Charlie Parker - The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes (3 CD, 2002/FLAC)

 

Through the miracle of high-resolution digital transfer and mastering technology, Bird enthusiasts can now get an earful of the shape of Charlie Parker's musical accomplishments for Savoy and Dial in the 1940s. Available as a three-disc box set, the alto saxophonist is recorded in various configurations as performer and bandleader with such mainstream jazz greats as trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, pianists Bud Powell and Erroll Garner, drummer Max Roach, trombonist J.J. Johnson, and bassist Ray Brown, to name but a few. Charlie Parker draws on his pungent roots and rhythms of the Kansas City jazz scene on "Parker's Mood" and makes a deep statement of the existence of the blues in the jazz tradition. His freedom and rapid-fire sax lines on "Yardbird Suite" serve to confirm his excellence in crafting polished improvisations and solos. One of Parker's strongest compositions, "Orinithology," is pure, unadulterated bebop, and the unique sound of Parker's alto saxophone is clearly articulated through smoothly executed phrasings and cutting, focused energy. Parker picks up the tenor saxophone with the Miles Davis All-Stars on such great songs as "Milestones" and "Sippin' at Bell's." Overall, Bird audiophiles, jazz educators, and historians should be prepared to be impressed. This collection is arguably Bird's most important recording studio work.

Sidney Bechet - Mosaic Select 22 (3 CD, 2006/FLAC)

 

Sidney Bechet, the first great jazz horn soloist to be featured on records, was a remarkable soprano saxophonist and clarinetist. He dominated ensembles, often taking over the role of a trumpet or cornet, and was such a dazzling soloist that he ended up being the favorite musician of both Duke Ellington and John Coltrane.

 On this three-CD set, Mosaic Select has included some of the highlights of Bechet's recording career, although not delving into his later Paris years or his much-reissued association with the Victor label. The first disc has what are arguably his 25 best recordings from the 1920s. Mostly heard with combos put together by pianist Clarence Williams, Bechet is in stunning form on his debut session, which resulted in "Wild Cat Blues" and "Kansas City Man Blues." He interacts with such singers as Sara Martin, Mamie Smith, Eva Taylor, Margaret Johnson, Virginia Liston, and Sippie Wallace, and he battles Louis Armstrong on several numbers. Armstrong "wins" on the stunning "Cake Walking Babies from Home," but Bechet steals the show during his lone appearance on the contrabass sarrusophone during "Mandy, Make Up Your Mind." The second disc consists of four complete sessions. Bechet is featured on three numbers (and two alternate takes) with Noble Sissle's orchestra ("Dear Old Southland" is a real showcase) in 1937, on a date with Sissle's rhythm section, and teaming up with baritonist Ernie Caceres in a 1938 sextet. Best from this CD is Bechet's 1947 outing with his protégé clarinetist Bob Wilber's Wildcats, an enthusiastic and talented group of youngsters who also include pianist Dick Wellstood and trombonist Bob Mielke. The final disc has all of the music recorded at a pair of quartet dates in 1947. Most unusual is that Bechet, who was always closely associated with New Orleans jazz, sounds quite at home on such sophisticated material as "Love for Sale," "Laura," "Just One of Those Things" (for which he provides a particularly catchy riff), and the overly dramatic "The Song of Songs." Although there are a lot of alternate takes, each performance is well worth hearing. Coupled with Bechet's Victor recordings and a sampling of his work in the 1950s, this Mosaic Select set (which is a limited edition) is essential. 

Nico Wayne Toussaint discography [1998-2017]

 

Nico Wayne Toussaint (*1973, France) signs his shows with his personnality : charisme and pure energy. His repertoire is mainly originals deep rooted in the 50's Chicago Blues sound with a touch of more contemporary Blues. A tight teamwork by his group and his own unique voice complete a show of blues « a la » Nico Wayne Toussaint.

​His latest project is a 8 piece band with which he pays tribute to his all time mentor and strongest influence : James Cotton. Fall 2017 : the band is launching its new album "Nico Wayne Toussaint plays James Cotton" on Dixiefrog Records.

French harmonist, Nico Wayne Toussaint was born in 1973 in Toulon. At 15, Nico Wayne discovers blues with the album "Hard Again" by Muddy Waters. He starts the harmonica at 18 years old. The name Wayne comes from his American godfather who lives in Minnesota. Nico went to the United States regularly since 1992. At the age of 20, he formed his first band, "Vent du Sud", in duet with his father pianist. In 1996, Nico focused exclusively on blues and created a second group "Nico and Friends". During a stay in the United States, where he is a French assistant at a university near Minneapolis, he has the opportunity to play with big names in Blues: Jimmy Johnson, Billy Branch, Luther Allison, Cash Mc Call, Willy Kent and many others. 

Nico Wayne Toussaint-(1998)-My Kind Of Blue

Nico Wayne Toussaint-(2000)-Blasting The Blues

Nico Wayne Toussaint-(2002)-Transgender

Nico Wayne Toussaint-(2004)-Transatlantic Live

Nico Wayne Toussaint-(2007)-Southern Wind Blowin'

Nico Wayne Toussaint-(2009)-Blues Entre Les Dents

Nico Wayne Toussaint-(2011)-Lonely Number

Nico Wayne Toussaint-(2014)-On The Go (w. Michel Foizon)

Nico Wayne Toussaint-(2017)-Plays James Cotton

Bill Evans – Behind The Dikes: The 1969 Netherlands Recordings (2 CD, 2021/FLAC)

Zev Feldman, co-president of Resonance Records, seems to have made it his life's mission to present every unreleased note that pianist Bill Evans ever recorded. Live At Art D'Lugoff's Top Of The Gate (2012), Some Other Time (2016), Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (2017), Evans In England (2019) and Live At Ronnie Scott's (2020) represent the Bill Evans discography on the Resonance Records label, all produced by Feldman. And now 2021 finds Feldman teaming with the Elemental Music label, to release yet another long lost live recording by an Evans trio, Behind the Dikes—The 1969 Netherlands Recordings. 

The two disc's worth of music come from a pair of performances in 1969 in the Netherlands. The group was in top form, trotting out a triple handful of tunes that were familiar mainstays in the the Evans repertoire—"Emily," "Stella By Starlight," "Waltz For Debby," "Autumn Leaves" and more. These are presented by three musicians deep in a comfort zone, navigating bright up-tempo tunes and slipping into introspective reveries and breathtakingly beautiful balladry. The two takes on pianist Denny Zeitlin's "Quiet Now" are as lovely as anything this trio ever recorded, and their rendition of "Someday My Prince Will Come" is as bright and propulsive as can be in a celebratory up-tempo groove, with Morell's joyous shuffling and Gomez' assertive headlong heartbeat.

• Bill Evans - piano
• Eddie Gomez - bass
• Marty Morell - drums

with the Metropole Orkest directed by Dolf Van Der Linden (CD2#11,12).

CD1#1-CD2#3 recorded at KRO Studio I, Hilversum on March 26, 1969.
CD2#4-10 recorded at RAI Congrescentrum Amsterdam on November 28, 1969.
CD2#11-12 recorded at Vara Studio 8, HIlversum on March 25, 1969.

Verve Jazz Masters series Vol. 1-10

 

Jazz Masters is a series of mainly single artist compilations released by Polygram/Verve between 1994 and 1996. The compilations collect material that was originally released on Verve or on one of the labels that became part of the Polygram group. The 20th and 60th releases in the series were various artist collections.

VJM 1 - Louis Armstrong

VJM 2 - Count Basie

VJM 3 - Chick Corea

VJM 4 - Duke Ellington

VJM 5 - Bill Evans

VJM 6 - Ella Fitzgerald

VJM 7 - Erroll Garner

VJM 8 - Stan Getz

VJM 9 - Astrud Gilberto

VJM 10 - Dizzy Gillespie

Mal Waldron discography [1956-2002]

 

Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from university. In the following dozen years or so Waldron led his own bands and played for those led by Charles Mingus, Jackie McLean, John Coltrane, and Eric Dolphy, among others. During Waldron's period as house pianist for Prestige Records in the late 1950s, he appeared on dozens of albums and composed for many of them, including writing his most famous song, "Soul Eyes", for Coltrane. Waldron was often an accompanist for vocalists, and was Billie Holiday's regular accompanist from April 1957 until her death in July 1959.

Nina Simone - The Real... Nina Simone (The Ultimate Nina Simone Collection) (3 CD, 2013/FLAC)

 

Blue Note Works 4000-4100 series [4186-4199]

 

...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.4186- Hank Mobley- 1965- The Turnaround {RVG Remaster}
BN.4187- Larry Young- 1964- Into Somethin'
BN.4188- Donald Byrd- 1964- I'm Tryin' to Get Home
BN.4189- Joe Henderson- 1964- Inner Urge {RVG Remaster}
BN.4190- Frederick Roach- 1964- All That's Good
BN.4191- Duke Pearson- 1964- Wahoo!
BN.4192- John Patton- 1965- Oh Baby!
BN.4193- Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers- 1964- Indestructible {RVG Remaster}
BN.4194- Wayne Shorter- 1964- Speak No Evil {RVG Remaster}
BN.4195- Herbie Hancock- 1965- Maiden Voyage {RVG Remaster}
BN.4196- Freddie Hubbard- 1965- Blue Spirits {RVG Remaster}
BN.4197- The Three Sounds- 1962- Out of This World
BN.4198- Bobby Hutcherson- 1965- Dialogue {RVG Remaster}
BN.4199- Lee Morgan- 1965- The Rumproller {RVG Remaster}

Lennie Tristano discography [1946-2014]

 

Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation.

Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New York City in 1946. He played with leading bebop musicians and formed his own small bands, which soon displayed some of his early interests – contrapuntal interaction of instruments, harmonic flexibility, and rhythmic complexity. His quintet in 1949 recorded the first free group improvisations. Tristano's innovations continued in 1951, with the first overdubbed, improvised jazz recordings, and two years later, when he recorded an atonal improvised solo piano piece that was based on the development of motifs rather than on harmonies. He developed further via polyrhythms and chromaticism into the 1960s, but was infrequently recorded.

Tristano started teaching music, especially improvisation, in the early 1940s, and by the mid-1950s was concentrating on teaching in preference to performing. He taught in a structured and disciplined manner, which was unusual in jazz education when he began. His educational role over three decades meant that he exerted an influence on jazz through his students, including saxophonists Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh.

Musicians and critics vary in their appraisal of Tristano as a musician. Some describe his playing as cold and suggest that his innovations had little impact; others state that he was a bridge between bebop and later, freer forms of jazz, and assert that he is less appreciated than he should be because commentators found him hard to categorize and because he chose not to commercialize.

1946 - 1947.Lennie Tristano - The Rarest Trio-Quartet Sessions

1946 - 1949.Lennie Tristano - Trio, Quartet, Quintet & Sextet

1947.Lennie Tristano - Live At The Cafe Bohemia

1949 - 1955. Lennie Tristano - Requiem

1950.Lennie Tristano Sextet - Wow

1951.Charlie Parker with Lennie Tristano - Complete Recordings

1952.Lennie Tristano - Live In Toronto

1953 - 1965.Lennie Tristano - Descent Into the Maelstrom

1955.Lennie Tristano - Live At The Confucius Restaurant (CD2)

1955.Lennie Tristano - Tristano (LP)

1956.Lennie Tristano & Warne Marsh - Intuition

1956.Lennie Tristano - New York Improvisations

1956.Lennie Tristano - The New Tristano

1958.Lennie Tristano - Continuity

1962.Lennie Tristano - Featuring Lee Konitz

1964 - 1965.Lennie Tristano -  Note To Note

1965.Lennie Tristano - Concert In Copenhagen

1987.Lennie Tristano - The Complete Lennie Tristano on Keynote

1997.Lennie Tristano, Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh - The Complete Atlantic Recordings (6 CD)

2003.Lennie Tristano - Intuition (4 CD)

2014.Lennie Tristano - Chicago April 1951

Charlie Parker - The Complete Live Performances on Savoy 1947-1950 [4 CD, 1998/FLAC]

 

This four-CD set contains a somewhat streamlined presentation of Parker's complete known live broadcasts from New York's Royal Roost, dating during 1948 and 1949, augmented with five of the live September 29, 1947, Carnegie Hall recordings and one lower-quality tape made in Chicago during 1950.

For years, the audio quality of many of the performances gathered on these four CDs prevented a full-on embrace, what with all the other available Charlie Parker out there. But this collection restores these sessions to notoriety. They're mostly from New York's Royal Roost, 1948 to 1950, but with a 1947 Carnegie Hall supergroup concert and a 1950 Chicago pickup date that boasts some unknowns--and undersung guitarist George Freeman--with Parker. First, the single drawback: emcee and radio host "Symphony Sid" Torin's sometimes obsequious, faux-hipster shtick that bookends several of the tunes. Rest assured, though, Torin makes only brief intros and outros. Beyond that, these are all stellar works. The quintet on three of the CDs (the Royal Roost sessions) features Parker with Miles Davis on much of CD 1, highlighting the clipped fire of bebop's architecture being tunneled under by Davis's mellow-tone brass. Even when Kenny Dorham takes over on trumpet, the alchemy is built on contrast, Parker's raspy, fast wit and Dorham's wry (but often likemindedly fast) ripostes. Pianists Tadd Dameron and Al Haig make great showings, as does Max Roach, pushing the energy with a loose attack that defies the fact that the majority of these performances were for radio. The more-famed quintet fronted by Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and pianist John Lewis (famed cofounder of the Modern Jazz Quartet) closes the collection with five tunes from a 1947 Carnegie Hall concert. Parker seems more restrained, Gillespie gleeful, and Lewis characteristically spare. But the playing is first-rate, whether at light-speed (as on "Dizzy Atmosphere") or at the loping clip of "Groovin' High."