A survey of two-handed pianists rounds up three
amaging performances reissued as RVG remasters under
Concord Music Group's Prestige label. Thelonious
Monk presents Monk in a trio setting
with two explosive drummers--Art Blakey & Max
Roach. Red
Garland's Soul Junction presents
Garland working his bluesy territory flanked by bopper
Donald Byrd and a restless young John Coltrane.We Three is drummer Roy Haynes' session,
and he interacts well with Memphis pianist
Phineas Newborn. With bassist Paul
Chambers, the stage is set for one clasic
piano trio recording.
Late
Night Thoughts on Jazz: Rahsaan Roland Kirk
was like the ultimate street musician, yet when he
played, there was no question that he was a masterful
and brilliant musician. He played tenor sax and flute
about as well as anyone ever has; he knew the history
of black music, from New Orleans to the Mississippi
Delta up through gospel, blues, rock & roll, soul,
you name it, and could play them all –well—on
three instruments at once; he had musical sophistication
but never lost sight of his role as a performer and
entertainer. Oh, yeah, and he was blind. A
look at three reissues of early Kirk recordings,
one of which,Kirk's Work featuring
Kirk with Jack McDuff, is a Prestige RVG reissue.
Miles
Davis/Cookin' With the Miles Davis Quintet
In May and October of 1956, the Miles
Davis Quintet recorded sessions that were released
separately as four individual albums: Relaxin’,
Steamin’, Workin’ and Cookin’
With the Miles Davis Quintet. Cookin’
was the first album in the series to be released,
though the tracks here were recorded during the October
sessions.
Sonny
Rollins/Sonny Rollins Plus 41956
was a hell of a year for Sonny Rollins. Having already
recorded a number of memorable dates for the Prestige
label, both as a leader and a sideman, ’56 saw
the recording of Rollins sessions that became the
albums Saxophone Colossus and Tenor Madness,
as well as Sonny Rollins Plus 4, which has
been reissued as one of Prestige’s Rudy Van
Gelder Remasters series.
John
Coltrane/Traneing Inis
a 1957 album released with John Coltrane as the leader,
accompanied by the Red Garland trio, comprised of
pianist Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer
Art Taylor. This is the same year that Trane was working
with Thelonious Monk, a major event in the development
of his playing at that time. Here he is relaxed and
blowing swinging blues with a rhythm section that
certainly knows how to swing.
