Blue Note Works 4000-4100 series [4017-4030]

 

...The Modern Jazz Series continued into the 1970s with the LPs listed below. Many were issued in both monaural versions (BLP series) and stereo versions (BST 84000 series).  Most of the 4000 series have been reissued by Toshiba-EMI in Japan ("Blue Note Works 4000" series); the catalog numbers are TOCJ-4###



 

BN.4017- Horace Silver- 1959- Blowin' the Blues Away {RVG Remaster}
BN.4018- Walter Davis Jr.- 1959- Davis Cup {RVG Remaster}
BN.4019- Donald Byrd- 1959- Byrd In Hand {RVG Remaster}
BN.4020- The Three Sounds- 1959- Good Deal
BN.4021- Kenny Burrell with Art Blakey- 1959- On View at the Five Spot Cafe
BN.4022- Duke Pearson- 1959- Profile {RVG Remaster}
BN.4023- Dizzy Reece- 1959- Star Bright
BN.4024- Jackie McLean- 1959- Swing, Swang, Swingin' {RVG Remaster}
BN.4025- Lou Donaldson- 1959- The Time Is Right
BN.4026- Donald Byrd- 1959- Fuego {RVG Remaster}
BN.4027- Freddie Redd Quartet with Jackie McLean- 1960- The Connection {RVG Remaster}
BN.4028- Horace Parlan- 1960- Movin' & Groovin'
BN.4029- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers- 1960- The Big Beat {RVG Remaster}
BN.4030- Jimmy Smith- 1960- Crazy! Baby

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Complete Recordings 1956-1962 (4 CD, 2013/FLAC)

 Of the eight albums compiled on this Enlightenment box set, five of them belong under Roland Kirk's name as a leader. They include Triple Threat (1956, King), Introducing Roland Kirk (1960, Argo, with Ira Sullivan), Kirk's Work (1961, Prestige, with Jack McDuff), We Free Kings (Mercury, 1961), and Domino (Mercury, 1962). There are also three dates on which he is a featured soloist. Of these, Quincy Jones' Big Band Bossa Nova, while a fine recording, is completely unnecessary in this context. Better is the Roy Haynes Quartet's Out of the Afternoon from Impulse! Records in 1962, with pianist Tommy Flanagan and bassist Henry Grimes. But the best of these non-Kirk-led dates, however, is Tubby Hayes' Tubby's Back in Town, from 1962 on Smash. It placed Kirk in heavy duty company. The British saxophonist/leader plays tenor and vibes, James Moody (as "Jimmy Gloomy") also plays tenor, and the rhythm section features pianist Walter Bishop, Jr., bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes. Kirk plays not only tenor but also manzello, flute, and nose flute, and adds immeasurably to the force and texture of the record. There are 62 tracks on these four discs, and the sound is decent, but not remastered. The set is exceptionally cheap. One thing the consumer should be aware of, however, is that Enlightenment, being a British label, is not bound by the same copyright laws as the United States, and neither the artists nor their estates see compensation from this reissue. 

 

 

Tony Williams - Mosaic Select 24 (3 CD, 2008/FLAC)

 For the 24th Mosaic Select box set of reissues from the Blue Note vaults, series producer Michael Cuscuna has chosen five recordings in a seven-year span from 1985-1991 by drummer/bandleader Tony Williams. Note that this is not the complete Tony Williams on Blue Note, excluding his sessions after having left the Miles Davis Quintet, especially Life Time, Spring, and his sideman work with Jackie McLean, Eric Dolphy, and Sam Rivers. The complete latter-period group recordings included are Foreign Intrigue, Civilization, Angel Street, Native Heart, and The Story of Neptune. All are solidly in the modern mainstream post-bop mode, featuring the forceful, driving drumming of Williams, and all the sets feature the brilliant pianist Mulgrew Miller with Miles devotee trumpeter Wallace Roney. Tenor and soprano saxophonist Bill Pierce is paired on the sides except Foreign Intrigue. Ron Carter, Charnett Moffett, and Ira Coleman are the bassists, with Robert Hurst making a cameo on three tracks. These are individualistic, solid players, giving Williams the opportunity to not only jam with the best, but write music geared toward their personalized sounds and stances. Four of the five sessions were done in New York City; only Civilization was done elsewhere, in Los Angeles. Of the 38 selections, four are unaccompanied drum solos, and three are covers or standards. There are a few waltzes and no ballads as one might expect, though Miller's piano rhapsodically introduces two tracks. The remainder are original compositions of Williams. Give the drummer some credit, as a total musician and composer. The recordings are programmed in chronological order, starting with Foreign Intrigue, which likely is overall the best of the lot. Williams introduces some of these compositions and utilizes his acoustic kit with a drum machine and electronic drums. There are some classics on this one, like the title track, the hard bopper "Clearways," the cool bluesy "Takin' My Time," and the loping by-now standard "Sister Cheryl." Bobby Hutcherson's presence on vibes truly uplifts this session, as does Donald Harrison's alto sax, the only alto on the compilation. 

 

 

VA - The Black Box Of Jazz (4 CD, 1995/FLAC)

 An excellent four-CD compilation of top-flight performances by members of the upper tier of the jazz world. This collection is a mixture of studio and live performances focusing on musicians from bop and post-bop era, although there's a healthy presentation of swing and pre-bop musicians. Moreover, many of these tracks had not been released when this set was issued in 1995. In addition, a lot of the performances from the late '80s and early '90s. But there are some cuts from the 1950s as well, most notably "Off Minor" from a 1957 set with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Coleman Hawkins. With 50 tracks covering more than five hours of different styles of jazz music, this box set is a veritable jazz smorgasbord. Woody Herman typically limited his solo opportunities, passing them onto the preeminent jazz musicians who worked in his various aggregations, Herds, and otherwise. But this compilation includes a version of "Mood Indigo" with Herman's clarinet working with Lionel Hampton's vibes and Roland Hanna's piano that can be best described as breathtaking. Playing mostly in the middle and lower registers, his clarinet captures the sense of "blueness" which is conveyed with this Duke Ellington classic masterpiece. Hampton, in fact, appears several times throughout this set in a variety of scenarios as leader and sideman and with players representing a variety of styles from Gerry Mulligan to Charles Mingus. Hard bop master Art Blakey shows up with a 1980 version of "Moanin" with a Jazz Messengers iteration that includes Wynton Marsalis and Billy Pierce. It are Marsalis' trumpet and Peirce's tenor that are highlighted on this track. Another treat is Louis Bellson's dazzling drumming on "Caravan," on a 1987 Phil Woods track. There's a fine Freddie Hubbard Quintet track, "Bolivia," from a live 1991 performance at a jazz festival in Warsaw, Poland. 

 

 

Jack Teagarden - Chronogical Classics 1930-1947 (6 CD)

 

Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964), known as "Big T" and "The Swingin' Gate", was a jazz trombonist, bandleader, composer, and vocalist, regarded as the "Father of Jazz Trombone".

Teagarden's trombone style was largely self-taught, and he developed many unusual alternative positions and novel special effects on the instrument. He is usually considered the most innovative jazz trombone stylist of the pre-bebop era, and did much to expand the role of the instrument beyond the old tailgate style role of the early New Orleans brass bands. Chief among his contributions to the language of jazz trombonists was his ability to interject the blues or merely a "blue feeling" into virtually any piece of music.

 

Paco de Lucía discography [1964-2016]

 

Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gomez (21 December 1947 – 25 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía [ˈpako ðe luˈθia], was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer and producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he helped legitimize flamenco among the establishment in Spain, and was one of the first flamenco guitarists to have successfully crossed over into other genres of music such as classical and jazz. Richard Chapman and Eric Clapton, authors of Guitar: Music, History, Players, describe de Lucía as a "titanic figure in the world of flamenco guitar", and Dennis Koster, author of Guitar Atlas, Flamenco, has referred to de Lucía as "one of history's greatest guitarists".

 

 

Herb Ellis - The Early Years (4 CD, 2020/FLAC)

 

This four CD collection however represents the first phase of Herb Ellis's solo career when he acted as leader or co-leader through an era which is generally considered the great man's glory years. Featuring eight stunning and extraordinary albums released originally between the mid-1950s and mid 1960s, this compilation provides both a perfect starting point for newcomers and a welcome reminder of Herb Ellis's musical prowess and creative flow for everyone else. 

 

 

Woody Herman — Mosaic Select 31 (3 CD, 2008/FLAC)

 

Woody Herman’s tremendous success in the mid ’40s was one the last bright moments during the tail end of the Swing Era. At a time when the big bands were being decisively challenged by a growing trend towards small groups, the burning excitement and new sounds of the Woody Herman band stemmed the tide, at least for a moment. Playing the brilliant arrangements of the 22-year-old Ralph Burns, Woody Herman and his Thundering Herds made music that is as electrifying today as it was six decades ago. 

 

 

Blue Note Works 4000-4100 series [4001-4014]

 

...The Modern Jazz Series continued into the 1970s with the LPs listed below. Many were issued in both monaural versions (BLP series) and stereo versions (BST 84000 series).  Most of the 4000 series have been reissued by Toshiba-EMI in Japan ("Blue Note Works 4000" series); the catalog numbers are TOCJ-4###


 

BN.4001- Sonny Rollins- 1957- Newk's Time {RVG Remaster}
BN.4002- Jimmy Smith- 1958- House Party {RVG Remaster}
BN.4003- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers- 1958- Moanin' {RVG Remaster}
BN.4004- Art Blakey- 1958- Holiday for Skins, Vol.1
BN.4005- Art Blakey- 1958- Holiday for Skins, Vol.2
BN.4006- Dizzy Reece- 1958- Blues In Trinity
BN.4007- Donald Byrd- 1958- Off to the Races {RVG Remaster}
BN.4008- Horace Silver- 1959- Finger Poppin' {RVG Remaster}
BN.4009- Bud Powell- 1958- The Scene Changes. The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 5) {RVG Remaster}
BN.4010- Bennie Green- 1959- Walkin' & Talkin'
BN.4011- Jimmy Smith- 1958- The Sermon! {RVG Remaster}
BN.4012- Lou Donaldson with The Three Sounds- 1959- LD+3
BN.4013- Jackie McLean- 1959- New Soil
BN.4014- The Three Sounds- 1959- Bottoms Up!

Louis Armstrong - Original Album Classics (5 CD, 2010/FLAC)

 

Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (1954)

Satch Plays Fats (1955)

Ambassador Satch (1955)

The Great Chicago Concert (1956) CD 1

The Great Chicago Concert (1956) CD 2