Tommy Flanagan - The Tokyo Recital (Pablo 1975)

Tommy Flanagan on piano, Keter Bets on bass and Bobby Durham on drums in an outstanding all-Ellington/Strayhorn set. Fantastic JVC K2 sound. Enough said.

Track Listing:

1. All Day Long
2. U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)
3. Something to Live For
4. Main Stem
5. Day Dream
6. The Intimacy of the Blues
7. Caravan
8. Chelsea Bridge
9. Take the "A" Train

Personnel: Tommy Flanagan (piano); Keter Betts (bass); Bobby Durham (drums)

Liner Note Authors: Benny Green; Norman Granz

Recording information: Tokyo, Japan (02/15/1975)

Photographer: Norman Granz

The Tommy Flanagan Trio - Prestige Moodsville Series No. 9

The Prestige Moodsville series was a series of LPs intended to provide a a compilation of performances where "imporant names in jazz can just relax and play the tunes they like" and where the "emphasis will be on relaxed, thoughtful and expressive jazz, after hours music if you will". Tommy Flanagan must have been an obvious choice. He is aided in this set by Tommy Potter on bass and Roy Hanes on drums. Rudy van Gelder captured the exquisite sound in his usual manner by setting up a couple of high-fidelity microphones and letting the players and room speak for themselves. Sound even bettered and brought up to modern standards by JVC's renown K2 remastering process.

Track Listing:

1. 2257 You Go To My Head
2. 2258 In The Blue Of The Evening
3. 2259 Velvet Moon
4. 2260 Come Sunday
5. 2261 Jes' Fine
6. 2262 Born To Be Blue
7. 2263 In A Sentimental Mood

personnel:

Tommy Flanagan (p) Tommy Potter (b -1/3,5/7) Roy Haynes (d -1/3,5/7)

Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, May 18, 1960

Paul Chambers & Tommy Flanagan - Motor City Scene

Collected recordings of two excellent hard bop units consisting of musicians solely from Detroit, the first led by Thad Jones and Billy Mitchell and the second by Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams that not only stand out as two of the rarest of the Bethlehem jazz recordings, but which are also two of the best records made by the teams of these venerable Detroiters. Lone Hill Jazz chose to market this CD under the names of Flanagan and Chambers which were present on both sessions. Both combos groove very nicely here and who dares not to in the presence of hard bop royalty such as Kenny Burrell, Thad Jones, Al Grey, Pepper Adams, Donald Byrd, Tommy Flanagan, Paul Chambers, "Hey" Lewis (a Louis Hayes alias) and Elvin Jones. The bands are very tight and the tracks are long enough that everybody gets in some good licks on the solos. 9 numbers in all: "Let's Play One", "Minor on Top", "Like Old Times", "No Refill", "Stardust", "Trio", "Philson", "Libeccio", and "Bitty Ditty". Originally released as Motor City Scene (#1-4) and Stradust (#5-9) on the Bethlehem label this CD puts the 2 sessions together for the first time. Way harder than most of the west coast sessions on Bethlehem, and two essential hard bop classics that's nigh on impossible to find on wax.



1. Let's Play One
2. Minor on Top
3. Like Old Times
4. No Refill
5. Stardust
6. Trio
7. Philson
8. Libeccio
9. Bitty Ditty

1-4 (Motor City Scene): Thad Jones (cnt, flhrn), Al Gery (tb), Billy Mitchell (ts), Tommy flanagan (p), Paul Chambers (b), Elvin Jones (d)
New York October 24 & 32, 1959

5-9 (Stardust): Donald Byrd (tp), Pepper Adams (bar), Tommy Flanagan (p), Kenny Burrell (g), Paul Chambers (b), Louis Hayes (d)
New York, 1960