Jazz Gems

[Ojai Sam]

#42) Kenny Clarke - Bohemia After Dark (1955)

Jazz Connections!! Did you know drummer Kenny Clarke was once married to our last album's singer Carmen McRae in the 1940s? Look at the wealth of info this thread gives ya

Because of this, I decided to jump to Clarke, an influential bop drummer who once led the Minton's Playhouse house band in Harlem (which opened again in the early 2000s after 30 yrs closed). Clarke played with EVERYONE but has a smattering of albums out there as a bandleader including this one, which actually sometimes isn't attributed to him at all but rather the alto saxophonist who debuts on it, one Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (brother Nat also makes his recording debut here on cornet). Cool album btw with some nice swinging numbers.

This album was recorded soon after Cannonball's discovery btw at the Cafe Bohemia (for which this album gets its name). Oscar Pettiford's band was playing and Cannonball was in the audience with his case. Apparently, someone in the band asked him to borrow his saxophone but Adderley asked to sit in instead and was an immediate sensation (everyone was looking for the next Charlie Parker at the time). This album was recorded weeks later.

I'm not sure what's more fascinating: the topless woman in the chinos obscured ever so carefully by "Bohemia" or the vine covered sword on the side (?Why)

This one doesn't seem to have been included in Jazz Excursion 1.0. In fact, last.fm tells me I've never experienced it before anywhere.

These two sessions from the summer of 1955 first appeared on the Savoy label. It's tricky to generalize too much about record labels, but the participants seem to rock harder than the same guys did for Blue Note. The usually cool Paul Chambers goes berserk on bass, egged on by the drums of Kenny "Klook" Clarke who recorded only rarely for Art Blakey's home label.

I'm not sure what's more fascinating: the topless woman in the chinos obscured ever so carefully by "Bohemia" or the vine covered sword on the side (?Why)

Zeeb, careful scrutiny of the CD art tells me it's actually a lamp such as this one but, as with the young lady, topless:

Wonder what Dr. Freud would make of that?

 

[Ojai Sam]

#44) Mutt Carey - Portrait of A New Orleans Master (2002, recorded 1945-47)

Wonderful collection of classic New Orleans jazz from the 1940s revival. Papa Mutt Carey was a New Orleans trumpeter who played with the pioneer Louisiana trombonist Kid Ory in bands from the 1910s to 1930s (initially in Louisiana then in California). Being a young musician in New Orleans in the early 20th century, Carey was there at the start to see (and be influenced by) such luminaries as Buddy Bolden and Joe "Kid" Oliver. Like many New Orleans musicians though, it would not be until the 1940s jazz revival when their music would be put to wax. Papa Mutt would sadly pass away soon after these recordings in 1948. Still, this collection survives and is a nice comp of Carey's material with Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band and Carey's own band mixing Dixieland, ragtime and blues (with blues singer Hociel Thomas who recorded with Gennett and Okeh in the 1920s; these are her last recordings). Nice set that makes me long for the "Economy Tent" at JazzFest where one can still hear this music played today by local bands.

Wow, six albums today - lots of great listening and four out of those six were not featured six years ago in the original Jazz Excursion. A testament to how much great jazz is out there (and how one's musical experience blossoms even over a short stretch).

As influential as the New Orleans sound was at the birth of jazz, by the late 40's when these song were recorded it had become hopelessly passe to younger audiences. In the flood of cool bebop and screaming R&B saxes, few Crescent City artists were on major labels. Fortunately, smaller companies picked up the slack so can still enjoy artists like trumpeter Mutt Carey. These joyous slices of Dixieland jazz are the perfect soundtrack to a quiet Sunday in the country.

 

[Ojai Sam]

#45) Clark Terry - Serenade to a Bus Seat (1957)

Man, what a day - busy, busy. First time posting today - listened to several albums over the weekend.

Great album for a Saturday morning. Terry's trumpet (and later flugelhorn) playing is often termed the "happy horn" and, indeed, this is a delightful albums - bright, energetic. Terry matches up very well with tenor Johnny Griffin. And as oft-covered as Hoagy Carmichael's beautiful "Stardust" is, Terry really has a nice take on it, very pretty. A lesser known gem that the last Penguin edition in 2010 (which chose to be less complete focussing on 1000 albums) steered me towards.

Happy this record is. Clark Terry may be the most melodic of the 1950's trumpeters. The ace rhythm section of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones just let the blowers shine, always managing to be subtle without becoming invisible.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#55) Sonny Criss - This Is Criss! (1966)

With my 6000 Songs series only a couple of weeks away from finishing, I will probably find myself turning more to jazz. And with Sam going back and picking out albums not included in my first series 6 years ago, I am almost challenging to bring some "new" albums to the mix.

Sonny Criss is one of those artists that escaped my assessment last time around - in Memphis, he played as a teen with Charlie Parker. Born in Memphis, he moved out West and developed a cool style often lumped together with West Coast Jazz. He would play in a variety of jazz and R&B groups (e.g. Johnny Otis) and his style reflects a combination of blues, R&B, and bop. This is a really nice set, mostly covers and one original. Always love the unusual choices a jazz musician might cover and "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof fits the bill with Criss riffing around a simple piano melody of the verses. I like Criss' sound. Certainly nothing groundbreaking but nothing that's gonna scare anyone away either. A nice, breezy sound for a cool Friday afternoon

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#56) Harold Land - The Fox (1959)

From alto sax to tenor with another album new to the Jazz Excursion. Allmusic.com notes this album is "easily recommended to fans of straight-ahead jazz" (like that term "hey, none of that late 50s roundabout Ornette-free stuff, this jazz is 'straight-ahead'") . Indeed, this is classic hard bop that owes a lot to Sonny Rollins. Of course, that means it sounds great with Land's dexterous tenor racing through the aptly-named title-track opener. Nice album compositionally - aside from two Land originals, the remainder of the album's numbers are written by Elmo Hope, a bop pianist here accompanying Land. Sadly Hope died at age 43, the result of drug use, but came up around the same time as Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, and, though relatively unknown compared to those two, has been reassessed as a jazz composer by critics - his numbers here are excellent

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#57) Miles Davis - Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1959)

After a couple of lesser known albums not highlighted previously, gotta post one or two of the biggies. After all what would a Jazz Excursion be without the classics. Workin' was created out of a massive recording session with Davis' "First Great Quintet" back in 1956 along with other "in'" albums (Relaxin', Cookin', Steamin'). Miles had already moved on to Columbia and had released Kind of Blue by the time Prestige, his former label, released this one. One of my favorite Miles albums because it contains one of Davis' most iconic ballads, the great opener Rodgers & Hart's "It Never Entered My Mind" (which seems to be the go-to melancholy, wistful jazz song in TV shows or films (it was recently used in Maya Rudolph's Amazon show Forever). Funny after the many times I've heard this song, I never really considered (though it's obvious when one listens) that John Coltrane is almost entirely absent from this song (listen closely he does contribute the song's two last notes). Though "It Never..." is the album's high point, this album shows the quintet at it's peak especially on "Trane's Blues" and "Four". Enjoy also Red Garland's piano on "In Your Own Sweet Way" (written by another great pianist Dave Brubeck). Garland in fact has several opportunities to shine - "Ahmad's Blues" is, of course, written by another classic pianist Ahmad Jamal.

When assembling this group, Miles was hesitant initially to use Coltrane. He really wanted Cannonball Adderley who was committed to a teaching gig, and Sonny Rollins' heroin got in the way of his and Davis' working relationship (Coltrane's would eventually too - Miles dissolved the quintet in 1957 a year after his burst of recording; yes Coltrane would clean up and rejoin for Kind of Blue). Coltrane's style didn't fit (Miles though) with Davis' with Coltrane's prolonged solos sometimes put mid-50s audiences off. When Coltrane told Miles that he couldn't find a way to end his solos, Miles had the awesome reply "You might try taking the horn out of your mouth". But clearly they would make their styles work and produced some of the greatest albums in jazz.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

^Zeeba, you should get a side gig being a reviewer for AMG.

 

[axolotl]

^Zeeba, you should get a side gig being a reviewer for AMG.

It never entered his mind.

 

[Ojai Sam]

That Trane already left.

 

[axolotl]

That Trane already left.

Getting extra Miles on that joke, are we?

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

The Series so Far:
1) Original Dixieland Jazz Band - 75th Anniversary (rec. 1917-1921)
2) Dexter Gordon - Our Man in Paris (1963)
3) Vijay Iver Trio - Historicity (2009)
4) Stanley Turrentine - Sugar (1970)
5) Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um (1959)
6) Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters (1973)
7) Milt Jackson - Sunflower (1973)
8) Lionel Hampton & Stan Getz - Hamp and Getz (1955)
9) Stan Getz - Captain Marvel (1972)
10) Stanley Clarke - School Days (1976)
11) Dexter Gordon - Tangerine (1975)
12) Thad Jones - The Magnificant Thad Jones (1957)
13) Duke Ellington with Charles Mingus and Max Roach - Money Jungle (1963)
14) Duke Ellington - The Duke at Fargo 1940 (Special 60th Anniversary Edition)
15) Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson (1960)
16) Roy Eldridge & Dizzy Gillespie - Roy and Diz (1954)
17) Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy Gillespie at Newport (1957)
18) Wes Montgomery & The Wynton Kelly Trio - Smokin' At The Half Note (1965)
19) Horace Silver - Song For My Father (1965)
20) The Buddy Rich Big Band - Mercy, Mercy (1968)
21) Charlie Christian - Genius of the Electric Guitar (rec. 1939-1941)
22) Chick Corea - Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (1968)
23) Ella Fitzgerald - Ella at Zardi's (rec. 1956)
24) The Original Mambo Kings: An Introduction to Afro-Cubop (rec. 1948-54)
25) Bix Beiderbecke - Vol 1: Singin' The Blues (1927)
26) Lester Young - Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio (1952)
27) Chico Hamilton - Gongs East! (1959)
28) Sonny Rollins - Newk's Time (1959)
29) John Coltrane - My Favorite Things (1960)
30) Cal Tjader - Soul Sauce (1960)
31) The Modern Jazz Quartet - Lonely Woman (1962)
32) Bobby Hutcherson - Dialogue (1965)
33) Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (1954)
34) Bud Powell - Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 (rec. 1949, 1951)
35) Freddie Hubbard - Straight Life (1971)
36) Miles Davis - Milestones (1958)
37) Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - A Night in Tunisia (1961)
38) Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Keystone 3 (1982)
39) Grant Green - I Want to Hold Your Hand (1966)
40) Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue (1963)
41) Carmen McRae - Sings Lover Man and Other Billie Holiday Classics (1961)
42) Kenny Clarke - Bohemia After Dark (1955)
43) Nat Adderley - Work Song (1960)
44) Mutt Carey - Portrait of a New Orleans Master (rec. 1945-45)
45) Clark Terry - Serenade to a Bus Seat (1957)
46) Coleman Hawkins - Body and Soul (comp. rec. 1939-56)
47) Lee Morgan - Cornbread (1965)
48) Paul Desmond - Summertime (1969)
49) Jimmy Smith - Root Down (1972)
50) Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Alone in San Francisco (1959)
51) Gerry Mulligan - What is There to Say? (1959)
52) Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto (1964)
53) Vince Guaraldi Trio - Cast Your Fate to the Wind: Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus (1962)
54) Duke Pearson - Wahoo! (1964)
55) Sonny Criss - This Is Criss (1966)
56) Harold Land - The Fox (1959)
57) Miles Davis - Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet (1959)

Not a bad idea for an updated list given how sporadically I post. In fact, was thinking of posting on Nat Adderley's Work Song until I realized it was #43

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#58) Roy Hargrove - Earfood (2008)

Certainly a justified criticism in my jazz postings is that I don't listen/post about jazz over the past 30 years. In the old Jazz Excursion, I tried to consciously balance my selections, but this time around, clearly from the list above, I'm not even trying. In my defense jazz was at its peak commercially (with plenty of recorded jazz being released) in the 1950s and 1960s. This was also a tremendous period in jazz development with most of the giants of jazz that we still discuss today from that era. In fact, there's so much great jazz I love going back to from that era, it's hard to fault me for not expanding forward.

With the passing of the so-young trumpeter Roy Hargrove (another casualty of the effects of substance abuse on the body), seemed like a great day to revisit arguably his best album, Earfood. We need more Jazzy Randy here, because (if memory serves me right) this was a favorite of his. This album shows off Hargrove's warm tone on trumpet beautifully as he tackles originals and some nice covers. His cover of "Mr. Clean"is a blowing fest between him and alto Justin Robinson. Jazzbo's will remember the most famous rendition of this number by Freddie Hubbard (on 1971's Straight Life), and there's no doubt Hargrove owes a lot to Hubbard. Filled with ballads and mid-tempo numbers, this is a great album just to put on and chill as you listen to this talented quintet
Highpoints: "Mr. Clean", "I'm Not So Sure", "Kamala's Dance"(bonus track)
It's a shame we don't have more from Hargrove as a leader - after a prolific 90s, he's only had one album as a leader since Earfood (working instead with a big band though he has done more recording work as a sideman and in neo-soul and R&B genres) perhaps sidetracked by legal and health issues. We'll miss Hargrove's wonderful sound on trumpet. R.I.P.

 

[Ojai Sam]

#48) Paul Desmond - Summertime (1969)

Ah, that cool, smooth alto sax of Paul Desmond, most famous for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and that iconic solo on "Take Five". Desmond has some wonderful solo albums too and while Easy Living or Two of A Mind (with Gerry Mulligan) are great go-to albums for Desmond (and will eventually appear hear), don't forget about his '69 album Summertime which has some nice Brasilian/bossa flavors to many of the songs. Some wonderful song choices here (I could hear "Autumn Leaves" on repeat without tiring of it). I wanted to like his take on The Beatles "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" more but just didn't translate well here (Grant Green as seen earlier did a much better job with "I Want to Hold Your Hand") but great versions of "Some Day My Prince Will Come" and especially "Summertime" (which Desmond deconstructs and makes sound quite original). Love the Brasilian vibe of "Olvidar" and "Samba with Some Barbeque" (a treatment of Satchmo's "Struttin' With Some Barbeque"). Nice listen!

AMG tells us the back story here: Creed Taylor lured Paul back into the studio after Dave Brubeck folded his classic quartet. If I had Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Airto Moreira waiting around to record with me, I'd race back to the studio also.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#59) Clifford Brown & Max Roach - At Basin Street (1956)

I have often noted how Clifford Brown despite his short career is perhaps my favorite jazz trumpeter, a tremendous blower with the speed of bop plays who still emphasized the instrument's tone and nuance to usher in hard bop and influence almost every trumpeter since (most obviously Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan). This album, the last of his partnership with drummer Max Roach, is in the running for greatest hard bop album. It's a thrilling album (an adjective that isn't often paired with jazz), with exciting solos, of course, by Brownie but also Sonny Rollins on tenor (as always tremendous). "What Is This Thing Called Love?" is the most known piece but "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" is also great. Whole album worth listening and listening again (modern versions have several alternate tracks which actually are different and worth hearing c/w the originals). Essential jazz album.

 

[Ojai Sam]

#55) Sonny Criss - This Is Criss! (1966)

With my 6000 Songs series only a couple of weeks away from finishing, I will probably find myself turning more to jazz. And with Sam going back and picking out albums not included in my first series 6 years ago, I am almost challenging to bring some "new" albums to the mix.

Sonny Criss is one of those artists that escaped my assessment last time around

Actually, this was #504 on Jazz Excursion 1.0.

It's well worth another spin, though. As usual, Zeeb captures the essence of this record perfectly. The thing that impresses me most is Sonny's ability to cover familiar songs like "Days Of Wine and Roses" without sounding like Muzak. He manages to bring fresh insight to each tune.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#60) Dexter Gordon - Go (1962)

Every year around New Orleans' Jazz Fest, I get particularly nostalgic towards my jazz collection leading to bump in my jazz listening. This, of course, reminded me of this dusty thread which hasn't had a post in 4 months - sad, really. So decided to rename the thread "Jazz Gems" dropping my old "Excursion" moniker. Unlike the original Jazz Excursion, I have been too spotty and inconsistent in my listening/posting for it to be a successful journey.
However, I still feel there should be a Jazz Thread focusing on the many great albums out there - a thread that someone can go to when they wanna answer the question "What would be a cool jazz album to play?" (for the first time or for a revisit).
It goes without saying that all are invited to post - while this invite has always been out there, the prior term "Excursion" seems so personal, I suspect it made people hesitant to jump in. Another good reason for a thread title change: Jazz Gems feels more inclusive

So I post Dexter Gordon's Go, a classic of the genre and Gordon's most famous work. It's familiar to most but needs to be touted and broken out from time to time as a fine example of hard bop and to hear Gordon's fantastic tenor sound, warm but frequently playful (with little allusive licks in his solos). Deft at ballads (great version of "Where Are You") and upbeat numbers (the opener "Cheese Cake" is one of the best, well know jazz pieces of its era).
It was selected this year by the Library of Congress to be part of the National Recording Registry (which reminds me of another thread of mine that was left behind but which I hope to revisit soon)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#61) Gary Burton - Alone at Last (1972)

Look at vibist Gary Burton peering through those mallets like a lion in the jungle ready to pounce. No, Burton doesn't use quite that many mallets, but, instead of a standard two mallets, he uses a four mallet technique for playing the vibes giving such a full sound that it does indeed sound like multiple players sometimes.
An album of solo jazz vibes is something perhaps only a Zeeba could love - it's not gonna be for everybody, but if you like vibes like myself, Burton is indeed a master continuing that grand tradition of Lionel Hampton to Milt Jackson to Bobby Hutcherson. Nice album combining tracks from a live Montreaux set and studio recordings with some overdubbed piano and organ (overdubs a no-no in traditional jazz but hey, it's the 70s, a heady jazz era of fusion and experimentation). Burton a nice blend of traditional and contemporary/fusion. An album (if you'll forgive the pun) with a nice vibe.

 

[JazzyRandy]

#58) Roy Hargrove - Earfood (2008)

It's a shame we don't have more from Hargrove as a leader - after a prolific 90s, he's only had one album as a leader since Earfood (working instead with a big band though he has done more recording work as a sideman and in neo-soul and R&B genres) perhaps sidetracked by legal and health issues. We'll miss Hargrove's wonderful sound on trumpet. R.I.P.

Hargrove released several albums after the 90s, though Jazz purists did not appreciate them as much as his previous output. Much like Miles Davis, Hargrove continued to evolve his sound and musical interests throughout his career. And much like Miles discovered, some fans of his earlier work often looked down upon his open-minded approach to embracing newer sounds.

Hargrove opened the 2000s with "Directions In Music" a live recording which looked back at the music of Miles and Coltrane, where he was joined by Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker. Following that, Hargrove released three albums with his group Rh Factor in '03, '04, and '06. Straight-line Jazz purists discounted them. He followed those with "Nothing Serious" and "Earfood", both with his quintet, and the purists again embraced him. He closed out the decade with a big band effort. That made 7 albums in 10 years. Not too shabby.

Unfortunately, the following decade was indeed barren.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#62) Blue Mitchell - The Thing to Do (1964)

Blue Mitchell was a wonderful trumpeter that played sideman for a whole lotta people ranging from jazz musicians like Dexter Gordon, Horace Silver, and Stanley Turrentine to vocalists like Tony Bennett and Lena Horne even to blues/rock artists like John Mayall and Ray Charles. I really like his 50s Riverside and 60s Blue Note entries - every one I've owned or listened to are wonderful. This is a nice place to start with "Fungii Mama" and the title track especially catchy and accessible.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#63) Johnny Griffin - A Blowin' Session (1957)

Been awhile since I've broken this one out - when I think of it, I remember how it was a selection (forget from whom) of our original MG Album Club back in the day. If ever an album title was accurate, it's this one - not one, not two, but THREE tenor saxophones (not to mention trumpeter Lee Morgan). Griffin is here of course joined by both Hank Mobley and John Coltrane. Actually might not be everyone's cup of tea - can there be too much sax, and I must say I wouldn't rank it among a regular player of mine. Still, it's quite the murderer's row of musicians here with drummer Art Blakey, pianist Wynton Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers rounding out the mix. Plus it includes one of most beloved jazz ballads "All the Things You Are" over 10+ minutes. Glad I thought of playing it today