Collector’s Corner
VOICES Notes and news on Collector's Corner releases
Birdland's Best Bebop
26 OCT 09 ANNE FARNSWORTH
In 1954, Henri Renaud, a French pianist and producer, came to New York to organize a series of record dates with the cream of the super-hot '50s-era bebop scene revolving around the Birdland jazz club. With an all-star roster of players at the top of their game, credited under the name The Birdlanders, the results of Renaud's efforts were released as The Birdlanders, Vol. 1 & 2. Now available as a digital download, it's a musical snapshot of a very special time.
Like filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, Renaud was a Frenchman who fell in love with America's art music. For many years, he accompanied jazz artists appearing in Paris before coming to New York, the center of the jazz universe.
Renaud must have been on cloud 9 playing in the rhythm section with Oscar Pettiford, guitarist Tal Farlow and Max Roach. Another date featured pianist Duke Jordon (whose "Jordu" is here called "Minor Escamp"), Gene Ramey and Lee Abrams. There were four sessions in all, with four different combinations of rhythm section and front line. Milt Jackson appears, as do trombonists J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding and saxophonist Al Cohn.
Anyone with an interest in this era, one of the most fascinating periods of jazz, needs to have these recordings in their collection.
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Minor Escamp (A.K.A. Jordu)
The Birdlanders, from The Birdlanders, ...
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Stardust
The Birdlanders, from The Birdlanders, ...
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Bop Scotch
Oscar Pettiford, from The New Oscar ...
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I Hear A Rhapsody
Tal Farlow, from Chromatic Palette
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There Will Never Be Another You
Max Roach, from Deeds, Not Words
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Django
Milt Jackson, from Memories Of ...
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Azure
J.J. Johnson, from Concepts In Blue
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How Long Has This Been Going On
J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding & Bennie Green ...
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Help Keep Your City Clean Blues
Al Cohn, from Broadway
in this playlist.
In Hogg Heaven
27 JUL 09 ANNE FARNSWORTH
Angels In Harlem is a compilation of recordings made in the early-'50s by Andrew "Smokey" Hogg, a singer in the Texas Blues style, a genre considered one of the purest descendants of 19th century African-American vocal music.
Personified by Lightnin' Hopkins and T-Bone Walker, Texas bluesman were the wandering outsiders who sang of love, pain and paying the rent. Although never as famous as them, Hogg enjoyed some renown, scoring hits with sides made in Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles. He had enough of a following that a singer named Willie Hogg appropriated the "Smokey" nickname after Andrew passed away.
Listening to Angels In Harlem, one hears strains of bluegrass, boogie woogie and the shuffle beat that was the backbone of early rock & roll. The twangy, slightly off-tuned acoustic guitar so emblematic of rural blues meets a violin and saxophone reminiscent of Texas swing. In other words, history in a disc.
Now available in the Digital Only section, the 2.5-minute length of these recordings may be curious to younger listeners. But in this age of text and tweet, the quickly sketched vignettes of the 22 selections are perfectly timed.
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Evil Mind Blues
Smokey Hogg, from Angels In Harlem
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Let's Do The Suzie Q
Lightnin' Hopkins, from Smokes Like ...
in this playlist.
Meet The New Miles
22 JUN 09 ANNE FARNSWORTH
Having left New York to kick a drug habit, 1955 was an important year for Miles Davis. He returned to begin his tenure as one of the great forces of jazz in the second half of the 20th Century. He was also making the move from Prestige to Columbia. Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet was one of his last Prestige releases and is now available on CD, newly remastered by Rudy Van Gelder.
Davis was known as a "leader of leaders," because he had a supernatural horse sense when it came to picking sidemen, many of whom went on to become important leaders and innovators themselves. This quintet is a prime example -- John Coltrane (replacing Sonny Rollins), Red Garland, Philly Joe Jones and a 19-year-old Paul Chambers on bass.
There is much to satisfy on this session. For starters, it's a great example of Miles' transition from the manic virtuosity of the Parker years to the laconic style of his later Modal and Cool periods. And it swings like crazy, with Chambers' fat quarter notes and Jones' confident feel driving the rhythm.
Also, the audio sounds great. Not sure what magic dust the great Van Gelder sprinkled on these tapes, but the result is as warm as the best of the mid-century LP's without letting the digitizing inadvertently highlight any of the era's technical limitations.
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How Am I To Know?
Miles Davis, from Miles: The New Miles ...
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Russian Lullaby
John Coltrane, from Soultrane [Rudy Van ...
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St. Thomas
Sonny Rollins, from Saxophone Colossus ...
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Almost Like Being In Love
Red Garland, from Red Garland's Piano ...
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Bird
Philly Joe Jones, from Drum Songs
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Sugar Ray
Roy Haynes, Phineas Newborn, And Paul ...
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Hot House
Charlie Parker, from Bird On 52nd Street
in this playlist.
Q And The Cos
23 APR 09 ANNE FARNSWORTH
Bill Cosby's '80s-era sitcom was actually the second "Cosby Show." The first aired from 1969-71 and was groundbreaking in many ways, not least being the Quincy Jones-produced soundtrack -- a series of funky jazz/soul jams featuring an astounding group of musicians. Released for the first time, The Original Jam Sessions - 1969 (Concord) epitomizes all that was hot, fun and groovy about the black music scene in the '60s.
The 11 tracks are a sneak peak, a seat in the corner where a top producer has gathered the cream of L.A. studio musicians, letting them cut loose. You can almost hear the laughter and goofing around that must have gone on between takes.
The mostly 12-bar blues-based tunes are effortlessly tight. Bassist Ray Brown, bandleader on these sessions, is known worldwide for his sophisticated jazz playing. Here he takes it back to basics, driving the rhythm with palpable pleasure.
The pianist roster is amazing: Joe Sample, Les McCann, Clare Fischer and Monty Alexander. I may overuse the word "historic" when reviewing Concord reissues, but come on -- where else would these four marquee names be in a room together? On acoustic and Fender Rhodes, they often play together in the same song, as in "Eubie Walkin'," "Monty, Is That You?" and the Edwin Hawkins anthem, "Oh Happy Day." Vibist Milt Jackson and organist Jimmy Smith also make appearances. And then there's Cosby, adding his cool, humorous and highly musical scat vocals to "Hikky-Burr," the show's theme song.
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Monty, Is That You?
Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby, from The ...
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Days Of Wine And Roses
Ray Brown, from The Best Of The Concord ...
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A Matter Of Adjustment
Milt Jackson, from Night Mist
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Farther On Up The Road
Jimmy Smith, from Prime Time
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Hurricane
Monty Alexander, from Goin' Yard
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Hikky-Burr
Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby, from The ...
in this playlist.
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