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Reassessing

12

Sahib Shihab and the Danish Radio Jazz Group

Read "Sahib Shihab and the Danish Radio Jazz Group" reviewed by Joshua Weiner


Many jazz fans will know saxophonist and flautist Sahib Shihab primarily for his stint in the 1940s with Thelonious Monk, and his playing captured on Monk's Genius of Modern Music Blue Note sets. Keen-eyed perusers of liner notes, however, will know him as an able sideman on classic albums by John Coltrane, Quincy Jones, Art Blakey, Benny Golson, Milt Jackson and others. Shihab also recorded as a leader in the 1950s and 1960s with Savoy, Debut and Argo, before moving ...

6

The Time Is Now!

Read "The Time Is Now!" reviewed by Joshua Weiner


The early '70s were difficult times in the United States, not least for the jazz community. The optimism of the flower-power and peace movements had given way to political radicalism, conflict and paranoia, and the excitement of the initial free jazz and jazz-fusion eras had begun to wane. John Coltrane and Albert Ayler were dead. Miles Davis was playing thick, unrelenting funk. Important record labels such as Columbia and Atlantic were largely pursuing multiplatinum rock acts rather than jazz. Some ...

15

Shelly Manne and His Men at the Black Hawk 1

Read "Shelly Manne and His Men at the Black Hawk 1" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


For many years, but certainly for most of the '50s and '60s, the top jazz drummer--by public opinion--was Shelly Manne. Although he was typically associated with West Coast Jazz, (a term he disliked), Manne had come West from jny:New York City in the '50s and settled in jny:Los Angeles in the halcyon days of the post-war boom. He was a guy of many parts; he raised horses, had married an ex-Rockette, and become part-owner of what was to become the ...

6

House Rent Party

Read "House Rent Party" reviewed by Jason Young


Nothing sparks musical intrigue like a trip back in time. Such was the case when in 1992, Delmark Records released Sunnyland Slim's House Rent Party, featuring Jimmy Rogers, Willie Mabon and St Louis Jimmy. A part of their Apollo series, it gave blues enthusiasts an audio lens into the budding of Chicago blues.Tracing back to St. Louis, Missouri, Delmark has been a trusted label for jazz and blues music since 1953. In 1962, label owner Bob Koester purchased ...

25

The Electric Years Box Set

Read "The Electric Years Box Set" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


In a year that has brought us a true bounty of previously unheard majesty including Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy (Impulse!), and Bill Evans; Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969), (Elemental Music) it is only fitting that Miles Davis get his due. And in a very, very big way. Seared into modern memory, modern art, the music presented on the gloriously massive, eleven LP set Miles Davis: The Electric Years ...

13

The Easy Way

Read "The Easy Way" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


It is fair to wonder how Jimmy Giuffre would be remembered had he not gone off on to the wilder shores of atonality, collective improvisation, and free jazz with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow in the early 1960s. It is easy to forget that Giuffre was regarded as a rising star, both as a multi-instrumentalist (he played tenor and baritone sax; clarinet was apparently a double for him) and a composer, in the 1950s. Yes, mentioned in the same breath ...

10

Momentum Space

Read "Momentum Space" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Momentum Space was released in 1999 on Verve Records. Considering the players--saxophonist Dewey Redman, pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Elvin Jones--the album didn't make much of a splash. Reviews were mixed, leaning toward the dismissive. Taylor was 70 at the time. Jones was in his early 70s and saxman Redman was in his late 60s. Taylor was widely considered a genius of free jazz, or a madman who was going out there on the bandstand and jiving us--the ...

17

At Fillmore East

Read "At Fillmore East" reviewed by John Coltelli


A Band of Brothers... 50th Anniversary Allman Brothers At Fillmore East Recently, while excavating at an archeological dig better known as the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in jny: Cleveland, Ohio an intrepid tourist lingered long and hard at a find containing the remnants of a long forgotten tribe once known as The Allman Brothers Band. A band of brothers if you will. These ancients in a modern world were known for utilizing wooden sticks, ...

8

Back At The Chicken Shack

Read "Back At The Chicken Shack" reviewed by Thomas Fletcher


Back At The Chicken Shack celebrates 60 years since its recording date at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs. The same session produced Midnight Special (Blue Note, 1961), though Back At The Chicken Shack would have to wait three years for its release. The label's co-founder, Alfred Lion, later revealed that the healthy sales of this album, alongside many others from Jimmy Smith, kept the record company afloat. The album features, at the time, a youthful but ...

8

Kenny Drew and His Progressive Piano

Read "Kenny Drew and His Progressive Piano" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


As a commercial release, the 12-inch LP Kenny Drew and His Progressive Piano has a curious history. It was also released under the title The Modernity of Kenny Drew and contained music from two recording sessions, one held in jny: New York City In 1953 and the second in jny: Los Angeles in 1954. Some of the sides released here were originally released as a 10-inch LP entitled The Ideation of Kenny Drew. Got that straight? This was the release ...


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