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Charles Mingus: Mingus in Wonderland – 1959
by Marc Davis
In 1959, there were two Charles Minguses: the Mingus you knew and the Mingus you didn't. In May 1959, Mingus recorded his very best album ever: the incomparable Mingus Ah Um. And I mean incomparable in the literal sense. There is, literally, no other record quite like it. It's a big band, but not ...
Art Blakey: A Night in Tunisia – 1961
by Marc Davis
Dizzy Gillespie's “A Night in Tunisia" has been done almost to death. Wikipedia says it has been recorded at least 500 times and it is the title track to at least 30 albums. It might be the most recorded bop tune of all time. Who did it best? Take your pick. Dizzy ...
Horace Silver: Serenade to a Soul Sister - 1968
by Marc Davis
Is it possible to love an album for just one song? I think I do. Serenade to a Soul Sister is the happy marriage of jazz's funkiest pianist (Horace Silver) with its most soulful saxman (Stanley Turrentine). Throw in a fabulously underrated trumpeter with a big fat tone (Charles Tolliver) and you've got one ...
Booker Ervin: The In Between -- 1968
by Marc Davis
There's a kind of music I like to think of as harder bop. It's a lot like conventional 1950s hard bop, but tougher, more muscular, more cerebral. Booker Ervin's The In Between is that kind of record. Ervin has an edgy style. It starts with a John Coltrane feel, then pushes a little further. ...
Johnny Griffin: The Congregation – 1957
by Marc Davis
Well, this is a disappointment. Johnny Griffin is widely regarded as one of the fastest sax players in jazz history. His reputation began with his very first album, Blue Note's Introducing Johnny Griffin in 1956. He solidified his rep the next year with a frantic three-sax attack on A Blowin' Session with John Coltrane ...
Horace Parlan: Up and Down – 1961
by Marc Davis
I have a new hero: Pianist Horace Parlan. Until recently, I had heard of Parlan, but never really heard him. I certainly never knew his back story. It's inspirational--and his music is pretty damn good, too. Parlan had a handicap. As a child, he lost some function in his right hand due to polio. ...
Pete La Roca: Basra - 1965
by Marc Davis
When drummer Pete La Roca recorded Basra in 1965, the Iraq war was decades away. Today, the name Basra evokes memories of the 2003 invasion. A recording called Basra in 2016 would probably make listeners think of Saddam Hussein. Not a good association. But in 1965? It was just an exotic-sounding, Middle Eastern name.
Paul Chambers: Bass on Top – 1957
by Marc Davis
In the world of 1950s hard bop, there is no more prominent bassist than Paul Chambers. The man was absolutely everywhere. He shows up on an astonishing number of jazz classics, including Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, John Coltrane's Giant Steps, Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners, Sonny Rollins' Tenor Madness and Oliver Nelson's The Blues ...
Cannonball Adderley: Somethin' Else – 1958
by Marc Davis
Is there anything new to say about a jazz classic that features one of the greatest two-horn tandems ever to lay down a blue note? How about this: You must own this record. Period. I suspect that everyone with even a passing interest in jazz owns Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz ...
Dr. Lonnie Smith: Then and Now – Think! (1968) vs Evolution (2016)
by Marc Davis
The “doctor" with the mysterious turban and manic Hammond B-3 fingers is back. And if you think the old man at 73 can't possibly match the passion and pyrotechnics of the young man at 26... well, surprise! Evolution is Dr. Lonnie Smith's triumphant return to Blue Note. I feared it might be like a ...
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