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Jazz Articles about Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

137
Album Review

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis & Shirley Scott: Bacalao

Read "Bacalao" reviewed by Derek Taylor


Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Shirley Scott traffic in music that comes from the gut as much as the intellect. It strikes with a visceral force, but retains an artistic edge. Their prolific output for Prestige, while stylistically interchangeable in some cases, still held true to the distinct vernaculars of blues and jazz improvisation. This date proves no exception and adds an agile two-man Latin percussion team to the already explosive formula. The rhythmic diversity of Barretto and Perez pulls the ...

154
Album Review

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (Prestige: Goin' to the Meetin'

Read "Goin' to the Meetin'" reviewed by Derek Taylor


The esthetic and visceral aspects of Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis’ music have been on my mind a lot lately. My regular AAJ column “Combing the Fantasy Catalog” allowed me the welcome chance to explore his Prestige label legacy at length, but much to my regret this recent reissue wasn’t in circulation until after I’d put the wrap on the articles. The generous clutch of material from three albums, Misty, Stompin’ and Goin’ to the Meetin’ gathered here is much in line ...

149
Album Review

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis/ Johnny Griffin Quintet: Blues Up & Down

Read "Blues Up & Down" reviewed by Derek Taylor


Tandem tenor teams enjoy an illustrious history in improvised music: Herschel Evans and Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas, Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, Fred Anderson and Kidd Jordan, the list goes on. One duo that often doesn’t get its fair share in terms of prestige and influence is the one documented so generously on this disc. “Jaws” and “Griff” easily rank with the aforementioned pairs and the albums on this two-fer bear out ...

413
Album Review

Various Artists: The Prestige Records Story

Read "The Prestige Records Story" reviewed by Douglas Payne


From 1949 through 1971, Prestige Records was among the most famous and successful of the independent jazz labels. Perhaps only Blue Note, which had its reign during roughly the same period, provided Prestige with significant competition. Both maintained strong, unique identities--even shared many of the same musicians and, in most cases, engineer Rudy Van Gelder. But Blue Note lavished more money on rehearsals and their albums sounded more planned than those that came from Prestige. Still, it was the spontaneous ...

101
Album Review

Various Artists: The Prestige Records Story

Read "The Prestige Records Story" reviewed by Robert Spencer


This is much more than the history of just one label: this is a primer of modern jazz. The sweep of Bob Weinstock and Prestige Records, particularly in the Fifties and early Sixties, was so broad that this collection encompasses a large part of the jazz that mattered in those days. There is a stunning roster of the biggest names possible, including Miles Davis, Gil Evans, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, Eric Dolphy, and Dexter Gordon. There's ...

234
Album Review

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Straight Blues

Read "Straight Blues" reviewed by Douglas Payne


Almost everything tenor sax man Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis (1922-86) blew had a deep understanding of the blues. He was one of the most expressive (and identifiable) of the growling tenors, and his blues sensibility was infallible. He was at his best as one of Count Basie's featured soloists (1952-53, 1957 and 1964-73) and made his greatest, gutsiest music in the successful 1955-60 quartet he co-led with organist Shirley Scott. Straight Blues could have filled one disc with just ...


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