Johnny Griffin & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Ow! Live At The Penthouse (1962)

Ow! Live at The Penthouse is a collection of previously-unissued recordings by the supercharged saxophone duo of Johnny Griffin / Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis captured over 2 nights at the famous Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA in 1962. Though the tenor sax battle became a fixture of the hard bop era after Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray established the format with “The Chase” in 1947, no duo was as powerful or as prolific as Davis, a veteran of the Count Basie Orchestra and a popular trio with organist Shirley Scott, and Griffin, noted for his high-voltage work with Thelonious Monk. The pair who became known known as “the Tough Tenors” cut nine LPs – including four live albums caught at Minton’s in New York – for Prestige and Jazzland in 1960-62. This limited-edition deluxe CD set features the potent rhythm section of Horace Parlan on piano, Buddy Catlett on bass and Art Taylor on drums. ~ Bandcamp.com. 

Reel To Reel, RTR-CD-003, 2019
Recorded 30th May (#1-7) & 6th June (#8-15), 1962 Live at The Penthouse, Seattle, WA
Broadcast Live on KING-FM, Seattle, Washington, USA 

Musicians:
Johnny Griffin - Tenor Saxophone
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Tenor Saxophone
Horace Parlan - Piano
Buddy Catlett - Bass
Art Taylor - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Intermission Riff {Ray Wetzel} / Intro By Jim Wilkie (0:53)
02. Blues Up And Down {Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt} (6:48)
03. Ow! {Dizzy Gillespie} (8:20)
04. Spoken Introduction (0:09)
05. Bahia {Ary Barroso} (8:44)
06. Spoken Introduction (0:05)
07. Blue Lou {Edgar Sampson, Irving Mills} (4:11)
08. Second Balcony Jump {Billy Eckstine, Gerald Valentine} (7:13)
09. Spoken Outro (0:08)
10. How Am I To Know? {Jack King} (10:14)
11. Spoken Introduction (0:09)
12. Sophisticated Lady {Duke Ellington} (4:03)
13. Spoken Introduction (0:09)
14. Tickle Toe {Lester Young} (6:36)
15. Intermission Riff {Ray Wetzel} / Outro By Jim Wilkie (0:56) 

Total Time: 58:45 

Credits:
Producer, Executive Producer, Photo Research, Notes - Cory Weeds
Producer, Photo Research, Notes - Zev Feldman
Associate Producer, Notes - Jim Wilkie, Charlie Puzzo Jr.
Original Recording Engineer - Fred Stimson
Sound Restoration - Chris Gestrin
Mastering [LP] - Bernie Grundman [Hollywood, California]
Photography - Lee Tanner, Esmond Edwards, Burt Goldblatt
Photography [Cover] - Don Schlitten
Art Direction and Design - John Sellards
Album Package Design - Dan Forte
Liner Notes - Ted Panken, Michael Weiss

Bill Harris - The Soul Of Jazz (1958) [re-rip]

This a rare and dynamic session, recorded by Rudy van Gelder in 1958, features an amazing All Stars cast. Essentially it showcases Bill Harris playing alongside Joe Wilder, Bobby Jaspar, Pepper Adams, Eddie Costa, George Duvivier and Art Taylor. These musicians truly display the essence of jazz and hence the album’s title is so very appropriate. The sound even though ripped from a well-loved old vinyl still comes across ‘alive and fresh’ even by today’s standards. The concept of this LP is masterminded by the arrangements and conducting skills of Billy Ver Plank. The choices of tunes are very complimentary and blend well, all the while giving the players plenty of room to solo. Well Recommended.

Generally speaking the men on the date fall into either a late swing or neo-modern period, as to their particular improvisatory allegiances. Yes, all bear the same "pure" approach to their performance of jazz. Bill Harris, veteran trombone star of the 1940's and the Woody Herman band has been a "preaching" jazzman of great fame for many years. Joe wilder, the early modern trumpet star, sparkles here with his growls, his various muses, and that unbelievably pure bell-tone while blowing a modern cascade of notes. Bobby Jaspar, Belgian import who has come to fame with J.J. Johnson and other combos on both tenor and flute, he is a "wailer" who plays in the Coltrane-Sims tradition these days. Pepper Adams, deserving of his nickname, bursts fierily throughout the proceedings. He is a Detroit export who rose to fame with Kenton, and has recently led his own combo in New York City. Eddie Costa, vibist and pianist once again proves his prowess as a tasty and ever-swinging keyboard man. George Duvivier can only be described as a "Rock" in a rhythm section ... with both beat, intonation, and "life" that are impeccable. Art Taylor, a usually intrepid bopper, illustrates his more quiet moods here, lapsing into the more normal "popping" style he has become noted for on two tracks. Basically, the tunes are simple harmonic changes, with tried harmony, open voiced for the horns, and usually ending with the traditional "Amen" chord resolution. The solo-work, in almost every case stays fairly close to the simple diatonic harmonies, yet conveying a combined "preaching" and "funky blues" feel. ~ Extract from Liner Notes by H. Alan Stein.

World Wide, MGS 20002, 1958

Recorded 5^th May, 1958, Hackensack, New Jersey

Personnel:

Bill Harris - Trombone

Joe Wilder - Trumpet

Bobby Jaspar - Tenor Saxophone

Pepper Adams - Baritone Saxophone

Eddie Costa - Piano

George Duvivier - Bass

Art Taylor - Drums

Tracks:

A1. You Gotta Be A Good Man {David} (8:41)

A2. Each Side Of The River {David} (4:48)

A3. Where Ya Gonna Run To? {David} (5:08)

B1. I Can't Believe It {David, Cadena} (6:33)

B2. What Should I Do? {David} (3:57)

B3. Royal Garden Blues {Williams} (6:27)

Total Time: 35:34

Credits:

Supervisor - Ozzie Cadena

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Arranger, Conductor - Billy Ver Planck

Cover Photo - Hank Schneider

Liner Notes - H. Alan Stein

Gene Ammons - Boss Tenor (1960)

This relaxed, swinging quintet session from 1960 isn't the landmark that many of the other releases in this series are. But it is among the finest, most rewarding music tenor great Gene Ammons (1925-74) ever made. Boss Tenor - easily confused with Boss Tenors, the 1961 Verve record Ammons cut with Sonny Stitt - is probably included here due to Ammons's enduring and unprecedented affiliation with Prestige. Ammons recorded over 50 albums for the label from 1950, around the time of the label's inception, until Ammons's death in 1974 (interrupted only by seven years in jail between 1962 and 1969). A warm, burnished, consistently recognizable tone always blew through Ammons's horn and the assured, identifiable manner he could scale ballads, blues, bop and r&b was always reliable and appealing. Here, though, he is ideally teamed with the gracefully elegant and innately soulful pianist Tommy Flanagan, Prestige house bassist, Doug Watkins, and house drummer, Art Taylor, and with just the right amount of Latin spice, Ray Barretto's congas. The feel, less loose than many of the 1950s jam sessions that Ammons participated in, seems unusually well considered and as rehearsed as any Blue Note date. Ammons chooses well here too, glossing musically over Bird's "Confirmation," Bill Doggett's "Savoy" and easing lovingly through Rodgers and Hart's "My Romance" (ranking right up there with Ben Webster's classic interpretations). Two "hits" actually emerged from this record, making it one well worth acquiring: Ammon's soulful blues, "Hittin' The Jug," and a swinging rendition of the otherwise corny pop hit "Canadian Sunset." A winner all the way around, and one of the definitive additions to Ammons's huge discography. ~ Douglas Payne, AllAboutJazz.com.

Prestige Records, PRLP 7180, 1960

Concord Music Group, 00025218810227, 2006

Recorded 16^th June, 1960 At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Gene Ammons - Tenor Saxophone

Tommy Flanagan - Piano

Doug Watkins - Bass

Art Taylor - Drums

Ray Barretto - Congas

Tracks:

1. Hittin' The Jug {Gene Ammons} (8:28)

2. Close Your Eyes {Bernice Pelkere} (3:44)

3. My Romance {Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart} (4:13)

4. Canadian Sunset {Eddie Heywood, Norman Gimbel} (5:25)

5. Blue Ammons {Gene Ammons} (4:58)

6. Confirmation {Charlie Parker} (5:25)

7. Stompin' At The Savoy {Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, Edgar Sampson} (3:32)

Total Time: 35:35

Credits:

Supervision - Esmond Edwards

Reissue Producer - Nick Phillips, Bob Porter

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Remastering - Rudy van Gelder, 2005

Reissue Production Assistant - Stuart Kremsky

Cover Photo - Esmond Edwards

Original Liner Notes - Leroi Jones

Reissue Liner Notes - Bob Porter, 2005

Gene Ammons - Boss Soul! (1966) [vinyl]

One of Gene Ammons' classics from the 60s, and a straight-ahead session of soul jazz tenor and piano, with drums by Art Taylor and a bit of extra conga from Ray Barretto. Nice rolling 60's soul jazz groove, and some nice piano comping behind Jug by Patti Brown and Walter Bishop Jr. Tracks include "Travelin", "Soft Summer Breeze", "Carbow", and "Song of The Islands". © Dusty Groove, Inc.

Prestige Records, PRST 7445, 1966

Recorded 17^th (#B1-B3) & 18^th October (#A1-A4), 1961

At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Musicians:

Gene Ammons - Tenor Saxophone

Patti Bown - Piano (#A1-A4)

Walter Bishop Jr. - Piano (#B1-B3)

George Duvivier - Bass (#A1-A4)

Art Davis - Bass (#B1-B3)

Art Taylor - Drums

Ray Barretto - Congas

Tracks:

A1. Soft Summer Breeze {Eddie Heywood} (4:50)

A2. Don't Go To Strangers {Arthur Kent, David Mann, Redd Evans} (6:24)

A3. Song Of The Islands {Charles E. King} (5:12)

A4. Travelin' {Gene Ammons} (3:39)

B1. Carbow {Gene Ammons} (6:07)

B2. I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over {Allie Wrubel, Herbert Magidson} (6:01)

B3. I'm Beginning To See The Light {Don George, Duke Ellington, Harry James, Johnny Hodges} (4:48)

Credits:

Supervision - Esmond Edwards

Recording & Mastering Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Liner Notes - Bob Porter

Design, Photo - Don Schlitten

Julian Priester - Spiritsville (1960)

Spiritsville is the second album led by American jazz trombonist Julian Priester which was recorded in 1960 for Riverside's subsidiary Jazzland label.

Smokin' Hard Bop

This hard bop set from 1960 didn't do too much for me at first. Largely, I think, because I have been listening to a lot of this stuff lately. Then something happened. I listened to this record with the headphones on and I'll be damned if I didn't experience it in a whole new way. Recorded in New York City in July 1960, Spiritsville features a cast of characters that I have not heard a lot from (except for the noteworthy piano player...). Priester was a trombone player. In fact, he's on Coltrane's Impulse debut, Africe Brass. In the manner of Curtis Fuller he does some great work on this record as a lead. Between those two I've come to enjoy that instrument far more than I ever have. Of the records McCoy Tyner played on leading up to this one, none foreshadowed exactly where his tone and style were going as much as this one. Dig his solo work on 'Blue Stride' and 'Excursion'. You'll hear it. ~ by Lawrence Peryeron, Amazon.com.

Jazzland Records, JLP 25, 1960

Recorded 12^th July, 1960 in New York City

Musicians:

Julian Priester - Trombone

Walter Benton - Tenor Saxophone (#A1,A2,A4-B3)

Charles Davis - Baritone Saxophone (#A1,A2,A4-B3)

McCoy Tyner - Piano

Sam Jones - Bass

Art Taylor - Drums

Tracks:

A1. Chi-Chi {Charlie Parker} (4:49)

A2. Blue Stride {Julian Priester} (5:58)

A3. It Might As Well Be Spring {Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II} (5:54)

A4. Excursion {Walter Benton} (5:48)

B1. Spiritsville {Julian Priester} (7:26)

B2. My Romance {Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart} (5:57)

B3. Donna's Waltz {Julian Priester} (5:37)

Total Time: 41:29

FRANK WESS - with KENNY BURRELL - STEAMIN' - 1963 - WAVE

1963

Prestige PR 7278

MY Vinyl Rip

Front & Back Covers

WAVE

One of Frank Wess' strongest albums from the time – a harder-than-usual burner recorded with Kenny Burrell on guitar, plus Thad Jones trumpet, Mal Waldron piano, and rhythm by Paul Chambers and Art Taylor. Tracks are long and very jamming – almost in the mode of the Prestige blowing sessions of a few years hence, especially when Wess is playing tenor. Titles include "Count One", "Empty Street", "Steamin", and "Blue Jelly".

01 Steamin'

02 Blue Jelly

03 Count One

04 Empty Street

Nathan Davis - Jazz Concert in a Bennedictine Monastery

This is certainly one of the rarest of birds and after years of trying to clean a muddy cassette tape copy from an old pal J.D., (it was better than nothing for sure), I have finally pieced together a much cleaner, clearer copy from multiple sources and in mp3. Still not perfect, but MUCH better than what we've had around here to date. The music itself is well worth the trouble, Davis is at his peak as is Waldron, and the Woode/Taylor rhythm connection is a powerful one. Great Stuff!

Dorothy Ashby - Hip Harp (1958) [vinyl>flac]

Great stuff by the grooviest artist ever to play a harp! Dorothy Ashby had a unique soul jazz harp sound, and although the instrument she used is probably more thought of in terms of bedtime lullabies, she actually makes it swing nicely, and with a soulful sound that draws back to traditions of African stringed instruments. Ashby was part of the same scene as Yusef Lateef, and like Lateef, she managed to use odd instrumentation in new contexts, to get a very unique jazz sound. This set's got harp and flute in the lead, and features the tracks "Pawky", "Charmaine", "Jollity", and "Back Talk". © 1996-2013, Dusty Groove, Inc.

Dorothy Ashby has added to the basic territory that the harp previously occupied. In fusing her sometimes guitar-like, swinging line to the expected harp effects, she has added another step to the instrumental-scope of jazz. ~ Excerpt from Liner Notes by Ira Gitler.

Prestige Records, PR 7140, 1958

Recorded 21^st March, 1958 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey

Personnel:

Dorothy Ashby - Harp

Frank Wess - Flute

Herman Wright - Bass

Art Taylor - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. Pawky {Dorothy Ashby} (7:04)

A2. Moonlight In Vermont {John Blackburn, Karl Suessdorf} (5:15)

A3. Back Talk {Dorothy Ashby} (5:04)

B1. Dancing In The Dark {Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz} (4:43)

B2. Charmaine {Lew Pollack, Erno Rapee} (4:02)

B3. Jollity {Dorothy Ashby} (3:36)

B4. There's A Small Hotel {Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers} (5:51)

Credits:

Supervisor - Bob Weinstock

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Liner Notes - Ira Gitler

Clark Terry Quintet w/ Don Butterfield - Top And Bottom Brass

Cryptheads!!!  I'm hooooommme!!!  It's been a while hasn't it?!?  I have been busy renovating my man cave, which is now finished. 

I thought I would come out swingin with this most incredible  Clark Terry album.  However, that isn't the most accurate description as it's really a co-lead affair with Don Butterfield playing a large role musically.  And really, the tuba is what makes this album unique from many others in Clark's large catalogue. 

Butterfield is really a master of his domain as he gets the instrument to bend sonically - from deep and smooth, to sharp and quick.  And he can mix all of those qualities even further.  I was really taken aback with his first solo in The Swinging Chemise, for a few bars, I thought it was Sam Jones!!  Impressive indeed.  As for Terry, he plays wonderfully with a real focus on tone, matching up perfectly with the mighty tuba.  Some really soulful playing from the trumpeter, who also pulls out the flugelhorn on this side.  The rhythm section hold down a superb swing, light and airy with tons of space.  Creatively, the crown may very well go to Jimmy Jones on Top And Bottom Brass, although keeping a tuba interesting throughout eight tunes is no easy feat either.

All in all, this is a rock solid album which has been more or less forgotten.  It did infact receive the OJC treatment, but was quickly back to OOP status again.  Mumbles was one of the greats, a true master of this jazz music and Top And Bottom Brass is yet another document of proof.

This was ripped from the OJC reissue and dithered to VBR mp3.  Frankly the sound is wonderful... enjoy!!!

Riverside RSLP-295

1959

Clark Terry - trumpet & flugelhorn;  Don Butterfield - tuba;  Jimmy Jones - piano;  Sam Jones - bass
Art Taylor - drums.