MEZZ MEZZROW – 1947-1951 | The Chronogical Classics – 1302 (2003) FLAC (tracks), lossless

So strong was Mezz Mezzrow's passion for old-style jazz and blues that in 1945 he created his own record label -- King Jazz -- specializing in these traditions. The four tracks that open this volume of the Chronological Mezzrow series were to be the last of the King Jazz recordings. Joined by Sidney Bechet, Sammy Price, Pops Foster, and Kaiser Marshall, Mezz had once again aligned himself with players whose collective experience harked back to the dawn of recorded jazz. These selections roll at relaxed tempi. "Delta Mood" is a slow meditation, "Funky Butt" walks easy, and even "Blues of the Roaring Twenties" strolls peacefully. The discography reads like a diary in that "I'm Going Away from Here" prefaces the clarinetist's Parisian years, a period of overseas activity that would continue until his death in 1972. Mezz toured Europe in 1948. After scuffling to get by in the U.S. for a couple of years he boomeranged back to Paris, where he began recording for the Vogue label. Eight titles from October of 1951 find Mezz surrounded by Claude Luter's jazz band. While Luter's collaborations with Sidney Bechet sometimes highlight the yawning chasm between Bechet's formidable powers and the merely well-schooled proficiency of the Parisian New Orleans revivalists, the combination of Luter and Mezzrow makes sense to the ear, as if they'd been jamming together for years. "Four or Five Times" comes across like a tribute to Jimmie Noone, with the two clarinets harmonizing as they do again on "Blues As We Like 'Em." "Black and Blue" is served up solemnly and "If I Had You" unfolds sad and slow. "Jingle Bells" is full-throttle jolly Dixieland and the three remaining tracks swing steadily. "Old Fashioned Love" is a particularly grand processional. Two blowing sessions from the middle of November 1951 resulted in eight outstanding performances that rate among the best recordings either Mezzrow or old-time trumpeter Lee Collins ever participated in. Here is a golden opportunity to study the artistry of Collins. Pianist André Persiany sets up a fine "Boogie Parisien" and master drummer Zutty Singleton takes an extended solo on "The Sheik." A thoroughly enjoyable album of 20 marvelous exercises in old-fashioned entertainment. arwulf arwulf
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MEZZ MEZZROW – 1951-1953 | The Chronogical Classics – 1393 (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 This seventh volume in the Chronological Classics series documenting the wildly flamboyant personality Mezz Mezzrow is finally nearing the end, focusing in on the last decade of his life as a recording artist; he lived for another 14 years after he stopped. This set features Mezzrow in the company of Claude Bolling, Red Richards, Buck Clayton, Red Richards, Mowgli Jospin, Big Chief Russell Moore, Zutty Singleton and others. The program is all the old tunes, played and played again, from Mezzrow's own minor classic "Really the Blues" (the title of his memoir as well), to "Royal Garden Blues," "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Honeysuckle Rose" and many more; the feel is relaxed and easy. There is little real innovation going on here, but the sound is terrific and the tunes themselves are timeless. Mezzrow collectors will want this addition to the catalog.
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Tracklist + Credits :

BILL COLEMAN – 1951-1952 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1339 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Bill Coleman is woefully unsung in jazz circles, probably because he spent half his professional career as an expatriate American jazz musician living in Europe. An excellent swing trumpeter, Coleman had an affinity for the blues as well, and this collection of sides from 1951 and 1952 shows a wonderfully lyric player on such tracks as the opener, "Bing Bang Blues," and such classic standards as "Lester Leaps In," "Pennies From Heaven," and the two-part "St. Louis Blues." Coleman shows an affable and comfortable vocal style (although its good that he never set aside his horn) as well on a couple cuts here, the telling "The Blues Jumped and Got Me" and the set closer, the immortal "St. James Infirmary." Steve Leggett
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BILL COLEMAN – 1952-1953 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1381 (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In addition to the friendliest photograph of Bill Coleman ever published, this fourth installment in the Classics Coleman chronology presents material performed live in Paris, France. The first 11 tracks were recorded on October 18, 1952, with Coleman as MC in front of a wildly appreciative audience at the Salle Pleyel, 252 Rue de Faubourg St-Honore. The opening number is an extended duet on "Out of Nowhere" played by pianist Randy Downes and bassist Alvin "Buddy" Banks. A brief crowd-pleasing take of "The Sheik" consists mostly of Zutty Singleton beating the hell out of a cymbal. Guy Lafitte is heard on clarinet and tenor sax (very nicely handled on "Ghost of a Chance") and Dicky Wells blows his trombone with either laconic eccentricity or a boisterous if somewhat dog-eared abandon. Coleman, as always, sounds like a trumpeter who was inspired by Louis Armstrong and gradually developed his own sound without ever deviating very far from the Armstrong influence. "Knuckle Head," composed by Coleman and Wells, is a solid example of what in 1945 was often referred to as "rebop." Coleman uses a mute most beautifully on Duke Ellington's "Solitude" and Lafitte demonstrates a Barney Bigard-like approach to the clarinet. "Perdido" heavily features bassist Buddy Banks. The author of the liner notes assumed that Wells was loaded and needed to be "rescued" by Coleman. This is debatable; on the excellent "Red Top" the trombonist sounds like he's fully in command of himself. Given the tastes of the average Parisian jazz head in 1952, it is not surprising that this band ended its gig with a singalong version of "When the Saints Go Marching In." Lafitte's very modern tenor solo on this historical New Orleans street stomp perfectly addresses the European fascination with the entire history of jazz. The rest of the material issued here was recorded at the Cluny Palace in the Cluny de Luxe Hotel on October 23, 1953, with trombonist Bill Tamper, veteran reedman Benny Waters, and a tight rhythm section propelled by percussionist Wallace Bishop. Coleman exercises his vocal chords on the last three tracks. Benny Waters takes one of the toughest solos of his career on Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's rocking "Old Maid Blues," a facetious tune addressed to a 35-year-old woman. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist + Credits :

PEANUTS HOLLAND / BUD CLAYTON / CHARLIE SINGLETON - Club Session (2000) Jazz In Paris 6 / RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
Club Session 1: Buck Clayton (November 1953, Paris)
1    Buck Clayton–    Buck's Bon Voyage 4:39
Written-By – André Persiany
2    Buck Clayton–    Fast Bus Soft 3:06
Written-By – Michel de Villers
3    Buck Clayton–    Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone 3:06
Written-By – Sam H. Stept, Sydney Clare
4    Buck Clayton–    Easy To Riff 2:57
Written-By – Jean-Pierre Sasson
5    Buck Clayton–    Gift For The Club 3:51
Arranged By – Buck Clayton
Written-By – Mary Lou Williams
Club Session 2: Peanuts Holland (1954, Paris)    
6    Peanuts Holland–    Flying Home 5:47
Written-By – Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Sid Robin
7    Peanuts Holland–    That's My Desire 4:20
Written-By – Carroll Loveday, Helmy Cresa
8    Peanuts Holland–    It's Wonderful 4:04
Written-By – Cameron Wells, Mitchell Parish, Stuff Smith
9    Peanuts Holland–    Blue Feeling 5:26
Written-By – Duke Ellington
Club Session 3: Charlie Singleton (22 September 1955, Schola Cantorum, Paris)    
10    Charlie Singleton–    Lester Leaps In 6:05
Written-By – Lester Young
11    Charlie Singleton–    These Foolish Things 4:08
Written-By – Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey
12    Charlie Singleton–    Purple Sound 4:13
Written-By – Dizzy Gillespie
13    Charlie Singleton–    Lullaby Of Birdland 2:38
Written-By – George Shearing
14    Charlie Singleton–    Yesterdays 4:56
Written-By – Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach
15    Charlie Singleton–    Blues À La Schola 4:02
Written-By – Charlie Singleton
Credits :
Double Bass – Charlie Blareau (faixas: 1 to 9), Eddie De Haas (faixas: 10 to 15)
Drums – Gérard Pochonet (faixas: 1 to 5), Jean-Baptiste "Mac Kac" Reilles (faixas: 6 to 9), Reggie Jackson (faixas: 10 to 15)
Guitar – Jean-Pierre Sasson (faixas: 1 to 5)
Piano – André Persiany (faixas: 1 to 5), Jean-Claude Pelletier (faixas: 6 to 9), Jules Dupont (faixas: 10 to 15)
Tenor Saxophone – Charlie Singleton (faixas: 10 to 15), Guy Lafitte (faixas: 6 to 9)
Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Michel de Villers (faixas: 1 to 5)
Trombone – Charles Verstraete (faixas: 10 to 15)
Trumpet – Bernard Hulin (faixas: 10 to 15), Buck Clayton (faixas: 1 to 5), Peanuts Holland (faixas: 6 to 9)
Vibraphone – Géo Daly (faixas: 6 to 9)
Nota :
Reissue of the Club Français du Disque 10" LP's 6 (1-9) and 13 (10-15).
℗ 1954 (1-9) & 1956 (10-15) Universal Music S.A. France.

GUY LAFITTE - Blue And Sentimental (1954-2000) Jazz In Paris 24 / RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On Blue & Sentimental, tenor saxman Guy Laffite leads a quartet through a series of ballads originally composed by the likes of Count Basie (the title track), Duke Ellington ("Krum Elbow Blues"), and Ted Koehler ("Get Happy," "I've Got the World on a String"), among others. It's a rather laid-back and unchallenging set that's intended more for relaxing than analysis, and when approached as such, it proves quite effective. Laffite's quartet includes Raymond Fol (piano), George Daly (vibraphone), and Peanuts Holland (trumpet). by Jason Birchmeier
Tracklist :
1     Blue and Sentimental 6:38
Count Basie / Mack David / Jerry Livingston
2     She's Funny That Way 3:13
Neil Moret (Chas. N. Daniels) / Richard A. Whiting
3     If I Had You 2:50
Jimmy Campbell / Reginald Connelly / Ted Shapiro
4     Get Happy 2:57
Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
5     Stardust 3:29
Hoagy Carmichael / Mitchell Parish
6     I've Got the World on a String 4:24
Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
7     Where or When 4:38
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
8     Krum Elbow Blues 5:03
Duke Ellington / Johnny Hodges
9     Boogie Blues 3:44
Gene Krupa
Credits :
Double Bass – Alix Bret (faixas: 1 to 8), Charlie Blareau (faixas: 9)
Drums – Bernard Planchenault (faixas: 1 to 8), Jean-Baptiste "Mac Kac" Reilles (faixas: 9)
Guitar – Jean Bonal (faixas: 1 to 8)
Piano – Jean-Claude Pelletier (faixas: 9), Raymond Fol (faixas: 1 to 8)
Tenor Saxophone – Guy Lafitte
Trumpet – Peanuts Holland (faixas: 9)
Vibraphone – Geo Daly
Nota :
Recorded 1954 in Paris
Reissue of the Club français du disque LP 21 except 9, which is an extract from the Club français du disque EP 6 Vacances nº 2