John Patton - Mosaic Select 6 (3 CD, 2003/FLAC)

 

The Mosaic Select treatment has deservedly been given to Big John Patton. There are those who argue that Patton's entire catalog should have been the subject of a Mosaic box set proper. There was easily enough material for five, if not six, CDs. There are five albums collected here. His first three, Along Came John, The Way I Feel, and Oh Baby!, were recorded in 1963, 1964, and 1965, respectively. The last two on this set are That Certain Feeling and Understanding, from 1968.

 Missing are Blue John, his proper second album from 1963 and unreleased until 1986, Let 'Em Roll, and Got a Good Thing Goin', released in 1965 and 1966, and his post-1968 work, Accent on the Blues, Memphis to New York Spirit (unreleased until 1996), and Boogaloo. Quibbling aside, of the material included here, only Along Came John is currently available domestically, making this set a necessary purchase for Patton fans who have not shelled out the big bucks for Japanese pressings. Virtually every one of these outings is important, the first because it showcased Patton outside of his stead in Lou Donaldson's great early-'60s combo, accompanied by tenors Fred Jackson and Harold Vick with Grant Green and Ben Dixon. The band changed only slightly for The Way I Feel, when Vick was replaced by trumpeter Richard Williams. On Oh Baby!, Jackson was replaced by Vick and Williams by Blue Mitchell. These three dates are all very much of a piece. The band stays deep in the funky blues groove while nodding to the waning days of hard bop. And while the horns are generally regarded as strictly meat and potatoes on these sides, a close listen will correct that erroneous perception.

In the late '60s, Patton's sound became more lean, yet also more expansive and spacious. With Junior Cook on saxophone, Clifford Jarvis on drums, and Jimmy Ponder on guitar, Patton embarked on That Certain Feeling, one of his most illustrious dates as a leader. Ponder's fluid and edgy runs nicely complemented Patton's now arpeggio-heavy manner of playing. Cook's smoky tone that came out of both Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins added depth, dimension, and ambience to the band's sound. On the final session here, Understanding, the sound cut even closer to the bone: Harold Alexander was enlisted on tenor and flute, with drummer Hugh Walker the only other musician involved. The trio played all around the groove jazz sound, while turning it inside out in Alexander's out-ish honking solos. Patton's organ is way up in the mix, shape-shifting time signatures inside a 2/4 meter. The pace is aggressive, deep, and at times dissonant, making an excellent case for reappraisal here, as it dates better than anything else on this set. All in all, this is a deep, sometimes mystifying collection featuring Patton as a composer, bandleader, and arranger. His sense of rhythmic dynamics is among the most sophisticated in the history of the jazz B-3. There isn't a weak second on any of this material and it should be snapped up before Mosaic's copies go -- they do not reissue. Blue Note should take the cue, do the entire catalog in 24-bit audio, and hustle it out there.

♦ CD1 (01:11:44)

01. The Silver Meter [05:40]

02. I'll Never Be Free [05:03]

03. Spiffy Diffy [06:00]

04. Along Came John [06:02]

05. Gee Gee [06:02]

06. Pig Foots [05:44]

07. The Rock [07:29]

08. The Way I Feel [08:38]

09. Jerry [06:45]

10. Davene [07:25]

11. Just 3/4 [06:51]

♦ CD2 (01:02:14)

01. Fat Judy [07:40]

02. Oh Baby [06:17]

03. Each Time [05:39]

04. One To Twelve [07:52]

05. Night Flight [06:35]

06. Good Juice [06:31]

07. String Bean [05:42]

08. I Want To Go Home [08:36]

09. Early A.M. [07:17]

♦ CD3 (00:58:47)

01. Dirty Fingers [06:09]

02. Minor Swing [06:38]

03. Daddy James [06:47]

04. Ding Dong [05:34]

05. Congo Chant [09:11]

06. Alfie's Theme [04:41]

07. Soul Man [06:11]

08. Understanding [06:56]

09. Chitlins Con Carne [06:36]

Personnel: Big John Patton (organ); Grant Green, Jimmy Ponder (guitar); Fred Jackson (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Harold Vick, Junior Cook (tenor saxophone); Richard Gene Williams , Blue Mitchell (trumpet); Clifford Jarvis, Hugh Walker, Ben Dixon (drums).

John Di Martino's Romantic Jazz Trio - The Beatles In Jazz (2010/FLAC)

 Multiple Grammy nominee John Di Martino--composer, arranger, pianist--has recorded many albums for Venus Records with his Romantic Jazz Trio. Noted for his versatility, John has performed and recorded with such notables as Kenny Burrell, James Moody, Joe Lovano, David "Fat Head" Newman, Pat Martino, Paquito D'Rivera and Houston Person.

• John Di Martino - piano
• Boris Kozlov - bass
• Tim Horner - drums

01. The Fool On The Hill

02. Let It Be

03. Because

04. Fixing A Hole

05. In My Life

06. Norwegian Wood

07. Come Together

08. Penny Lane

09. Blackbird

10. Eleanor Rigby

11. Yesterday

12. Got To Get You Into My Life

13. Here, There And Everywhere

Blue Note Works 4000-4100 series [4101-4110]

 

...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.4101- Donald Byrd- 1961- Royal Flush {RVG Remaster}
BN.4102- The Three Sounds- 1961- Hey There (with bonus)
BN.4103- Ike Quebec- 1962- Easy Living (not released)
BN.4104- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers- 1961- Buhaina's Delight {RVG Remaster}
BN.4105- Ike Quebec- 1961- It Might As Well Be Spring {RVG Remaster}
BN.4106- Jackie McLean- 1961- Let Freedom Ring {RVG Remaster}
BN.4107- Don Wilkerson- 1962- Preach Brother!
BN.4108- Lou Donaldson- 1962- The Natural Soul {RVG Remaster}
BN.4109- Herbie Hancock- 1962- Takin' Off {RVG Remaster}
BN.4110- Horace Silver- 1962- The Tokyo Blues {RVG Remaster}

J.J. Johnson discography [1946-2017]

J.J. Johnson, original name James Louis Johnson, (born Jan. 22, 1924, Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.—died Feb. 4, 2001, Indianapolis), American jazz composer and one of the genre’s most influential trombonists.

Johnson received early training as a pianist, and at age 14 he began to study the trombone. He became a professional musician in 1941 and during the decade worked in the orchestras of Benny Carter and Count Basie. He became widely recognized as a dexterous soloist (to the extent that many listeners believed he was playing a valve, rather than slide, trombone) who had assimilated the techniques of the bebop movement of the 1940s. He was in great demand among jazz musicians and performed with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis, among others. After a temporary retirement (1952–54), he returned to tour with fellow trombonist Kai Winding; their duets have been recognized as watersheds in the evolution of jazz trombone technique.

In the late 1950s and the 1960s, Johnson composed steadily, including the large-scale works El Camino Real (1959), Sketch for Trombone and Orchestra (1959), and Perceptions (1961). He also worked as a composer and arranger for commercials, films (including Shaft, 1971, with Isaac Hayes; Across 110th Street, 1972; and Cleopatra Jones, 1973), and television (including Barefoot in the Park, 1970–71, The Mod Squad, 1970–73, and Starsky and Hutch, 1975).

In 1977 Johnson undertook a tour of Japan, and he eventually returned to performing full-time, and at full technical capacity, until he retired in 1997. 

Woody Shaw - The Complete Columbia Albums Collection (6 CD, 2011/FLAC)

The Complete Columbia Albums Collection combines all five of jazz trumpeter Woody Shaw's albums on Columbia, including 1977's Rosewood, 1978's Stepping Stones: Live at the Village Vanguard, 1978's Woody III, 1980's For Sure!, and 1981's United. Also featured is a sixth disc of never before released bonus tracks from the live Stepping Stones sessions. These albums represent the height of Shaw's creative output of the late '70s and early '80s, during a time in which he combined modal jazz, post-bop, fusion, and avant-garde improvisation into his own uniquely propulsive, melodic, and harmonically advanced style. Of all the albums, Rosewood is perhaps best known, as it earned Shaw a Grammy nomination and was voted Best Jazz Album of 1978 in the Down Beat Readers Poll. Not only do these albums showcase the technically proficient and improvisationally gifted Shaw in his prime, they also feature such sidemen as saxophonists Joe Henderson, Carter Jefferson, and Gary Bartz; pianists Onaje Allan Gumbs, Larry Willis, and Mulgrew Miller; drummers Victor Lewis and Tony Reedus; bassists Clint Houston and Buster Williams; and -- as on United -- the then young trombonist Steve Turre. These are not only must-hear albums for Shaw fans, but also required listening for any fans of forward-thinking post-bop.

 

CD1 - Rosewood (1977) {40:56}

CD2 - Stepping Stones: Live at the Village Vanguard (1978) {70:34}

CD3 - Stepping Stones: Bonus Tracks (1978) {70:07}

CD4 - Woody III (1979) {36:01}

CD5 - For Sure! (1980) {49:12}

CD6 - United (1981) {40:41}

 

John Kirby - Chronogical Classics 1938-1946 (4 CD/FLAC)

 John Kirby (December 31, 1908 – June 14, 1952), was an American jazz double-bassist, who also played trombone and tuba. In addition to sideman work (prominently with Benny Goodman), Kirby is remembered for leading a successful chamber jazz sextet in the late 1930s and early 1940s, which scored several hit songs including "Loch Lomond" and the debut recording of "Undecided", a jazz standard. 

 

Dizzy Reece - Mosaic Select 11 (3 CD, 2004/FLAC)

By the early 1950's, Jamaican-born Dizzy Reece, who is not only an outstanding bop trumpeter, but a fine composer, was playing with top-of-the-line British and European jazzers. Starting in '58, Mr Reece cut a series of four excellent albums for Blue Note. They are all included on the three discs in the "Mosaic Select: Dizzy Reece" box set. 

 

Oscar Peterson - Ballads, Blues & Bossa Nova (3 CD, 2008/FLAC)

One of the great piano masters of all time, Oscar Peterson scores on this wonderful collection of three discs.

Original recordings 1968-1971-Digitally remastered.

 

Cyrus Chestnut discography [1992-2015]

 An adept jazz pianist, Cyrus Chestnut balances his lithe technical skill with a robust, soulful style that speaks to his deep gospel roots and love of swinging hard bop. Having grown up playing in the church, Chestnut learned early on how to infuse his swinging, classically trained style with a warm gospel sound. It was a style he perfected in the late '80s and early '90s as a sideman, backing legendary vocalists Jon Hendricks and Betty Carter, as well as with instrumentalists like Donald Harrison and Wynton Marsalis. As a leader of his own groups, he has collaborated with well-respected rhythm section players including Christian McBride, Carl Allen, Clarence Penn, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, and others. Often working in a trio, as on 2016's Natural Essence with Buster Williams and Lenny White, or with guest artists as on 2001's Soul Food, he displays his virtuosic skill and mastery of the jazz tradition.

VA - The Famous Sound of Three Blind Mice Vol. 1-3 (1987-1989/FLAC)

Three Blind Mice is a Japanese jazz record label founded in June 1970 as a showcase for Japan's emerging jazz performers. It has produced more than 130 albums have been released since. So far they have won the Jazz Disc Award five times in Japan. Produced by Takeshi Fujii (producer) and often recorded by the Yoshihiko Kannari, TBM created jazz records by Japanese players since the 1970s and became known for its audiophile sound quality. TBM's records captured a very important, vibrant era in the development of Japanese jazz. Stars like Isao Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, George Kawaguchi, Terumasa Hino and Mari Nakamoto recorded their very first albums with the label. Artists also include Shuko Mizuno's "Jazz Orchestra '73", Toshiyuko Miyama and Masaru Imada.