Jazz From The Vinyl Junkyard

For the first time in many years, there has been a shift in the focus of many record labels, putting new music and previously unearthed artifacts in a position of precedence over the reissue of vault items. New releases of live recordings from Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Charlie Parker seemed to steal the thunder from ...

Artie Butler Have You Met Miss Jones? A&M/CTI 1968

Well, it has been some time since we last dipped into the vinyl crate for an installment. During the summer months, I had the good fortune of moving to a new house where I have more than enough space at last ...

Moacir Santos Maestro Blue Note Records 1972

Among a sizable number of Brazilian composers who are better known in their homeland than abroad, few can lay claim to a more substantive and varied catalog of music as that written by the great Moacir Santos. A prodigy of sorts, Santos mastered ...

Bobbi Humphrey Flute-In Blue Note Records 1971

Last time out we looked at two particularly neglected Blue Note gems from keyboard man Ronnie Foster which actually got me to thinking about the present state of that iconic jazz catalog. While the Connoisseur and RVG series have brought to light many ...

While it's true that the declining years of the Blue Note label saw many releases of a lesser quality when compared with the golden gems of the label's heydays, sweeping generalizations lead to value judgments that might not always be applicable. Up through the mid '70s, artists like Horace Silver and Gene Harris continued to record ...

Keeping with tradition, over the past few years this column has turned its attention to some of the best reissues of the past twelve months, looking carefully for any albums that might have been profiled here and subsequently made it to compact disc. Not surprisingly, the vault material still available for mining becomes increasingly less and ...

The Riverside Jazz Stars Jazzy Soundtracks 4: Kean Riverside 1961

Last time out we focused on a jazz version of a 60's Broadway play and we continue in a similar vein this month with an unusual treatment of another long forgotten production. Kean opened in New York City at the ...

Billy Taylor Orchestra Jazzy Soundtracks 3: Kwamina Mercury 1962

Continuing our look into soundtrack albums of a jazz nature, we depart this month from film scores to take a look at a jazz interpretation of music from a Broadway production. Opening in October of 1961 and running for a mere ...

Kenyon Hopkins Jazzy Soundtracks 2: The Yellow Canary Verve 1963

We initiated our foray into the land of jazz-inflected soundtracks with a look at the score to the long forgotten Mr. Buddwing , a superb accomplishment of the venerable Kenyon Hopkins . As we continue our survey, it seemed logical ...

With December ushering in the holiday season, it seemed logical to allow this month's column to address two items that fall under the category of jazzy Christmas fare. Although the repertoire in this area is really quite limited, some of the more memorable holiday jazz sides include works by Ella Fitzgerald and Jimmy Smith. For my ...

Never before had there been such a rush of musical product as that which appeared during the '50s and '60s. In all areas of music, but especially for popular and jazz genres, the time was ripe for a myriad of experiments. As stereo took its place among the technical landscape, companies large and small rushed to ...

Yusef Lateef Jazz 'Round the World Impulse! 1963

With a recent article in JazzTimes covering the history of Impulse Records and the role that prime mover John Coltrane made in securing the label's place in history, it occurred to me that there are still holes in the catalog's reissue program. ...

Airto I'm Fine. How Are You? Warner Bros 1977

As we get ready to wind down the days of summer, it occurred to me that some of my favorite music of the season has always been Latin or Brazilian tinged. Something about that incendiary percussive mix always seems to speak ...

Don Goldie Trumpet Caliente Argo 1962

While the majority of classic jazz albums have obtained their status based on the innovative nature of the statements contained therein, the fact remains that there are a sizable number of albums that charm in a way that is quite different from the virtues ...