Ray Bryant - Take a Bryant Step (1967)

Ray Bryant's cover of Miriam Makeba's 1957 signature hit Pata Pata, released in the US in 1967. On this same year Cadet released the Take a Bryant Step LP consisting of covers and Bryant originals, a joyful affair, mostly targeted for airplay. Ray is backed by the Richard Evans Orchestra. This LP has never made it to CD to my knowledge.


Track listing

A1 To Sir With Love 3:05
A2 Ramblin 3:10
A3 Natural Woman 2:35
A4 Ode To Billy Joe 3:13
A5 Up-Up And Away 3:18
A6 Paint It Black 3:17
B1 Pata Pata 3:07
B2 Poochie 3:07
B3 Yesterday 2:40
B4 Paper Cup 2:55
B5 Doing My Thing 2:40
B6 Dinner On The Grounds 3:27

personnel

Arranged By – Ray Bryant (tracks: A1 to A4, A6, A3), Richard Evans (2) (tracks: A5, B1, B2, B4 to B6)
Engineer – Doug Brand
Orchestra – Richard Evans Orchestra
Piano – Ray Bryant

Recorded August & November, 1967, at Ter Mar Studios, Chicago

Ray Bryant (1931-2011)

A small tribute to this piano jazz legend who left us on June 3. Ray Bryant has had an unflinching love affair with the blues idiom throughout his career as this video of the composer of "Little Suzie" and "Cubano Chant" asserts. Taped at Montreux, Switzerland in 1977.

Ray Bryant - Blues No. 6
Uploaded by Delta_Mike

This is Ray's famous composition "Little Suzie" in a small edit by yours truly. Groovy as hell, propelled by one of the best left hands in the jazz piano business, enjoy.

Ray Bryant - Little Susie
Uploaded by Delta_Mike

The Ray Bryant Trio - All Blues (1978)

This blog laments the loss of jazz piano giant Ray Bryant on June 3. This is Ray Bryant's blues opus from 1978. Magnificent playing from a Ray at the peak of his powers on compositions by Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Lester Young and Percy Mayfield. Bryant includes a new version of his 1950s classic “Blues Changes” which created a subtle new shade of the blues - now a standard feature of the jazz canon. With Sam Jones on bass and Grady Tate on drums. RIP Ray.

Stan Getz - Anniversary + Serenity ft. Kenny Barron (1987)

Stan Getz celebrated his 60th birthday -- as he had his 50th -- with a gig at the renown Cafe Montmartre Jazzhus in Copenhagen on July 6, 1987. Backed by a stellar rhythm session consisting of Kenny Barron on piano, Rufus Reid on bass and Victor Lewis on drums the delivery is nothing short of exemplary as one would expect. Sadly, Getz had only four more years to go before losing a long battle with cancer. This enhances the status of these magnificent sessions from essential to mandatory listening for any serious jazz aficionado.

Tracklisting:

Anniversary

1. El Cahon
2. I Can’t Get Started
3. Stella By Starlight
4. Stan’s Blues
5. I Thought About You
6. What Is This Thing Called Love
7. Blood Count

Serenity

1. On Green Dolphin Street
2. Voyage
3. Falling In Love
4. I Remember You
5. I Love You

Personnel:

Stan Getz, ts
Kenny Barron, p
Rufus Reid, b
Victor Lewis, d



Recorded live at the Cafe Montmartre, Copenhagen, Denmark on July 6, 1987

Wes Montgomery - The Complete Smokin' at the Half Note

It has been well established by jazz pundits that Smokin' at the Half Note is one of the seminal recordings of live jazz guitar. Recorded on June 24, 1965 at the now defunct Half Note in NYC, it paired the legendary guitarist with Miles Davis' 50s rhythm section, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Their playing is the stuff of legend. What is definitely not stuff of legend though is Verve's marketing policy. Of the original LP album only two of the original five tracks were recorded at the Half Note ("No Blues" and "If You Could See Me Now"). At the behest of producer Creed Taylor, the other three were re-recorded on September 22, 1965 at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in New Jersey. To further complicate matters, the remaining Half note numbers were included in the LP Willow Weep for Me, a posthumous 1969 album laced with Claus Ogerman's string and brass arrangements (shock, horror!) added in the studio. For comic relief, Willow won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group. No doubt Wes was smiling in the sky. Our mission here is to demystify dubious artistic/marketing decisions made by clueless record producers and this 1998 version issued for the Japanese market puts things in order as it contains all nine numbers recorded during that historical night at the Half Note. I even went the extra step of adding Rodgers' and Hammersteins' version of The Surrey with the Fringe on Top contained in Wes' the The Verve Jazz Sides double CD as all previous issues of this track were heavily edited (a mid-solo fade-out in our case). This version restores as much of the original performance as possible, as heavy editing of the tape has rendered full recreation of the original an impossibility.

Chico O'Farrill - Carambola (2000)

Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill's (1921 - 2001) swan song Carambola was nominated for the 2001 Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album and deservedly so. This is what Down Beat (11/00, p.73) had to say : "...The third, and best, installment in a much deserved late career rediscovery. There is clarity, a sense of strength and a coherence in this album that is rare even for a master. It plays like a wise and joyous summation of a career, 5 stars out of 5..."

Tracklisting:

1. Carambola 00:05:18
2. The Aztec Suite 00:15:09
3. Delirio 00:04:24
4. Havana Blues 00:05:28
5. Vanna's Song 00:03:22
6. Crazy City (… But I Love It) 00:03:55
7. Waller Exercise 00:01:47
8. Rhapsody For Two Islands 00:03:35
9. Oye Mi Rumba 00:02:19
10. Enamorado (Falling In Love) 00:04:46
11. Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite 00:15:54

Personnel: Graciela Peréz Grillo (vocals); Lewis Kahn (violin); Mario Rivera (flute, alto saxophone); Jimmy Cozier, Peter Brainin, Marshall McDonald (saxophone); Mike Migliore (tenor saxophone); Matt Hilgenberg, Jon Owens, Kenny Rampton, Michael Mossman, Jim Seeley (trumpet); Vincent Chancey, Chris Komer (French horn); Gary Valente, Papo Vazquez, Sam Burtis, Jack Jeffers (trombone); Arturo O'Farrill (piano); Steve Berrios (drums, congas, bata, claves, maracas, shekere, timbales, percussion); Victor Jones (drums); Joe Gonzalez (bongos, bells).

Recorded at Clinton Recording Studios, New York, New York in July 2000.

Dudley Moore Trio 1969

There are many, many people who are totally ignorant of the fact that the late Dudley Moore, who as well as being a great actor, was also an extremely talented jazz composer and pianist. Dudley's approach to music, especially jazz was seriously important to him. He liked his music to have a swinging and happy feel. He was strongly influenced by the playing of Erroll Garner and Oscar Peterson, who he idolized, and this album, at times is similar to the conceptual styles of these great artists. Dudley Moore's compositions have a lovely romantic and beautiful feel to them. This 1969 self-titled album consists of all-Dudley Moore compositions and was the first album by the Trio that did not feature any cover versions. It is a lovely album and deserves to be heard by a bigger audience. There was an outstanding album "Jazz Jubilee" released in 2004 which featured concerts by The Dudley Moore Trio recorded in Australia and England during the seventies. The revenue from this record's sale was, at the time, going to charities supported by Dudley Moore. I don't know if the album is still available, but if you see it, check that the charity rules still apply, and if so, think about buying the album.

Tracklisting

1 Fanfare
2 120 Plus Optional Magic Exploding Cadence
3 Chimes
4 Love Song from an Imaginary Musical
5 Bags of Chris
6 Pop and Circumstance
7 Romantic Notion
8 Folk Song
9 Amalgam
10 Nursery Tune
11 Hymn

All compositions by Dudley Moore

ABOUT THE TRIO

Dudley Moore - Piano, born on 19 April, 1935, Dagenham, England. Died on 27 March, 2002. A hugely talented comedian, actor, composer and jazz pianist.

Jeff Clyne - Bass, born 29 January 1937, in London is a British jazz bassist (playing both bass guitar and double bass). Some of the great artists he has played with include Isotope, Nucleus, Julie Driscoll, Kevin Ayers, Georgie Fame, John McLaughlin, and Zoot Sims.

Chris Karan - Drums, born October 14, 1939, is a jazz percussionist, primarily a drummer, of Greek descent from Melbourne. He played in Mike Nock's trio. He also worked with Roy Budd and Katie Melua, along with putting out CDs of his own. Other than drums he has an interest in various percussion styles of the world and plays the tabla on some albums.

Dizzy Gillespie - Afro (1954)

Everything about this incredible Dizzy Gillespie LP screams "masterpiece". From the classic Manteca Suite (1-4), written by Cuban genius Chico O’Farrill, to the dionysian Caravan, to the incredible list of band members, a virtual who's who of Afro-Cuban jazz luminaries, right down to the stupendous cover art by David Stone Martin. If you enjoy your jazz latin-tinged, this is the one to go for.

Track List:

1. Manteca Theme
2. Contraste
3. Jungla
4. Rhumba Finale
5. A Night in Tunisisa
6. Con Alma
7. Caravan

Personnel

# Quincy Jones Trumpet | (1-4)
# Jimmy Nottingham Trumpet | (1-4)
# Ernie Royal Trumpet | (1-4)
# Leon Comegys Trombone | (1-4)
# J. J. Johnson Trombone | (1-4)
# George Matthews Trombone | (1-4)
# George Dorsey Alto Saxophone | (1-4)
# Hilton Jefferson Alto Saxophone | (1-4)
# Hank Mobley Tenor Saxophone | (1-4)
# Lucky Thompson Tenor Saxophone | (1-4)
# Danny Bank Baritone Saxophone | (1-4)
# Ray Concepcion Piano | (1-4)
# Wade Legge Piano | (1-4)
# Lou Hackney Bass | (1-4)
# Robert Rodriguez Bass |
# Jose Manguel |
# Candido Camero Congas |
# Mongo Santamaria Congas | (1-4)
# Ubaldo Nieto Timbales |
# Charlie Persip Drums | (1-4)
# Rafael Miranda Percussion | (5-7)
# Alejandro Hernandez Piano | (5-7)
# Gilberto Valdez Flute | (5, 7)
# Chico O'Farrill Arranger, Conductor | (1-4)

Original recordings produced by Norman Granz

Tracks 1-4 recorded May 21, 1954 at Fine Sound, New York City; tracks 5-7 recorded June 3, 1954 at Fine Sound, New York City.

Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis with the Shirley Scott Trio (1958)

A misnomer, this is not the Eddie Davis Trio featuring Shirley Scott Complete Recordings as the CD title wants us to believe. It's actually the other way around i.e. the Shirley Scott Trio, consisting of Scott on organ (who was 24 when these recordings were made), George Duvivier on bass and Arthur Edgehill on drums, serving as a solid foundation for Jaws to blow his magic. And of course this is by no means a 'complete recordings' reissue. To be precise, this CD includes 2 LPs, Roulette R 52019, SR 52019 and Roost RLP 2227 in their entirety. This is very common in jazz releases, as in so many sessions there is no 'leader' per se, and for marketing purposes record labels issued the same session under a different leader. Add to this the reissue craze of the last 25 years or so and you are stumped! These are an archivist's rantings you might say and you would be right, the music is always what counts and the music presented here is priceless. For inquiring minds a complete Shirley Scott discography can be found here.



Track list:

1. Close Your Eyes 2:31
2. Canadian Sunset 4:15
3. Just One More Chance 2:58
4. Night And Day 3:26
5. Snowfall 2:18
6. Afternoon In A Doghouse 3:21
7. A Gal In Calico 3:39
8.(Where Are You) Now That I Need You 2:36
9. This Time The Dream's On Me 3:01
10. There Is No Greater Love 2:51
11. What Is There To Say 2:28
12. Fine And Dandy 3:11
13. Day By Day 4:04
14. Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me 3:50
15. I Remember You 4:12
16. Land Of Dreams 4:14
17. Scotty 3:46
18. On The Street Where You Live 3:34
19. Dee Dee's Dance 3:00
20. Don't Get Around Much Anymore 2:45
21. Everything I Have Is Yours 3:47
22. Don't Worry 'Bout Me 4:07
23. Autumn In New York 3:15
24. Penthouse Serenade 2:46

Eddie Davis (ts)
Shirley Scott (org)
George Duvivier (b)
Arthur Edgehill (d)

recorded in NY March 1958 (tracks 1-12) & May 1958 (tracks 13-24)

PS Johnny-come-latelies can watch the Jaws performing his magic on video here. Happy 2011 all.

Bill Evans - The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings

On June 25th, 1961, Bill Evans and his trio made jazz history over the course of five sets at the Village Vanguard. Selections from those performances were released on two full-length LPs, Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard, both of which went on to become landmark jazz albums from the era. This three-disc set provides a valuable service by presenting all five sets in their complete and original sequence, with crisp remastered sound, a previously unissued take (Scott LaFaro's "Gloria's Step"), and snippets of on-stage patter.

Much has been made of the chemistry between Evans, bassist LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian, and little of it has been overblown. The three make intuitive, shape-shifting music that breaks new ground with its subtle, sophisticated rhythmic interplay and achingly lyrical beauty. Evans's playing, informed by a Chopin-esque delicacy as much as by post-bop dynamism, is a case study of the jazz ideal achieved. The music, the improved sound, and the chance to have the complete date under one cover make this set a must. ”

This is the remastered set that features 20 bit k2 super coding. It is the complete days worth of recording of this legendary session, warts and all. One of the warts is a 3 second power outage during the first part of disc one-- it's not a defect in the ripping or the the cd itself, just part of the recording.


tracklist

DISC 1:
1. Spoken Introduction
2. Gloria's Step - (take 1, interrupted)
3. Alice in Wonderland - (take 1)
4. My Foolish Heart
5. All of You - (take 1)
6. Announcement and Intermission
7. My Romance - (take 1)
8. Some Other Time
9. Solar

DISC 2:
1. Gloria's Step - (take 2)
2. My Man's Gone Now
3. All of You - (take 2)
4. Detour Ahead - (take 1)
5. Discussing Repertoire
6. Waltz For Debby - (take 1)
7. Alice in Wonderland - (take 2)
8. Porgy (I Loves You, Porgy)
9. My Romance - (take 2)
10. Milestones

DISC 3:
1. Detour Ahead - (take 2)
2. Gloria's Step - (take 3)
3. Waltz For Debby - (take 2)
4. All of You - (take 3)
5. Jade Visions - (take 1)
6. Jade Visions - (take 2)
7. ... A Few Final Bars

Bill Evans, p
Scott LaFaro, b
Paul Motian, d

Recorded June 25th, 1961 at the Village Vanguard, New York