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Gene Ammons: Boss Tenor
by Matthew Aquiline
Tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons' tone can be best described using the qualities of an ideally brewed cup of joe: rounded, bold, smooth, and exhilarating after first taste. Widely regarded as an original founder of the “Chicago school of tenor sax," Ammons' nonchalant, yet indelible sound--echoing the soft, breathy tone of Lester Young--drove him to a great deal of fame within the post- World War II jazz crowds of the '50s. Ammons, famously nicknamed “Jug," had an inherent ability ...
Continue ReadingArt Taylor: A.T.'S Delight
by AAJ Italy Staff
Con Art Blakey, Art Taylor rappresenta al meglio le caratteristiche più tipiche del drumming dell’hardbop. Incisivo, dinamico, multicolore ma anche duttile, come dimostrano le sue collaborazioni discografiche a tutto campo con Coltrane, Davis, Coleman Hawkins e mille altre stelle del firmamento jazzistico, tra gli anni ’50 e ’60. Art’s Delight è il suo terzo disco da leader, che si attesta sui consolidati parametri di un hardbop godibile e di buona fattura. Senza prevedere azzardi timbrici ed armonici, lo alimenta un ...
Continue ReadingBud Powell: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall
by C. Michael Bailey
In 1953 the jazz genre called Be Bop, Bop, Re Bop, or Modern Jazz had fully matured and was settling in as the established mainstream rather than the cutting edge movement it had been in the early 1940s. Jazz as a style collective had begun to further fray at the ends and Be Bop gave way to such subtypes as “Cool," “Hard Bop," “Third Stream," and “Soul Jazz," all considered reactions to Be Bop's frenetic, nervous nature. However, on May ...
Continue ReadingRed Garland: Red Garland's Piano
by David Rickert
Red Garland's career got a boost with a stint in Miles Davis's first great quintet, where his laid-back, bluesy style perfectly suited the small group swing of the classic Prestige dates. But Garland was also capable of holding the spotlight all on his own and crafted a series of appealing trio recordings for the same label. Red Garland's Piano (1957) showcases what made the pianist a man worthy of admiration: a firm left hand provided a punchy rhythm while the ...
Continue ReadingDonald Byrd: Byrd in Hand (RVG Edition)
by Robert Gilbert
Of the jazz trumpeters who blazed a trail during the 1950s and '60s, Donald Byrd has never really gotten his due. He came into his own at the same time as Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Chet Baker, Kenny Dorham, etc. were on the scene, unjustly diverting some attention away from Byrd. Yet a listen to a small part of his recorded output reveals a trumpeter with a well-developed penchant for lyricism and who, over time, learned to use space as ...
Continue ReadingSonny Clark: Sonny's Crib
by Reid Thompson
Sonny's Crib is a very pleasing recording from the sadly overlooked pianist Sonny Clark that works very well as a representative piece of the Blue Note catalogue at the time, framing all the characteristics that made that label so successful. It is essentially a blowing session, and to some extent, a preparation for Coltrane's seminal Blue Train, which was recorded several weeks after Sonny's Crib and featured the same ensemble with Lee Morgan subbing for Donald Byrd and Kenny Drew ...
Continue ReadingGene Ammons: Boss Tenor
by Douglas Payne
This relaxed, swinging quintet session from 1960 isn't the landmark that many of the other releases in this series are. But it is among the finest, most rewarding music tenor great Gene Ammons (1925-74) ever made. Boss Tenor -- easily confused with Boss Tenors , the 1961 Verve record Ammons cut with Sonny Stitt -- is probably included here due to Ammons's enduring and unprecedented affiliation with Prestige. Ammons recorded over 50 albums for the label from 1950, around the ...
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