For the either the budget conscious jazz fan, or the one who has to have “EVERYTHING,” you can’t get much better than this UK-based label. Here are their latest trio of 2cd releases, and if you don’t find something in here to savor, you must have tried to find Mariah Carey’s site.
1)Drummer Louis Bellson made his name as the “double bass drum” pioneer when he had a stint with Duke Ellington’s band in the 50s. he lead a bunch of big bands on his own, but didn’t lead smaller groups that often, making these 50s sessions a real joy. The ’54 disc Concerto for Drums has him with the very hip team of Charlie shavers/tp, Zoot Sims/ts, Don Abney/p and George Duvivier/b for a mix of mainstream standards and originals. Bellson gets to show his wares on the title track, while Shavers’ horn shines on “Buffalo Joe and Charlies Blues.” Sims is glorious in “I’ll Remember April,’ and Abney is spotlighted on “Basically Speaking…” as well as on the later 57 session with Harry Edison/tp and Charles Parham/b. This disc has a lot of space for everyone to stretch out a bit, and Harry doesn’t disappoint on “Broadway” or “Seven-Eleven.” A ’55 session mixes small and semi-small bands with a LOT of percussion as on the title The Hawk Talks, as well a wild mambo on “…a la Bellson.” The Drummer’s Holiday Session finally gets him into a bigger band for some of the tracks, but there are still a couple of smaller band sessions with Charlie Shavers that gives a hot solo on “T-Bones,” while Hank Jones/p and Oscar Pettiford join in for a couple of tracks as well. Hi Hat Heaven!
2)Grant Green is one of the most overlooked guitar heroes around, but he was also one of the most influential during his short tenure on earth. Artists from George Benson to Pat Martino have been stuck by Green envy, and for the uninitiated, these two discs of four sessions from 1961 is THE place to start.
Sunday Morning has Green in his classic quartet format with Kenny Drew/p, Ben Tucker/b and Ben Dixon/dr. The gospel themed tunes like “Exodus” or “Come Sunrise” have a subdued allure to them, and Grant’s linear playing is perfectly displayed here. His other favorite environment was with keyboards, and there are two sessions here in that milieu. Grantstand has him with Jake McDuff on the B3 along with Yusef Lateef, and they sound absolutely smoky on the title track, “My Funny Valentine” and an after hours “Blues in Maude’s Flat.” The other session strips down to Green with “Baby Face” (always loved that nickname) Willette/B3 and Ben Dixon/dr, and they sound like the London Fog on “Lullaby of the Leaves” and “Baby’s Minor Lope.” A classic session indeed, and Reaching out with Dave Bailey/dr, Tucker/b , Billy Gardner/p and Frank Haynes has a cooking mainstream sepia feel to it. Nice little Bunsen burners like “Baby You Should Know It’ display a guitar picking style that was a major paradigm shift for a generation of pickers. Any guitar fan will love these gems.
3) I highly doubt if there is a drummer who recorded on more sessions than Shelly Manne; he’s got to be in the top 2 or 3, and it’s easy to hear why: never overpowering, able to adapt to any situation, and with a great sense of taste and swing. During the late 50s, he actually lead a trio (with Andre Previn/p and either Leroy Vinnegar or Red Mitchell/b) that made a couple hit records, most notably a jazz version of My Fair Lady. Here, he tries to recapture that success with a pair of trio discs that cover material from two hit shows, Li’l Abner and Bells Are Ringing. The latter has a couple of bona fide jewels, like “Just In Time” an d”The Party’s Over” (played here twice in two different tempos), while some of the other stuff is a bit of a stretch. The Li’l Abner session has some cooking moments as in “Matrimonial Stomp” but nothing to get excited about. The other disc is dedicated to the music inspired by the 50s hit TV show Peter Gunne, which I’m sure EVERYONE knows the title tune to. There’s a larger group here, with vibes (Victor Feldman), sax (Herb Geller/Richie Kamuca), trumpet (Joe Gordon/Conte Condoli, along with Russ Freeman/p and Monty Budwig/b. The music here, while a little dated, has a certain charm about it, and anything that has the underrated tenor of Philly’s Richie Kamuca is worth checking out. It might help to wear an overcoat and shades while listening to these sessions.
Avid Jazz
www.avidgroup.co.uk