The Harold Land - Carmell Jones Quintets - Complete Studio Recordings (2 CD, 2007/FLAC)

This excellent compilation documents the musical collaboration between saxophonist Harold Land and trumpeter Carmell Jones. Though perhaps best known for his appearance on Horace Silver’s classic album, “Song for My Father”, Jones recorded a handful of fine dates with Land in the early 1960s: “The Remarkable Carmell Jones”, “Hear Ye”, “Jazz Impressions of Folk Music” and “Business Meetin’”. The first three albums are reproduced in their entirety here, as well as a few selections from the last. Among the sidemen are pianist Frank Strazzeri, and bassist Red Mitchell (who received co-billing with Land on “Hear Ye”). Land and Jones work beautifully together—a strong musical synergy between them. Their partnership may not have produced a whole lot of albums, but what it did produce was hard bop of the highest calibre.

Carmell Jones - Mosaic Select 2 (3 CD, 2003/FLAC)

 

Trumpeter Carmell Jones is best known as a sideman (especially Horace Silver's Song for My Father), but he made several valuable recordings as a leader, though most have long languished out of print. To correct this oversight, Mosaic Select released this three-CD set in early 2003, including all three of his earliest Pacific Jazz albums (The Remarkable Carmell Jones, Business Meetin' , and Brass Bag), as well as a long unavailable Harold Land disc and a previously unreleased date led by pianist Frank Strazzeri. The quintet with Land and Strazzeri works wonders with Jones' jazz waltz "That's Good" and a similar treatment of "Beautiful Love," but the high point of their various sets is the 11-minute workout of Duke Ellington's "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'." Jones is accompanied by five reed players and a rhythm section on a later date; check out his marvelous playing in the richly textured chart of "Stella by Starlight." Gerald Wilson's stimulating scoring includes an unusual five trombones in a nonet; Jones' conversational muted horn makes Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo" shine. A later Wilson-arranged date with two trombones produced the snappy rendition of Dizzy Gillespie's "Ow!" Strazzeri's studio date merited release originally, but producer Dick Bock thought the pianist's playing was too reserved. Maybe his originals aren't as memorable as Hoagy Carmichael's "New Orleans," but Jones shines without trying to show up anyone else. The final session, led by Land, is a fun-filled exploration of folk tunes in a jazz setting. Most of the solos are quite enjoyable, though Land has some problems with reed squeaking at times. This smaller-sized set, a numbered limited edition of just 5,000, fills a valuable gap in Carmell Jones' discography and it is destined to become a sought-after collector's item.