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.

Gabor Szabo discography [1958-2018]

 

Szabó Gábor István (8 March 1936 – 26 February 1982), better known as Gábor Szabó, was an influential jazz guitarist, famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.

Gábor Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary and began playing guitar at the age of 14, inspired by jazz music heard on Voice of America radio broadcasts. He escaped Hungary in 1956, a year of attempted revolt against Soviet-dominated Communist rule, and moved to the United States where he attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

Duke Ellington - 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings [11 CD, 2008]

  

This exquisite 11-disc boxed set from Mosaic collects the complete output of Duke Ellington's orchestra on three labels - Brunswick, Columbia, and Master - for an eight-year span from 1932-1940.

After achieving youthful acclaim in Washington, and making a successful move to New York fronting (at first) small groups, Duke Ellington entered the 1930s with an expanded line-up and an increasingly creative approach to composing. Weekly radio broadcasts and swank guests in the audience spread the word; Hollywood noticed his marquee smile and musical brilliance; and the orchestra began touring extensively, including trips to Europe. His fame and popularity were on the rise.

But more importantly, Ellington entered the '30s having perfected his method of using the group to experiment with arranging and orchestrating. Ensconced at the Cotton Club in New York at the end of the previous decade, Ellington catered to a lot of musical interests and needs - he played for the dancers, and for the jazz lovers. He relied on ideas from his musicians, and wrote for them as individuals rather than as anonymous section players. With all that work and a line-up of marvelous, distinctive musical voices, Ellington began the most creative period of his life.

The Rosenberg Trio - The Best Of (2 CD, 2002/FLAC)

 The Rosenberg Trio is a Dutch jazz band consisting of lead guitarist Stochelo Rosenberg, rhythm guitarist Nous'che Rosenberg and bassist Nonnie Rosenberg. The band is influenced by Django Reinhardt, the gypsy jazz guitarist of the 1930s. 

The Modern Jazz Quartet - Complete Modern Jazz Quartet Prestige & Pablo Recordings (4 CD, 2003/FLAC)

In typical Fantasy Records aplomb, this four-CD set collects the eight albums which the Modern Jazz Quartet either mentored or collaborated on during their tenure at the commencement and nadir of their reign as jazz's premier chamber ensemble. Beginning with the 1952 issue of Modern Jazz Quartet/Milt Jackson Quintet recording (the earlier Milt Jackson Quartet sides are not here for obvious reasons, as the band did not commence its fully developed form on them) featuring original drummer Kenny Clarke before Connie Kay replaced him, and ending with This One's For Basie in 1985; the association the MJQ had with Prestige was a monumental one.

Jaco Pastorius - Smoke on the Water : Live in Rome, December 1986

 

No other bassist lived such a controversial life or elicited such a bipolar response as Jaco Pastorius. Listeners love him or hate him, alternately calling him the greatest bass player who ever lived (as Jaco often called himself) or claiming that he was not really a jazz player at all. Regardless of how he is categorized, one fact is indisputable -- Jaco changed the way fretless electric bass is performed. He brought the instrument to the forefront, setting new standards for technique and range of tone on the instrument. As a sideman, Pastorius displayed a deft sense of melody and taste, recording classic albums with a range of artists including Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny and Herbie Hancock. He also served as an integral member of bands including Weather Report and Word of Mouth. His self-titled debut (1976) sent many aspiring bassists home to regroup; the album starts with a blistering version of Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee" and never lets up. Unfortunately, Jaco's partying ways and trash-talking proved to be his demise -- he was beaten to death after trying to force his way into a nightclub in 1987.

• Jaco Pastorius - Bass
• Bireli Lagrene - Guitar
• Serge Bringolf - Drums

Chick Corea - Music Forever & Beyond: Selected Works 1964-1996 (5 CD, 1996/FLAC)

 This very attractive five-CD set does an excellent job of summing up the rather productive career of pianist-keyboardist Chick Corea. The first two discs have highlights from the 1964-1982 period including a few sideman appearances, a previously unissued version of "Windows" played with Stan Getz, the original version of "Spain," four pieces from the Return to Forever days, and numbers from his freelance projects of the late '70s (highlighted by the exciting "Central Park"). The third disc concentrates on Corea's GRP projects (1986-1994), particularly his Elektric and Akoustic Bands (two selections were previously unissued), while the fourth CD is quite a grab-bag that includes collaborations with Herbie Hancock (a version of "Liza" that progresses from stride to free), Gayle Moran, John McLaughlin, Paco DeLucia, Gary Burton, Bobby McFerrin, and Miles Davis (a new duet version of "I Fall in Love So Easily" from 1969). In addition, Corea is heard as an eight-year-old in 1949 on a privately recorded 78 playing a short piano solo and on a version of "'Round Midnight" with strings that was recorded for this 1996 box. In fact, the fifth disc consists exclusively of new recordings of standards (plus one original) by Corea in an acoustic quartet with tenor saxophonist Bob Berg (who has rarely sounded more exciting). This well-conceived set is highly recommended even to Chick Corea fans who might have some of his earlier records. A gem. 

Don Cherry / Dewey Redman / Charlie Haden / Ed Blackwell - Old and New Dreams (1979/FLAC)

 Formed two-and-a-half years before for a one off record date for Italy´s Black Saint Label, Old And New Dreams, a quartet comprised of former associates of Ornette Coleman was re-launched in 1979. As bassist Charlie Haden explained: „We feel that everything we experienced together playing with Ornette shouldn´t stop. That improvised acoustic music doesn´t happen now, not that way. We´re not duplicating 20-year old songs, but playing from Ornette´s harmelodic concept which each of us grew up in, playing on the feeling rather than the chord structure or melody.“

– Don Cherry - trumpet, piano

– Dewey Redman - tenor saxophone, musette (suona)

– Charlie Haden - bass

– Ed Blackwell - drums

Thelonious Monk - Six Classic Albums, Vol.2 (4 CD, 2012/FLAC)

 EU-only four CD set containing six complete albums from the Jazz great: Brilliant Corner, Thelonious in Action, the Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall, 5 By Monk By 5, Thelonious Alone in San Francisco and Thelonious Himself. 

Mose Allison - Allison Wonderland: The Mose Allison Anthology (2 CD, 1994/FLAC)

 

Only Dave Frishberg and possibly Mark Murphy can rival Mose Allison when it comes to creative use of irony in lyric writing, and neither compares as an instrumentalist. He's a fine bop pianist able to play challenging instrumentals and eclectic enough to integrate country blues and gospel elements into his style. Allison's unique mix of down-home and uptown styles has made him a standout since the '50s. He's one of the few jazz musicians on Atlantic's roster ideally suited for Rhino's two-disc anthology format. Allison recorded many different kinds of songs and was always as much, if not more, a singles than an album artist. In addition, Rhino thankfully sequenced the selected songs -- which span over 40 years, from 1957 to 1989, and include all of his best-known songs -- chronologically. Allison does reflective duo and trio pieces, moves into up-tempo combo numbers with a jump beat, then returns to the intimate small-group sound. His ability to highlight key lyrics, delivery, timing, and pacing is superb. The set includes such classics as "Back Country Blues," "Parchman Farm," "Western Man," and "Ever Since the World Ended," plus definitive covers of Willie Dixon's "The Seventh Son" and Sonny Boy Williamson II's "Eyesight to the Blind." It's an essential introduction to Allison's catalog.