Hoagy Carmichael Hoagy Sings Carmichael ART PEPPER. I have put that in capitals because I do not want anyone to be put off by assuming that is just a Hoagy Carmichael album. This is a session of West Coast Jazz which includes some superb examples of Art’s playing. In 1956 Pacific Jazz decided to produce […]
Duke Ellington Ellington Plays Strayhorn Recently, as part of a lecture series about jazz musicians who deserve to be better known, I decided to talk about Billy Strayhorn and his role in the Duke Ellington organisation from 1939 to his death in 1967. As soon as I looked to my collection I found that part […]
Dave Frishberg Lookin’ Good Although I often doubt whether anyone reads this column, I know that my friend Adrian does. He sometimes even buys my recommendation. Recently in a New York store he found an original vinyl issue of my Maxine Sullivan recommendation. So I have chosen this month to dedicate my choice to him. […]
About five years ago some lucky purchases led me to spend more time listening to Tommy Flanagan. I had always admired his work as an accompanist. Now I began to see him as a solo artist. I went back to this trio recording which was part of my vinyl collection. Wow! How had I missed […]
Howard McGhee Dusty Blue [Archive Music Revisited CD AMR 870] The Bebop years of the 1940s produced one phenomenal trumpeter, Dizzy Gillespie. Two others, very close in quality, also appeared: Howard McGhee and Fats Navarro. As a young trad trumpet player, just starting out, they all amazed me. Every solo from Fats seemed to […]
Dave McKenna Dave “Fingers” McKenna [Chiaroscuro CD 175] Solo jazz piano is a difficult art. Presenting the melody, sustaining the rhythm, improvising ; it is difficult to sustain these essential elements in a performance. Dave, in his later years, became a master of the art. Several CDs for Chiaroscuro and Concord provide us with […]
Art Pepper The Omega Sessions [Fresh Sounds CD 378] An Apology. My recommendations are usually sessions which I have enjoyed for many years. This is a new, and very special addition to my collection. In July, at a U3A meeting, one of my friends played a selection from Art’s recordings. Some were familiar but all […]
Clark Terry/Bob Brookmeyer Quintet Complete Studio Recordings [Lonehill Jazz LHJ10199] Bob Brookmeyer was involved in several important partnerships in the 1950s/60s. He worked frequently with Gerry Mulligan in the Quartet, the Sextet and the Concert Band. He worked and recorded with saxophonists Stan Getz, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and with multi-instrumentalist and arranger Jimmy […]
Fats Navarro The Fats Navarro Story (Properbox 11) Over recent months my recommendations seem to arrive by auto-suggestion, as in psychoanalysis. My articles about Peter Ind inspired me to reread part of his book, Jazz Visions. There he describes the excitement of his first visits to New York. One of the musicians who impressed […]
Barry Harris Trio Chasin’ The Bird [LP: Riverside RLP 435 CD: OJC OJCCD-872-2] Not another pianist! Yes, and this one has been coming for some time. During the 1960s and 70s Barry became a mentor for quite a number of jazz musicians, offering them advice on harmony and improvisation. I was reminded of this […]