Jazz Cafee

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy!: Live at "The Club" (1967/2012 reissue/FLAC)

Cannonball Adderley's most popular album, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy wasn't actually recorded "Live at 'The Club'," as its subtitle says. The hoax was meant to publicize a friend's nightclub venture in Chicago, but Adderley actually recorded the album in Los Angeles, where producer David Axelrod set up a club in the Capitol studios and furnished free drinks to an invitation-only audience. Naturally, the crowd is in an extremely good mood, and Adderley's quintet, feeding off the energy in the room, gives them something to shout about. By this point, Adderley had perfected a unique blend of earthy soul-jazz and modern, subtly advanced post-bop; very rarely did some of these harmonies and rhythms pop up in jazz so saturated with blues and gospel feeling. Those latter influences are the main inspiration for acoustic/electric pianist Joe Zawinul's legendary title cut, a genuine Top 40 pop hit that bears a passing resemblance to the Southern soul instrumentals of the mid-'60s, but works a looser, more laid-back groove (without much improvisation). The deep, moaning quality and spacy texture of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" stand in contrast to the remainder of the record, though; Nat Adderley contributes two upbeat and challenging originals in "Fun" and "Games," while Zawinul's second piece, "Hippodelphia," is on the same level of sophistication. The leader's two selections -- the gospel-inflected "Sticks" and the hard-swinging, bluesy bop of "Sack O' Woe" (the latter of which became a staple of his repertoire) -- are terrific as well, letting the group really dig into its roots. Adderley's irrepressible exuberance was a major part of his popularity, and no document captures that quality as well -- or with such tremendous musical rewards

- Cannonball Adderley - alto sax

- Nat Adderley - cornet

- Joe Zawinul - piano

- Victor Gaskin - bass

- Roy McCurdy - drums

Side One:

A1 Introduction (00:07)

A2 Fun (07:33)

A3 Games (08:03)

A4 Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! (05:07)

Side Two:

B1 Sticks (03:53)

B2 Hippodelphia (05:43)

B3 Sack O' Woe (10:45)

Blue Note Works 4000-4100 series [4151-4160]

...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.4151- Andrew Hill- 1963- Black Fire {RVG Remaster}
BN.4152- Joe Henderson- 1963- Our Thing {RVG Remaster}
BN.4153- Grachan Moncur III- 1963- Evolution {RVG Remaster}
BN.4154- Grant Green- 1963- Idle Moments {RVG Remaster}
BN.4155- The Three Sounds- 1962- Black Orchid (with bonuses)
BN.4156- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers- 1961- The Freedom Rider {RVG Remaster}
BN.4157- Lee Morgan- 1963- The Sidewinder {RVG Remaster}
BN.4158- Freddie Roach- 1963- Good Move!
BN.4159- Andrew Hill- 1964- Judgment! {RVG Remaster}
BN.4160- Andrew Hill- 1963- Smokestack {RVG Remaster}

Wayne Shorter – The Blue Note Albums (11 CD, 2015/FLAC)

This collection has the best of Wayne Shorter from the post bop era when he was part of the Miles Davis Quintet all the way through the fusion era right before the birth of Weather Report.

The stunning double album ‘The Lost Concert’ from Miles Davis is released for the first time on 28 September 2021, the thirtieth anniversary of his death, on 2CD and digital through Sleepy Night Records. This completes the trilogy from company that brought you the Number One jazz album ‘The Lost Quintet’ followed by ‘The Lost Septet’. This stunning show was captured at La Grande Halle, La Villette, Paris, France on 10 July 1991.

Miles Davis was renowned for never revisiting the past, even though many fans, critics and concert promoters always hoped that he would. Then, in July 1991, Miles Davis did return to the past, not once, but twice. The first was two days earlier, when he had played the classic arrangements of Gil Evans from the 1950s and 1960 at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Then, Miles arrived at Paris to play this special gig. It was simply advertised as “Miles and Friends” and neither the audience, nor Miles’ band, had any idea on what they were about to witness.

Playing with Miles was an amazing roll-call of past musical associates from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s: Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Al Foster, Steve Grossman, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Darryl Jones, John McLaughlin, Jackie McLean, John Scofield and Joe Zawinul. Miles’ band members were Kenny Garrett, Foley, Deron Johnson, Richard Patterson and Ricky Wellman.

Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter and rhythm-and-blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by many music scholars to be one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. His Good Rocking Tonight is especially mentioned at least as a precursor to rock and roll.

His dirty blues repertoire included "Lolly Pop Mama" (1948), "I Like My Baby's Pudding" (1950), "Sittin on It All the Time" (1950), "Keep On Churnin' (Till the Butter Comes)" (1952), and "Wasn't That Good" (1953).

By 1957, hard bop was firmly established as the "jazz of now," while pianist Oscar Peterson and his ensemble with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis were making their own distinctive presence felt as a true working band playing standards in the swing tradition. Louis Armstrong was more recognizable to the general public as a singer instead of the pioneering trumpet player he was. But popularity contests being the trend, Armstrong's newer fans wanted to hear him entertain them, so in retrospect it was probably a good move to feature his vocalizing on these tracks with Peterson's band and guest drummer Louie Bellson sitting in. The standard form of Armstrong singing the lead lines, followed by playing his pithy and witty horn solos based on the secondary melody, provides the basis for the format on this charming but predictable recording. What happens frequently is that Armstrong and Peterson play lovely ad lib vocal/piano duets at the outset of many tunes. They are all songs you likely know, with few upbeat numbers or obscure choices. It is, however, the familiarity of songs like the midtempo "Let's Fall in Love," with Armstrong's gravelly scat singing, and his marvelous ability to riff off of the basic songs, that make these offerings endearing. A classic take of "Blues in the Night" is the showstopper, while choosing "Moon Song" is a good, off-the-beaten-path pick as the trumpeter plays two solo choruses, and he leads out on his horn for once during the slightly bouncy, basic blues "I Was Doing All Right." Some extremely slow tunes crop up on occasion, like "How Long Has This Been Going On?," an atypically downtempo take of "Let's Do It," and "You Go to My Head," featuring Peterson's crystalline piano. There are the dependable swingers "Just One of Those Things," "I Get a Kick Out of You," and "Sweet Lorraine," with Peterson at his accompanying best. There's a ramped-up version of the usually downtrodden "Willow Weep for Me" and a duet between Armstrong and Ellis on the sad two-minute ditty "There's No You." All in all, it's difficult to critique or find any real fault with these sessions, though Peterson is subsumed by the presence of Armstrong, who, as Leonard Feather notes, really needs nobody's help. That this was their only collaboration speaks volumes to how interactive and communal the session really was, aside from the fairly precious music.

Bass – Ray Brown
Drums – Louis Bellson
Guitar – Herb Ellis
Piano – Oscar Peterson
Vocals, Trumpet – Louis Armstrong

A1 That Old Feeling

A2 Let's Fall in Love

A3 I'll Never Be the Same

A4 Blues in the Night

A5 How Long Has This Been Going On

A6 I Was Doing All Right

B1 What's New

B2 Moon Song

B3 Just One of Those Things

B4 There's No You

B5 You Got to My Head

B6 Sweet Lorraine

Lou Donaldson Quintet - Wailing With Lou (1957/2014/FLAC)

Wailing With Lou is an appropriate title for this enjoyable set of straight-ahead bop. Whether he's riding the propulsive rhythms of 'Caravan' or settling down into a ballad, Donaldson takes the center stage with his surprisingly full alto tone. He still displays a clear Charlie Parker influence, but he is beginning to break free and develop his own style. In particular, he relies on bluesy runs more than Bird, which give his music a soulful edge. But what makes Wailing With Lou so enjoyable is the hot interplay between Donaldson, trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Herman Foster, bassist Peck Morrison and drummer Art Taylor. All five musicians give enthusiastic, infectious performances. There's nothing out of the ordinary here -- just hard-driving bop and sensitive ballads, which are sure to please fans of the style.

Lou Donaldson, alto saxophone
Donald Byrd, trumpet
Herman Foster, piano
Peck Morrison, bass
Art Taylor, drums

Recorded January 27, 1957 Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack

Produced by Alfred Lion

Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder

Digitally remastered

01. L.D. Blues (5:20)

02. Caravan (5:57)

03. Old Folks (6:20)

04. That Good Old Feeling (6:50)

05. Move It (5:53)

06. There Is No Greater Love (6:53)

John Handy - Mosaic Select 35 (3 CD, 2009/FLAC)

John Handy is one of the unsung greats of modern jazz -- as saxophonist, composer/arranger and group leader -- especially for the series of four albums he recorded for Columbia between 1965 and 1968. This Mosaic Select is devoted to the three albums he made for the label that featured violin in the instrumentation -- Recorded Live At The Monterey Jazz Festival , The 2nd John Handy Album and Projections, plus a live Carnegie Hall performance.

Handy's playing, on alto sax in particular, is a wonder with a beautiful "legit" sound, perfect intonation and articulation, and an extraordinary control of the upper register which he uses quite often in building excitement and intensity in his solos. He utilizes all of these extraordinary attributes in frequent lengthy and compelling acappella solos. His unending flow of fresh ideas seemingly devoid of licks is another striking characteristic of his work.

The group heard here on all of discs 1 and 2 is unique in jazz history. The instrumentation of alto saxophone, violin, guitar, bass and drums has rarely, if ever, been used, and certainly not to this extent. Combining the nature of this instrumentation with the styles of the five players (Handy, Michael White, Jerry Hahn, Don Thompson and Terry Clarke) helps to create an open, expansive musical palette. This enables a musical range from Coltranesque long trance-like modal pieces, to tauter more direct and edgier rock-oriented pieces.

Clark Terry discography [1955-2004]

Clark Terry (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Only three other trumpet players in history have ever received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award: Louis Armstrong (Clark's old mentor), Miles Davis (whom Clark mentored), Dizzy Gillespie (who often described Clark as the greatest jazz trumpet player on earth) and Benny Carter. Clark Terry was one of the most prolific jazz musicians in history, having appeared on 905 known recording sessions, which makes him the most recorded trumpet player of all time. In comparison, Louis Armstrong performed on 620 sessions, Harry "Sweets" Edison on 563, and Dizzy Gillespie on 501.

He has played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–1951), Duke Ellington (1951–1959) and Quincy Jones (1960), and has recorded regularly both as a leader and sideman. Terry's career in jazz spanned more than seventy years and he is among the most recorded of jazz musicians.

1955 - Clark Terry (1997)

1955 - Swahili

1957 - Clark Terry Quintet - Serenade to a Bus Set (1992)

1957 - Clark Terry, Paul Gonsalves - Daylight Express (1998)

1957 - Duke With A Difference

1958 - Clark Terry with Thelonious Monk - In Orbit

1959 - It's What's Happenin'

1959 - Top and Bottom Brass

1960 - Color Changes

1960 - Flutin' & Fluglin'

1960 - Supreme Jazz by Clark Terry

1961 - Cecil Payne & Clark Terry - Cool Blues

1963 - Coleman Hawkins & Clark Terry - Back In Bean's Bag (1998)

1964 - The Happy Horns Of Clark Terry

1965 - Wes Montgomery & Clark Terry - Straight, No Chaser (1992)

1965-67 - The Happy Horns of Clark Terry & It's What's Happenin' (2011)

1966 - Clark Terry & Chico O'Farrill - Spanish Rice

1966 - Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer - Gingerbread Men

1968 - Shirley Scott, Clark Terry - Soul Duo

1976 - Clark Terry's Big B-A-D Band - Live At Buddy's Place (1992)

1976 - Wham - Live At The Jazzhouse

1978 - Clark After Dark

1978 - Clark Terry & Chris Woods - Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series Lucerne 1978, vol.8 (1997)

1980 - Clark Terry Five-Memorie`s of Duke - Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Jack Wilson, Frank Severino

1981 - Yes, The Blues

1986 - Clark Terry & Red Mitchell - To Duke and Basie

1988 - Clark Terry & Red Mitchell - Jive At Five

1989 - Portraits

1990 - The Second Set - Live At Village Gate

1991 - Clark Terry & Bob Brookmeyer - The Power Of Positive Swinging

1991 - Live at the Village Gate

1992 - Clark Terry, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie Plus Oscar Peterson - The Alternate Blues

1993 - Clark Terry and George Robert - The Good Things In Life

1993 - What A Wonderful World For Louis & Duke

1994 - Metropole Orchestra

1994 - Remember The Time, Clark Terry 75th Anniversary

1995 - Clark Terry & Frank Wess - Big Band Basie

1996 - Express

1997 - Carol Sloane and Clark Terry - The Songs of Ella & Louise Sang

1999 - Dave Glasser, Clark Terry, Barry Harris Project - Uh! Oh!

2000 - One On One

2001 - Herr Ober - Live at Birdland Neuburg

2002 - Clark Terry & Max Roach - Friendship

2004 - Chilled & Remixed

2004 - Clark Terry with Jeff Lindberg & Chicago Jazz Orchestra - Porgy & Bess

VA - True Soul - Deep Sounds From The Left Of Stax Vol. 1 & 2 (2 CD, 2011/FLAC)

Now-Again Records presents the release of True Soul: Deep Sounds from the Left of Stax , collection of rare and unreleased funk and soul music from the fabled Arkansas indie. Over twelve years in the making, this anthology will be presented over the course of two volumes and one four LP box set.

True Soul: Deep Sounds from the Left of Stax Vol. 1

01. Thomas East - Slipping Around (45 Version) [03:00]

02. Albert Smith - Come Together [03:37]

03. John Craig - Doing My Own Thing [03:50]

04. York Wilborn's Psychedelic Six - Wheezin' [02:48]

05. Ren Smith - Smog (Full Version) [04:35]

06. Thomas East - Sister Funk (Original Full Version) [05:19]

07. York Wilborn's Psychedelic Six - Funky Football [04:08]

08. York Wilborn's Psychedelic Six - Psychedelic Hot Pants (Full Version) [04:13]

09. Classic Funk - Hard Times [03:10]

10. The Right Track - I Gotta Move With The Groove [03:43]

11. Thomas East - Funky Music [04:19]

12. The Conspiracy - The Real Thing [03:16]

13. The Leaders - (It's A) Rat Race (Instrumental) [04:11]

14. Thomas East - Follow The Rainbow (Alternate Mix) [03:28]

True Soul: Deep Sounds from the Left of Stax Vol. 2

01. Albert Smith - The Thrill Is Gone [04:15]

02. Thomas East - Just A Trip [02:07]

03. Larry Davis - Down Home Funk (Full Version) [05:12]

04. Thomas East - Sister Funk (Instrumental) [02:50]

05. Classic Funk - The Funk's Gonna Fly [03:22]

06. York Wilborn's Psychedelic Six - Thank You [03:48]

07. The Conspiracy - Conspiracy [03:45]

08. The Right Track - Maybe Yes, Maybe No [02:45]

09. The Leaders - (It's A) Rat Race [04:18]

10. The Conspiracy - I Believe (Our Love Has Gone Away) [04:36]

11. John Craig - I Don't Want To Do It [02:56]

12. John Craig - Doing My Own Thing (Interlude) [01:07]

13. The Right Track - You For Me and Me For You [06:14]

14. Portrait - Springtime Smile [05:18]

15. Portrait - Love You For Now On [05:09]

16. Le'Chance - Get Down [05:06]

17. Le'Chance - Gigolo [07:01]

18. Soul Mind and Body - I Took Your Love (To Be True) (Full Version) [03:37]