Exploring vintage jazz vinyl with a focus on label and pressing details, discographical information and critical musings on the music found within the grooves.
Little Niles features a couple of jazz legends in Randy Weston and Johnny Griffin, along with the outsized and under-appreciated talents of trombonist and arranger Melba Liston. It's an excellent hard bop record that has flown under the radar despite the pedigree of it's players.
Read MoreBorn To Be Blue! was Bobby Timmons' final album released during his fruitful tenure with Riverside and it sums up his funky and bluesy approach to the piano, a sound that was so important to the development of the hard bop sound. He was joined by some top-shelf talent with either Sam Jones or Ron Carter in the bassist's chair and the MJQ's Connie Kay performing his magic on the drums.
Read MoreBy 1976 Dexter Gordon had all but become a forgotten figure in the mainstream jazz world. His style of jazz had fallen out of fashion, pushed to the fringe as the more commercial leanings of fusion and smooth jazz became the flavors of the day. His successful return to the United States - after years in a self-imposed exile -was wonderfully documented on the double-LP Homecoming an album made even better with the presence of Woody Shaw blowing his tail off on the trumpet.
Read MoreOpus De Jazz is an "all-star" session from the 1950s that brought together a talented group of like-minded musicians who could lay down some outstanding hard bop. Milt Jackson is, as always, a delight to behold, but the real revelation here is the strong showing by Frank Wess.
Read MoreAt the time Taylor went into the studio with Quincy Jones to record jazz versions of songs from My Fair Lady, the 1956 musical was a monster hit on Broadway. The outsize talents of the Taylor trio and Jones are respectful of the originals while undoubtedly adding the flair of modern jazz to the proceedings.
Read MoreFor many years I figured Pre-Bird was a compilation of early recordings by Mingus, made in the years before he hit the big time on his own. Man, was I ever wrong on that one. The wonderful music on the album was recorded in 1960 and is every bit as fantastic as one would expect from Mingus during this period of his illustrious career.
Read MoreA true all-star affair, The Blues And The Abstract Truth finds Oliver Nelson leading a group of legendary jazz musicians on a record that just about sums up the essence of the hard bop sound that had been building momentum since the mid-1950s.
Read MoreMingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Mingus was Charles Mingus' last major studio recording of the 1960s and it's a real treasure in the great jazz bassist's discography. The album features a large band of talented musicians in top form performing Mingus' notoriously complex compositions, many of which are reinterpretations of some of his earlier classic songs.
Read MoreThe general knowledge in the American jazz community of Hayes goes beyond just under-appreciation and into the realm of ignorance. Not completely surprising, of course, as the best jazz music of the late 1950s and early 1960s clearly resided along the coasts of the United States and jazz from across the water was not exactly a huge selling point to the jazz fan looking for the next big thing for their turntable.
Read MoreAfter making a name for himself in the early 1950s on the West Coast jazz scene, Curtis Counce put together The Curtis Counce Group in 1956 and promptly recorded three albums for the Contemporary label, all firmly rooted in the hard bop style. Landslide is highly recommended for anyone who loves modern straight ahead jazz with a soulful and bluesy edge.
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