Donald Byrd - At the Half Note Cafe, Vol. 1 & 2 {RVG Edition 2003} [24-192]

Situated at 289 Hudson Street in New York City, the Half Note Cafe quickly established itself as the venue at which to catch some of the best up and coming jazz talents of the age. Its reputation was further enhanced with a series of live recordings conducted at the club, with John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery and the Art Farmer Quartet among those artists to subsequently release live albums. And then there was Donald Byrd, whose band comprised Donald (trumpet), Pepper Adams (saxophone), Duke Pearson (piano), Laymon Jackson (bass) and Lex Humphries (drums) and who gathered at the Half Note on 11 November 1960 to record their show. With local DJ Ruth Mason acting as MC, the show kicked off with the ten minute plus My Girl Shirl and closed some two hours later with When Sunny Gets Blue. When subsequently released on vinyl, the show had been mashed up somewhat, with the two albums showing no reference to the original running order. That does not detract from what is an excellent album, with its later companion volume equally enthralling and entertaining. First class performances all round, as you would expect, make this a compelling album.

John Coltrane - Interplay [5 CD, 2007/FLAC]

 

Interplay, Prestige Records' 5-CD set, containing early collaborative recordings of the peerless tenor saxophonist and visionary John Coltrane, serves two distinct purposes. The first is to offer an extraordinary collection of music that provides an excellent overview of the modern jazz scene during the fertile 1956-1958 period. The other - and arguably more important purpose to the legions of Coltrane faithful - is its rich delineation of the evolutionary process behind one of the most profoundly important and emotionally compelling artists this planet has ever seen.

The Prestige All Stars - Roots (1957/2013/FLAC)

 

Roots is an album by the Prestige All Stars nominally led by trumpeter Idrees Sulieman recorded in 1957 and released on the New Jazz label. More big-band bop with a stellar cast, it includes Cecil Payne, Pepper Adams, and Idrees Sulieman on saxes and Bill Evans on piano.

It features two classic 1957 jam sessions, with trumpeter Idrees Sulieman and bassist Doug Watkins the commom links. The disc leads off with the 27 minute long title track, recorded on December 6th, with all the musicians – Sulieman, Watkins, Pepper Adams, Bill Evans, Louis Hayes and little known trombonist Frank Rehak – getting tons of room to stretch out. The other two numbers, from October 25th and featuring Cecil Payne, Jimmy Cleveland, Tommy Flanagan and Elvin Jones joining Sulieman and Watkins, are more succinct timewise, but overall just as impressive. If you find this now OOP CD as inexpensively as I did, then it should definitely be time to get back to your "Roots."

• Idrees Sulieman - trumpet
• Jimmy Cleveland - trombone
• Frank Rehak - trombone
• Pepper Adams - baritone saxophone
• Cecil Payne - baritone saxophone
• Bill Evans - piano
• Tommy Flanagan - piano
• Doug Watkins - bass
• Louis Hayes - drums
• Elvin Jones - drums

Gene Ammons' All- Stars - Groove Blues / The Big Sound (2 CD/FLAC)

 Two original LPs on two CD

CD 1 Groove Blues

CD 2 The Big Sound

Donald Byrd & Pepper Adams - The Complete Blue Note Studio Sessions (4 CD, 2000/FLAC)

 

Centered around the Byrd/Adams Blue Note dates Byrd in Hand, Chant, Royal Flush, The Cat Walk, and Off to the Races, Mosaic's Complete Blue Note Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams Studio Sessions finds the Detroit natives at the top of their game during 1959-1962. Writing and performing some of the most original and tight hard bop around, Byrd and Adams led a variety of combos that featured the likes of Herbie Hancock (his first session), Wynton Kelly, Duke Pearson (who also contributed material), Charlie Rouse, Sam Jones, and Billy Higgins. From distinct covers ("Lover Come Back to Me") to seamlessly complex originals ("Bronze Dance"), Byrd's pure-toned trumpet and Adams' angular baritone unexpectedly make a perfect match. And beyond a wealth of sides that prove the point, the collection also features -- in typically thorough and classy Mosaic fashion -- some stunning session photos by Blue Note lensman Francis Wolff and an extensive essay by Bob Blumenthal. A hard bop experience of the highest order.