ERNIE HENRY — Presenting Ernie Henry (1956-1999) RM | Original Jazz Classics Limited Edition Series | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Altoist Ernie Henry's first of three sessions as a leader, all of which were made within 16 months of his premature death, served as a strong debut. Joined by trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Art Taylor, Henry -- who always had a distinctive tone -- performs five of his boppish originals, plus "Gone With the Wind" and "I Should Care." Throughout the date, Henry hints strongly at the great potential he had. This set has thus far only been reissued by the OJC series on LP. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Gone With The Wind    3:24
 Herbert Magidson / Allie Wrubel
2    Orient    5:10
 Ernie Henry
3    Free Flight    5:48
 Ernie Henry
4    Checkmate    5:55
 Ernie Henry
5    Active Ingredients    5:03
 Ernie Henry
6    I Should Care    5:07
 Sammy Cahn / Axel Stordahl / Paul Weston
7    Cleo's Chant    8:21
 Ernie Henry
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ernie Henry
Bass – Wilbur Ware
Drums – Art Taylor
Piano – Kenny Drew
Trumpet – Kenny Dorham

DIZZY GILLESPIE — The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1995) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Although the sheer scope of this double-CD roundup of all of Dizzy's Victor sessions places it most obviously within the evolution of bebop, it is absolutely essential to Latin jazz collections as well. Here listeners find the discographical launching pad of Afro-Cuban jazz on December 22, 1947, when Cuban conguero Chano Pozo added his galvanic congas and bongos to Gillespie's big band for the first time on record. One can feel the explosive effect of Pozo's subdivisions of the beat, rhythmic incantations, and grooves on the band's bebop charts. Though the musicians' styles aren't much affected, and Pozo does most of the adapting to bebop rather than vice versa, the foundation has clearly shifted. Alas, aside from recorded live gigs, Pozo only made eight tracks with the band -- four on December 22 and four more eight days later, just before the second Musicians Union recording ban kicked in. Yet even after Pozo's murder the following year, Gillespie continued to expand his Latin experiments, using two Latin percussionists who brought more rhythmic variety to the sound of tunes like "Guarachi Guaro" (later popularized by Cal Tjader as "Soul Sauce") and even commercial ballads like "That Old Black Magic." The reprocessing of these recordings from late in the 78 rpm era through the CEDAR process sounds a bit harsh, though less so than most of RCA's earlier desecrations of vault material using NoNOISE. Even so, this remains the best way to acquire these seminal Latin jazz tracks. Richard S. Ginell   Tracklist + Credits :

DIZZY GILLESPIE — Birks Works : The Verve Big Band Sessions (1995) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist + Credits :

DIZZY GILLESPIE — At Newport (1957-1992) RM | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This CD features Dizzy Gillespie's second great big band at the peak of its powers. On the rapid "Dizzy's Blues" and a truly blazing "Cool Breeze," the orchestra really roars; the latter performance features extraordinary solos by Gillespie, trombonist Al Grey, and tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell. In addition to fine renditions of "Manteca" and Benny Golson's then-recent composition "I Remember Clifford," the humorous "Doodlin'" is given a definitive treatment, there is a fresh version of "A Night in Tunisia," and pianist Mary Lou Williams sits in for a lengthy medley of selections from her "Zodiac Suite." This brilliant CD captures one of the high points of Dizzy Gillespie's remarkable career and is highly recommended. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Dizzy's Blues    11:51
2    School Days 5:47
Vocals – Dizzy Gillespie
3    Doodlin'    7:52
4    Manteca Theme    7:11
5    I Remember Clifford    4:47
6    Cool Breeze    10:30
7    Selections From Zodiac Suite (Virgo/Libra/Aries)    10:28
8    Carioca    3:42
9    A Night In Tunisia    10:00
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ernie Henry, Jimmy Powell
Baritone Saxophone – Pee Wee Moore
Bass – Paul West
Drums – Charlie Persip
Piano – Mary Lou Williams (tracks: 7, 8), Wynton Kelly (tracks: 1 to 6, 9)
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson, Billy Mitchell
Trombone – Al Grey, Chuck Connors, Melba Liston

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 :

JAMES MOODY – 1948-1949 | The Chronogical Classics – 1116 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

These earliest sessions recorded by saxophonist James Moody under his own leadership, follow his initial years with Dizzy Gillespie, an association that would be maintained off and on throughout Dizzy's life. The disc starts in chronological order with eight sides recorded for Blue Note in October 1948. Arranged by composer Gil Fuller and backed by Moody's Modernists, which were, in essence, musicians comprised of Dizzy Gillespie's band including baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne, alto saxophonist Ernie Henry, Chano Pozo, and Art Blakey. These sessions were recorded in New York before Moody left for Europe, not to return to the states until years later. The remaining 14 tracks find him jamming with European musicians and fellow American expatriates including fellow tenor saxophonist Don Byas, mixing bebop and standards recorded in Zurich, Paris, Lausanne, and Stockholm for Vogue, Blue Star, and Prestige. Al Campbell  
Tracklist + Credits :

TADD DAMERON – 1947-1949 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1106 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Although Tadd Dameron was a talented pianist, he never considered piano playing his strong point -- the bebopper was best known for his writing and arranging, and when he recorded as a leader (which wasn't all that often), Dameron was quite happy to let his sidemen take most of the solos. Dameron can hardly be accused of hogging the solo space on 1947-1949, a collection of small-group and big-band sides he recorded as a leader for Blue Note and Savoy, among others, from August 1947-April 1949. The material, most of it superb, falls into two main categories: hard-swinging bop instrumentals and romantic ballads featuring vocalists. On the instrumentals (which include "Our Delight," "Dameronia," "The Squirrel," "Lady Bird," and other Dameron originals), he features some of early bop's heavy-hitting soloists, including trumpeter Fats Navarro (a major influence on Clifford Brown), tenor saxman Wardell Gray, and alto saxman Ernie Henry (who, like Sonny Stitt, was a Charlie Parker disciple but not a clone). And Dameron's romantic side takes over when he features Kay Penton (a delightful though underexposed vocalist) on several ballads (including "What's New" and "Gone With the Wind") and employs the Billy Eckstine-influenced Kenny Hagood on "I Think I'll Go Away." Meanwhile, singer Rae Pearl (who later went by Rae Harrison) provides a wordless vocal on Dameron's dreamy "Casbah." Boasting some of Dameron's most essential work, this French release is recommended without hesitation to lovers of early bop. Alex Henderson  
Tracklist + Credits :

FATS NAVARRO - Dameronia (Jazz Archives 1947-1948) (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tragically, Fats Navarro epitomized the stereotype of the heroin-addicted bebopper who lived fast and died young. The trumpeter's potential was enormous, but like so many of his colleagues Navarro allowed heroin to rob him of what should have been a very long career. One can only speculate on the things Navarro would have accomplished had tuberculosis (a condition that his heroin addiction made him more vulnerable to) not claimed his life at the age of 26 in 1950, but we do know this much: Navarro's contributions to jazz were enormous. Navarro was Clifford Brown's primary influence, which means that his big, fat, brassy sound had a direct or indirect influence on everyone from Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, and Carmell Jones, to Woody Shaw and Roy Hargrove. Focusing on Navarro's 1947 and 1948 work, this French release of 1999 boasts some of early bop's finest, most influential trumpet playing. While "Our Delight," "The Squirrel," "Dameronia," "Lady Bird," and "The Chase" are among the well known classics that find Navarro being employed as a sideman by pianist Tadd Dameron, Navarro co-leads a sextet with fellow trumpeter Howard McGhee on "Double Talk," and leads various groups of his own on exuberant gems that include "Fat Girl," "Fats Blows," "Bebop Romp," and "Barry's Bop." The sound quality is generally decent (by 78-era standards), and Navarro's virtuosity is stunning despite the toll that heroin was taking on his body. Dameronia 1947/48 is enthusiastically recommended to anyone with even a casual interest in early bebop. by Alex Henderson  
Tracklist:
1 Fat Girl 2:21
Fats Navarro
2 Ice Freezes Red 2:41
Tadd Dameron / Fats Navarro
3 Eb-Pob 2:24
Fats Navarro / Leo Parker
4 Goin' to Minton's 2:52
Fats Navarro
5 Our Delight 3:07
Tadd Dameron
6 The Squirrel 3:22
Tadd Dameron
7 The Chase 3:00
Tadd Dameron
8 Dameronia 3:15
Tadd Dameron
9 A Be-Bop Carol 3:00
Tadd Dameron
10 The Tadd Walk 2:53
Tadd Dameron
11 Nostalgia 2:44
Fats Navarro
12 Barry's Bop 2:40
13 Be-Bop Romp 2:37
14 Fats Blows 2:51
15 Lady Bird 2:53
Tadd Dameron
16 Jahbero  3:03
Tadd Dameron
17 Symphonette 3:10
Tadd Dameron
18 Double Talk 5:36
Howard McGhee / Fats Navarro
19 Fats Flat 3:00
20 Good Bait, No. 1 5:47
Tadd Dameron