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Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra: Consummation – 1970
by Marc Davis
Blue Note was never home to many big bands, but the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra recorded four albums for the label from 1967-70, and one is a certified classic. Consummation is the musical equivalent of Neapolitan ice cream--three flavors packed into one large container. The album contains three moods: soft and contemplative, sprightly and ...
Wayne Shorter: Speak No Evil – 1964
by Marc Davis
It's hard to imagine a jazz musician who has had more success with more bands than Wayne Shorter. His tenor sax was an essential part of three landmark combos: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (1959-1964), Miles Davis' classic quintet (1964-70) and Weather Report (1971-86)--27 consecutive years of uninterrupted magnificence. In other words, if ...
The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi
by Marc Davis
Vince GuaraldiThe Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi Jazz Casual Productions 2016 In 1962, jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi scored a surprise hit with his catchy, upbeat record Cast Your Fate to the Wind." Three years later, millions of Americans who thought they didn't like jazz discovered Guaraldi's music on the debut ...
Javon Jackson: Pleasant Valley – 1999
by Marc Davis
If the iconic sound of Blue Note Records could be summed up in just one band, it would surely be Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. For 35 years--1955 to 1990--the Messengers were the heart and soul of hard bop, on Blue Note and other labels. But what happened when Blakey died in 1990? ...
Leo Parker: Rollin' With Leo – 1961
by Marc Davis
What if I told you there's a saxman who was there at the birth of bebop--literally, he played on the very first bebop recording--and you've never heard of him? And what if I told you his life story is the very archetype of the tragic, drug-addicted jazz musician? Would you still want to hear ...
Newport Jazz Festival 1959
by Marc Davis
The collector asks: When is it OK to say, I have enough, thanks. I don't need the live version, too." Consider the dilemma of Wolfgang's Vault, a musical treasure trove of old jazz and rock performances. If you've never been there, go now. The site is stunning. It is an enormous collection of long-lost ...
Grant Green: The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark – 1961-62
by Marc Davis
Imagine if someone discovered a stash of unreleased Beatles records 15 years after they broke up. Then imagine Apple Records released all that music in a 2-CD set. That's what Grant Green: The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark is like. I exaggerate, but not by much. Grant Green wasn't the Beatles of ...
Words and Music: Why Liner Notes Matter
by Jakob Baekgaard
It is said that we live in The Information Age, but perhaps, it would be more correct to say that we live in the Age of Too Much Information. If there is something you are looking for, you can often find it on the Internet, but the question is whether it is quantity rather than quality. ...
Louis Smith: Here Comes Louis Smith – 1957
by Marc Davis
I'm not a musical snob. I'm not a guy to drop obscure musical names to impress friends and hipsters. But when I come across a name that is undeservedly obscure, I don't mind shouting it out the window. So here's my shout for today: Louis Smith! Chances are you've never heard of ...
Horace Silver: The United States of Mind – Revisited
by Marc Davis
At what point did Blue Note Records jump the shark? Is there a single moment when Blue Note stopped being the world's greatest purveyor of jazz and instead became an irrelevant producer of schlock? Truth is, it was a long, slow slide. In the 1950s, Blue Note was the greatest source of hard bop. ...