1960 – both of them well-crafted sets that are a great example of Shaver's understated genius. The rhythms on both records are surprisingly complex – thanks to free drum work on the kit from Roy Burns, modern bass tones from Aaron Bell, and always-soulful work on piano from Ray Bryant – and if we had to pick one album as our favorite, we'd say that we're especially flored by the Here Comes Charlie set – as it goves far beyond even our already high opinion of Shaver's talents.

Contains:
- “Memorial” (complete LP)
- “Here Comes Charlie” (complete LP)
- “At Le Crazy Horse Saloon” (3 tracks)


01. Girl of My dreams
02. September in the Rain
03. What can I say After I say I'm Sorry
04. Lover
05. I'll Get By
06. Out of Nowhere
07. Dream
08. Bye Bye Blackbird
09. Pennies from Heaven
10. Frenesi
11. Green Eyes
12. Let's fall in Love
13. All of Me
14. Makin' Whoopee
15. Russian Lullaby
16. Taboo
17. You've changed
18. It's all Right with Me
19. Loch Lomond
20. I Want a Little Girl
21. What is this Thing Called Love?
22. On the Alamo
23. Undecided
24. All of You
25. Please don't Talk about Me When I'm Gone
26. I've got the World on a String
27. Is You or Is You Ain't My Baby




Tracks #1-12: Charlie Shavers (tp), Roy Burns (p), Tommy Bryant (b), Ray Bryant (d). Recorded in NYC, October 10, 1959.

#13-24: Charlie Shavers (tp), Roy Burns (p), Aaron Bell (b), Ray Bryant (d). Recorded in NYC, July 1960.

#25-27: Charlie Shavers (tp, vcl) acc by unknown p, b and d. Paris, ca 1964.


Complete Recordings Vol.3 1960-64

The 3rd and final chapter in Lonehill's exploration of the Charlie Shavers/Ray Bryant team – a pairing that's never gotten its full due until now, and which is featured in a great set of previously unreissued material! This set's got a bit less Bryant than the others – and only features 12 tracks with the Shavers/Bryant group – pulled from the 1960 album Like Charlie, a subtle gem that easily matches the strength of Shavers' other MGM work at the time. The remaining bulk of the CD features material from an unusual 1963 large group album called Excitement Unlimited – one that features Shavers working with an octet that includes Billy Byers, Jerome Richardson, Budd Johnson, and George Barnes. The tunes on these sides have a more tightly arranged approach – still with a strong focus on Shavers' fluid solo lines, but set up in a way that's a bit less relaxed than some of the Bryant albums in the series. The remaining 4 tracks on the CD complete the series' presentation of the Le Crazy Horse Paris recordings from 1964 – and the set features a total of 29 tracks that include "Carioca", "The Best Things In Life Are Free", "Opus 5", "Night In Tunisia", "School Days", "Tenderly", "But Beautiful", "Jada", "Blues For Choo Loos", "In The Still Of The Night", and "Bossa Nova Petite". (5 tracks are from 'At Le Crazy Horse Saloon')

Contains:
- “Like Charlie” (complete LP Everest LPBR 5127)
- “Excitement Unlimited” (complete LP)
- “At Le Crazy Horse Saloon” (5 tracks)


01. The Best Things in Life Are Free
02. Taking a Chance on Love
03. In a Little Spanish Town
04. You're My Everything
05. My Old Kentucky Home
06. Carioca
07. In the Still of the Night
08. Soon
09. I'm a Fool to Love You
10. Blues for Choo Loos
11. I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
12. Don't Be Late
13. Is Might as Well Be Spring
14. Jada
15. But Beautiful
16. Fly me to the Moon
17. It didn't Mean a Thing
18. Period of Adjustment
19. Bossa Nova Petite
20. I Kid You Not
21. Porgy
22. Undecided
23. Opus 5
24. Night in Tunisia
25. Shiny Stockings
26. Minor Blues
27. Tenderly
28. School Days
29. Big Time Blues


Tracks #1-12: Recorded NYC, October-November, 1960. Charlie Shavers (tp), Ray Bryant (p), Tommy Bryant (b), Oliver Jackson (d).

#13-17: Recorded in Paris ca. 1964. Charlie Shavers (tp, vcl) with unknown p, b, and d.

#18-29: Recorded in NYC, February 20-22, 1963. Charlie Shavers and His orchestra: Charlie Shavers (tp, vcl), Billy Byers (tb), Jerome Richardson (as), Budd Johnson (ts), Bruce Martin (p), George Bames (g), Tommy Bryant (b), Oliver Johnson (d).