Onzy Matthews - Mosaic Select 29 [1963-1965] (3 CD, 2007/FLAC)

 Los Angeles based composer/arranger/band leader Onzy Matthews was in many ways a poor man's equivalent to peers like Gerald Wilson, Oliver Nelson, Manny Albam, and Bill Holman. Perhaps as obscure a jazz musician as there has been in recent memory, Matthews was no less talented, but in fact a specialist whose style was based in blues, also veering into other areas that showcased his interest in diverse music. Consisting primarily of studio sessions previously unreleased, this three-CD package sets the record straight on the ability of Matthews to assemble a top-notch West coast group and whip them into a tight unit able to play relatively uncomplicated charts, but with no modicum of interplay and precision.

V.S.O.P. - The Quintet (1977/FLAC)

The Quintet is an album by V.S.O.P. It was compiled from two concert performances: one at the Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley, on July 16, 1977; the other at the San Diego Civic Theatre on July 18, 1977. The musicians were Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and flugelhorn, Tony Williams on drums, Ron Carter on bass, and Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano saxophones. The recording was originally released in October 1977 as a 2-disc LP by Columbia Records. 

 

• Freddie Hubbard – flugelhorn, trumpet
• Wayne Shorter – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
• Herbie Hancock – piano, keyboards
• Ron Carter – double bass
• Tony Williams – drums

Gene Krupa & Harry James - Complete Capitol Recordings of Gene Krupa & Harry James (7 CD, 1999/FLAC)

 

Big bands were on their way out by the late '40s, which left bandleaders and musicians who had played swing in a quandary: embrace bebop or become a nostalgia act. Certain wise musicians like Gene Krupa and Harry James, however, found a middle course by modernizing swing with new arrangements and selling it to ballroom dancers. The Complete Capitol Recordings of Gene Krupa and Harry James collects a multitude of splendid performances from both players as they transitioned from one era to the next.

Sidney Bechet - Tresors (4 CD, 2001/FLAC)

 

Sidney Bechet was the first important jazz soloist on records in history (beating Louis Armstrong by a few months). A brilliant soprano saxophonist and clarinetist with a wide vibrato that listeners either loved or hated, Bechet's style did not evolve much through the years but he never lost his enthusiasm or creativity. A master at both individual and collective improvisation within the genre of New Orleans jazz, Bechet was such a dominant player that trumpeters found it very difficult to play with him. Bechet wanted to play lead and it was up to the other horns to stay out of his way.

Rashied Ali & Arthur Rhames - The Dynamic Duo (Remember Trane And Bird) (2 CD, 1981/FLAC)

For some, Interstellar Space was the end of John Coltrane—and for others, just the beginning. As many people dislike Rashied Ali for being Trane's last drummer as like him for that same reason. Indisputable though is that Interstellar Space began the examination of new possibilities for the duet format, apart from the typical piano/bass example. Ali continued to explore this arrangement after the death of his mentor on albums like Duo Exchange with late saxophonist Frank Lowe and in his current duo with altoist Sonny Fortune (in residency at Sweet Rhythm this month). Ayler Records, continuing a spate of exciting archival live albums, has released another chapter in Ali's saxophone duet history, this time as a double disc set with, sadly, another late player, tenor Arthur Rhames.

The performance was recorded in 1981 at the Willisau Jazz Festival. Given Rhames' relative obscurity, the first disc begins with Rashied Ali narrating liner notes over a 17-minute exposition by himself and Rhames. The rest of the set consists of material by Coltrane including "Mr. PC," "Giant Steps," "Impressions" and even a brief reading of most of A Love Supreme (all interesting choices as they all predate Ali joining Coltrane's group). The Eckstine standard "I Want to Talk About You," Miles' "Tune Up" and four pieces ostensibly improvised by Rhames and Ali are thrown in for good measure.

 
 Recorded live at Willisau Jazz Festival, Switzerland, on August 29, 1981. 

• Rashied Ali - dr, vo
• Arthur Rhames - ts, p

John Coltrane - Live in Japan 1966 (4 CD, 1991/FLAC)

 Live in Japan is a four-disc box set by American saxophonist John Coltrane and his last group, a quintet featuring Coltrane, his wife/pianist Alice, saxophonist/bass clarinetist Pharoah Sanders, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Rashied Ali. The 4-CD set compiles all the music issued as three albums in the seventies by Impulse!; Concert In Japan (1973, US 2-LP), Coltrane In Japan (1973, Japan 3-LP (side six is blank), mono) and Second Night In Tokyo (1977, Japan 3-LP (side six contains an interview, mono). (Some of this material was also reissued as two 2-LP sets in 1980 by MCA under the titles Coltrane In Tokyo Vol. 1 and Coltrane In Tokyo Vol. 2) The first CD issues were by Impulse! Japan as two 2-CD sets: Live In Japan Vol. 1 (same as "Coltrane In Japan") and Live In Japan Vol. 2 (same as "Second Night In Tokyo"). The US 4-CD edition includes both of these volumes, with identical mastering from the original mono tapes. The side six interview from "Second Night In Tokyo" has never been reissued on any CD edition.

Bill Evans - Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans: A Career Retrospective (1956-1980) [5 CD, 2021/FLAC]

 Bill Evans would have earned his place in the jazz history books if only for his role on Miles Davis’ landmark 1959 set Kind of Blue.  But the pianist-composer and modal jazz innovator recorded over 50 live and studio albums as a leader before his untimely death in 1980 at the age of just 51, leaving behind a legacy of some of the most beautiful jazz ever committed to tape.  In addition to Davis, he also served as a sideman to musicians including Chet Baker, Cannonball Adderley, Charles Mingus, and Lee Konitz.  Now, Craft Recordings is celebrating Evans’ expansive discography with his first ever career-spanning box set.  Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans: A Career Retrospective (1956-1980) is due from the label on June 25.  The thematically-organized 5-CD box set premieres a previously unreleased live set from 1975 recorded at Oil Can Harry’s in Vancouver, British Columbia.  That concert, titled On a Friday Evening, will be issued the same day as a standalone release in 2-LP, CD, and digital formats .

Milton Nascimento - Millennium (2000/FLAC)

 

International singing superstar and songwriter Milton Nascimento may have his roots in Brazil, but his songs have touched audiences all over the world. Born in Rio, Nascimento’s adoptive parents, both white, brought him to Tres Pontas, a small town in the state of Minas Gerais, when he was two. His mother sang in a choir and at local music festivals, often accompanied by Milton. Nascimento’s father was an electronics tinkerer, math teacher, and at one point ran a local radio station where a young Milton occasionally worked as a DJ. He began singing as a teenager. When he was 19, Nascimento moved to the capital Belo Horizonte and began singing wherever and whenever he could. Finally he caught a break when the pop singer Elis Regina recorded one of his songs, “Canção do Sal,” in 1966. Regina got him a showcase on a popular Brazilian TV program, and after performing at Brazil’s International Song Festival the following year, his career was launched.

Duke Ellington - The Reprise Studio Recordings (5 CD, 1999/FLAC)

 Not much has been said about Duke Ellington's Reprise Records period, and even less that's enthusiastic, mostly owing to the fact that his output there ran between two extremes: dazzlingly inventive conceptual pieces juxtaposed with re-recordings of classic big-band material, and pop-jazz efforts built around covers of current popular songs. Amid that wildly divergent body of work, it's no surprise that the live material from The Great Paris Concert and Ellington's Greatest Hits eclipsed much of his Reprise studio work. Thus, this five-CD box is the first opportunity that most listeners will have had to assess the music properly.

VA - Pacific Jazz II Collection (6 CD, 1989/FLAC)

 

Very rare 1989 UK 6-CD set, digitally remastered and transfered from the original masters, featuring Gerry Mulligan, Gerry Mulligan & Chet Baker, Bud Shank, Bob Brookmeyer, Richard Twardzik/ Russ Freeman Trios and Chico Hamilton.