CLIFFORD BROWN – The Complete Blue Note And Pacific Jazz Recordings (1995) 4xCD BOX-SET | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This four-CD set has the exact same music as an earlier Mosaic five-LP box, but is highly recommended to those listeners not already possessing the limited-edition set. Trumpeter Clifford Brown is heard on the most significant recordings from the first half of his tragically brief career. Whether co-leading a date with altoist Lou Donaldson, playing as a sideman with trombonist J.J. Johnson, interacting with an all-star group of West Coast players, or jamming with the first (although unofficial) edition of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (a two-disc live performance with a quintet that also includes the drummer/leader, Donaldson and pianist Horace Silver), Brown is the main star. Highlights are many, including versions of "Brownie Speaks," Elmo Hope's "De-Dah," "Cherokee," "Get Happy," "Daahoud" and "Joy Spring." The attractive packaging, with its 40 pages of text and many rare pictures, is an added bonus. Scott Yanow    Tracklist + Credits :

CHARLIE PARKER | DIZZY GILLESPIE — Bird & Dizzy (1952-1997) RM | Verve Master Edition | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 This collection of 78 rpm singles, all recorded on June 6, 1950, was released in 1956. Several things distinguish this from numerous other quintet recordings featuring these two bebop pioneers. It was recorded during the period that Parker was working under the aegis of producer Norman Granz, whose preference for large and unusual ensembles was notorious. The end result in this case is a date that sounds very much like those that Parker and Gillespie recorded for Savoy and Dial, except with top-of-the-line production quality. Even more interesting, though, is Parker's choice of Thelonious Monk as pianist. Unfortunately, Monk is buried in the mix and gets very little solo space, so his highly idiosyncratic genius doesn't get much exposure here. Still, this is an outstanding album -- there are fine versions of Parker standards like "Leap Frog," "Mohawk," and "Relaxin' with Lee," as well as a burning performance of "Bloomdido" and twjo interesting (if not entirely thrilling) renditions of the chestnut "My Melancholy Baby."  Rick Anderson   Tracklist + Credits :

HOWARD McGHEE – 1948 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1058 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This excellent album of vintage bop opens with seven tracks recorded in Chicago during February 1948, using members of the band that Howard McGhee was leading at Chicago's Argyle Lounge at the time. Milt Jackson and Percy Heath are heard on the first three tunes, along with an unnamed baritone saxophonist. For the second session McGhee used an entirely different band, with a tenor player who is believed to have been Kenny Mann and a rhythm section of Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and the great J.C. Heard. Billy Eckstine, who by this time had dissolved his own band and was busily pulling in an unprecedented amount of cash by making vocal pop records for MGM, blows his valve trombone alongside McGhee on this date. No vocalist is mentioned in the enclosed discography, even though someone scats up a storm from time to time. Whoever it was, he didn't sound like Eckstine. McGhee's next recording dates as a leader took place in Paris, where 13 sides were cut for the Vogue and Blue Star labels on May 15th and 18th. This band really cooked, with Jimmy Heath and Jesse Powell joining the trumpeter's front line and a rhythm section of Vernon Biddle, Percy Heath, and Specs Wright. The upbeat numbers are exceptionally well-crafted studies in modern jazz. "Denise" and "Etoile," slow and reflective, sound like the poetically charged "Portrait" studies that young Charles Mingus was already beginning to formulate on his own. The closing selections, recorded for Blue Note in New York on October 11, 1948, pair McGhee with Fats Navarro alongside alto saxophonist Ernie Henry and Milt Jackson playing both vibes and piano. Curly Russell and Kenny Clarke round off this amazing six-piece Howard McGhee Boptet. arwulf arwulf          Tracklist + Credits :

CHARLIE PARKER – 1945-1947 | The Chronogical Classics – 980 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This features Bird's first solo sides: the legendary early Savoy and Dial sides. Although most of this material has been reissued ad nauseam in various packages and in varying fidelity, Classics gets all the BB's in the right holes, with great annotation and stellar transfers of the material. No alternate takes -- just the issued sides in that space of compressed genius between 1945 and early 1947. As such, a major document of jazz history. Cub Koda    Tracklist + Credits :

CHARLIE PARKER – 1947-1949 | The Chronogical Classics – 1113 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Between December 1947 and November 1949, Charlie Parker realized an incredibly diverse body of work that makes this third installment in the Classics Charlie Parker chronology a serious candidate for "most excellent all-around sampler of Charlie Parker's music." Here's Bird sitting in with a big band arranged by Neal Hefti. Here's Bird in a more intimate setting with Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and Shelly Manne. Here's Charlie Parker's All Stars, the band that played the Royal Roost during the autumn of 1948: Miles Davis, John Lewis, Curly Russell, and Max Roach. The session of September 18, 1948, was unusually fruitful. Each selection is strangely beautiful. "Parker's Mood" is Charlie Parker's ultimate statement on the blues, and should be used whenever someone needs a sample of this man's artistry. (See also Eddie Jefferson's vocal adaptation on James Moody's superb album Flute 'n the Blues.) The harmonically adventurous "Constellation" would reappear years later as Joseph Jarman's wonderfully liberating "Old Time South Side Street Dance." In December of 1948 (just days after Miles Davis quit the band) and January 1949, Charlie Parker sat in with Afro-Cuban mambo maestro Machito & His Orchestra. Two sessions from the spring of 1949 feature trumpeter Kenny Dorham and pianist Al Haig. This outstanding compilation closes with the first of the gorgeous and majestic Charlie Parker with Strings recordings. This is chamber music. "Just Friends" is best of all. If you listen to any of Bird's sessions with strings, let it be this one. arwulf arwulf    Tracklist :

CHARLIE PARKER – 1950 | The Chronogical Classics – 1222 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Here in the 21st century, listeners are fortunate to be able to digest Charlie Parker's complete studio master takes in chronological order. Unlike most previous compilations, this series is not limited by original label licensing. The exact sequential evolution of Bird's turbulent career is neatly laid out regardless of the crossover from Dial to Savoy to Mercury and so forth. It just so happens that the fourth installment in the Classics Charlie Parker chronology documents a portion of a period in Bird's life when he was able (or chose) to stick with one record company. Stretching out in Norman Granz territory, this segment of history opens with three meaty selections recorded in March of 1950. Backed by Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich, Bird blows an exquisite couple of ballads and a brisk modern expansion on the "Blues." This set a precedent for John Coltrane's later excursions (i.e., "Bessie's Blues"), similarly modern adventures that were nevertheless directly connected to the very taproots of the jazz tradition. Heard in direct succession, the opening tracks feel like a warm-up for a Bird and Diz reunion session recorded three months later with Thelonious Monk, Curly Russell, and Buddy Rich. For all of the excitement inherent in this rowdy bopped-out blowing session, the real gem is their comparatively relaxed and brilliantly executed rendering of "My Melancholy Baby." Tracks ten through 22 feature Charlie Parker with Strings, a lovely artistic experiment that allowed Bird to sail at will over some very pretty chamber ensemble accompaniment. Anyone who experiences a knee-jerk reaction to the string ensemble needs to cool off and simply focus on the saxophone and jazz rhythm section. This is not Muzak; the formula was never merely Bird with Squares. Over the course of two different "Strings" sessions, the real jazz players behind Bird were Bernie Leighton, Ray Brown, Buddy Rich, Al Haig, Tommy Potter, and Roy Haynes. arwulf arwulf          Tracklist + Credits :

DEXTER GORDON – 1943-1947 | The Chronogical Classics – 999 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This magnificent album of progressive jazz from the mid-'40s contains the earliest recordings released under Dexter Gordon's name. The opening session finds him in the company of Nat King Cole and Harry "Sweets" Edison. While Cole based much of his piano style on the creative accomplishments of Earl Hines, Gordon named Roy Eldridge and Lester Young as primary influences. The inspiration to emulate Prez, said Dex, "...came like a bolt out of the blue to me...I readily identified with his ideas and concepts...." This is superbly demonstrated in the relaxed jamming atmosphere of the first four tracks, particularly "I Blowed and Gone." Gordon said that by the time he joined the Lionel Hampton band in December of 1940, he'd been listening carefully to Prez "for three or four years." By 1943 Gordon's saxophone voice had ripened under that influence to the point where he was beginning to tell his own story. Then one night in 1944 at Minton's Playhouse, Gordon sat in literally between Lester Young and Ben Webster. Recording for Savoy in October of 1945, Gordon was teamed with adventurous pianist Sadik Hakim, backed by Gene Ramey and Ed Nicholson. These performances resemble Lester Young's Aladdin and early Clef recordings. The second Savoy session from January 1946 has Leonard Hawkins blowing trumpet and a wicked rhythm section in Bud Powell, Curly Russell, and Max Roach. As is the case with most of the groups heard on this collection, the combination of creative minds is stunning. And here Gordon establishes his wonderful personal regimen of delivering slow, full-feature tenor ballads. Back in 1943, "Sweet Lorraine" was shared with Nat Cole, who soon became closely identified with that melody. "I Can't Escape from You" is the first real example listeners have of Gordon the three-minute balladeer. Other forthcoming offerings in this vein are "Talk of the Town" and "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You." His next session as a leader took place in Hollywood on June 5, 1947, with trombonist Melba Liston, who was soloing with and writing arrangements for Gerald Wilson's orchestra during this period (see Classics 976, the 1945-1946 volume of the label's Wilson chronology). "Mischievous Lady" and "Lullabye in Rhythm" contain what seem to be Liston's first solos recorded in a small-band environment. It's a shame that this group didn't cut a dozen more sides together. One week later, Gordon and Wardell Gray cut their famous two-part tenor blowout, "The Chase." Since Charlie Parker's "Klactoveedsedstene," with its distinctive opening clause, was recorded on October 28, 1947, it is interesting to hear the same lick used to open and close "The Chase," recorded nearly five months earlier. Which came first, the Bird or the egg? As "The Chase" proceeds, another riff emerges, forming the basis for the theme and the beginning of the first solo. It is based on Alphonse Picou's famous clarinet passage from "High Society," the old New Orleans jazz anthem. Here is the great multi-generational span dance, the new thing firmly grounded in the old. Every single record reissued here is worth its weight in gold. Gordon's Dial recordings, especially "Chromatic Aberration" and "Bikini," are full-blooded mature statements from a 24-year-old master improviser wise beyond his years. Even in the face of all the great records he would make in the years to come, this stash of Dexter Gordon's early work should be cherished among his very best. arwulf arwulf               Tracklist + Credits :

KENNY CLARKE – 1948-1950 | The Chronogical Classics – 1214 (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Bebop thrived on both sides of the Atlantic during the late '40s. While some Americans treated bop as nothing more than affected "hep talk" and a way of dressing up funny, there were profound artistic innovations at the heart of this new music. Kenny Clarke helped to establish bop in Europe, and the recordings he made in Paris document a wonderful flowering of early modern jazz that would have a decisive impact on the next half century of musical evolution worldwide. Trumpeter Howard McGhee was the prime focus of a session that came at the end of a full season of recording activity during the spring of 1948. This was quite an octet in that John Lewis was the pianist, Hubert Fol and Jimmy Heath played alto saxophones, and Jesse Powell -- featured on "I'm in the Mood for Love" -- played tenor sax. Anyone who's fond of bassist Percy Heath should hear him carrying the melodic line on "Out of Nowhere." Six sides waxed for the small-time Century label in New York on January 25, 1949, resound with Milt Jackson's vibraphone -- he also doubled on piano -- and Kenny Dorham's fine trumpeting combined with the unusual tonalities of a French horn played by Julius Watkins. Furthermore, Joe Harris expanded Clarke's percussion section by handling congas and timbale. The results are something like chamber bop, dignified and progressive. "You Go to My Head" features the vibes -- Jackson makes the ballad feel like a blues -- and "Roll 'Em Bags" sounds something like "Billie's Bounce." Back in Paris, Clarke's next recording date involved Hubert Fol and a facile trombonist by the name of Nat Peck. "Iambic Pentameter," a wild feature for the drums, closely resembles "Epistrophy," while famously opinionated jazz critic Hugo Panassie's name is sent up in an adventurous bop study called "Assy Pan Assy." On March 3, 1950, Clarke participated in a remarkable session with the brothers Hubert and Raymond Fol and bassist Pierre Michelot. Their version of "Out of Nowhere" is a gem. The first version of "These Foolish Things" is so bopped up it's hard to recognize. Version number two, a feature for the bassist, is similarly veiled through harmonic reconstruction. "Those Fol-ish Things" at last reveals the melody, played on alto by Hubert Fol. These variations survive as a pleasant example of the quirkiness of the boppers. The CD closes with two excellent tracks from the spring of 1950, with Gerald Wiggins, Nat Peck, and world-class saxophonist James Moody joining the pack. arwulf arwulf       Tracklist + Credits :

BUD POWELL – 1945-1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1003 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

An excellent companion to Classics' 1949-1950 Bud Powell title, this roundup of the bop pianist's early post-war sides gets top overview honors for its better balanced share of combo and trio sides. The first half is mostly taken up by an incredible 1946 session featuring Fats Navarro, Sonny Stitt, Kenny Dorham, and Kenny Clarke, with highlights including the Navarro originals "Webb City," "Fat Boy," and "Everything's Cool." For Powell fanatics, though, the eight trio sides will be the real attraction. Backed by first-tier boppers Max Roach and Curly Russell, Powell is at his fleet and innovative best on a mix of his own work ("Bud's Bubble"), some Monk ("Off Minor"), and a handful of choice covers ("I'll Remember April," "I Should Care"). A taste of possibly the most irrepressible and sophisticated bop on wax. Stephen Cook  
Tracklist + Credits :

BUD POWELL – 1949-1950 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1170 (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Roundups on either Verve or Blue Note offer the best entrée for Bud Powell neophytes -- and let's not forget the four-disc set on Proper -- but this Classics offering of the bop pianist's 1949-1950 sides certainly should not to be overlooked. Most of the 21 tracks feature Powell in a trio setting, with a handful of cuts given over to a top-notch combo date fronted by trumpeter Fats Navarro and a young Sonny Rollins. This latter material includes some of the finest playing of the bop era, as all the soloists find choice spots on the three Powell originals ("Bouncing With Bud," "Dance of the Infidels," "Wail") and the early Monk side "52nd Street Theme." The trio sides, though, offer the real highlights here. Backed on various sessions by the likes of Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Buddy Rich, Roy Brown, and Curly Russell, Powell is in his innovative prime on several self-penned gems ("Tempus Fugit," "Celia") and a round of finely gauged standards ("Yesterdays," "Get Happy"). A disc worthy of the competition. Stephen Cook  
Tracklist :

BUD POWELL – 1951-1953 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1373 (2004) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This is the third volume in the complete recordings of Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell presented in chronological order. The rarely encountered combination of material recorded for both the Clef and Blue Note labels between February 1951 and August 1953 is cause for rejoicing, as most reissues segregate Powell's works by label rather than presenting a consistent sequential artistic evolution. The first eight tracks -- and two cuts from the first Blue Note date -- consist of unaccompanied solos. Here the pianist candidly reveals the surreal contours of his own personal corner of the universe through charming standards and stunning originals. "Parisian Thoroughfare" is pure magic. Having both the solo and trio versions on one album is a major triumph. Speaking of trios, this disc contains some of Powell's most outstanding collaborations, involving Curly Russell and Max Roach or Charles Mingus and Art Taylor. There is something darker, deeper, and more complex in the music that resulted from the trio session of 1953. Mingus had something to do with this, but so did the American Psychiatric Association (see Powell's "Glass Enclosure"). In light of this compilation's sheer brilliance and beatific magnitude, it would be difficult to prescribe a better introduction -- or tribute -- to the endlessly inventive and strikingly imaginative artistry of Bud Powell. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist :

LEO PARKER – 1947-1950 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1203 (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

There's something about the purling, snarling and booting of a baritone sax that can create pleasant disturbances in the listener's spine and rib cage. Leo Parker came up during the simultaneous explosions of bebop and rhythm & blues. Everything he touched turned into a groove. Recording for Savoy in Detroit during the autumn of 1947, Leo was flanked by Howard McGhee and Gene Ammons, who at this point seems to have been operating under the influence of Lester Young. Leo does his own share of Prez-like one-note vamping, bringing to mind some of Lester's Aladdin recordings made during this same time period. Leo's Savoys originally appeared on 78 rpm platters, then on 10" long-playing records. Anyone who has ever heard one of these relics played on period equipment can testify to the sensation of hearing an old-fashioned phonograph wrestling with the extra fidelity contained in the voice of that king-sized sax. The next session happened in New York two months later. J.J. Johnson was on hand to supervise a smart recording of his own soon-to-be-famous "Wee Dot." Dexter Gordon is in fine form and it's nice to hear Joe Newman blowing so much gutsy bebop through his trumpet. Everything smoothes out for a gorgeous rendition of Duke Ellington's "Solitude," a lush feature for the baritone. The rhythm section of Curly Russell, Hank Jones and Shadow Wilson makes this particular session even more solid than usual. Leading his "Quintette" in Detroit on March 23rd, 1948, Leo races into "Dinky" with a run straight out of Herschel Evans' "Doggin' Around." Sir Charles Thompson tosses off some of his most fragmented playing, splattering the walls with abrupt block chords and tiny whirlpools of truncated riffs. "Señor Leo" cruises at a very cool, almost subterranean Latin tempo, a mood that brings to mind Bud Powell's hypnotic opus "Comin' Up." You get to hear the voices of Parker and Thompson at the beginning of "Chase 'n' the Lion," a fine bit of updated boogie-woogie. Apparently, Sir Charles was also known at that time as "Chase." A second session recorded on the same day adds Charlie Rouse to an already steaming band. Leo gnaws his way through four tunes of his own devising. Nothing brilliant here, just good hot jamming. The people at Prestige Records were smart enough to line up a date with the Leo Parker Quartet in July of 1950, resulting in what has got to be the hippest version of "Mona Lisa" ever put on record. The quartet hatched two other handsome ballads and a pair of kickers. "Who's Mad" is a sort of sequel to the famous "Mad Lad," made when Leo was recording for the Apollo label under Sir Charles' leadership. That makes "Mad Lad Returns" a sequel to the sequel. Unable or unwilling to shake this particular thematic, Leo called his next recording band "the Mad Lads." Two out of four sides were issued on the little Gotham label. Meet the all-but-forgotten Henri Durant, a bop tenor who made all the right moves and promptly split the scene. Good thing he at least made it on to this blowing session. Finally, get a load of Leo's creatively reconstituted "Solitude," rejected by Gotham but included by Classics at the tail-end of this mother lode of vintage recordings by the amazing Leo Parker. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist + Credits :

AL COHN - Al Cohn's Tones (1950-1992) MONO | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Cohn stretches out here for a program heavy with up-tempo swingers. Cut in two sessions during 1950 and 1953, Cohn's Tones finds the usually more mellow tenor great feeding off the driving drum work of both Tiny Kahn and Max Roach. Besides the ballad evergreen "How Long Has This Been Going On" and a bluesy "Ah-Moore," the eight-track set is all Cohn originals done in a Lester Young-on-the-West Coast style. Also featuring the talents of pianist Horace Silver, this early Cohn release is at once hot and cool, vigorous and lithe. Stephen Cook
Tracklist :
1     I'm Tellin' Ya 5:58
Al Cohn
2     Jane Street 4:37
Al Cohn
3     Infinity 2:57
Al Cohn
4     How Long Has This Been Going On? 3:13
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
5     That's What You Think 4:50
Al Cohn
6     Ah Moore 4:57
Al Cohn
7     Groovin' With Gus 2:36
Al Cohn
8     Let's Get Away from It All 3:10
Matt Dennis
Credits :    
Bass – Curly Russell (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6), Tommy Potter (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 8)
Drums – Max Roach (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6), Tiny Kahn (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 8)
Piano – George Wallington (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 8), Horace Silver (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6)
Tenor Saxophone – Al Cohn
Trumpet – Nick Travis (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6)

AL COHN - The Progressive Al Cohn (1953-1994) RM | SJL Collection | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD (reissued by Savoy in 1994) has tenor saxophonist Al Cohn's first two sessions as a leader. Cohn, who was very influenced during the era by Lester Young, is in fine early form with a 1950 quartet that also includes pianist George Wallington, bassist Tommy Potter and drummer Tiny Kahn, and with a 1953 quintet that has trumpeter Nick Travis, pianist Horace Silver, bassist Curley Russell and drummer Max Roach. All but two numbers ("How Long Has This Been Going On" and an excellent version of "Let's Get Away Ffrom It All") are Cohn's inventive originals; best are "Infinity," "That's What You Think" (heard in two versions) and "Ah-Moore."  Scott Yanow

Tracklist :
1 Infinity 2:53
Al Cohn
2 Groovin' With Gus 2:31
Al Cohn / Dizzy Gillespie
3 How Long Has This Been Going On 3:10
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
4 Let's Get Away From It All 3:05
Al Cohn / Matt Dennis
5 That's What You Think (Take 1) 4:46
Al Cohn / Margaret Whitfield
6 I'm Tellin' Ya 5:57
Al Cohn
7 Jane Street 4:30
Al Cohn
8 Ah-Moore 4:51
Al Cohn
9 That's What You Think (Master) 4:44
Al Cohn / Margaret Whitfield 

Credits :
Bass – Curly Russell (tracks: 5 to 8), Tommy Potter (tracks: 1 to 4)
Drums – Max Roach (tracks: 5 to 8), Tiny Kahn (tracks: 1 to 4)
Piano – George Wallington (tracks: 1 to 4), Horace Silver (tracks: 5 to 8)
Tenor Saxophone – Al Cohn
Trumpet – Nick Travis (tracks: 5 to 8)

COLEMAN HAWKINS - Hollywood Stampede (1945-1989) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Hawkins led one of his finest bands in 1945, a sextet with the fiery trumpeter Howard McGhee that fell somewhere between small-group swing and bebop. This CD contains all of that group's 12 recordings, including memorable versions of "Rifftide" and "Stuffy"; trombonist Vic Dickenson guests on four tracks. This CD concludes with one of Hawkins' rarest sessions, an Aladdin date from 1947 that finds the veteran tenor leading a septet that includes 20-year-old trumpeter Miles Davis. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     April in Paris 2'54
Vernon Duke / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
2     Rifftide 2'52
Coleman Hawkins
3     Stardust 3'11
Hoagy Carmichael / Mitchell Parish
4     Stuffy 3'00
Coleman Hawkins
5     Hollywood Stampede 3'07
Coleman Hawkins
6     I'm Through With Love 3'11
Gus Kahn / Fud Livingston / Matty Malneck
7     What Is There to Say? 3'17
Vernon Duke / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
8     Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away) 3'04
Harry Barris / Ted Koehler / Billy Moll
9     Too Much of a Good Thing 2'50
Coleman Hawkins
10     Bean Soup 3'04
Coleman Hawkins
11     Someone to Watch over Me 2'46
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
12     It's the Talk of the Town 3'04
Jerry Livingston / Al J. Neiburg / Marty Symes
13     Isn't It Romantic? 3'04
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
14     Bean-A-Re-Bop 2'30
Coleman Hawkins / Hank Jones
15     The Way You Look Tonight 2'46
Dorothy Fields / Jerome Kern
16     Phantomesque 2'53
Coleman Hawkins
Credits :
Tracks 1-4: Los Angeles, February 23, 1945
Howard McGhee: t
Coleman Hawkins: ts
Sir Charles Thompson: p
Allan Reuss: g
Oscar Pettiford:b
Denzil Best: d
Tracks 5-8: Los Angeles, March 2, 1945
Same as above, except Vic Dickenson: tb is added.
"Rifftide" from the same session was unissued but a tape exists.
Tracks 9-12: Los Angeles, March 9, 1945
Same as tracks 1-4, except John Simmons replaces Pettiford.
Tracks 13-16: NYC, June, 1947
Miles Davis: t
Kai Winding: tb
Howard Johnson: as
Coleman Hawkins: ts
Hank Jones: p
Curly Russell: b
Max Roach: d
Digital transfers: Ron McMaster

COLEMAN HAWKINS QUINTET WITH HORACE SILVER – Complete Birdland Broadcasts (2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
Birdland, New York, Saturday, September 13, 1952    
1    Disorder At The Border 6'55
Bass – Curley Russell
Drums – Art Blakey
Piano – Horace Silver
Songwriter, Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
Trumpet – Roy Eldridge
2    The Blue Room 6'55
Bass – Curley Russell
Drums – Art Blakey
Piano – Horace Silver
Songwriter – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
Trumpet – Roy Eldridge
3    Stuffy 7'00
Bass – Curley Russell
Drums – Art Blakey
Piano – Horace Silver
Songwriter, Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
Trumpet – Roy Eldridge
Birdland, New York, Saturday, September 6, 1952    
4    Rifftide 5'50
Bass – Curley Russell
Drums – Connie Kay
Piano – Horace Silver
Songwriter, Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
Trumpet – Howard McGhee
5    I Can't Get Started 4'10
Bass – Curley Russell
Drums – Connie Kay
Piano – Horace Silver
Songwriter – Ira Gershwin, Vernon Duke
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
Trumpet – Howard McGhee
6    Disorder At The Border #2 5'05
Bass – Curley Russell
Drums – Connie Kay
Piano – Horace Silver
Songwriter, Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
Trumpet – Howard McGhee
Bonus Tracks - 1st Playboy Jazz Festival, Chicago, August 9, 1959    
7    All The Things You Are 6'48
Bass – Bob Cranshaw
Drums – Walter Perkins
Piano – Eddie Higgins
Songwriter – Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
8    Centerpiece 9'00
Bass – Bob Cranshaw
Drums – Walter Perkins
Piano – Eddie Higgins
Songwriter – Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Jon Hendricks
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
9    Body And Soul 6'02
Bass – Bob Cranshaw
Drums – Walter Perkins
Piano – Eddie Higgins
Songwriter – Edward Heyman, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green, Robert Sour
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
10    Just You, Just Me 5'42
Bass – Bob Cranshaw
Drums – Walter Perkins
Piano – Eddie Higgins
Songwriter – Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
Bonus Track - Hawkins Intervewed In London, England, CA. 1960    
11    Coleman Hawkins Interview    7:50

JOHNNY GRIFFIN - Introducing Johnny Griffin (1956-2007) RM | RVG Edition | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

A seminal date that shows Griffin's speed, technique, and power. Ron Wynn
Tracklist :
1     Mil Dew 3'57
Johnny Griffin
2     Chicago Calling 5'38
Johnny Griffin
3     These Foolish Things 5'11
Harry Link / Holt Marvell / Jack Strachey
4     The Boy Next Door 4'57
H. Martin, R. Blaine
5     Nice and Easy 4'23
Johnny Griffin
6     It's All Right with Me 5'03
Cole Porter
7     Lover Man 7'56
Davis, Sherman, Ramirez    
8     The Way You Look Tonight 6'23
D. Fields, J. Kern
9     Cherokee 4'17
Ray Noble
Credits :
Bass – Curly Russell
Drums – Max Roach
Piano – Wynton Kelly
Recorded By, Remastered By [2006 24-bit Pcm Remaster] – Rudy Van Gelder
Tenor Saxophone – Johnny Griffin

HOWARD McGHEE - 1948 {CC, 1058} (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This excellent album of vintage bop opens with seven tracks recorded in Chicago during February 1948, using members of the band that Howard McGhee was leading at Chicago's Argyle Lounge at the time. Milt Jackson and Percy Heath are heard on the first three tunes, along with an unnamed baritone saxophonist. For the second session McGhee used an entirely different band, with a tenor player who is believed to have been Kenny Mann and a rhythm section of Hank Jones, Ray Brown, and the great J.C. Heard. Billy Eckstine, who by this time had dissolved his own band and was busily pulling in an unprecedented amount of cash by making vocal pop records for MGM, blows his valve trombone alongside McGhee on this date. No vocalist is mentioned in the enclosed discography, even though someone scats up a storm from time to time. Whoever it was, he didn't sound like Eckstine. McGhee's next recording dates as a leader took place in Paris, where 13 sides were cut for the Vogue and Blue Star labels on May 15th and 18th. This band really cooked, with Jimmy Heath and Jesse Powell joining the trumpeter's front line and a rhythm section of Vernon Biddle, Percy Heath, and Specs Wright. The upbeat numbers are exceptionally well-crafted studies in modern jazz. "Denise" and "Etoile," slow and reflective, sound like the poetically charged "Portrait" studies that young Charles Mingus was already beginning to formulate on his own. The closing selections, recorded for Blue Note in New York on October 11, 1948, pair McGhee with Fats Navarro alongside alto saxophonist Ernie Henry and Milt Jackson playing both vibes and piano. Curly Russell and Kenny Clarke round off this amazing six-piece Howard McGhee Boptet. by arwulf arwulf  

HOWARD McGHEE – 1949-1952 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1294 (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is quite a package, different in some ways from anything else in the Howard McGhee discography. With J.J. Johnson and Brew Moore alongside McGhee in front of Kenny Drew, Curly Russell, and Max Roach, the first six tracks, recorded for Blue Note in August of 1949, constitute some of the best jazz being made anywhere at that time. Four tunes were composed by Drew, who sounds exceptionally fine here. Brew Moore blew a smooth tenor, unashamedly emulating Lester Young's tone and phraseology. The next phase of McGhee's career took him and a small ensemble into the Pacific Islands as part of the Korean War effort in 1951 and 1952. Eventually presented by New Jersey's Regent Records as Jazz South Pacific or on the Hi-Lo label as Howard McGhee's Korean All-Stars, the band ran through a roster of relatively old-fashioned jazz standards in order to provide accessible entertainment for armed forces personnel. There were occasional bursts of accelerated bop, but the real charm of these live recordings is the wild combination of progressive young musicians handling what must have seemed to them ancient material. The most outrageous example of this is "12th Street Bop," a send-up of "12th Street Rag" hammered out with almost maniacal humor. "Perdido" and "Oh, Lady Be Good" are extended performances while some of the other tracks are much shorter -- "Mood Indigo" is just over a minute in length. The front line of McGhee, J.J. Johnson, and tenor saxophonist Rudy Williams rides through the Philippines and Guam without missing a beat, thanks especially to drummer Charlie Rice and electric guitarist Clifton Best, who generates "Hawaiian" effects during the out chorus of "One O'Clock Jump." These obscure recordings, punctuated with vigorous applause and occasional whistling from the sailors near the bar -- lending a "Ringside at Condon's" ambience to the proceedings -- have been reissued here and there over the years, most notably by the Savoy label. It is good to have them laid out in orderly fashion as an important segment of the Classics Howard McGhee chronology. arwulf arwulf 

LESTER YOUNG – The Complete Aladdin Recordings of Lester Young (1995) 2CD | MONO | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Although it has often been written that cool-toned tenor saxophonist Lester Young's experiences with racism in the military during 1944-1945 so scarred him that he never played at the same musical level as he had previously, the music on this essential two-CD reissue disproves that theory. It is true that his attitude toward life was affected and Young became somewhat self-destructive, but his postwar solos rank with the greatest work of his career. This two-fer, which has four selections from 1942 in which Young is heard in a trio with pianist Nat King Cole and bassist Red Callender and a rare 1945 session headed by singer Helen Humes (including a previously unknown instrumental "Riffin' Without Helen"), is mostly taken up with Young's very enjoyable 1945-1948 small-group dates. Highlights include "D.B. Blues," "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid" (which was a minor hit), "Sunday," and "New Lester Leaps In," among many others. Minor errors aside (trumpeter Snooky Young is left out of the personnel listing for the Humes date and Young's final Aladdin session is from 1948, not 1947), this is a well-conceived and brilliant set filled with exciting performances by one of the true greats of jazz. Scott Yanow
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