Sadao Watanabe - Pamoja

 Here's one you don't see around much. I stumbled across this little beauty in a little record store on my last visit to Chapel Hill. I probably wouldn't have given this a second look if it wasn't for all those great Japanese records that our friends at inconstant sol have been posting the last couple of years.
 I will say that I faced a conundrum when I picked up this lp. As usual I had more records in my pile than my budget allowed. But this record had two names that I had finally become acquainted with that I knew I really dug. Watanabe, the leader and Masahiko Togashi, the percussionist, whom I had several lps that seriously smoked.
 The point was that I had several records in my hands that I loved but only had rips of, but this was new stuff. Unheard and untested. Yet I felt confident that it would be up my alley. I just hoped the flute and guitar didn't play too prominent roles. The Cole Porter tune was the clincher. I slipped one of the other records back into the bin and took this in the pile to the counter. Couldn't wait to get home and listen, although that would be a couple of days and many lps later.
 Well the flute was certainly in the lead on the first track but damn it, it was still pretty cool. By the time the guitar finished it's turn in the spotlight, I was a believer. This ensemble is tight, with not a slacker in the bunch. I hope it makes a believer outta you as well.

Pamoja

1. Vichakani

2. Musitoni

3. Pamoja

4. Ev'rytime we Say Goodbye

Sadao Watanabe - alto sax, flute
Hiroshi Fukumura - trombone
Yoshiaki Masuo - guitar
Takehiro Honda - piano
Isao Suzuki -bass
Hiroshi Murakami - drums
Masahiko Togashi - percussion

recorded live 10.27.75 at Yomiuri Hall, Tokyo

East West records EW-8022

Coleman Hawkins - The Hawk And The Hunter

 I'll be honest. I don't often enjoy strings with my jazz.Well instrumentalists anyway. Even with singers I am a tad wishy-washy. It's like that thick icing on birthday cakes, all show but so cloyingly sweet it can only be ingested in small amounts. Save the strings for soundtracks is my general philosophy.
 But then again, when a giant of the idiom and a personal favorite thinks it's a good idea, I have to give it a listen. A fair listen.
 As any follower of this blog will note, I am a big Hawkins fan and besides just laying over some strings, he brought along a rhythm section for this recording. Well, actually two, and one of them sports one of my favorite pianists as well, Hank Jones.
 Despite the fact that the strings do indeed get a bit saccharine at times I still kinda dig this lp.It's very reminscent of those Moodsville lps. Hawkins shines through especially on the self penned tunes. Unfortunately this version of Brahm's Lullaby makes me long for a version without strings. That would have been some ballad.

Groovy cool cover for bonus points.

The Hawk and the Hunter

1. Easy Walker*

2. Traumerei

3. All The Time *

4. Lazy Butterfly

5. Not Quite Right*

6. Pebbles*

7. I Knew Dana*

8. Lullaby

9. Hawk Talk

10. Misty Morning

11. Lonely Tenor

12. Whisper To Me*

Coleman Hawkins - tenor sax
Frank Hunter - conductor

tunes marked *
Dick Hyman - piano
Milt Hinton - bass
Osie Johnson - drums

all others
Hank Jones - piano
George Duvivier - bass
Jimmie Crawford - drums

no recording info included

Mira records LP-3003
 

After Hours - Grand Award Collection

 As much as I love jazz and the directions it is going, some nights I love looking back. This is one of those nights.

I have a few of these Grand Award lps. What a weird way of selling records. The encouragement of peeling off the cover and framing it seems a bit out there to me. None the less they produced some decent records with cool covers. Someone can come along and tell us if these sessions were originals or not.

Side 1 sports a fine cast with Hawkins standing out. I just dig his lyricism on these tunes. Side 2 doesn't swing as hard but it covers Hoagy Carmichael in no less of a deft manor.

Cover by Arthur Shilstone - whose fame rests mostly with outdoor/landscapes paintings - is pretty damn cool...and remains intact.

1. Caravan

2. Sweethearts On Parade

3. My Blue Heaven

4.Organ Grinder's swing

5. Honeysuckle Rose

6. Perdido

7. Stardust

8. I Get Along Without You

9. Rockin' Chair

10. Georgia On My Mind

11. New Orleans

12. Blue Orchids

1-6  Cozy Cole's All Stars
Cozy Cole - drums
Coleman Hawkins - tenor sax
Rex Stewart - trumpet
Tyrone Glenn - trombone
Claude Hopkins - piano
Billy Bauer - guitar
Arvell Shaw - bass

7-12 Marian McPartland's Quintet
Marian McPartland - piano
Jimmy McPartland - trumpet
Jimmy Rainey - guitar
Trigger Alpert - bass
Joe Morello - drums

Grand Award G.A. 33-334

250 - Duke interview

A few months off never hurt anybody, did it? Got a few things I wanna get up in the new year. But until it gets really cold and I am forced indoors.....

Well anyway this little oddity is post # 250.

See ya soon...




Duke interview

Ahmad Jamal Quintet - Listen to...

 When I lived in Chicago you could find Ahmad Jamal lps in every basement of every "antique" store you wandered into. Most times they were beat to death, but with diligence I found all that I wanted for only a couple of bucks apiece. The years go by and I dig these lps out occasionally and ponder how much I like them late at night. Recently one night while flipping through a pile of rock and roll records, I happened across this...woefully misfiled and certainly forgotten for many a year.
 Now I can share it with you. This is a crazy lp with Jamal using his stellar working group at the time but adding some strings in the form of guitar and violin. How cool is that?

Listen To The Ahmad Jamal Quintet

1. Ahmad's Waltz

2. Valentina

3. Yesterdays

4. Tempo For Two

5. Hallelujah

6. It's A Wonderful World

7. Baia

8. You Came A Long Way From St. Louis

9. Lover Man

10. Who Cares

Ahmad Jamal - piano

Israel Crosby - bass

Vernel Fournier - drums

Joe Kennedy - violin

Ray Crawford - guitar

Recorded 8/15, 16,17/60 Ter-Mar Studios, Chicago

Argo 673

Marian McPartland plays the music of Billy Strayhorn

 Such a beautifully understated record. Marian McPartland is a musician that I have learned to respect and enjoy but rarely seek out. This lp falls into a category of records that far too often fall by the wayside. I would take one of these records over a hundred common rock and roll records I grew up with.

 I've slowly come to believe that "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing" Is one of these most enchanting tunes ever committed to vinyl.

Marian McPartland plays the music of Billy Staryhorn

1. Intimacy Of The Blues

2. Isfahan

3. Lotus Blossom 

4. Raincheck

5. Lush Life

6. U.M.M.G.

7. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing

8. Take The "A" Train

8. Daydream

9. After All

Marian McPartland - piano

Jerry Dodgion - alto sax

Steve La Spina - bass

Joey Baron - drums

1987 Concord Jazz lp CJ-326

Billie Holiday Vol 2 - Everest lp

I remember when I first bought this lp. It was a used record store sorta. The dude sold records on the landing of his parent's furniture shop. There were maybe 20 stacks of records around the floor, no crates or shelves.This was also the first time we had any access to used vinyl without driving the better part of 100 miles.
Years later this is a destination shop for me in the midwest. He has taken over the entire second floor and most of the first. Of course more space is dedicated to digital than vinyl, but the dude remains a collector at heart and there is always cool stuff to be unearthed at his shop.

 I love these Everest records. I have no doubt that these sessions were culled from many sources and given the artists represented I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't released any many other forms...but this is one of those jazz records I grew up with,  different from what was readily available and just cool as hell. This lp's heritage includes a period when it was the go-to choice when the rain was pattering on the roof of my house, I was safely ensconced in my mancave in the unfinished and rarely comfortable attic.Playing this brings back many fond memories. Enjoy.

Billie Holiday

Volume II

1. Fine And Mellow

2. What A Little Moonlight Can Do

3. Fooling Myself

4. Easy To Remember

5. You've Changed

6. Ghost Of A Chance

7. Willow Weep For Me

8. Stormy Weather

Musicians include Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Mingus, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Gerry Mulligan, Vic Dickerson, Milt Hinton, Doc Cheatham, Danny Barker, Mal Waldron, Osie Johnson, Tyree Glenn.

recorded 8/29/56, 12/8/57, and 6/18/58

FS 310

Black Swan Quartet - s/t

 It took some time, but over the years I have come to love improvisational music. Or rather improvisational jazz, there are many other forms that still escape my attention. Heavens knows I love a good string quartet.
 What a better way to wind down a long hot weekend with a combination of the two? Add a strong summer rain that does not effect lounging in the back porch and you could be close to nirvana.

 I don't often see this lp offered so I was ecstatic when I scored it on my summer vacation. Well, more like really happy...ecstatic would be reserved for the whole haul as one. But I digress...

 If you thought you would recognize Lee Morgan's "Double-Up", you have a better ear than me.
Duke's "Prelude" is a bit more grounded and the rest are originals. Very very cool.

Black Swan Quartet

1. Double-A

2. Justification

3. Prelude To A Kiss

4. Komor

5. For Rita

6. Inside Mr. Outside

7. Libation Suite

8. Spider Dance

9. All Talk

Akbar Ali - violin

Abdul Wadud - cello

Eileen M. Folson - cello

Reggie Workman - bass

recorded live in studio, NYC 1985

Minor Music 009

Wayne Shorter - Second Genesis

 This is Shorter's 2nd lp is a leader. Originally released on the VeeJay label, this was recorded during his tenure with Art Blakey. Without a doubt, a formative record, often overlooked as he quickly gained fame in Blakey's Messengers and with Miles shortly hereafter.
 Shorter's association with the Messengers is reflected in the straight ahead hard bop playing. Not quite up to par with those great solo BN's in his near future but a damn fine record no the less.
 Oddly enough I own some odd Portuguese reissue, which I now share with you gentle souls and kind folk.

Wayne Shorter

Second Genesis

1. Ruby And The Pearl

2. Pay As You Go

3. Second Genesis

4. Mister Chairman

5. Tenderfoot

6. The Albatross

7. Getting To Know You

8. I Didn't Know What Time It Was

Wayne Shorter - tenor sax

Cedar Walton - piano

Bob Cranshaw - bass

Art Blakey - drums

Recd NYC 10/11/60 (although I have seen discographies say it was Chicago not NYC)

VJS 3057

Oliver Lake - Heavy Spirits

 I'm always amazed at the great jazz records that came out while I was in high school. Great records that I never heard and probably would have completely dug given my frame of mind at that time.Unfortunately I sheepishly followed some of the more far out trends but never discovered the music I would really come to admire.
 Two recording dates, three bands, one of which consists of Lake and 3 violins, and a solo outing. Now that's how to make a great record.

Oliver Lake

Heavy Spirits

1. While Pushing Down Turn

2. Owshet

3. Heavy Spirits

4.Movement Equals Creation

5. Altoviolin

6. Intensity

7. Lonely Blacks

8. Rocket

Oliver Lake - alto sax

 Tracks 1 - 3

  Olu Dara - trumpet

  Donald Smith - piano

   Stafford James - bass

  Victor Lewis - drums

 Tracks 4 - 6

  Al Philemon Jones, Steven Piesch and C. Panton - violins

Track 7

  solo lake

Track 8

  Joseph Bowie - trombone

  Charles Bobo Shaw - drums

1-3,8 recorded 1/31/75

remaining recorded  2/5/75

Arista AL 1008