Lee Konitz - Konitz

I have often seen this incorrectly cited as Live at Storyville. Not true - that lp exists I believe, but it is not this one. This is a 10" that was simply released on Storyville records. My cloth ears may be bad but I don't hear anything live on this release. And my research leads me to believe this was recorded at a couple of different sessions, one of which may have been at Storyville in Boston but is not a live date.

The Boston session comprises of Easy Living and Skylark and was recorded 08/06/54. All other sessions were recorded sometime in early 54 in NYC.

It appears these sessions also ended up on a Japanese Black Lion reissue with alternate takes of some songs.

Lee Konitz - Konitz
1. Bop Goes The Leesel
2. Easy Living
3. Mean To Me
4. I'll Remember April
5. 317 East 32nd
6. Skylark
7. Nursery Rhyme
8. Limehouse Blues

Konitz - alto
Ronnie Ball - piano
Peter Ind - bass
Jeff Morton - drums

Storyville 10" LP313

Thanks to my friend Rob who was gracious enough to loan me his copy of this slab o' vinyl.

Bill Evans - Empathy

Bill Evans cultivated this certain feeling. He knew how to work it.

Bill Evans records always made you feel like a perfect summer night. Warm. Clear. All The Stars Are Out.

But early on he had not yet perfected that. But this may very well have been the starting point.

Very much a piece of it's time and label. You know what to expect and you get it. But you cannot be disappointed. This is nice stuff.

Tonight the air is a crisp 15 degrees, the moon is full but fuzzy with fog. What a better way to listen to this record for a few minutes on the porch.

Soon Evans will be a bit more exploratory. Soon I can stand outside and stare at the sky for awhile without freezing my ass off.

Shelly Manne/Bill Evans with Monty Budwig
Empathy

1. The Washington Twist
2. Danny Boy
3. Let's Go Back To The Waltz
4. With A Song In My Heart
5. Goodbye
6. I Believe In You

Bill Evans - piano
Monty Budwig - bass
Shelly Manne - drums

recorded 8/14/62

Verve records V/V6 8497

Something I found a bit funny.. when I googled the cover, more often than not Evans was listed first on he cover. Mine is the one you see. I wonder when they decided Evans was a better market than Manne?

Ella Fitzgerald - short live session

What a voice. What a picture. Ok, so I love Ella almost as much as the next guy. But I have a problem with Ella. She is an awesome singer but sometimes she just has no...soul. Not funky soul, but the soul that just makes you feel songs.
And I don't always think this was Ella's fault. She loved singing, but she often bowed to company policy so to speak.
Overwrought strings and bad song choices plagued her often late in her career.

But when she was on...well she was untouchable. And the best thing about this recording is it reaffirms just that. This is Ella enjoying herself, no studio dude off in the corner, no tweaking the tapes, just Ella and band.

This here appears to be some sort of bootleg I would suppose..I don't recall if personnel was listed on the sleeve, or dates as I can't seem to locate the damn record. Good thing I found this tucked away on the end of a disc. (Damnit - where is that record?)

This was released on Alto records, I'm thinking sometime in the early 50's. Ella is paired with Ray Brown but I don't get the impression that this is one of their early sessions.

Here 'tis.

Howard McGhee Sextet

Wow - have I been busy this week! And then over to Philly to see Ken Vandermark last night...great show. But I haven't offered up anything all week...could be a trend with what is looming in my personal life...but just the same, we have here, my friends...albeit not as often....







Part of what I said I wanted to do was offer up some odds and ends - not just easily searchable sessions... here's another short one...

Howard McGhee Sextet

1.Sleepwalker Boogie
2. Dorothy
3. Stoptime Blues
4. Turnip Blood
. Night Mist
6. Coolie - Rini

Milt Jackson - vibes
Howard McGhee - trumpet
James Moody - tenor sax
Hank Jones - piano Ray Brown - bass
J C Heard - drums



I know there were other tracks recorded at this session session but this is all I have. Taken from one of those Hall OF Fame Jazz Greats records. I know you have seen them around. Sorta red/pink covers, bad temple on all the covers....

I don't have this date anywhere else, and it is not the session widely available from this pair available from all the usual suppliers.

A serious post bop session.



JG 611

Jazztone - West Coast Jazz Anthology Vol. III

Jazztone was a small mail order club label. Much like Book of the Month or ARS, subscribers would be sent a cool jazz lp once a month or so, often with original sessions made for the label. It was only around for 3 years but they still managed to swing some mighty fine sessions.

I started with Vol. III in this series for a couple of reasons. Vol I has some previously released stuff and...well I don't happen to own a copy of Vol. II.

This volume contains some very nice live sessions and a handful of studio dates that I don't think you will see around much. I have no doubt some of these recordings have appeared elsewhere at some point, but this should be their first appearance.

As usual, ripped late at night from a questionable condition lp - this is music for music lovers and not connoisseurs of high art.

Jazz West Coast, Vol III
1. There Will Never Be Another You - Gerry Mulligan
2. Mr. Smith Goes To Town - Chico Hamilton
3. Polka Dots and Moonbeams - Bud Shank
4. Old Croix - Art Pepper
5. Little Girl - Chet Baker
6. Love Nest - Russ Freeman/Chet Baker
7. Sweet Georgia Brown - Bud Shank/Bob Cooper
8. Things Ain't What They Used To Be - Jim Hall
9. Too Marvelous For Words - Phil Urso/Bob Burgess
10. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime - Russ Freeman/Bill Perkins

Gerry Mulligan Sextet
Mulligan - piano
Zoot Sims - tenor sax
Bob Brookmeyer - valve trombone
Jon Eardley - trumpet
Red Mitchell - bass
Larry Bunker - drums
Hoover High School Auditorium - LA - 12/54

Chico Hamilton Quintet
Hamilton - drums
Fred Katz - cello
Paul Horn - clarinet
John Pisano - guitar
Carson Smith - bass
Forum Theater - LA - 10/56

Bud Shank Quartet
Shank - flute
Claude Williamson - piano
Don Prell - bass
Chuck Flores - drums
Forum Theater - 2/56

Art Pepper Quartet
Pepper - alto sax
Pete Jolly - piano
Leroy Vinnegar - bass
Stan Levey - drums
Forum Theater - 10/56

Chet Baker Sextet
Baker - trumpet
Art Pepper - alto
Richie Kamuca - tenor
Pete Jolly - piano
Leroy Vinnegar - drums
Stan Levey - drums
Forum Theater - 10/56 (and recorded at the same session as the one above)

Russ Freeman - Chet Baker Quartet
Freeman - piano
Baker - trumpet
Leroy Vinnegar - bass
Shelley Manne - drums
Radio Recorders - 11/56

Bud Shank - Bob Cooper Quintet
Shank - flute
Cooper - oboe
Howard Roberts - guitar
Don Prell - bass
Chuck Flores - drums
Capitol Studios - 12/56

Jim Hall Trio
Hall - guitar
Carl Perkins - piano
Red Mitchell - bass
Radio Recorders - 1/57

Phil Urso - Bob Burgess Quintet
Urso - tenor sax
Burgess - trombone
Bobby Timmons - piano
Jimmy Bond - bass
Peter Littman - drums
Radio Recorders - 10/56

Russ Freeman - Bill Perkins Quintet
Freeman - piano
Perkins - tenor sax
Bud Shank - alto sax
Carson Smith - bass
Shelley Manne - drums
Music Box Theater - LA - 2/56

Jazztone Society J1274

Ben Webster - The Horn

Some people have elevated Ben Webster to godhead status. Well, he is good. And those Blanton-Webster sessions are immortal. Worth every bit of praise the receive, but they are still essentially Duke's glory.

How was Webster when he struck out on his own? Well I have not dug too deeply because the few mainstream releases I have encountered were, while not bad, but unexciting at best.

That would however exclude the session he made with Tatum, which is outstanding.

However these two odd sessions that I am sharing here go a long way to convincing that once again I may not know what the hell I am talking about. Good stuff these...

Ben Webster - The Horn
1. Teezol
2. Don't Blame Me
3. 'Nuff Said
4. Tea For Two
5. Woke Up Cliped
6. I Surrender, Dear
7. Dirty Deal
8. The Horn
9. I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
10. Spang
11. Dark Corners
12. Blues Mr. Brim
13. Frog And Mule
14. The Jeep Is Jumpin'

Tracks 1-8:
Ben Webster - tenor
Oran "Hot Lips' Page - trumpet
Clyde Hart - piano
Charlie Drayton - bass
Denzil Best - drums

from Circle Records 1982 reissue of a Feb. 8, 1944 session for World Transcriptions.
originally released only on 16" platter for radio station use. CLP-41; in original mono

Tracks 9-14 are from a Doctor Jazz reissue of a record that was originally released on Bob Thiele Music label. It was titled The Big Three and contained sessions by Wester, as well as Hawkins and Young. Their sessions will be showcased later I would assume.
Webster are from two sessions in May 1944, the 3rd* and 15th. Both have 52nd St. written all over them.

For the 3rd, the personnel were
Ben Webster - tenor
Idress Sulieman - trumpet
Tony Scott - clarinet
Sadik Hakim - piano
Bill DeArango - guitar
John Simmons - bass
Sid Catlett - drums

For the 15th, it was Webster, DeArago, Simmons, and Catlett with
Al Haig - piano

You find them both here

Shorty Rogers - Martians Come Back

No one, especially Shorty Rogers took this seriously, especially with that cover, and the song titles, please!

But still Rogers had a knack for pulling together a bunch of guys and playing these wonderful west coast arrangements that obviously danced around in his head.

Sometimes music is just about having fun. I have always thought this is a perfect example of that.

Big and swinging, small and swinging, it doesn't matter. It all swings in a very irreverent manner. This is a record will likely have to be sold in my estate sale, whatever that may be.

And who the hell thinks they will be taken seriously with that cover??

Shorty Rogers and His Giants
Martians Come Back

1. Martians Come Back
2. Astral Alley+
3. Lotus Bud
4. Dickie's Dream
5. Papouche
6. Serenade In Sweets
7. Planetarium
8. Chant Of The Cosmos

Shorty Rogers - trumpet, flugelhorn
Harry Edison, Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli, Don Fagerquist - trumpet
Bud Shank - alto sax
Jimmy Guiffre - clarinet, tenor sax
Bob Enevoldsen - trombone
John Grass - french horn
Paul Sarmento - tuba
Earl Grey - piano
Lou Levy - piano
Ralph Pena - bass
Shelly Manne - drums



Atlantic 1232

ripped from original vinyl in glorious mono

Betty Carter - Now It's My Turn

Every once in awhile, you run across a record that you heard long ago. A record that knocked you out.

I'm pretty sure I heard this one at my pot dealer's house, sometime in the mid 80's. He was way cooler than me.

I remember thinking I should really look for this record...and then poof...gone.

Until a few weeks ago...when you least expect it, you decide to dig through a crate of records at some antique mall, or you look at someone's on-line close out list...and there it is.

You get it for next to nothing and it is every bit as great as you remember.

This here's one of those.

Betty Carter
Now It's My Turn

1. Music Maestro Please/Swing, Brother, Swing
2. I Was Telling Him About You
3. Wagon Wheels
4. New Blues
5. Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love
6. Making Dreams Come true
7. Open The Door
8. Just Friends/Star Eyes
9. No More Words

Walter Booker - bass
John Hicks - piano
the drummer remains unknown
1976

Roulette SR- 5005

And a blog only bonus...

a 1956 session that remained unreleased until 1980

10. Tell Him I said Hello
11. Social Call
12. Runaway
13. Frenesi
14. Let's Fall In Love

arranger and producer Gigi Gryce
Osie Johnson - drums
Milt Hinton - bass
Hank Jones - piano
Bernie Glow. Nick Travis, Conte Candoli, Joe Ferrante - trumpet
Urbie Green, Jimmy Cleveland - trombone
Sam Markowitz, Al Cohn, Seldon Powell, Danny Bank - saxophone

4/25/56


The whole shebang can be found here

8 Ways to Jazz the music of Cole Porter

Absolutely dig Cole Porter. Probably my greatest, (not so) secret indulgence.

And damn if he didn't translate well to the jazz idiom.

This is one of my favorites and honestly, I'm gonna let the tunes speak for themselves without my purple prose.

1. Looking At You
2. Easy To love
3. I Love You
4. Love For Sale
5. Everytime We Say Goodbye
6. I Get A Kick Out Of You
7. Get Out Of Town
8. All Of You

1. - Trigger Alpert All Star Seven: Joe Wilder - trumpet; Urbie Green - trombone; Tony Scott - clarinet and tenor sax; Zoot Sims - tenor sax; Al Cohn - baritone sax; Albert - bass; Ed Shaughnessy - drums.
Arrangement - Marty Paitch.
Nov. 1956

2. Mundell Lowe Quartet; Lowe - guitar; Billy taylor - piano; Les Grinage - bass; Ed Thigpen - drums
March 1957

3. Bill Evans Trio: Evans - piano; Teddy Kotick - bass; Paul Motian - drums
Sept. 1956

4. Bobby Jaspar Quintet; Jaspar - tenor sax; George Wallington - piano; Wilbur Little - bass; Elvin Jones - drums
May, 1957

5. Sonny Rollins Quartet: Rollins - tenor sax; Sonny Clark - piano; Percy Heath - bass; Roy Haynes - drums
June, 1957

6. Ernie Henry Quartet: Henry - alto sax; Wynton Kelly - piano; Wilbur ware - bass; Philly Joe Jones - drums
Sept. 1957

7. Herbie Mann's Californians: Mann - bass clarinet; Jack Sheldon - trumpet; Jimmy Rowles - piano; Buddy Clark - bass; Mel Lewis - drums
Arrangement by Herbie Mann
July, 1957

8. Gigi Gryce Jazz Lab Quintet: Gryce - alto sax; Donald Byrd - trumpet; Wade Legge - piano; Wendell Marshall - bass; Art Taylor - drums
Arrangement by Donald Byrd
Feb. 1957


Riverside RLP 12-272

Bud Shank - Bossa Nova Jazz Samba

For the first post of the new year, I offer this, one of those jazz lps when everyone was so fascinated with the South American thing.
I know this sort of thing reaches a limited audience. Sorta like reggae - ya really have to be in the mood for it. And there are so many bad versions out there that it is near impossible to sift through the chaff. Fortunately I do it for you.
With the weather dipping into the teens this week, I thought a little something that reminds me of sunshine was in order.

Bud Shank and Clare Fischer
Bossa Nova Jazz Samba

1. Samba da Borboleta
2. Illusao
3. Pensativa
4. Joao
5. Misty
6. Que Mais?
7. Wistful Samba
8. Samba Guapo

Bud Shank - alto sax
Clare Fischer - piano
Ralph Pena - bass

percussionists -
Larry Bunker, Bob Neel
Milt Holland, Frank Guerrero

1962

PJ-58

Just for the record - you are not getting the fancy stereo version but rather the one in glorious mono.