The return of the black grooves…
As part of celebrating their 70th Anniversary, Craft Recordings has been reissuing a series of their classic recordings of the 1950s. This latest one is a true gem, led by overlooked and forgotten West Coast bopping pianist Hampton Hawes. He leads an all star quartet with his usual trio of drummer Shelly Manne with bassist Red Mitchell, and includes famed session guitarist and Wrecking Crew member Barney Kessel. The result is a swinging session filled with style, taste and class.
Hawes and Kessel bop with delight on a sleek take of “Yardbird Suite” and glide through “Love Is Just Around The Corner”. Mitchell is featured on his own cleverly titled “Bow Jest” and setts a nice pace for the leader’s glassy touch on “Like Someone in Love” and “There Will Never Be Another You”. Manne guides the team around Hawes’ harmonies on “Up Blues”, and before you know it, you’ve heard more music in under 40 minutes than most of today’s digital downers provide in 70. And let’s not forget the warmth of the sound of this album, as well as that wonderfully anticipatory click as the needle hits the grooves. Groove, indeed!
Verve Records is also re-issuing albums from the 50s and 60s, some on monaural and others in a warm stereo. One of the rewarding features of these “lps” is that you hear them the way there were meant to be heard, one side at a time, with a beginning, middle and end, like a perfect novel.
Oscar Peterson’s trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen has their classic 1964 We Get Requests album remastered in gorgeous sound, with warm vibes emanating from the speakers. The team divides the album between pop tunes and standards like “People” and “Days of Wine And Roses” along with a pair of sublime bossa (“Corcovado” and “Ipanema”). Standards like “My One and Only Love” are sublime, while originals such as “Goodbye J.D.” and “D & E” showcase Peterson’s swinging dexterity. Polished ivory!
Then, there are albums that are considered “classics” and then there are those like 1956’s Ella and Louis that qualify as Desert Island Discs. Even the cover, with Louis Armstrong’s rolled down socks, is simply timeless. Backed by the deft team of Oscar Peterson/p, Buddy Rich/dr, Herb Ellis/g and Ray Brown/b, Fitzgerald and Armstrong sound as cozy as all get out as they parlay on “Can’t We Be Friends” and “Cheek to Cheek”. The sweet and sour contrast between Ella’s pristine tone and Armstrong’s perfectly graveled voice is exquisitely delicious on “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” and the fun “Foggy Day”. If you don’t like this album, take up something like disco, because there is just no hope for your ears.