Tony Scott & Bill Evans — A Day In New York (2 CD, 1957) [FLAC]

 

Tony Scott led several small groups of various sizes during the month of November 1957, resulting in three separate LPs being issued by Seeco, Carlton, and Perfect without duplicating any of the 24 tracks. This Fresh Sound two-CD set collects everything recorded during these sessions. Scott's core group features pianist Bill Evans (not long after he was discharged from military service), either Milt Hinton or Henry Grimes on bass, and drummer Paul Motian. In addition to his powerful clarinet, Scott plays a potent baritone sax on six selections. The music includes a few standards, a handful of originals by Scott, and some obscure compositions. Trombonist Jimmy Knepper is a guest on several songs, providing a perfect foil for the leader in a snappy take of "The Lady Is a Tramp," with the soloing on clarinet and baritone saxophonist Sahib Shihab following Knepper. Trumpeter Clark Terry (still with Duke Ellington at the time) blows a very soft solo in a subdued arrangement of "Tenderly." Even though Evans was yet to make his mark as a leader or composer, his "Five" is heard in extended form rather than as a brief signoff as he played on early recording dates of his own. He also solos brilliantly in "There Will Never Be Another You." The title to this collection is a bit misleading, as trustworthy discographies list these sessions as being recorded over several days. Because obtaining each of the originally issued LPs is likely to be very expensive for collectors, this comprehensive CD set is the better alternative. 

Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt in Paris [2021,FLAC]

 

Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known to all by his Romani nickname Django was a Belgian-born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was the first major jazz talent to emerge from Europe and remains the most significant.

With violinist Stéphane Grappelli, Reinhardt formed the Paris-based Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1934. The group was among the first to play jazz that featured the guitar as a lead instrument. Reinhardt recorded in France with many visiting American musicians, including Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter, and briefly toured the United States with Duke Ellington's orchestra in 1946. He died suddenly of a stroke at the age of 43. 

Woody Herman - The Complete Decca, Mars and MGM Sessions (1943-1954) (7CD, 2019)

The Complete Woody Herman Decca, Mars and MGM Sessions (1943-1954) presents Woody on seven CDs over a remarkable span of his development: at the very beginning of his career leading a band that would become one of the most enduring in music; a few years later, in the studio and in concert at Carnegie Hall, when the band was enjoying its much-deserved, worldwide renown; and during the Third Herd period, when Woody was not only running his own band but his own record operation as well.

These three dips into Woody's career have had far less exposure than his more-famous work for Columbia and Capitol, previously collected by Mosaic on sets that are now completely sold out. Some of the music has been completely unavailable since the long-playing era. And even if you own Mosaic’s other box sets, or even the Mosaic Select mini-set documenting his early 1960s work on Phillips, you've never had a chance to sample such diverse material in one set by a bandleader who was never content to sit still.

Through its diverse material and the evolving nature of the personnel, Woody's point of view remains consistently crisp, energetic, youthful and relevant. His commitment to big bands was never nostalgic or locked in time, but always looking ahead

Michel Petrucciani – Concerts Inedits (3 CD, 1999)

Michel Petrucciani's diminutive stature was due to a genetic disorder that caused brittle bones and stunted his growth, but he figuratively stood tall among jazz pianists of the 1980s and 1990s, prior to his premature death at 36 in early 1999. This three-CD set consists of portions of three separate concerts by Petrucianni, none of which have been previously issued.

Artie Shaw and His Gramercy 5 - Six Star Treats (1940-1954) [5 CD, 2008]

 

Artie Shaw led one of the great bands of the 'Swing Era' and from that band he formed a small group called the Gramercy 5. Having a "band within a band" was a popular trend at the time and the Gramercy 5 were one of the best! Presented here, spanning a period from 1940 to 1954, are what are thought to be ALL the commercially released titles by the band. Featuring the familiar "Begin The Beguine" which became a million seller along with the very popular "Frenesi". Also included are the hits "Summit Ridge Drive" & "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". With bonus tracks that come from The Gramercy 5's appearances on Radio programmes including very rare performances on the 'Radio Hall Of Fame' and 'Kraft Music Hall', this is the seminal release unsurpassed by any other.


A more substantial offering from Jasmine is this 5-CD set, which claims to present the complete commercially released recordings. On the first CD the fifteen sides recorded for Victor are supplemented by ten 1945 airshots. The remaining four CDs all date from the early to mid-fifties, and the second includes vocals by Mary Ann McCall, June Hutton, and Connee Boswell. Like Ellington, Shaw was fond of revisiting favourite tunes. Thus there are several versions of some of the best-known Five numbers, and since the personnel varied considerably over the period they are all well worth having.

VA - Columbia Small Group Swing Sessions 1953-62 (8 CD, 2005)

 The joy, camaraderie and enthusiasm reflected on Mosaic's Columbia Small Group Swing Sessions (1953-62) grabs the heart, soul and mind. The listener yearns to dance to it, sing with it, even take up an instrument and play along. One listen and you will want to join in the fun.

Instead of featuring simply one artist, this amazing 8-CD set has Mosaic taking selected sessions from various musicians. Leading the sessions are the likes of Buck Clayton, Ruby Braff, Illinois Jacquet, Herb Ellis, Ben Webster, Kenny Burrell, Coleman Hawkins and Harry "Sweets" Edison. Musicians, currently caught between "rock/rap" and a hard place, but still with much to say.  

Andrew Hill - The Complete Blue Note Andrew Hill Sessions (1963-66) [7CD, 1995]

 Andrew Hill was one of the greatest pianists of the '60s, but he never quite received his due. Hill was a skillful, cerebral musician that consciously positioned his music between hard bop and free. He was at his peak in the mid-'60s, as his playing and composing continued to explore new territory. All of his seminal recordings for Blue Note between 1963 and 1966 are collected on the limited-edition, seven-disc box set The Complete Blue Note Andrew Hill Sessions (1963-66). During those three years, he recorded with an astonishing array of talents, including Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, Joe Henderson, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Richard Davis, Joe Chambers, John Gilmore, and Kenny Dorham. The box features 15 alternate takes, including ten previously unreleased cuts and a composition that has never been released. The sheer scope of the set means that it's only of interest to serious jazz collectors, but it proves that Hill was one of the most adventurous and rewarding pianists of the '60s. 

Bill Laurance - Flint [2014,FLAC]

Bill Laurance (born 2 April 1981) is an English composer, producer, and multi-instrumental musician. Laurance is a member of jazz fusion and funk band Snarky Puppy, as well as founder and CEO of London-based record label Flint Music.

Max Roach - The Complete Mercury Max Roach Plus Four Sessions [7 CD, 2000]

This seven-CD box set features 95 tracks from legendary drummer Max Roach's small group, consisting of the 1956-1960 recordings for Emarcy and Mercury Records, as these noteworthy sessions also represent the drummer's post Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet output. In 1956 the jazz world witnessed the tragic and untimely deaths of the great trumpeter Clifford Brown and pianist Ritchie Powell. Within these seven CDs, we find Roach maintaining his assault on jazz along with trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist Ray Bryant, and the drummer's bandmates from the Clifford Brown years, tenor saxophone giant Sonny Rollins and bassist George Morrow.

Clifford Brown - Brownie: The Complete EmArcy Recordings [11 CD, 1989]

  

The remarkable but short-lived trumpeter Clifford Brown has the second half of his career fully documented (other than his final performance) and he is showcased in a wide variety of settings. The bulk of the numbers are of Brownie's quintet with co-leader and drummer Max Roach, either Harold Land or Sonny Rollins on tenor, pianist Richie Powell, and bassist George Morrow (including some previously unheard alternate takes), but there is also much more. Brown stars at several jam sessions (including a meeting with fellow trumpeters Clark Terry and Maynard Ferguson), accompanies such singers as Dinah Washington, Helen Merrill, and Sarah Vaughan, and is backed by strings on one date. Everything is here, including classic versions of "Parisian Thoroughfare," "Joy Spring," "Daahoud," "Coronado," a ridiculously fast "Move," "Portrait of Jenny," "Cherokee," "Sandu," "I'll Remember April," and "What Is This Thing Called Love?"