Horace Parlan - Back From The Gig (1963)

Another unreleased gem.

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.

Kenny Dorham at his Una Mas session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, April 1 1963 (photo by Francis Wolff)

Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson during the recording of Grant Green’s Idle Moments, Englewood Cliffs NJ, November 4 1963 (photo by Francis Wolff)

Thelonious Monk - Crepescule with Nellie (1963)

From Thelonious Monk - The Life and Times of an American Original:

Monk had started composing a piece for Nellie just when she fell ill. He worked on it throughout the month of May [1957] between home and the Algonquin, and Nica [the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter] captured a “draft” of it on tape during one of Coltrane’s visits. Monk wanted to call it “Twilight with Nellie,” but the Baroness promptly suggested he use the French word for twilight: crepuscule. It became his obsession. He conceived of it as a through-composed piece—there would be no improvisation, no variation, just a concise arrangement. “Crepuscule with Nellie” was to be his concerto and he wanted it to be perfect. Driven to mania, he stayed up many nights wrestling with the song’s middle or bridge. He was desperate to finish the song because he feared he might lose his precious wife.

At the end, listen for producer Teo Macero’s “Yeah! That’s wild!”

feelinggoodfeelinggreathowareyou:

Jimmy Smith

I’m going to speak up and say something here. If are going to post photos like this, the minimum requirement should be to attribute the photo to the person who took the photo, and that person is Francis Wolff. Beyond that, a little research might make it more interesting to look at.

The tenor sax player in the photo is Stanley Turrentine. Beyond that, you could even try to identify the session when the picture is taken, and it’s not difficult to do with the internet at your fingertips: it’s Smith’s Prayer Meetin’ from February 8, 1963.

An equally valid point to make is that this photo has been posted a few times on Tumblr, with proper attribution and identification, like on Atane’s blog, so a little searching around on Tumblr might not hurt, either.

A little effort goes a long way. 

Benny Golson playing with the Herb Pomeroy Big Band at Lennie’s on the Turnpike, Salem MA, circa 1963

Thelonious Monk - Don’t Blame Me (1963)

From Jazz Standards:

“Don’t Blame Me” has long been a favorite of musicians and music fans, jazz or otherwise. Paul McCartney says of fellow Beatle John Lennon,

One of John’s favorite songs was “Don’t Blame Me.” People think of John Lennon as a peacenik, or a crazy man, or a great man, but they never associate him with the kinds of songs his mum taught him. His mum was a musical lady. She taught him banjo chords. I had to change him to guitar chords. We used to love “Little White Lies” and “Don’t Blame Me.”

I wonder if Lennon ever heard Monk’s version. Perhaps they perform this as a duet nightly in some musical Five Spot Cafe in the sky.

Hank Mobley during his The Turnaround! session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, March 7 1963 (photo by Francis Wolff)

Hank Mobley during his The Turnaround! session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, March 7 1963 (photo by Francis Wolff)

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers Live in Sanremo Italy — March 3, 1963

Rare Italian television footage of a prime-time Messengers lineup:

Wayne Shorter - sax; Freddie Hubbard - trumpet; Curtis Fuller - trombone; Cedar Walton - piano; Reggie Workman - bass; Art Blakey - drums

From Jazz Photography - Art Form and Historic Document:

Coltrane was one of photographer Roy DeCarava’s favorite subjects. “I traveled up and down the East Coast to hear him play and to photograph him. I shot photos in the clubs with the lighting that was available. If I thought I was bothering him, then I wouldn’t shoot. I would just listen to the music.” DeCarava’s “Coltrane on Soprano, 1963”, captures the performer in his musical element. He is seen from just below the waist and up and seems to be emerging out of a dark background; his eyes closed tightly. As a result of the longer exposure time needed for the low light setting, DeCarava was able to capture the motion of Coltrane’s fingers as they moved over the instrument.  

Grant Green during the recording of Lou Donaldson’s A Man With A Horn session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, June 7 1963

[Left to right] Grachan Moncur III (in front of producer Alfred Lion), Jackie McLean, and Duke Pearson (present, did not play) at Moncur’s Evolution session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, November 21 1963 

(photo by Francis Wolff)

Charlie Rouse from an unissued Blue Note recording session, Englewood Cliffs NJ, April 17 1963 (photo by Francis Wolff)