Sam Rivers & The Rivbea Orchestra - Trilogy : Mosaic Select 38 (3 CD, 2011/FLAC)

 

By the time Sam Rivers was able to document his orchestral writing in 1974 (on the Impulse album "Crystals") at the tender age of 51, he was best known for leading a magnificent, purely improvised trio devoid of all written music. But composition was (and is) as much a part of his incessantly fertile mind as improvisation.

His densely-layered and beautifully voiced multi-sectional orchestra pieces burn with an intensity that never forsakes the music's beauty. Rivers seamlessly integrates improvisation into the written score. Solos are distributed democratically as effective, concise statements.
In 1992, Rivers moved to Orlando, Florida where he quickly formed another powerful improvising trio and set about seeking personnel to form an orchestra for the music that he was constantly writing. After two all-star albums for RCA Records in 1998 ("Inspiration" and "Culmination"), recorded in New York, an Orlando edition of the Rivbea Orchestra started to emerge.

Drawn from teachers and students at surrounding colleges, frustrated members of various Walt Disney World aggregations and retired veterans of orchestras like Tommy Dorsey and Woody Herman, Sam Rivers crafted a first-class orchestra to realize his music. In 2005, he issued the new Rivbea Orchestra's first recording "Airora" on his own Rivbea label.

When we heard the album, we called Sam to offer our jaw-dropping praise, he told us essentially there is plenty more where that came from and set about sifting through hours of studio and live recordings to cull the three CDs of previously unreleased material contained in this set. The results are forward-thinking and electrifying.

CD1 - Offering:

01. Spice (8:52)
02. Ganymede (9:05)
03. Crux (8:13)
04. Aura (15:48)
05. Perkin (9:39)
06. Pulsar (14:13)

CD2 - Progeny:
01. Robyn (6:21)
02. Cindy (5:47)
03. Monique (6:45)
04. Traci (5:10)
05. Iisha (4:43)
06. Tamara (5:21)
07. Tiffany (5:41)
08. Jessica (7:32)
09. Destiny (6:54)

CD3 - Edge:
01. Ridge (10:28)
02. Brink (11:05)
03. Precipice (9:29)
04. Verge (10:32)
05. Point (10:13)
06. Visions (11:39)
07. Pulsar (8:25)

CD1:
Sam Rivers (soprano sax, tenor sax),
Jeff Rupert (1st alto sax)
Chris Charles (2nd alto sax)
David Pate (1st tenor sax)
George Weremchuk (2nd tenor sax)
Brian Mackie (baritone sax)
Tom Parmenter (1st trumpet),
Brian Scanlon (2nd trumpet)
Mike Iapichino (3rd trumpet)
David Jones (4th trumpet)
Keith Oshiro (1st trombone)
Tito Sanchez (2nd trombone)
Steve Smith (3rd trombone)
Josh Parsons (4th trombone, tuba)
Doug Mathews (bass)
Rion Smith (drums).
Recorded live at the Plaza Theatre, Orlando, Florida on November 12, 2008

CD2:
Sam Rivers (tenor sax),
Jeff Rupert (1st alto sax)
Chris Charles (2nd alto sax)
Charlie DeChant (1st tenor sax),
George Weremchuk (2nd tenor sax)
Brian Mackie (baritone sax)
Tom Parmenter (1st trumpet)
Brian Scanlon (2nd trumpet),
Mike Iapichino (3rd trumpet)
David Jones (4th trumpet)
Keith Oshiro (1st trombone)
David Sheffield (2nd trombone)
Claire Courchene (3rd trombone)
Josh Parsons (4th trombone, tuba)
Doug Mathews (bass)
Rion Smith (drums)
Recorded at Sonic Caldron Studios, Casselberry, Florida on February 27, 2008

CD3:
Sam Rivers (soprano sax)
Jeff Rupert (1st alto sax)
Chris Charles (2nd alto sax)
Charlie DeChant (1st tenor sax)
David Pate (2nd tenor sax)
Brian Mackie (baritone sax)
Tom Parmenter (1st trumpet)
Brian Scanlon (2nd trumpet)
Mike Iapichino (3rd trumpet)
David Jones (4th trumpet)
Keith Oshiro (1st trombone)
David Sheffield (2nd trombone),
Steve Smith (3rd trombone)
Josh Parsons (4th trombone, tuba)
Doug Mathews (bass)
Rion Smith (drums)
Recorded live at the Plaza Theatre, Orlando, Florida on April 8, 2009

Tony Williams discography [1964-2007/FLAC]

 

Tony Williams' death in 1997 of a heart attack after routine gall bladder surgery was a major shock to the jazz world. Just 51, Williams (who could be a very loud drummer) seemed so youthful, healthy, and ageless even though he had been a major drummer for nearly 35 years. The open style that he created while with the Miles Davis Quintet in the mid- to late '60s remains quite influential, and he had a long list of accomplishments during the decades that followed. Williams' father, a saxophonist, took his son out to clubs that gave him an opportunity to sit in; at 11, the youngster already showed potential. He took lessons from Alan Dawson, and at 15 was appearing at Boston-area jam sessions. During 1959-1960, Williams often played with Sam Rivers, and in December 1962 (when he was barely 17), the drummer moved to New York and played regularly with Jackie McLean. Within a few months he joined Miles Davis, where his ability to imply the beat while playing quite freely influenced and inspired the other musicians; together with Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter he was part of one of the great rhythm sections. Williams, who was 18 when he appeared on Eric Dolphy's classic Out to Lunch album, stayed with Davis into 1969, leading his own occasional sessions and becoming a household name in the jazz world.

In addition to his interest in avant-garde jazz, Tony Williams was a fan of rock music, and when he left Miles he formed the fusion band Lifetime, a trio with Larry Young and John McLaughlin. After leading other versions of Lifetime (one of them starring Allan Holdsworth), Williams stuck to freelancing for a time, studied composition, and toured with Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P. band. By the mid-'80s, he was heading his own all-star hard bop group which featured Wallace Roney as a surrogate Miles Davis and a repertoire dominated by the drummer's originals (including the standard "Sister Cheryl"). After breaking up his longtime quintet in 1995, Williams gigged a bit with a trio, recorded a very interesting set of original music for the Ark 21 label, and seemed to have a limitless future. His premature death makes one grateful that he started his career early and that he was extensively documented. 

1964- Tony Williams - Life Time (1998)

1965- Tony Williams - Spring (2000)

1969- The Tony Williams Lifetime - Emergency!

1971- The Tony Williams Lifetime - Ego (1999)

1971- The Tony Williams Lifetime - Ego (2015)

1972- The Tony Williams Lifetime - The Old Bum's Rush

1976- The New Tony Williams Lifetime - Million Dollar Legs

1997- Tony Williams - The Joy Of Flying

2007- The Tony Williams Lifetime - Turn It Over

Ella Fitzgerald - The Singles (3 CD, 2017/FLAC)

 

This 3-CD set presents the complete 1954-62 singles by the great Ella Fitzgerald. Prior to 1956, complete sessions were devoted to singles, however, following that, only a few tunes from each date would be released as singles, and the remainder would be issued on the new LP format. The classic singles featured here were released on the Decca and Verve labels. Ella is accompanied on these tracks by all-star studio orchestras conducted by Nelson Riddle, Frank DeVol, Marty Paich, and Paul Weston, among others. The outstanding 1954 Ella duets with pianist Ellis Larkins were originally issued both as singles and on the then new LP format. 

 

Blue Note Works 4000-4100 series [4041-4050]

 

...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.4041- Tina Brooks- 1960- True Blue {RVG Remaster}
BN.4042- Horace Silver- 1960- Horace-Scope {RVG Remaster}
BN.4043- Horace Parlan- 1960- Speakin' My Piece
BN.4044- The Three Sounds- 1960- Moods
BN.4045- Freddie Redd- 1960- Shades of Redd {RVG Remaster}
BN.4046- Duke Jordan- 1960- Flight To Jordan {RVG Remaster}
BN.4047- Art Taylor- 1960- A.T.'s Delight {RVG Remaster}
BN.4048- Donald Byrd- 1960- Byrd in Flight
BN.4049- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers- 1960- A Night In Tunisia {RVG Remaster}
BN.4050- Jimmy Smith- 1959- Home Cookin' {RVG Remaster}

Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music [ 5 CD soundtrack to documentary series, 2000/FLAC]

 

In conjunction with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' ten-part 2000 PBS special, Columbia/Legacy and Verve teamed up to issue a special series of reissues covering much of the history of 20th century jazz. The central release of this program is the five-CD box set Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music, its 94 selections covering the history of 20th century jazz, from 1917 to the mid-'90s. Chronologically, the set is very skewed toward the first 50 years of that time span; there is only just under a CD's worth of music dating from after the mid-'60s. What's here is a very good range of classic jazz from throughout the decades, touching upon performances, many acknowledged classics, from many of the music's giants: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, and up to Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson. There are just a few dubious inclusions (Grover Washington, Jr.'s "Mister Magic," for instance), and as music it's nearly wall-to-wall excellence. As far as core classics of the jazz repertoire, there are quite a few: Armstrong's "West End Blues," Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)," Count Basie's "Lester Leaps In," Holiday's "Strange Fruit," Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train," Gillespie's "Salt Peanuts," Monk's "Straight, No Chaser," Davis' "So What," Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," Coltrane's "Giant Steps," Weather Report's "Birdland," and Hancock's "Rockit." As education, if you didn't know much about jazz before hearing this box, you'll have been exposed to a good deal of its major touchstones after digesting it. Just don't be under the impression that it covers all of the main mileposts, or even that it gives you all of the key launching pads from which to explore further.

 

David Liebman, Randy Brecker, Richie Beirach, Frank Tusa & Al Foster - Mosaic Select 32: Pendulum - Live At The Village Vanguard (3 CD, 2008/FLAC)

 David Liebman's transitional album Pendulum, his first live-performance recorded effort on the Ornette Coleman-directed, John Snyder-produced Artists House label, was logically an extension of the Open Sky trio and Lookout Farm recordings he did in the earlier part of the 1970s. This three-CD set is a departure for the Mosaic Select series, in that they include the complete 1979 issued Pendulum recording, and add two further full-length, previously unissued offerings done at the Village Vanguard. The original complement of Liebman, pianist Richie Beirach, and bassist Frank Tusa had been expanded to include trumpeter Randy Brecker, and drummer Al Foster replacing Bob Moses. While mainly a blowing session on standards and removed from the improvisationally inclined smaller combos, the recording reflects Liebman's still devout lineage derived from the tenor sax of John Coltrane, while also exploring possibilities on the soprano sax that he took up, abandoned for a time, and brought back to his heart in a more enduring manner. 

• David Liebman - saxophone
• Randy Brecker - trumpet
• Richie Beirach - piano
• Frank Tusa - bass
• Al Foster - drums

1-1 Pendulum
1-2 Picadilly Lilly
1-3 Footprints

2-1 There Is No Greater Love
2-2 Solar
2-3 Picadilly Lilly
2-4 Night And Day

3-1 Blue Bossa
3-2 Well You Needn't
3-3 Bonnie's Blue
3-4 Impressions 

Erroll Garner - Chronogical Classics 1944-1954 (17 CD)

 Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1923 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard.

Garner's first recordings were made in late 1944 at the apartment of Timme Rosenkrantz; these were subsequently issued as the five-volume Overture to Dawn series on Blue Note Records. His recording career advanced in the late 1940s when several sides such as "Fine and Dandy" and "Sweet 'n' Lovely" were cut. However, his 1955 live album Concert by the Sea was a best-selling jazz album in its day and features Eddie Calhoun on bass and Denzil Best on drums. This recording of a performance at the Sunset Center, a former church in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, that was to be shared with Korean War veterans at a nearby army base, was made using relatively primitive sound equipment, but for George Avakian the decision to release the recording was easy. Other works include 1951's Long Ago and Far Away and 1974's Magician, both of which see Garner perform a number of classic standards. Often the trio was expanded to add Latin percussion, usually a conga.

In 1964, Garner appeared in the UK on the music series Jazz 625 broadcast on the BBC's new second channel. The programme was hosted by Steve Race, who introduced Garner's trio with Eddie Calhoun on bass and Kelly Martin on drums.

Since Garner could not write down his musical ideas, he used to record them on tape, to be later transcribed by others.

Erroll Garner - 1944 {The Chronological Classics, 802} [77:36]
Erroll Garner - 1944, Vol. 2 {The Chronological Classics, 818} [72:01]
Erroll Garner - 1944, Vol. 3 {The Chronological Classics, 850} [69:54]
Erroll Garner - 1944-1945 {The Chronological Classics, 873} [70:53]
Erroll Garner - 1945-1946 {The Chronological Classics, 924} [56:53]
Erroll Garner - 1946-1947 {The Chronological Classics, 1004} [66:11]
Erroll Garner - 1947-1949 {The Chronological Classics, 1109} [68:58]
Erroll Garner - 1949 {The Chronological Classics, 1138} [67:43]
Erroll Garner - 1949, Vol. 2 {The Chronological Classics, 1182} [64:03]
Erroll Garner - 1949-1950 {The Chronological Classics, 1205} [70:09]
Erroll Garner - 1950 {The Chronological Classics, 1240} [72:50]
Erroll Garner - 1950-1951 {The Chronological Classics, 1310} [71:31]
Erroll Garner - 1951-1952 {The Chronological Classics, 1341} [65:51]
Erroll Garner - 1952-1953 {The Chronological Classics, 1370} [76:00]
Erroll Garner - 1953 {The Chronological Classics, 1391} [73:55]
Erroll Garner - 1953-1954 {The Chronological Classics, 1423} [72:25]
Erroll Garner - 1954 {The Chronological Classics, 1447} [76:13]

VA - Hans Mantel : Blue Note Highlights: A Groove Selection (8 CD, 2009/FLAC)

 

The impact of 1960s hard bop (a late descendent of bebop with more explicit blues, gospel and R&B connections) is highlighted in this eight-CD addition to the famous Blue Note label's 70th anniversary celebrations. It is a collection of often hard-grooving music chosen by the Dutch bassist and Blue Note buff Hans Mantel.

1 - Saxophone #1:

2 - Saxophone #2

3 - Trumpet

4 - Piano

5 - Organ

6 - Bands & Leaders #1

7 - Bands & Leaders #2

8 - Extra Vocal

 

Stan Getz - The Lost Recordings - Live at the Berlin Jazz Festival 1966 (2 CD, 2021/FLAC)

 

The Lost Recordings found the master tapes of this double recital in the Berlin radio archives. How can one not be transported by this concert, which delivers a previously unreleased version of the tracks from the legendary 1964 album on Verve? The label is offering the world premiere of this concert recorded at the Berlin Philharmonic, as part of the 1966 Berliner Jazztage. The 19 tracks of this now unforgettable concert are added to the collection with, as always, an unequalled sound quality, thanks to the Phoenix Mastering® process

The concert given by Stan Getz's quartet with Astrud Gilberto on November 4, 1966, was a sort of contretemps. In these crazy years when everything is rushing, things have indeed changed in the lives and careers of the two main protagonists who, after a fleeting romance, have each regained their personal and artistic independence. 

After a brief romantic idyll together, each one returned to their private lives and resumed their independence as artists. Verve had brought out a series of albums by Astrud Gilberto where seductive easy listening intermingled with cool jazz, sentimental pop and languid Brazilian groove. She was at the very pinnacle of her fame, while Getz had made a remarkable comeback to jazz. Once again, he worked with arranger Eddie Sauter, this time on the soundtrack of Arthur Penn’s Mickey One. Even more noteworthy was his discovery of vibraphonist Gary Burton, barely twenty years old, the ideal musician with whom to form a regular jazz quartet with Gene Cherico on bass and Joe Hunt on drums. It was an ensemble that was receptive to new sounds and harmonic ventures. 

CD 1

1.     On Green Dolphin Street (06:48)
2.     Introduction by Stan Getz (00:52)
3.     The Singing Song (03:12)
4.     The Shadow of Your Smile (05:10)
5.     O Grande Amor (06:41)
6.     Blues Walk (06:37)
7.     Once Upon a Summertime (06:42)
8.     Edelweiss (04:16)
9.     Medley: Desafinado / Chega De Saudade (06:50)

CD 2

1.     Samba De Uma Nota So (03:43)
2.     The Shadow of Your Smile (03:04)
3.     Voce E Eu (Eu E Voce) (02:40)
4.     Corcovado (04:26)
5.     The Telephone Song (02:00)
6.     It Might As Well Be Spring (04:14)
7.     The Girl from Ipanema (04:11)
8.     Announcement by Stan Getz (00:38)
9.     Jive Hoot (09:04)
10.     Goodbye by Stan Getz (00:57)

Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band - Mosaic Select 33 (3 CD, 2008/FLAC)

 The Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band was the premier recording and touring ensemble of its time in the mid- to late '70s, recording five albums for the RCA Victor label, and stunning audiences with sheer virtuosity and the charts of the Japanese born pianist. A symmetry between Asian culture and American bop made this orchestra most unique, exciting, and above all, highly original.

 This three-CD set contains the quintuple RCA studio recordings that set a high bar for all others to follow, and gave stiff competition to people like Gil Evans. Akiyoshi wrote music well suited to her rising stars and established veterans, while Tabackin was given more than ample opportunity to express himself on tenor sax, and especially his vibrant flute. This band also grew talent that would go on to become leaders, including Bobby Shew and Gary Foster, those who developed into section leaders like Phil Teele, Bill Reichenbach, and Dick Spencer, and trusted veterans Britt Woodman, Bill Perkins, Don Rader, and King Errison.

If you do not already own these recordings and are a progressive big-band fan, it is in your interest to search for this quintessential collection. Mosaic Select has hit a grand slam with this reissue, featuring a band in their early years that has hit on all cylinders since its inception, and never lets off the gas. It comes with an absolute highest recommendation.