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Chet Baker / Wolfgang Lackerschmid: Quintet Session
by Chris May
Quintet Session is the second of two albums the trumpeter Chet Baker recorded in Stuttgart, Germany with the vibraphonist Wolfgang Lackerschmid in 1979. It was originally released as Chet Baker / Wolfgang Lackerschmid (Sandra Music, 1980). The combination worked well on the first session, which produced the lovely Ballads For Two (Sandra Music, 1979), and almost as well on the second session, nine months later. The fly in the ointment second time out was Baker's German tour ...
Continue ReadingBlue Note Review 2: Spirit & Time and More
by Marc Cohn
Lots of cool features this week. First, Side 2 of the new-music LP from 2nd limited-edition Blue Note Review box with drummers Tony Allen and Chris Dave reimagining Tony Williams compositions. Then, a deep dive into the Savoy vaults from 1947 with recreations of 78s by Charlie Parker, Fats Navarro and Dexter Gordon. Celebrating Sonny Rollins with 2 more selections from Monk's Brilliant Corners release on Riverside and the 2020 centennial of Carmen McRae with tracks from her stupendous session, ...
Continue ReadingBlue Note Review 2 & Play a Game with DrJ, Newk & Lady Day
by Marc Cohn
It's Gifts and Messages show No. 400 from the studios of WHYR—how did that happen? To celebrate (but let's face it, we celebrate every week), we have a game for you: tunes written by famous saxophonists 'reimagined' in 2019—name the composer. We also have a start on listening to the Blue Note Review #2 collectors' box (highlighting the compositions of Tony Williams); Sonny Rollins with Trane from 1956; and songs associated with Billie Holiday. Enjoy the show! Sincere thanks to ...
Continue ReadingTony Williams: Life Time
by Matthew Aquiline
By now, it's an irrefutable fact that drummer Tony Williams was the youngest preeminent figure within the avant-garde movement of the mid-'60s. Every jazz fan seems to know the events that led to his international fame: after intriguing trumpeter Miles Davis with his cutting-edge approach to drumming, he was hired and added to the groundbreaking “Second Great Quintet" at the ripe age of 17. During this significant stint, Williams altered the trajectory of Davis' music, solidified himself as a drum ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: In a Silent Way
by Nenad Georgievski
"Miles' audience isn't where it used to be but neither is his music" was used to market the new releases of Miles Davis' indefatigably changing music in the late 60's that caused seismic shifts in the world of jazz and completely had redirected it into new and fresh territories. In a career that stretched five decades Miles Davis did more than just become a star--this enigmatic 20th century icon fused an astonishing array of different musical styles, refused to be ...
Continue ReadingStanley Clarke: The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection
by John Kelman
Legacy Recordings' recent spate of Complete Albums Collection box sets have righted a whole slew of wrongs by bringing long out-of-print recordings back in a reasonably priced and tidily collected series. They may be relatively light on production values--simple clamshell-style boxes, mini-LP cardboard sleeves, and booklets whose information, beyond detailed track and personnel listings, is largely dependent upon how much the artist has to say, if anything at all--but the opportunity to collect an entire discography from a specific period ...
Continue ReadingEric Dolphy: Out To Lunch
by Greg Simmons
Recorded just four months before his tragic demise, Eric Dolphy's Out To Lunch (Blue Note, 1964) represents a pinnacle moment in avant-garde jazz of the 1960s. Together with Andrew Hill's Point of Departure on the same label and from the same year, Out To Lunch is among the most challenging albums in the Blue Note catalog--one to approach with a very open mind. It is also the only full studio record that Dolphy completed for the label, and the only ...
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