Here are three albums from Storyville Records that feature concerts from winners of the Denmark Jazzpar Award in respective years 1993 (Flanagan), 1994 (Haynes) and 1996 (Allen). Not sure what went wrong in 1995, but be glad for what we’ve got!
The melodic pianist Tommy Flanagan is not only featured in his most common milieu of a trio (here with Jesper Lundgaard/b and Lewis Nash/dr) but in the rare format of a 7 piece “Windtet” as well as a quartet with tenor saxist Jesper Thilo. The larger ensemble suavely swings on the salsa’d “Eclypso” and the tasty “Beyond The LBluebird” while Thilo croons on “For Lena and Lennie”. Flanagan is faultless on a bopping “Tin Tin Teo” and gives a rich aria for “But Beautiful”. Timeless sounds.
Drummer Roy Haynes actually breaks into singing “Beautiful Copenhagen” in appreciation of receiving the Jazzpar award, and shows his thanks with a wide ranging session with Tomas Franck/ts, Thomas Clausen/p and Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson/b for a mix of bop, blues and beyond. Franck is in a Coltrane mood for the driving “My Shining Hour” while soaring over Haynes’ riveting high hat on “Bessie’s Blues”. Haynes snaps to “Bright” and ricochet’s sharp angles on “Rhyhm-A-Ning” as Clausen plucks the strings. Eternal joys.
Post bop pianist Geri Allen left us way too soon, with this 1996 album showing the wide range of her reach. She has a core trio with Palle Danielsson/b and Lenny White/dr, and they swing hard on “Feed The Fire” with Allen showing fire in her bones on “Skin” and Danielsson stretching out with White on “A Beautiful Friendship”. The warm flugelhorn of Johnny Coles blows rich embers on “Old Folks” and a Nonet” with five more horns gets moody with Uffe Markussen’s bass clarinet on “Some Aspects of Water” and modern harmonics during “Smooth Attitudes”.