Exploring vintage jazz vinyl with a focus on label and pressing details, discographical information and critical musings on the music found within the grooves.
Considered to be one of Mulligan's best albums, What Is There To Say? is a fantastic piano-less quartet session that benefits greatly from the underrated talents of Art Farmer and Dave Bailey.
Read MoreA wacky space-age cover hides a fantastic album of cool jazz within, with Rogers leading a group of talented and legendary players from the 1950s through an array of settings and sounds that results in an extremely satisfying LP that rewards repeated listening.
Read MoreThe cool jazz maestro Gerry Mulligan and the legendary tenor Ben Webster team up for an album that ranks as a highlight of both of their long and distinguished discographies.
Read MoreThe innovative and adventurous Modern Jazz Quartet team up with the like-minded Jimmy Guiffre to create an original album that remains under-appreciated even today.
Read MoreDespite countless hours enjoying the music of Miles Davis there has always been one period of his that has alluded me: his time spent with Gil Evans in the late 1950s. I haven't yet fully embraced that period, but when I chanced upon an original pressing of Miles Ahead I jumped at the opportunity to explore it further.
Read MoreBarney Kessel will always be best known in the jazz world for his run of albums on Contemporary from 1955 to 1960, all of which are excellent examples of modern jazz at it's finest. Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By finds the guitarist as part of a larger ensemble, playing shorter tracks that fall somewhere between a cool jazz and swing jazz sound. And, man, can Kessel swing with the best of them. He doesn't waste any notes, and is clearly just as comfortable in this group setting as he is playing with a trio.
Read MoreMilt Jackson Quartet features Milt Jackson leading a group that includes two of his cohorts in the Modern Jazz Quartet, with the great Horace Silver sitting in on the piano. Jackson was clearly skilled in this brass-less setting, and the group decided to lay down some cool jazz tracks that epitomize the sound of that movement in the mid-1950s. The tunes are mellow and fluid, with everyone falling into an easy groove that will move even the most uptight jazz fan.
Read MoreAt the final record shop stop on my recent vacation, I was flipping through the jazz "new arrivals" when I came across a copy of the world-famous Time Out for the ridiculous asking price of $1. That's not a typo, it was indeed marked at one whole dollar. And this was no trashed copy, the cover was a strong VG+, while the vinyl fell somewhere between VG and VG+. My interest was peaked.
Read MoreWhen I came across this record while flipping through the jazz bins it caught my eye primarily because of the excellent cover image of the great, but relatively unknown, jazz trombonist Urbie Green. As soon as I saw it was on the Bethlehem label, and that it was an original pressing (!), it pretty much was a done deal, especially at the $12 price tag. I was, of course, familiar with Urbie Green, but I didn't own any of the recordings he made as a leader (of which there were not many, he mostly functioned as an in demand sideman during the golden age of jazz). A quick spin on the store's listening turntable and I found East Coast Jazz No. 6 to be an excellent cool jazz outing that is quite an enjoyable listen.
Read MoreTeddy Charles had an important place in jazz in the 1950's before essentially disappearing from the music business altogether from the 1960's onward (before a brief comeback in 2012). His lasting reputation will always lie with The Teddy Charles Tentet, an influential album that took an adventurous take on jazz that was quite ahead of it's time.
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