MAX ROACH — The Complete Mercury Max Roach Plus Four Sessions (2000) RM | 7xCD BOX-SET | MONO | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This seven-CD box set features 95 tracks from legendary drummer Max Roach's small group, consisting of the 1956-1960 recordings for Emarcy and Mercury Records, as these noteworthy sessions also represent the drummer's post Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet output. In 1956 the jazz world witnessed the tragic and untimely deaths of the great trumpeter Clifford Brown and pianist Ritchie Powell. Within these seven CDs, we find Roach maintaining his assault on jazz along with trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist Ray Bryant, and the drummer's bandmates from the Clifford Brown years, tenor saxophone giant Sonny Rollins and bassist George Morrow. Jazz aficionados will find a wealth of fantastic music here, as Roach also employed renowned artists such as tenor saxophonists Hank Mobley, Stanley Turrentine, and George Coleman, along with trumpeter Booker Little and many others of note. Essentially, Mosaic Records continues to excel in the reissue department, as they seemingly take great pains to portray or perhaps enhance the original LP recordings for modern day audiophiles and jazz connoisseurs. This collection also includes extensive annotations, biographies of the artists, interviews, recollections, and categorical documentation of the sessions presented in a matrix format. Here, the listener is treated to hard bop renditions of Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce" and "Koko," where trumpeter Kenny Dorham and tenor saxophonist George Coleman trade vicious, fierce fours, as the various aggregations and ensembles also tackle standards and originals. The infamous union of Max Roach and Buddy Rich originally titled, "Roach vs. Rich" presents an added bonus to this all encompassing package, as these works are further enhanced by Gigi Gryce's bold, fiery arrangements along with the addition of 14 previously unreleased alternate takes. Simply stated, Roach and Rich perform via a firebrand approach as the musician's distinct styles provide contrast and symmetry to Gryce's radiant horn charts. Basically, these pieces offer a glimpse of two masters/innovators whose respective techniques have often been imitated yet never duplicated. Suffice to state, Rich's blazing speed and unfathomable dexterity counterbalances Roach's complex, melodically constructed rolls, impeccable timing and bop-induced fills. Hence, the two are remarkable as they reciprocate impossibly fast motifs with cataclysmic fury. Overall, this 2000 release should be deemed required listening for astute observers of late-50's bebop and the continuing evolution of modern jazz. Highly recommended! Glenn Astarita    All Tracks & Credits :

JOE VENUTI | ZOOT SIMS - Joe Venuti and Zoot Sims (1975-1988) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Violinist Joe Venuti's three recordings with tenorman Zoot Sims are all quite joyful and exciting. This Chiaroscuro recording matches the pair with pianist John Bunch, bassist Milt Hinton, drummer Bobby Rosengarden and, on "Don't Take Your Love from Me," trombonist Spiegel Willcox who was then 73. The small-group swing performances have plenty of life and more often than not are hard-swinging. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     My Honey's Lovin' Arms 3:43
Joseph Meyer / Herman Ruby   
2     Deep Night 3:50
Charles Henderson / Rudy Vallée   
3     Remember 5:03
Irving Berlin   
4     I Got Rhythm 3:36
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin   
5     Avalon 3:43
Buddy DeSylva / Al Jolson / Vincent Rose   
6     I Surrender, Dear 5:08
Harry Barris / Gordon Clifford   
7     Wait Till You See Her 4:29
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers   
8     Russian Lullaby 4:23
Irving Berlin   
9     Lady of the Evening 3:58
Irving Berlin   
10     Where or When 4:23
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers   
11     Lover, Come Back to Me 6:37
Oscar Hammerstein II / Sigmund Romberg   
12     I'll See You in My Dreams 4:42
Isham Jones / Gus Kahn   
13     Don't Take Your Love from Me 3:04
Henry Nemo   
14     Shine 3:19
Lew Brown / Ford Dabney / Cecil Mack
Credits :
Bass – Milt Hinton (pistas: 5 to 14)
Drums – Bobby Rosengarden (pistas: 5 to 14), Cliff Leeman (pistas: 1 to 4)
Guitar – Bucky Pizzarelli (pistas: 1 to 4)
Piano – Dick Hyman (pistas: 1 to 4), John Bunch (pistas: 5 to 14)
Tenor Saxophone – Zoot Sims (pistas: 1 to 8, 10 to 14)
Trombone – Spiegle Wilcox (pistas: 13)
Violin – Joe Venuti