Blue Note Works 1500 series Vol.1531-1540

 

Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label, owned by Universal Music Group and currently operates in conjunction with Decca Records. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small group swing, from 1947 the label began to switch its attention to modern jazz. While the original company did not itself record many of the pioneers of bebop, significant exceptions are Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro and Bud Powell.

Many great jazz musicians recorded for Blue Note, but the man responsible for the quality of label’s recordings – their high dynamic and tonal range and lifelike presence – was sound engineer, Rudy Van Gelder. It was his recording equipment, choice and placement of microphones, the work at the mixing desk, the selection and rejection of takes, and the active supervision of the whole recording process from monitoring the dials through to cutting of the master lacquer, that created the “Blue Note sound”.

Van Gelder always sought to be at the forefront of recording technology – the Scully lathe he used for cutting lacquer masters was the first to feature variable pitch/depth control to optimise groove-width and loudness. He deployed the newest Neumann/ Telefunken U-47 condenser microphone, which he had specially modified for use very close to instruments. His recordings were made on the latest Ampex tape recorders.

Blue Note made the switch to 12" LPs late in 1955. The Modern Jazz Series continued with the following 12" LPs. Many of these were issued in both monaural versions (BLP series) and stereo versions (BST 81500 series), sometimes in electronically rechanneled stereo. In certain cases, the stereo versions of recordings from 1957 onwards only appeared many years later. Beginning in 1956 with BLP 1509, Reid Miles designed most of the Blue Note LP covers. The 1500 series has been systematically reissued by Toshiba-EMI in Japan ("Blue Note Works 1500" series, 20-bit 88.2 kHz CDs); the catalog numbers are TOCJ-1501, etc.


BN.1531- Fats Navarro- 1953- The Fabulous Fats Navarro Vol.1
BN.1532- Fats Navarro- 1953- The Fabulous Fats Navarro Vol.2
BN.1533- Johnny Griffin- 1956- Introducing Johnny Griffin {RVG Remaster}
BN.1534- Paul Chambers- 1956- Whims Of Chambers
BN.1535- Kenny Dorham- 1955- Afro-Cuban {RVG Remaster}
BN.1536- J.R. Monterose- 1956- J.R. Monterose {RVG Remaster}
BN.1537- Lou Donaldson- 1954- Quartet Quintet Sextet
BN.1538- Lee Morgan- 1956- Lee Morgan Indeed! {RVG Remaster}
BN.1539- Horace Silver- 1956- Six Pieces Of Silver {RVG Remaster}
BN.1540- Hank Mobley- 1956- With Donald Byrd & Lee Morgan

VA - Montreux Jazz Festival 1989 (4 CD, 1991/FLAC)

 

The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second largest annual jazz festival in the world after Canada's Montreal International Jazz Festival.

 

Charles Mingus - Minor Intrusion (Quadromania, 4 CD, 2005/FLAC)

 

This comprises four discs: Shuffle Bass Boogie, a haphazard collection of very early Mingus as a Bebop/Big Band leader from 1946-49 of some historical interest, the important and early Third Stream outing of Jazzical Moods from 1954 – quite essential for fans –; and two discs with 1960 recordings from the Candid label: one is the fantastic compilation Lock 'Em Up (comprising the entire 1961 album Mingus plus additional tracks), and the other is 1960 album Presents Charles Mingus.

 

Sonny Rollins - Original Album Classics (5 CD, 2007/FLAC)

 Sonny left the music biz in the late '50s and early '60s, then returned with a triumphant series of LPs. Here are five of 'em: 1962's Our Man in Jazz (with the jaw-dropping epic Oleo ) and What's New? (he teams with Jim Hall on If Ever I Would Leave You and his own Bluesong ), 1963's storied meeting with Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Meets Hawk! (with thrilling excursions through standards like All the Things You Are and Yesterdays ) and 1964's Now's the Time and The Standard Sonny Rollins (both with Herbie Hancock). A saxophone colossus, this is! 

 

Benny Carter - Chronogical Classics 1929 - 1954 [8 CD]

 

Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King. In 1958, he performed with Billie Holiday at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival.

 

 

Bill Davison (feat. George Brunies, Eddie Condon, Edmond Hall, Albert Nicholas) - Quadromania (4 CD, 2005/FLAC)

 One of the great Dixieland trumpeters, Wild Bill Davison had a colorful and emotional style that ranged from sarcasm to sentimentality with plenty of growls and shakes. His unexpected placement of high notes was a highlight of his solos and his strong personality put him far ahead of the competition. In the 1920s, he played with the Ohio Lucky Seven, the Chubb-Steinberg Orchestra (with whom he made his recording debut), the Seattle Harmony Kings, and Benny Meroff. After he was involved in a fatal car accident that ended the life of Frankie Teschemacher in 1932 (his auto was blindsided by a taxi), Davison spent the remainder of the 1930s in exile in Milwaukee. By 1941, he was in New York and in 1943 made some brilliant recordings for Commodore (including a classic version of "That's a Plenty") that solidified his reputation. After a period in the Army, Davison became a fixture with Eddie Condon's bands starting in 1945, playing nightly at Condon's. In the 1950s, he was quite effective on a pair of albums with string orchestras, but most of his career was spent fronting Dixieland bands either as a leader or with Condon. Wild Bill toured Europe often from the 1960s, recorded constantly, had a colorful life filled with remarkable episodes, and was active up until his death. A very detailed 1996 biography (The Wildest One by Hal Willard) has many hilarious anecdotes and shows just how unique a life Wild Bill Davison had. 

 

Blue Note Works 1500 series Vol.1521-1530

 

Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label, owned by Universal Music Group and currently operates in conjunction with Decca Records. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small group swing, from 1947 the label began to switch its attention to modern jazz. While the original company did not itself record many of the pioneers of bebop, significant exceptions are Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro and Bud Powell.

Many great jazz musicians recorded for Blue Note, but the man responsible for the quality of label’s recordings – their high dynamic and tonal range and lifelike presence – was sound engineer, Rudy Van Gelder. It was his recording equipment, choice and placement of microphones, the work at the mixing desk, the selection and rejection of takes, and the active supervision of the whole recording process from monitoring the dials through to cutting of the master lacquer, that created the “Blue Note sound”.

Van Gelder always sought to be at the forefront of recording technology – the Scully lathe he used for cutting lacquer masters was the first to feature variable pitch/depth control to optimise groove-width and loudness. He deployed the newest Neumann/ Telefunken U-47 condenser microphone, which he had specially modified for use very close to instruments. His recordings were made on the latest Ampex tape recorders.

Blue Note made the switch to 12" LPs late in 1955. The Modern Jazz Series continued with the following 12" LPs. Many of these were issued in both monaural versions (BLP series) and stereo versions (BST 81500 series), sometimes in electronically rechanneled stereo. In certain cases, the stereo versions of recordings from 1957 onwards only appeared many years later. Beginning in 1956 with BLP 1509, Reid Miles designed most of the Blue Note LP covers. The 1500 series has been systematically reissued by Toshiba-EMI in Japan ("Blue Note Works 1500" series, 20-bit 88.2 kHz CDs); the catalog numbers are TOCJ-1501, etc.


BN.1521- Art Blakey- 1954- A Night At Birdland Vol.1 {RVG Remaster} (5037)
BN.1522- Art Blakey- 1954- A Night At Birdland Vol.2 {RVG Remaster} (5038)
BN.1523- Kenny Burrell- 1956- Introducing Kenny Burrell
BN.1524- Kenny Dorham- 1956- Complete 'Round About Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia (2CD) {RVG Remaster}
BN.1525- Jimmy Smith- 1956- The Incredible Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Vol.3
BN.1526- Clifford Brown- 1953- Memorial Album {RVG Remaster}
BN.1527- Thad Jones- 1956- The Magnificent Thad Jones {RVG Remaster}
BN.1528- Jimmy Smith- 1956- Live At The Club Baby Grand, Vol. 1 {RVG Remaster}
BN.1529- Jimmy Smith- 1956- Live At The Club Baby Grand, Vol. 2 {RVG Remaster}
BN.1530- Jutta Hipp- 1956- Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims {RVG Remaster}

Art Pepper - Unreleased Art, Vol.7: Sankei Hall - Osaka, Japan, November 18, 1980 (2 CD, 2012/FLAC)

 Unreleased Art Pepper Vol. VII presents Pepper's November 18, 1980 show in Sankei Hall, Osaka, Japan. This show was presented at the halfway point of Pepper's Japan tour, which took place between Pepper's appearances on trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's Mistrial (Liberty, 1980) and drummer Shelly Manne's Hollywood Jam (Atlas, 1981) and shortly after the release of his strings album Winter Moon (Galaxy, 1980). The concert was recorded using a cassette recorder and remastered by Wayne Peet, providing a sound that is surprisingly good for an audience recording. For purists, this is not soundboard quality, but it turns out that it is okay.

Pepper's set lists are typical of the period. "Cherokee" and "Over the Rainbow" are present as are Pepper originals "Landscape" and a very fast "Straight Life." Pepper's clarinet piece is "Avalon" (he often reprised his take on "Anthropology" from Art Pepper + Eleven (Contemporary, 1959). The real treat is perhaps the only live performance of "Winter Moon" from Pepper's with strings recording of the same title . Pepper is in comfortable company, making this concert a very good one indeed.

Pepper was touring with two of his favorite sidemen, pianist George Cables, who Pepper called "Mr. Beautiful" and drummer Carl Burnett, who Pepper greatly admired. Bassist Tony Dumas replaced Pepper's previous bassist Bob Magnusson, who had retired from touring to be with his family. Amply talented, Tony Dumas was not Bob Magnusson, a fact that glares when comparing the performance of "Make a List (Make a Wish)" here with Magnusson's on Art Pepper: Art Pepper: Unreleased Art, Vol. III—The Croydon Concert, May 14, 1981. But no matter, Dumas still adds plenty of swing to the festivities, making Pepper's working unit a fine one.

Cable's presence here steadies the more sanguine egos on this tour. The pianist was provided a solo spot where he played his ballad "Quiet Fire." Elsewhere, "Mr. Beautiful" provides only the most appropriate support to the soaring leader as he continued to work out all of his angels and demons, a performance practice he employed to the very end. Pepper's own personal goal was to become the greatest alto saxophone player in the world. Between 1975 and 1982, that is exactly what he was. Laurie Pepper, we the listeners owe you big.

• Art Pepper - alto saxophone, clarinet
• George Cables - piano
• Tony Dumas - bass
• Carl Burnett - drums

 

CD1 

01. Landscape (Pepper) - 11:50

02. Talk, band intros - 2:11

03. Ophelia (Pepper) - 9:52

04. Cherokee (Noble) - 12:40

05. Talk, about Cherokee - 0:17

06. (Somewhere) Over the Rainbow (Arlen-Harburg) - 12:37

07. Talk, presenting George Cables - 0:11

08. Quiet Fire (piano solo) (Cables) - 6:29

09. Talk, introducing Straight Life - 0:43

10. Straight Life (Pepper) - 7:00

CD2 

01. Y.I. Blues (Pepper) - 9:30

02. Talk, about Y.I. Blues - 0:55

03. Avalon (Jolsen-Rose-DeSylva) - 7:26

04. Talk, about Avalon - 0:32

05. Make a List (Pepper) - 19:01

06. Talk, about Make a List - 0:43

07. Winter Moon (Carmichael) - 11:12

08. Talk, about Winter Moon - 0:25

09. Donna Lee (Parker) - 10:18

Bill Evans - The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 (3 CD, 2005/FLAC)

 

The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961, a three-CD box set released in 2005, marks the first time the entire Bill Evans Trio's complete sets at the Village Vanguard on June 25, 1961 have been released in their entirety (outside of the twelve-disc set containing Evans' complete Riverside recordings). It also marks the first US release of the first take of "Gloria's Step," which is incomplete due to a power failure.

These sets, from which the classic LPs Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby were drawn, were the trio's final live recordings. Bassist Scott LaFaro would die in an automobile accident on July 6.

The album was deemed by the Library of Congress to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" and added to the United States National Recording Registry for the year 2009. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings included the set as part of its suggested "core collection".

• Bill Evans: piano; 
• Scott LaFaro: bass; 
• Paul Motian: drums.

 

Sara Martin - In Chronological Order (4 CD, 1996)

 

Known in her heyday as "the blues sensation of the West," the big-voiced Sara Martin was one of the best of the classic female blues singers of the '20s.

Martin began her career as a vaudeville performer, switching to blues singing in the early '20s. In 1922, she began recording for OKeh Records, cutting a number of bawdy blues like "Mean Tight Mama." She continued recording until 1928. During this time, Martin became a popular performer on the southern Theater Owners' Booking Association circuits, eventually playing theaters and clubs on the east coast as well.

In the early '30s, Sara Martin retired from blues singing and settled in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. While she was in Louisville, she ran a nursing home and occasionally sang gospel in church. Sara Martin died after suffering a stroke in 1955.