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Bob Brookmeyer: Electricity
by Douglas Payne
Electricity is another one of an infrequent series of recordings by Bob Brookmeyer, who used to pop up all over the place throughout the 1950s and 1960s. While he's always been rooted firmly in the mainstream (Gerry Mulligan, the Concert Jazz Band, the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra and his own records on Verve), Brookmeyer ...
Nils Landgren: Paint it Blue
by Douglas Payne
Although trombonist Nils Landgren has released several albums in his native Sweden since the mid 80s, Paint It Blue appears to be his first album available in the United States. Landgren, who calls his sextet the Funk Unit, has subtitled Paint It Blue “A Tribute to Cannonball Adderley" and, as such, has produced something that successfully ...
Freddie Hubbard: Keystone Bop Vol. 2: Friday/Saturday
by Douglas Payne
Here's Freddie Hubbard the way he was meant to be heard -- muscular, exciting, in good form and live on stage with outstanding guests and a top-notch band. Keystone Bop: Vol 2 Friday / Saturday is the second installation from a weekend series of sets recorded November 27-29, 1981, at Todd Barkan's long-gone Keystone Korner in ...
Jacques Loussier: The Four Seasons
by Douglas Payne
For nearly four decades now, French pianist and composer Jacques Loussier has been issuing peerless jazz versions of Bach's multifaceted music. Although that may sound like a novelty (remember Bachbusters?), Loussier understands both idioms well and is partial to no one particular genre, as he also includes touches of rock and the avant-garde in his style ...
The Three Sounds: Babe's Blues
by Douglas Payne
Bravo for pianist Gene Harris, who seems to have recently and belatedly been discovered. After churning out dozens of fine records in the 1960s for Blue Note, Verve, Mercury and Limelight, then drowning in funk and disco records in the 1970s, he finally gave it all up and retired to Idaho. Bassist Ray Brown coaxed him ...
Jimmy Smith: Got My Mojo Workin/Hoochie Coochie Man
by Douglas Payne
When compared to his Blue Note catalog, Jimmy Smith's Verve records have a reputation for being commercial. Despite artistic triumphs like Hobo Flats (1963), The Cat (1964), Peter & The Wolf (1966) and Bluesmith (1972), it could hardly get more commercial than these two albums, Got My Mojo Workin' from 1965 and Hoochie Coochie Man from ...
Lou Donaldson: Mr. Shing-A-Ling
by Douglas Payne
This October 27, 1967, recording was always the best of Lou Donaldson's funky albums. It's just amazing -- given the material and the awful cover art -- that Blue Note put this back into circulation at all. If for nothing else, Mr. Shing-A-Ling is worth the investment for the ultra-funking “Peepin'" alone (featured for the first ...
Tom Scott and the L.A. Express: Bluestreak
by Douglas Payne
In the 1970s, Tom Scott was pretty bankable stuff. In addition to countless pop, jazz and film sessions, he blew out one catchy little tune after another on his own albums and those with the L.A. Express. He littered the Columbia vaults with some good easy-listening pop-jazz in the '70s: Tom Cat , Blow it Out ...
Conrad Herwig: The Latin Side of John Coltrane
by Douglas Payne
A great idea beautifully executed by New York trombonist Conrad Herwig. The trombonist/arranger/musical director chooses Coltrane's most accessible material from a period that arguably spawned his best, most memorable work (1958-1964), devised simple, exploratory frameworks for each (recalling veteran Chico O'Farrill), then assembled an outstanding collection of musicians. In addition to Herwig's sinewy trombone, there's Brian ...
Jimmy McGriff: The Dream Team
by Douglas Payne
Jimmy McGriff returns to Milestone (after a brief sojourn to Telarc) for a better-than-average outing on The Dream Team. This is as good as it gets -- at least lately. McGriff, an inventive and exciting blues and funk organist, spent the 1980s on Milestone and produced maybe one exciting performance -- “River's Invitation" from 1987's Steppin' ...
