Links to the reviews of classic jazz albums
and reissues we've done on Jazzitude. More coming!!
Cannonball
Adderley/Somethin' Else - You might think this
is a Miles Davis album that happens to have Adderley's name as
leader. Maybe so, but it is a recording that finds all the musicians
relaxed and full of ideas.
Count
Basie/April In Paris - This is a classic album
by Basie's second, post-war band that relied on arrangements to
create the "Basie Sound" rather than distinctive soloists,
as his earlier big band had.
John
Coltrane/A Love Supreme -This is the John Coltrane
album owned by even people who don't really listen to jazz. It's
difficult to find a saxophone player who wasn't profoundly influenced,
for better or worse, by this Coltrane album.
Miles
Davis/Kind of Blue - This is the Miles Davis album
owned by people who don't really listen to music. It is a pop
culture icon as much as a jazz album, but as a jazz album, it
has rarely been surpassed. An outstanding ensemble that includes
Davis, Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, and Bill Evans, it is the
ultimate statement on balancing freedom and structure within the
framework of a small jazz ensemble.
Bill
Evans Trio/Sunday at the Village Vanguard -We're
very lucky that virtually everything played at the Vanguard by
the Bill Evans Trio in June, 1961was recorded. Only 10 days later,
bassist Scott La Faro died in an automobile accident, and the
Bill Evans Trio of this record was no more. Forty years later,
this is still the standard for piano jazz trios.
Charles
Mingus/New Tijuana Moods - Charles Mingus recorded
this fantastic album after a trip to Tijuana to forget his divorce
from his first wife. It contains some of his coolest arrangements
and a batch of great solos from some incredible sidemen. So how
come RCA left it in the vaults for five years before releasing
it?
Thelonius
Monk/Brilliant Corners - Monk was much more than
that guy who wore funny hats, as this classic album for the Riverside
label shows. Monk and his group, which includes tenorman Sonny
Rollins, negotiate their way through some beautiful examples of
Monk's angular yet melodic compositional style.
Richard
Sussmann/Free Fall - Let's just say that
if you are looking for a fresh sounding post bop group that demonstrated
the kind of musical vision that Miles Davis' second great quintet
(featuring Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock) tossed off without
a second thought, you are going to have to add this CD to your
collection immediately.
