hoist the jazz flag

Grant Green - Matador (1964) Great Grant Green solos, take 4 As...

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:14:00 -0700

Grant Green - Matador (1964)

Great Grant Green solos, take 4

As with the previous post featuring Joe Henderson, the presence of McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones—two thirds of Coltrane’s legendary rhythm section—fires up the proceedings with virtuosic spice, laying down plenty of track for Green to zoom.

Joe Henderson - Punjab (1964) It has been near impossible to...

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:43:03 -0700

Joe Henderson - Punjab (1964)

It has been near impossible to chase this melody out of the perpetual radio station that is my brain. Another reviewer agrees:

“[I]t’s a melody that’s hard to shake once it gets inside of you. “Punjab” succeeds in making the complex simple to digest.”

As Miles would likely say, “this is a motherfucker.”

Ike Quebec at Dodo Greene’s My Hour of Need session,...

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:40:14 -0700

Ike Quebec at Dodo Greene’s My Hour of Need session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, April 2 1962 (photo by Francis Wolff)

Buddy DeFranco, Gene Wright and Art Blakey performing circa 1953...

Sun, 12 May 2013 11:40:19 -0700

Buddy DeFranco, Gene Wright and Art Blakey performing circa 1953 (photo by William Claxton)

Sonny Clark at Stanley Turrentine’s Stan “The Man” Turrentine...

Sun, 12 May 2013 08:15:29 -0700

Sonny Clark at Stanley Turrentine’s Stan “The Man” Turrentine session, NYC January 1960 (photo by Chuck Stewart)

Sonny Clark backstage in Los Angeles circa 1953 (photo by...

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:40:20 -0700

Sonny Clark backstage in Los Angeles circa 1953 (photo by William Claxton)

Buddy DeFranco/Sonny Clark Quartet - Now’s The Time...

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:02:47 -0700

Buddy DeFranco/Sonny Clark Quartet - Now’s The Time (1954)

Sonny Clark Obscurities, cont’d:

DeFranco, Clark and the gang absolutely scorch this Charlie Parker tune. DeFranco, in the liner notes to this essential Mosaic Records compendium, talks about the influence of “Bird”:

“Charlie Parker had, to me, the greatest swing feeling that there ever was, except he added to that the cerebral, the intellectual. And to me, it was the greatest combination of real swing feeling and the intellectual approach to playing jazz. I would say from the mid-Forties to the late Forties, my main influence was Charlie Parker.”

If Bird had the greatest swing feeling there ever was, DeFranco cannot be far behind. The breakneck tempo chosen here highlights his improvisational velocity and uncanny sense of swing. The results are astonishing.

Horace Parlan - Back From The Gig (1963) Another unreleased...

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:52:23 -0700

Horace Parlan - Back From The Gig (1963)

Another unreleased gem.

Freddie Hubbard - Philly Mignon (1962) Third and final post...

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:36:00 -0700

Freddie Hubbard - Philly Mignon (1962)

Third and final post from this session, and maybe the most awe-inspiring, because Philly Joe Jones puts on a clinic. As one critic writes,

While Hubbard recorded with drummer Philly Joe Jones on a number of sessions, I think their chemistry was never as intensely pitched as on this session, particularly on the opening “Philly Mignon,” written by Hubbard for the fiery drummer. This is one of Philly Joe Jones’ supreme moments in the studio, and this CD deserves top-drawer billing for that alone. If you listened to “Body and Soul” first, then skip to “Philly Mignon,” where you’ll drop the cliche of the young Hubbard as all brassy confidence with brio to the brim, and instead hear a mature musical intelligence at work that is as questioning and questing, as conflicted as Lee Morgan’s.

The hardest of bops.

Freddie Hubbard - Father and Son (1962) This cut is part of an...

Mon, 06 May 2013 09:28:22 -0700

Freddie Hubbard - Father and Son (1962)

This cut is part of an ongoing exploration of unreleased gems from the Blue Note catalog. This session definitely ranks among the very best that Alfred Lion decided against releasing in its time. Heard now, it stands above many of the sessions that did see release in their time. I would love to find out why this one never did.

Dexter Gordon - (It Will Have To Do) Until The Real Thing Comes...

Sun, 05 May 2013 12:09:00 -0700

Dexter Gordon - (It Will Have To Do) Until The Real Thing Comes Along (1962)

Happy Sunday y’all. Both on the record GO and on this LP—recorded just two days apart—the musicianship and interplay continue to astonish. It’s hard not to consider these recordings something of a miracle of alchemy: when you get the right musicians, the right producer and engineer, the right time, and the right tunes…well, this is what you can get.

Grant Green - Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying...

Fri, 03 May 2013 19:46:00 -0700

Grant Green - Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying (1963)

Great Grant Green solos, take 3

Count this LP among the many belatedly released titles from the Blue Note catalog worthy of more attention. This unreleased gem of a session is much sought after, probably because of the very fine vintage of playing throughout from these three musicians. Aces.

Bobby Hutcherson - Ankara (1968) Moody flutes dot com

Fri, 03 May 2013 11:40:00 -0700

Bobby Hutcherson - Ankara (1968)

Moody flutes dot com

Freddie Hubbard - Body and Soul (1962) “Philly Joe Jones...

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:11:00 -0700

Freddie Hubbard - Body and Soul (1962)

“Philly Joe Jones and the Jazz Messengers,” ladies and gentlemen. Don’t miss Freddie Hubbard’s now-legendary interpretation of this jazz standard.

Photo

Thu, 02 May 2013 20:51:00 -0700

Grant Green - Miss Ann’s Tempo (1961) Great Grant Green...

Thu, 02 May 2013 19:01:23 -0700

Grant Green - Miss Ann’s Tempo (1961)

Great Grant Green solos, take 2

“Baby Face” Willette recorded for a red-hot minute for Blue Note, but he was on fire at every session he recorded, and he definitely shared an incendiary connection with Grant Green, whose bluesy prestidigitation here is awe-inspiring.

Donald Byrd - Chant (1961) A more famous vocal version of this...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:11:00 -0700

Donald Byrd - Chant (1961)

A more famous vocal version of this song was recorded for Byrd’s groundbreaking A New Perspective, but in this straight-ahead quintet format, Byrd’s sparkling trumpet takes center stage. This recording is also an opportunity to appreciate the legendary hard bop symmetry of Byrd and Pepper Adams, who were into their fourth year of leading a quintet.

Donald Byrd - You’re Next (1961) I’ve been scouring...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:41:00 -0700

Donald Byrd - You’re Next (1961)

I’ve been scouring the “other side” of the Blue Note catalog to find and play the undeservedly obscure, sadly overlooked, criminally underplayed sessions that deserve to be aired out, dusted off, and administered some sonic CPR for a new generation of listeners.

So this session deserves a little light after years of mummification. It is salient for a few reasons, not least of which is that this cut will stick in your craw with its delightfully swinging minor-blues melody.

As far as I can tell, this was pianist Herbie Hancock’s first recording session, a full five months before his first “official” appearance on Byrd’s Royal Flush, which was released at the time it was recorded. This session was not, but it’s equally worthy. It’s obvious Alfred Lion felt he had enough material from Byrd and Pepper Adams together (think Off To The Races, The Cat Walk, Byrd In Hand, Royal Flush, Live At The Half Note) to leave this one in the vaults. Lucky for us, he still recorded it.

mosaicrecords: The Story of the Baroness and the Jazz...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:40:00 -0700

mosaicrecords:

The Story of the Baroness and the Jazz Musicians

The legend of Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, or Nica, friend to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and other jazz luminaries, has loomed large over the history of modern jazz. Publication several years ago of the book Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats, under the Baroness’s name, amplified that legend. In a more recent biography just published in the United States, The Baroness: the Search for Nica, the Rebellious Rothschild, Hannah Rothschild explores the life of her great-aunt; and in this CNN profile of the Baroness and the legend, Hannah Rothschild airs some of her findings about her fabled relative.

Read and watch…

Peek at Nica’s photos…

John Patton - Latona (1965) Good gravy, this one’s a...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:41:40 -0700

John Patton - Latona (1965)

Good gravy, this one’s a burner. John Patton builds a fire with his undulating organ-tronics, coaxing Grant Green and Bobby Hutcherson into memorable solos.