CHARLIE VENTURA – 1949-1951 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1309 (2003) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Most of the music on this CD from tenor saxophonist Charlie Ventura was formerly scarce. That is certainly true of his RCA recordings that feature his short-lived big band performing seven Duke Ellington compositions. While some of the solos are conventional, the arrangements of George Williams and particularly George Russell are certainly unusual in spots, quite impressionistic. In 1950 Ventura had another big band that also did not last. Its seven selections (five of which were previously unreleased) often utilize haunting vocals by the Honeydreamers and/or Lucy Reed, including "You've Got a Date With the Blues" and "Lonesome Darling." After that orchestra broke up, Ventura returned to playing with small groups. The final two dates on this CD were recorded for Norman Granz's Clef label; a quintet outing with trumpeter Conte Candoli that features boppish versions of six swing standards, and a quartet set with vocals from Betty Bennett, bassist Chubby Jackson, and the Blentones. Although not quite essential, this collection from Classics is valuable in making former rarities available. Scott Yanow
Tracklist + Credits :

AL COHN, JOE NEWMAN & FREDDIE GREEN - Mosaic Select 27 (2007) 3xCD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This Mosaic compilation draws from material that comprised five separate RCA Victor LPs of the 1950: Al Cohn's The Natural Seven and The Jazz Workshop: Four Brass, One Tenor, Freddie Green's Mr. Rhythm, plus two Joe Newman records, All I Wanna Do Is Swing and I'm Still Swinging. Cohn, Green, and Newman are the common element to all of the recording sessions, leading bands ranging from septets to nonets.The Natural Seven was inspired by the Kansas City Seven drawn from the Count Basie band of the 1930s, and while the arrangements by Cohn and Manny Albam swing lightly in the style of Basie's septet, the focus is more on originals written for the session rather than simply recreating earlier recordings. Joining them are pianist Nat Pierce, trombonist Frank Rehak, bassist Milt Hinton, and drummer Osie Johnson, highlighted by the upbeat unison horn line in Cohn's "Pick a Dilly" and Albam's swinging "Jump the Blues Away." Johnson even adds a vocal on his fun-filled "Osie's Blues." Cohn's other session as a leader includes Thad Jones with either Joe Wilder, Bernie Glow, or Phil Sunkel on third trumpet, with Dick Katz doubling on valve trombone and trumpet, pianist Dick Katz, and bassist Buddy Jones subbing for the previous personnel. Once more, Cohn and Albam split up the arrangements, with the tenor saxophonist benefiting from the quartet of brass players accompanying him. "Rosetta" and the leader's "Cohn Not Cohen" are among the highlights. Freddie Green was known for his superb timekeeping in the Basie band, a tenure which lasted a half-century until his passing in 1987, just a few years after the leader. Mr. Rhythm marked the first issued under his own name, plus eight of the dozen songs are Green's compositions, with Green sticking to playing rhythm throughout the date. Cohn, Albam, and Ernie Wilkins provide the swinging arrangements of the mostly blues-oriented material, while Cohn doubles on both clarinet and bass clarinet in addition to playing tenor sax. Two dates led by Newman in 1955 also fit in nicely, with either Frank Rehak or Urbie Green on trombone, Wilkins or Gene Quill on alto sax, and Pierce or Dick Katz on piano. Newman, who tended to be overshadowed by many of the other swing and bop trumpeters active at the time, shines on both open and muted horn, while featuring his musicians prominently throughout both dates. Green's "Corner Pocket" and a buoyant treatment of the standard "Exactly Like You" especially stand out. Most of this music was reissued on CD during the '80s and '90s, though none of it remained in print for long. Ken Dryden  
All Tracks & Credits

COLEMAN HAWKINS | MANNY ALBAM AND HIS ORCHESTRA - The Hawk in Paris (1957-1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD is a major surprise. Hawkins had always wanted to record with a large string section and he received his wish on the majority of these 12 romantic melodies, all of which have some association with Paris. The surprise is that he plays with a great deal of fire (his doubletiming on "My Man" is wondrous), and that Manny Albam's arrangements mostly avoid being muzaky and quite often are creative and witty. What could have been a novelty or an insipid affair is actually one of Coleman Hawkins's more memorable albums. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     April in Paris 3:53
Vernon Duke / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
2     Mon Homme (My Man) 3:19
Francis Salabert / Maurice Yain        
3     Under Paris Skies 2:46     
Jean Dréjac / Kim Gannon / Hubert Giraud
4     Mimi 3:08
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
5    La Chnouf 3:07
Marc Lanjean
6     La Vie en Rose 2:37
Mack David / Louis Louiguy / Marcel Louiguy / Édith Piaf
7     La Mer (Beyond the Sea) 3:33
Albert Lasry / Charles Trénet        
8     Paris in the Spring 3:15
Mack Gordon / Harry Revel        
9     I Love Paris 3:31
Cole Porter
10     Mademoiselle de Paris 3:19
Henri Contet / Paul Durand / Eric Maschwitz / Mitchell Parish
11     Chiens Perdus Sans Collier (The Little Lost Dog) 2:58
Edmond Bacri / Paul Misraki        
12     Tu N' Peux T' Figurer (Dawn over Paris) 3:22
Paul Misraki
Recorded at Webster Hall in New York City, on July 9 (3, 4, 9 & 10), 11 (1, 2, 6 & 7) and 13 (5, 8, 11 & 12), 1956
Credits :
Arranged By, Conductor – Manny Albam, Orchestra – Manny Albam And His Orchestra
Bass – Arnold Fishkin
Drums – Osie Johnson
Guitar – Barry Gailbreath
Harp – Janet Putnam
Percussion – Marity Wilson
Piano – Hank Jones
Reeds – Al Young, Ray Beckenstein, Romeo Penque
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Romeo Penque
Trombone – Urbie Green
Trumpet – Chauncey Welsch, Nick Travis

COLEMAN HAWKINS - Desafinado : Coleman Hawkins Plays Bossa Nova and Jazz Samba (1962-1997) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

That Coleman Hawkins jumped on the jazz/bossa nova bandwagon craze initiated by Stan Getz in 1962 was a bit of a surprise to his fans, but that he was comfortable in the idiom should not be off-putting. Able to adapt to any style over his lengthy career, the legendary tenor saxophonist chose classic standards adapted to Brazilian rhythms, music from masters like Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto, and a Manny Albam original. Producer Bob Thiele and music director Albam were strong in their resolve directing Hawkins to do this project, and the results are fairly predictable, especially considering that every single track is played in midtempo. The difference is the deployment of two guitarists in Barry Galbraith (lead) and Howard Collins (rhythm) split into separate stereo channels, with bassist Major Holley and no full kit drummer, although Eddie Locke with a minimal and stripped-down setup, Willie Rodriguez, and even Tommy Flanagan play small Latin percussion instruments. Themes derived from nights in Rio such as the beautifully rendered title track and "One Note Samba" are quite typical, but "O Pato" (The Duck) has a component added on from Duke Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train," while the Hawkins original "Stumpy" is adapted into "Stumpy Bossa Nova," derived from Dizzy Gillespie's "Groovin' High" with a taste of "The Man I Love" tacked on at the end. Albam's "Samba Para Bean" is standardized cool with Locke's accents via brushes on closed hi-hat cymbals, while "I Remember You" is a completely unforced, pretty rendition of this well-worn standard. Gilberto's tribute to Luiz Bonfá, "Um Abraco No Bonfa," sports a guitar lead by Galbraith in a stretched-out frame. The curve ball is a somewhat weird crossbred samba take of "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover," a truly corny song the band tried to make cool, only marginally succeeding. The simplified style of this album overall perfectly suited the amiable, good-natured, and laid-back Hawkins at a time when the world was somewhat in political turmoil regarding Caribbean nations and the role of South America in the emerging so-called Third World. He passed away seven years later, leaving a legacy as the most revered tenor saxophonist in jazz, and this very nice recording in his long discography, unique even unto itself. Michael G. Nastos
Tracklist :
1     Desafinado 5:49
Antônio Carlos Jobim / Newton Mendonça
2     I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover 2:53
Mort Dixon / Harry Woods    
3     Samba Para Bean 5:29
Manny Albam    
4     I Remember You 3:59
Johnny Mercer / Victor Schertzinger
5     One Note Samba 6:01
Jon Hendricks / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Newton Mendonça
6     O Pato 4:12
Jayme Silva / Neuza Teixeira
7     Un Abraco No Bonfa [An Embrace to Bonfa] 4:52
João Gilberto
8     Stumpy Bossa Nova 2:30
Coleman Hawkins
Credits :
Arranged By – Manny Albam
Bass – Major Holley Jr.
Claves – Tommy Flanagan
Drums – Eddie Locke
Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
Guitar – Barry Galbraith, Howard Collins
Percussion – Willie Rodriguez
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins

LURLEAN HUNTER - Night Life (1956) lp / Mp3

Tracklist :
A1. Georgia On My Mind
Arranged By – Al Cohn
Written By – Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell
A2. What A Difference A Day Made
Arranged By – Al Cohn
Written By – Maria Greuer, Stanley Adams
A3. Have You Met Miss Jones
Arranged By – Al Cohn
Written By – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
A4. That Old Feeling
Arranged By – Ernie Wilkins
Written By – Lew Brown, Sammy Fain
A5. It's The Talk Of The Town
Arranged By – Manny Albam
Written By – Levinson-Symes-Neiburg
A6.  Gentleman Friend
Arranged By – Ernie Wilkins
Written By – Arnold Horwitt, Richard Lewin
B1. Night Life
Arranged By – Manny Albam
Written By – Gratien Ouellette, Jack Murray
B2. It Could Happen To You
Arranged By – Manny Albam
Written By – Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke
B3. Moondrift
Arranged By – Ernie Wilkins
Written By – Bela Malcsiner, Sammy Cahn
B4. Sunday
Arranged By – Ernie Wilkins
Written By – Miller-Cohn-Stein
B5. Like Someone in Love
Arranged By – Al Cohn
Written By – Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke
B6. This Time the Dream's on Me
Arranged By – Manny Albam
Written By – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
Credits :
Conductor, Accompanied By – Manny Albam And His Orchestra
Arranged By – Al Cohn (faixas: A1-A3, B5), Ernie Wilkins (faixas: A4, A6, B3, B4), Manny Albam (faixas: A5, B1, B2, B6)
Piano – Hank Jones
Tenor Saxophone – Al Cohn
Trumpet – Joe Newman