This is what is great about “reissue labels” like Avid; they uncover artists that have been either forgotten about or undiscovered the first time around. Here are for artists that were under the radar, and deserved better.
Alto saxist Sonny Criss was a Charlie Parker disciple who bopped until he 
dropped. He spent most of his career in Los Angeles, which was not the place to make your name back in the 1950s. He has three sessions here from 1956. The first one with the impressive lineup including Kenny Drew/p and Barney Kessel has Criss on a gorgeous “Willow Weep For Me” while he bends and snaps on “Sweet Georgia Brown.” Larry Bunker adds some vibes to a Plays Cole Porter album that soars with “Easy To Love” and sparkles on “Just One of Those Things” while a lean quartet including Sonny Clark/p, Leroy Vinnegar/b and Lawrence Marable bops with delight on “How High the Moon.’ A 1959 Chicago session has Criss with Wynton Kelly/p, Bob Cransaw/b and Walter Perkins/dr for some spry originals like”Sylvia” and “Butts Delight” while “Indiana” is manna from 52nd Street. Bebop paradise.
Walt Dickerson was a vibes player that got overlooked in the days of Bobby Hutchinson and Milt Jackson. Here are a pair of quartet albums from 1961 and ’62 each that are quite impressive in their own right. From 1961 and the first 62 album, he employs pianist Austin Crow along with Andrew Cyrille-Edgar bateman/d and a rotating team of Bob Lewis-Eustis Guillemet jr-Ahmed Abdul-Malik/b for a heap of originals and a handful of standards . Of the former, the band oozes cool on “The Unknown” and a lithe “Good Earth” and “You Go To My Head” glistens with light. The ringer here is the last session which includes pianist Andrew Hill (!) along with Cyrille and bassist George Tucker for three songs. They stretch out for 17 ½ glorious minutes on the thoughtful and bluesy “To My Queen” as Hill and Dickerson weave in and out like threads on a tapestry, while “How Deep is the Ocean” beams for eleven minutes of delight before a conversational “God Bless The Child” brings out rich colors of sound. WHEW!
Pianist Dorothy Donegan was able to mix the styles of Oscar Peterson’s bop, Erroll Garner’s romanticism and Count Basie’s economy into a personal and winning sound of her own. She does a couple of songs unaccompanied here, and she sounds marvelous, but for the most part her instrument was the trio and she uses it well here for some late 50s recordings. Oscar Pettiford is the probable bassist for the first of a pair of gigs at the NYC Embers Night Club where she flows on “Just In Time” and dances on “Humoresque.” She hits a bit harder a couple hears later as she bebops on “How High The Moon” and gets exotic on “Caravan.” Her filigrees are buoyant on “Semptember Song” and “Lullaby of Birdland” whereas she highlights here lyricism on “September in the Rain” and “I’ll Remember Paris” during a 1959 studio recording. Impressive!
Don Elliott was a rarity in that he emphasized playing the mellophone, which is sort of a trumpet on HGH. He also hit the trumpet, vibes and bongos, even singing a bit in a style like a hefty Chet Baker, but also “oohing” in a tone that is an acquired taste as on Cole Porter’s “Everything I Love.” The Quincy Jones alumnus sounds hip and cool otherwise onthese mid 50s sessions, displaying a gorgeous sound on “ Angela” and”Imagination.” A 1955 outing includes “Hal McKusick/as-fl, Danny Bank/bs, Billy Byers/tb and Milt Hinton/b for some sophisticated West Coast sounds from NYC on “Spring Is Here” and “Fascinating Rhythm.” Pianist Dick Hyman arranges some clever material with Mundell Lowe’s guitar for an albumo fhis own pieces that include a suave “Dominick Seventh” and “Gargantuan Chant.” The most “jazzy” album is from 1956 as Elliott blows warmly on “It Might As Well Be Spring” and croons on “I Only Have Eyes For You.” Great sounds from the Ike years.
Avid Group