Jazz Articles

John Coltrane: Trane 90

by Jim Trageser
December 1, 2016

Along with Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, the late saxophonist John Coltrane is one of the most anthologized figures in the history of jazz. He is also one of the most studied, with at least four full biographies on Amazon, and dozens of other books looking at various aspects of his music. The number of magazine articles about Coltrane surely runs into the tens of thousands. And so the first question regarding a new, four-disc box ...

Tubby Hayes: Symphony – The Lost Session

by Roger Farbey
February 3, 2015

This newly unearthed archival recording took place on February 8th 1972 at The Hopbine, a public house and popular jazz venue in Wembley, on the northern outskirts of London and as with all Tubby Hayes' music, is of great historic importance. The gig happened just a few months after Hayes' comeback following heart valve surgery in the previous year. The title track, a tune Hayes had recorded 13 years previously for a Blue Note “audition" session, provides a ...

All of You: The Last Tour 1960

by C. Michael Bailey
January 1, 2015

The problem with Miles Davis' 1960 European Tours has been one of programming. First to know is that Davis toured Europe twice in 1960: the first time with John Coltrane, March 21st to April 109th, and then with Sonny Stitt from September 27th to October 13th. The second thing to know is not every performance of the tours was recorded. What “complete" means is “all that's available. Like any number of Rolling Stones bootlegged performances, Davis' European recordings have been ...

Tubby Hayes: Without a Song – Rare Live Recordings 1954-73

by Roger Farbey
November 18, 2014

This comprehensive 3-CD box set comprises 22 previously unissued live tracks constituting a veritable cornucopia for Tubby Hayes fans. It also benefits from 31 pages of extensive, informed and intelligent sleeve notes from the redoubtable Hayes biographer Simon Spillett, plus some previously unseen photographs. CD-1 opens with a rousing “Bark for Barksdale" by the Vic Lewis Orchestra from 1954 and a confident tenor solo from Hayes aged just nineteen. On the 1959 recording of “Swinging the Blues," compere ...

Frank Sinatra: On The Radio: The Lucky Strike "Lite-Up Time" Shows (1949-1950)

by Graham L. Flanagan
May 19, 2009

With its recently launched Premier Collection, British outfit Acrobat Music makes a strong case for the title of Best Up-and-Coming Label. Along with rare radio sessions by Dave Brubeck, Sarah Vaughan, the classic Miles Davis Quintet and more, one of the highlights of the series has to be an unearthed gem from none other than Frank Sinatra. On the Radio: The Lucky Strike “Lite-Up Time" Shows 1949-1950 compiles a series of nightly broadcasts Sinatra recorded for CBS, with heavy 'promotional ...

Howlin' Wolf: Rockin' The Blues: Live in Germany 1964

by Mike Perciaccante
April 21, 2009

Through the years, Howlin' Wolf's 1964 performances in Germany have reached legendary status. Many different recordings of these concerts have surfaced in many different configurations. Rockin' The Blues: Live in Germany 1964 remained previously unreleased in the United States, until now.

This Acrobat Music set was recorded in Bremen at The American Folk Blues Festival during The Wolf's first overseas tour, and collects nine songs featuring an all-star band of Chicago's finest Blues musicians--guitarist Hubert Sumlin, bassist Willie ...

Sarah Vaughan / Woody Herman: On the Radio: The 1963 "Live" Guard Sessions

by Florence Wetzel
March 16, 2009

This unique CD brings together Sarah Vaughan and Woody Herman, two of jazz's strongest talents. Shortly after a studio recording made together under Vaughan's name, the pair joined forces in 1963 for a series of radio programs called “The Guard Sessions," which were sponsored by the US National Guard as a tool for recruitment. On the Radio: The 1963 “Live" Guard Sessions was culled from these programs and features eight songs with Vaughan backed by Herman's orchestra and eight songs ...

Miles Davis All-Stars: Broadcast Sessions 1958-59

by Stuart Broomer
December 9, 2008

Jazz has been shaped in large part by a few great bands; few, however, would challenge the late '50s Miles Davis bands for collective achievement and sheer brilliance and influence at each instrument, with Davis, John Coltrane (tenor), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Philly Joe Jones (drums). It was an extraordinary collocation of the raw and refined, the exploratory and decorative, the hesitant and explosive, sometimes within a single piece. Even the early alterations were remarkable, whether it ...