Gypsy Jazz - Jazz Manouche

A great concert that took place in March 2006 at the Coursive de La Rochelle in France, beautifully filmed and directed by Richard Valverde celebrating Django Reinhardt's legacy. It aired on October of the same year on arte channel , a renown French/German satellite TV culture channel.

We see the Gypsy Guitar Masters consisting mainly of manouche legends Stochelo Rosenberg and Romane along with accordéoniste Richard Galliano accompanied by a wealth of young blood performing manouche and jazz standards with amazing poise and feel for the music, enjoy.

part1
part2
part3
pass: itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

Baden Powell - Tristeza On Guitar (1966)

This record was made in Brasil in 1966 and is Baden Powell’s first collaboration with famed Jazz producer and writer Joachim Berendt for the German label Saba. It immortalizes some of Baden Powell’s most adventurous, inventive, energetic playing ever.

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

Hampton Hawes Quartet (with Jim Hall) - All Night Session (1956)

The amazing piano work of Hampton Hawes plus Jim Hall’’s guitar magic in an extended and uninterrupted late-night session! This 3 CD collection compiles the complete “All Night Session” which originally appeared on 3 LPs.

Recorded in just one night -from the late hours of November 12 to the early hours of November 13, 1956- this session is more like a live date than a trip to the studios, with no repeated numbers and, consequently, no alternate takes.

While Hawes was most often heard in a trio format, this release showcases the pianist in a quartet. A follower of Charlie Parker in both his music and lifestyle, Hawes waxed this recording nearly two years before being imprisoned for drug possession. Although he was supposed to serve a five-year jail term, his sentence was revoked by President John F. Kennedy. Hawes resumed his career after his release, playing and recording until suffering a fatal stroke in Los Angeles, on May 22, 1977.

part1
part2
part3
pw: itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

Wes Montgomery - The Complete Smokin’ At The Half Note Sessions

Recorded live at this now-defunct legendary New York nightspot on June 24, 1965.
According to Pat Metheny, the best live jazz guitar album ever made. 'Nuff said...

Wes Montgomery, g
Wynton Kelly, p
Jimmy Cobb, d
Paul Chambers, b



1
2
3
pass: itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

Bireli Lagrene - Sylvain Luc - Duet (1999)

It’s almost too easy to tag a pair of French guitarists with the Django Reinhardt label, but in the case of Sylvain Luc and Bireli Lagrene’s beautiful new Duet, there are moments when the tag is wonderfully accurate. Throughout a swinging rendition of Reinhardt’’s “Douce Ambiance” and the classic “Stompin’’ at the Savoy,” Luc and Birelli display an affinity for the legendary French jazzman’’s subtle swing and Gypsy modalities that goes well beyond a mere copycat gesture. The pair are equally masterful in turning pop songs like Cyndi Lauper’s “Time after Time” and Stevie Wonder’’s “Isn’’t She Lovely” into gorgeous jazz balladry. Luc and Lagrene play off one another with an almost telepathic ease, and their delicate rapport lights up the pared-down instrumentation of two acoustic guitars, whether they’re getting subtly funky on Wes Montgomery’s “Road Song” or fingerpicking through the Beatles’ “Blackbird.” Jazz guitar aficionados may find some of Duet reminiscent of John McLaughlin, Al Dimeola, and Paco de Lucia’s hugely popular Friday Night in San Francisco. Duet’’s appeal comes from making masterfully rendered, stripped-down music that shines. --Ezra Gale, Editorial Reviews Amazon.com

320a
320b
pass: itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

It’s Time For Dave Pike (1961)

Dave Pike was never an innovator, but his best albums are definitely solid. A perfect example is 1961’s It’s Time for Dave Pike, which was recorded when the vibist was only 22. By 1961 standards, this album isn’t experimental or forward-thinking—certainly not compared to some of the adventurous, challenging sounds that were coming from modal and avant-garde improvisers in the early ‘60s. But it’s easy to enjoy if you appreciate swinging, inspired bop along the lines of Milt Jackson, who is one of Pike’s primary influences. In fact, this album favors the same vibes/piano/bass/drums format that Jackson embraced during his years with the Modern Jazz Quartet—Pike is joined by pianist Barry Harris, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Billy Higgins. But It’s Time for Dave Pike doesn’t sound like an MJQ date and doesn’t contain any third stream experiments; it has more in common with Jackson’s work outside the MJQ. Hard bop is the name of the game on this album, which includes a few Pike originals as well as inspired versions of jazz standards like Miles Davis’ “Solar,” Charlie Parker’s “Cheryl,” and Tadd Dameron’s “Hot House.” The only time Pike doesn’t lead a quartet on this album is when he tackles Rodgers & Hart’s “Little Girl Blue” and performs an unaccompanied vibes solo. Produced by Orrin Keepnews for Riverside, It’s Time for Dave Pike was out of print for many years. But that changed in 2001, when Fantasy finally reissued this pleasing album on CD on its Original Jazz Classics imprint.

Tracklist:
1 Cheryl
2 On Green Dolphin Street
3 It’s Time
4 Hot House
5 Forward
6 Solar
7 Little Girl Blue
8 Tendin’ to Business

pw: itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder (1963)

The Sidewinder, Lee Morgan’s 24-bar blues with an infectious bass line and backbeat, instantly became one of the most popular pieces in modern jazz history. Every track on this classic album is a gem.

The Philadelphia-born trumpeter and superb bop stylist Lee Morgan apprenticed with Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey before emerging as a leader in his own right in the early ‘’60s for Blue Note Records. Although Morgan owed a stylistic debt to both Gillespie and Clifford Brown, he quickly developed a voice of his own that combined half-valve effects, Latin inflections, and full, fluid melodies. While many of Morgan’s later sessions for Blue Note would find him paired with saxophonist Hank Mobley, The Sidewinder features then up-and-coming tenor player Joe Henderson, plus Detroit pianist Barry Harris, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Billy Higgins. Along with the title track, an unconventional 24-bar blues, the album’’s compositional standout is “Totem Pole,” a minor Latin groove featuring an outstanding solo by Henderson. This is the kind of relaxed blowing date, invigorated by thoughtful performances, that forms the backbone of the Blue Note catalog. --Fred Goodman

Tracklist:
1 The Sidewinder
2 Totem Pole
3 Gary’s Notebook
4 Boy, What a Night
5 Hocus Pocus
6 Totem Pole [alternate take]

pw: itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

Lee Morgan - Here’s Lee Morgan (1960)

This is a reissue of the 1960 debut album (originally on Vee-Jay Records) by jazz trumpet great Lee Morgan. Morgan had one of the sharpest, brashest modern trumpet sounds in the ‘60s, right up there with contemporaries Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. On his debut he was in great company: hard bop drum legend Art Blakey (whose Jazz Messengers Morgan was a member of), ‘50s Miles and Coltrane pianist Wynton Kelly, bass ace Paul Chambers, and the fine, underrated tenor sax of Clifford Jordan.

The program is the usual mix of standards and originals, with a fine-and-mellow version of Frank Sinatra’s ballad “I’m A Fool To Want You.” Wayne Shorter’s sturdy “Running Brook” pointed towards the moody, thoughtful hard bop of the Blue Note era. On his debut, Morgan was still heavily under the sway of Miles and Kenny Dorham, not having yet developed the bristling, crackling sound that was his mid-to-late ‘60s trademark. But the seeds of greatness are present in this easygoing set of mainstream jazz, and this set is all the more valuable for the distinctive tenor of Jordan.

Recorded at Bell Sound Studios, New York from February 2-8, 1960. Originally released on Vee-Jay (3007).
Personnel: Lee Morgan (trumpet, flugelhorn); Clifford Jordan (tenor saxophone); Wynton Kelly (piano); Paul Chambers (bass); Art Blakey (drums).

Tracklist

1. Terrible T
2. Mogie
3. I’m a Fool to Want You
4. Running Brook
5. Off Spring
6. Bess

pw: itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

Wes Montgomery / Jimmy Smith - Further Adventures Of Jimmy And Wes (1966)

This is the sort of thing that will place high in the results of an internet search on the phrase “roots of acid jazz.” Organist Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery were already titans of the jazz world before they teamed up, and "Further Adventures", their second album together, enhanced the legends of both men. For the most part, it’s a slow-burning affair full of simmering grooves, laid-back solos, and hypnotic riffs. The tone is exemplified by a mellow jazz/bossa nova version of the ‘60s pop hit “Call Me,” digging deeply into a loungey feel. Interestingly, though, bop boss Montgomery pulls the bluesy Smith into his own axis on a version of “‘Round Midnight” that finds Smith venturing into more harmonically adventurous territory than usual.

Personnel includes: Jimmy Smith (organ); Wes Montgomery (guitar); Oliver Nelson (arranger); Grady Tate (drums); Ray Barretto (percussion).

pw:itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.

The Dave Pike Quartet - Pike’s Peak (1962)

Dave Pike collaborating with Bill Evans on this rare Japanese pressing.

Beautiful, beautiful early work from Dave Pike—a cascading array of vibes and piano—stretched out over some longer tracks that skip with a lyrical and modal groove throughout! Dave’’s working here with a group that includes Bill Evans on piano, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Walter Perkins on drums—and although his style is a bit more restrained than on his later funk albums, it also proves to be a wonderful match for the fluid colors of Evans’ work on piano—as well as Perkins’ light and playful work on the drum kit. There’s a simplicity here that’s really great—not as “over your head” as the Dave Pike Set of later years, and with a gentle grace that shows what a keenly mature player Pike was, even at this early age. Titles include “Why Not”, “Vierd Blues”, “Besame Mucho”, and “Wild Is The Wind”.

pass: itsartolie

N.B.: Material posted on this site is for information purposes only. You must delete it after listening and/or viewing and buy the original CDs.