Easy-going singer with a warm baritone voice that made him a superstar on record and television, from the 1950s through the '70s.
Perry Como - Hits Collection 1943-62 (5 CD, 2020)
Easy-going singer with a warm baritone voice that made him a superstar on record and television, from the 1950s through the '70s.
Lee Morgan & Wayne Shorter - The Complete Vee Jay Sessions (6 CD, 2000/FLAC)
Mosaic Records continues to repackage and remaster previously released and unreleased material by jazz legends past and present. Here, the ongoing saga continues with this sharply produced set featuring trumpeter Lee Morgan and saxophonist Wayne Shorter's recordings for the now defunct, Chicago, IL-based Vee-Jay recording label. With this six-CD compilation, the listener will find meticulously detailed annotations of the story behind Vee-Jay, chronological accounts of the musicians' backgrounds and basically what was transpiring during 1959 and 1961, which denotes the time frame of these sessions. The producers also provide an album index of the original recordings and a reference matrix of the personnel on a per-disc basis. And while Morgan was a rising star who had already released six LPs as a leader for Blue Note records, these works represent Shorter's initial dates as a leader. Here we find Morgan manning a front-line attack with either Shorter performing on tenor sax or his collaborations with alto saxophonist Frank Strozier, drummers Art Blakey, and Louis Hayes, pianist Bobby Timmons, and many others of note who appear throughout the entire scope of these discs. Basically, the music is formulated from within the hard bop vein amid a number of medium-tempo and hard-swinging motifs, ballads, and alternate takes. Shorter proceeded to record a number of exceptional LPs for Blue Note Records, whereas, his already shining star had rapidly risen thanks to his affiliation with Miles Davis and collaboration with keyboardist Joe Zawinul in the pioneering fusion band Weather Report. Meanwhile, Morgan was viewed upon as being the logical successor to trumpeter Clifford Brown as he surged onward to record several timeless classics prior to his tragic death in 1972. Hence, this presentation supplies additional evidence to their everlasting influences as you are treated to Morgan's fluent lines, subtle inflections, radiant lyricism, and Shorter's sinewy attack, penetrating extended notes and optimal utilization of space
Thelonious Monk - The Columbia Years 1962-1968 [3 CD, 2001/FLAC]
While occasionally maligned, Thelonious Monk's '60s recordings for Columbia yielded many moments of warmth and ingenuity. His first two albums for the label, Monk's Dream and Criss-Cross, rank among his very best; the latter demonstrated the company's success in raising his profile, becoming in 1963 his sole LP to place on the pop charts. This three-CD box, like the 2000 collection of Prestige sessions, aims to push Monk's '60s music into the spotlight shared by his Blue Note and Riverside classics. While deviled by a handful of questionable choices, The Columbia Years for the most part succeeds.
Sonny Criss - The Complete Imperial Sessions [2 CD, 1956/1990 remastered/FLAC]
This double disc reissue on Blue Note contains the three releases that alto saxophonist Sonny Criss did for Imperial: Jazz U.S.A., Go Man!, and Plays Cole Porter.
These sessions were all recorded in 1956 at a time when Criss had
honed his amazing bebop alto precision. These 34 performances contain
only five of his originals and are surrounded by mainly standards.While Criss had a career that erratically spanned the '70s, these Imperial sessions (reissued in glorious mono) contained highly regarded performances of passionate blues, moving ballads, and energetic up-tempo pieces.
- Sonny Criss (alto saxophone);
- Larry Bunker (vibraphone);
- Sonny Clark, Kenny Drew (piano);
- Barney Kessell (guitar);
- Leroy Vinnegar, Bill Woodson, Buddy Clark (bass);
- Chuck Thompson, Lawrence Marable (drums).
Mildred Bailey -Sunday, Monday or Always (4 CD, 2005/FLAC)
An early jazz singer with a sweet voice, Mildred Bailey balanced a good deal of popular success with a hot jazz-slanted career that saw her billed as Mrs. Swing (her husband, Red Norvo, was Mr. Swing). Born Mildred Rinker in Washington state in 1907, Bailey began performing at an early age, playing piano and singing in movie theaters during the early '20s. By 1925, she was the headlining act at a club in Hollywood, doing a mixture of pop, early jazz tunes, and vaudeville standards. Influenced by Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, and Connie Boswell, she developed a soft, swinging delivery that pleased all kinds of nightclub audiences in the area. After sending a demonstration disc in to Paul Whiteman in 1929, she gained a spot with one of the most popular dance orchestras of the day.
Art Tatum- Complete Original American Decca Recordings (1932-44) [4 CD, 2001]
Collectors of recordings by piano great Art Tatum are frustrated by the many haphazard, poorly documented, and often incomplete collections of his work; this four-CD set by the English label Definitive attempts to collect all of his known recordings for Decca, but there are a few surprising twists. Tatum recorded many of his piano solos with several different takes, so as many as 23 alternate takes remain unissued (and are most likely either lost or unusable) according to Tatum discographer Arnold Laubich. But this is made up by the fact that all of his sessions with singer Adelaide Hall for Brunswick (including four previously unissued alternate takes, one of whose existence was not previously known) and every song he waxed with blues singer Joe Turner are present. Tatum's virtuoso performances -- especially his solos of "Tiger Rag," "Elegie," and "Body and Soul" -- are still amazing many decades after they were first released. The 24-bit sound of this compilation is richer than the earlier MCA and GRP CD reissues, so the release of this thorough collection may cause more than a few Tatum fans to trade up.
Roy Ayers - Evolution: The Polydor Anthology (2 CD, 1995/FLAC)
Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk.
Evolution: The Polydor Anthology charts Roy Ayers' 12 years and 20 LPs with Polydor, a rich time where his gliding, loose-groove jazz-funk gained many fans -- though perhaps fewer than it did 20 years later in the midst of the rare groove/acid jazz revival. During the 1970s, Ayers and his band, Ubiquity, progressed from political- and social-commentary funk to blaxploitation to disco to some surprisingly touching R&B ballads, and this two-disc set covers it all with grace and a smooth flow. Fans of hip-hop, groove music, funk, and jazz will all be able to find something to enjoy on the collection. Highlights include "We Live in Brooklyn Baby," "Evolution," "Running Away," and "Get on up, Get on Down," among others.
Personnel includes: Roy Ayers (vocals, piano, electric piano, organ, clavinet, vibraphone, vibraharp percussion, synthesizer); Wayne Garfield, Dee Dee Dridgewater, Chicas (vocals); Harry Whitaker (vocals, piano, electric piano, organ, clavinet, harpsichord); Edwin Birdsong (vocals, organ); Seldon Powell (baritone saxophone); Jon Faddis (trumpet, flugelhorn); Garnett Brown (trombone); Jerry Friedman (guitar, electric sitar); Billy Nichols (guitar); Emir Ksasan (bass); Alphonse Mouzon (drums); William King (congas, bongos, percussion).
Buck Clayton - The Complete CBS Jam Sessions (1953-1956) [8 LP, 1993]
Herb Ellis And Freddie Green - Rhythm Willie (1975/FLAC)
Ben Webster & Johnny Hodges - The Complete 1960 Sextet Jazz Cellar Session (2011,FLAC)
This 1960 set is said to be the only recording session on which Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges were the only two horn players. At least, that applies to the first dozen tracks. The last five come from an octet session recorded a year later. The first twelve were recorded at the Jazz Cellar in San Francisco; the last five were recorded somewhere in Los Angeles.
The line-up gives Webster and Hodges the chance to show their paces without much interference. In fact they had played together in the Duke Ellington Orchestra for various periods from 1935 onwards, so they knew one another closely, and their empathy comes through on these sides. You might say that Hodges is to the alto sax what Ben Webster is to the tenor. Their distinctive saxophones blend well together, even though they have slightly different styles. They both actually have a sweet legato style of playing, although Webster can get gruff and growly when he wants to. Their main similarity is that they both aim for (and achieve) mellowness of tone - and they can both swing with the greatest of ease. The staccato single notes of guitarist Herb Ellis contrast nicely with the saxists' predominantly smooth mode.
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