Art Blakey (with Billy Harper) —
Moanin ... CD LRC/Solid (Japan), 1968. New Copy ...
$9.9913.99
A fantastic live set from 1968 – recorded after Blakey's classic Blue Note years, but with a group of fantastic players that includes a young Billy Harper on tenor, Ronnie Matthews on piano, and Julian Priester on trombone. Harper alone is worth the price of the CD – as his firey solos are great, and the whole album's an excellent peek at his early career! There's a sense of open freedom here that's quite different than the earlier Jazz Messengers groove – and this European date is a great complement to the better-known US live recording with the same group from the time. The set features a number of nice long tracks – like Slide Hampton's "Slide's Delight", Billy Harper's "Blues For Eros", Bobby Timmons' "Moanin", and the Jazz Messengers' standard "You Don't Know What Love Is". CD
George Freeman on guitar, Bobby Cranshaw and Leroy Jackson on bass, Bob Guthrie, Buddy Williams and Marion Booker on drums, Von Freeman on tenor saxophone, John Young on piano, Kenny Barron on electric piano, Harold Mabern Jr on electric piano and piano, and Bobby Blevins on organ. CD
(Out of print.)
7
McCoy Tyner/Roland Hanna —
Double Exposure ... CD LRC, 1991. Used ...
Temporarily Out Of Stock
Two sessions from 1991 – The first has McCoy Tyner on piano with Avery Sharpe on bass, Claudio Roditi on trumpet, Aaron Scott on drums, and Raphael Cruz on percussion. The second session has Sir Roland Hanna on piano with Bill Easley on tenor sax & flute, Jon Burr on bass, and Ronnie Burage on drums. CD
A great little CD – not only for the very nice price, but for the fact that the double-length set brings together two albums' worth of work that Carmen McRae recorded for the Groove Merchant label in the early 70s! The style here is strongly jazzy, but with a firm dose of soul too – all in a mode that follows nicely from Carmen's late 60s sessions for Atlantic Records, but with a sound that's almost even more focused and in the pocket. The band is largeish, but the rhythms are tight – and even the mellower tunes seem to have a nice sort of lilt at the bottom, one that goes great with the way that Carmen spaces out her vocals on the set. Players include Joe Pass on guitar, Larry Bunker on vibes, Zoot Sims on tenor, and Dick Shreve on piano – and the CD features 19 tracks that include "Hey John", "Inside A Silent Tear", "The Right To Love", "You & I", "Sunshine Of My Life", "The Good Life", "It Takes A Whole Lot Of Human Feeling", "Livin", "Masquerade", "You're Mine You", and "There Will Come A Time". CD
(Original 2001 LRC pressing.)
11
Buddy Rich —
Roar Of '74 ... CD Groove Merchant/LRC, 1973. Used ...
Out Of Stock
One of the funkiest Buddy Rich albums of the 70s – a mad screaming affair that's overflowing with great tunes! The band on the set is very full – with a heck of a lot of trumpets in the brass section, set next to searing sax work by the great Pat LaBarbera. But even better is the rhythm section – which grooves in a hard electric funk mode, thanks to guitar from Joe Beck, bass from Tony Levin, and some surprisingly smoking drums from Buddy himself! Tracks are all very nicely grooving – and titles include "Kilimanjaro Cookout", "Nuttville", "Senator Sam", "Waltz Of The Mushroom Hunters", and "Big Mac". CD
12
Lonnie Smith —
Gotcha ... CD LRC/Ultra Vybe (Japan), 1978. New Copy ...
Out Of Stock
Smooth later work from Lonnie Smith – but still pretty darn great, with a feel that's in the late 70s Kudu/CTI mode! Arrangements are bigger than ever before – with large backings arranged by Lonnie, and some vocals that have a really wonderful, warm, Stevie Wonder-esque quality to them. The best tracks groove along at a nice midtempo pace, with strong work on keyboards by Lonnie, and a warm, dreamy, soulful quality that's quite different from his Blue Note work, but equally pleasing in another sort of way. Titles include "What's Done Is Done", "I Need Your Love", "Sweet Honey Wine", "My Latin Sky", and "Journey To Within". CD
13
Joe Thomas —
Get In The Wind ... CD LRC/Ultra Vybe (Japan), 1978. New Copy ...
Out Of Stock
Reedman Joe Thomas is wrapped up here in some very warm grooves – a mix of electric jazz and clubby modes – all of which takes Thomas' usual sound right to the discos! Most cuts have a backup vocal group – with contributions from Gwen Guthrie and Jocelyn Brown – but these vocals soon step aside to make room for Joe's solos on both tenor and flute – every bit as soulful as before, maybe a bit like Stanley Turrentine or John Handy in such a setting! The album's also got some great keyboards from Pat Rebillot – and titles include "Plato's Retreat", "Mr Mumbles", "Get In The Wind", "Two Doors Down", and "Low Down". CD
14
Chick Corea —
Early Days ... CD LRC/Nippon (Japan), 1969. Used ...
Out Of Stock
This great set from 1969 shows a wonderful side of Corea's early talents – a budding modernist filled with rich ideas – working here with some very hip, very soulful players including Woody Shaw, Bennie Maupin, Hubert Laws, and Dave Holland. The overall sound is quite free – and the record's especially great if you like that side of Shaw and Maupin's playing. Titles include "Sundance", "Vamp", "The Brain", "Converge", and "Jamala". CD
Highlights from two live recording sessions from 1967 and 1969. Includes Elvin Jones, Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams, Richard Davis, Marvin Stamm, and Mel Lewis. CD
16
Stan Getz —
Song Is You ... CD Groove Merchant/LRC, 1969. Used ...
Out Of Stock
A very interesting live set from 1969, and one that captures Stan Getz hanging in the balance between a number of different eras! He's playing here in a vein that's very similar to his work on the classic Sweet Rain album – with wonderfully rich emotional solos, filled with pain and longing – but the record also features touches of earlier bossa years, especially on the track "One Note Samba", which features an unnamed female vocalist! The group's a very hip one – with Stanley Cowell on piano, Miroslav Vitous on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and titles include "For Jane", "All The Things You Are", "Major General", "The Song Is You", "One Note Samba", and "Folk Tune For Bass". CD
17
Stan Getz —
Song Is You ... CD LRC/Laser Light, 1969. Used ...
Out Of Stock
A very interesting live set from 1969, and one that captures Stan Getz hanging in the balance between a number of different eras! He's playing here in a vein that's very similar to his work on the classic Sweet Rain album – with wonderfully rich emotional solos, filled with pain and longing – but the record also features touches of earlier bossa years, especially on the track "One Note Samba", which features an unnamed female vocalist! The group's a very hip one – with Stanley Cowell on piano, Miroslav Vitous on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and titles include "For Jane", "All The Things You Are", "Major General", "The Song Is You", "One Note Samba", and "Folk Tune For Bass". CD
18
Slide Hampton —
Mellow-Dy ... CD LRC, 1967/1968. Used ...
Out Of Stock
A budget-looking CD – but an essential slice in the career of the great Slide Hampton! Hampton was one of the great American players who departed for Europe during the 60s – and his work on the continent was some of his most fruitful ever, breaking him out of his harbop origins, and turning him into a much more sophisticated modal jazz player. This CD brings together 2 sessions from the late 60s – one a quartet session with Martial Solal on piano, and the rhythm team of Henri Texier on bass and Daniel Humair on drums. The other set's even better – and features the great Nathan Davis on tenor sax, plus vibes work by Dave Pike and piano by Hampton Hawes. Six cuts in all, with many great originals by Hampton, one of the 60s most under-rated jazz writers! Titles include "The Thing", "Chop Suey", "Impossible Waltz", and "Us Six". CD
A very cool concept for an album by pianist Hank Jones – and one with a sound that's a lot more classic than you might expect from the date of the set! The core rhythms come from a trio that includes Jones on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Dennis Mackrel on drums – and they're augmented by a string quartet directed by Manny Albam – but in a way that uses all the older Albam sense of groove and grace! The sound here is hardly any sort of sleepy "with strings" sort of mode – and the quartet bring in some nicely dark corners that offset the sweeter, more lyrical sounds of Jones' piano – in a way that makes the album one of the most compelling dates we've heard from Hank in this stretch of his career. The best tunes are the most upbeat ones, but even the mellower numbers are great – and the CD features titles that include "What Is This Thing Called Love", "Caravan", "Ill Wind", "They Can't Take That Away From Me", "Love Walked In", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "There's A Small Hotel", and "Russian Lullaby". CD
20
Laura Rain & the Caesars —
Electrified ... CD LRC (UK), 2013. Used ...
Out Of Stock
A motherlode of great music from Zoot Sims – mid 70s recordings done for the Groove Merchant label, presented here in a double-length package! Although Groove Merchant was mostly known for its funkier sounds, the work here is nicely back to basics for Sims – small group sessions that give him plenty of room to open up and blow – paired with players that include Lionel Hampton on vibes, Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar, Teddy Wilson on piano, and Buddy Rich on drums. The sound is warm, but never sleepy – and Zoot's tenor has a nice edge on his solos that dominate most tunes. CD features 14 tracks that include "Nirvana", "Somerset", "A Summer Thing", "Somebody Loves Me", "Up A Lazy River", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "Send In the Clowns", "Air Mail Special", "Ham Hock Blues", and "Ring Dem Bells". CD
Stan Getz on tenor saxophone, Martial Solal and Rene Urtreger on piano, Rene Thomas on guitar, Eddy Louiss on organ, Jean-Marie Ingrand and Pierre Michelot on bass, and Bernard Lubat and Kenny Clarke on drums. CD
Illinois Jacquet on saxophone, Kenny Barron on electric piano, Jimmy McGriff and Wild Bill Davis on organ, George Freeman on guitar, and Buddy Rich on drums. CD
25
Gerry Mulligan —
Mulligan ... CD LRC, 1958. Used ...
Out Of Stock
Not much of a cover and a title, but a great little live date from Gerry Mulligan – material recorded in France in 1958, and easily on a par with any of his Verve work of the 50s! The tracks have a clean, crisp feel that hardly belies their concert setting – a sharpness that really brings out the best in Gerry's modern baritone lines, and which also showcases the talents of other players on the dates – including Art Farmer on trumpet, Billy Taylor or Claude Williamson on piano, and Dave Bailey on drums. There's a lean feel on most numbers – showcasing the sound that Mulligan was working on in his drum-based sextet and quartet groups – and titles include "North Atlantic Run", "Taurus Moon", "Out Back Of The Barn", "Festive Minor", and "Jeru". CD
Includes "At The Sound Of The Trumpet" by Maynard Ferguson, "Milestones" by Chet Baker, "More On The Same" by Donald Byrd, and "Oop-Pop-A-Dah" by Dizzy Gillespie. CD
Didn't find what you're looking for? You can set a product alert and we'll notify you of new matches.