Frank Wess, Bobby Jaspar, Seldon Powell - The Spirit Of Charlie Parker (1958)

'The Spirit of Charlie Parker' is an atmospheric album that examines four Charlie Parker tunes; beautifully arranged by Billy van Planck and engineered by none other than the great late Rudy van Gelder. The musicians on this LP comprise of three flutists: Frank Wess, Bobby Jaspar, Seldon Powell, one trombonist Frank Rehak, and a crack rhythm section with the amazing pianist and vibist Eddie Costa together with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Bobby Donaldson. In all four great Bird tunes are showcased with great finesse, Enjoy!

 

World Wide Records, MGS-20003, 1958
Recorded 27th March, 1958 At Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey 

Musicians:
Frank Wess - Flute
Bobby Jaspar - Flute, Clarinet
Seldon Powell - Flute, Tenor Saxophone
Frank Rehak - Trombone
Eddie Costa - Piano, Vibraphone
George Duvivier - Bass
Bobby Donaldson - Drums
Billy Ver Planck - Arranger 

Tracks:
A1. Parker's Mood (5:58)
A2. Marmaduke (9:38)
B1. Now's The Time (8:07)
B2. Ah Leu-Cha (7:52) 

All Compositions by Charlie Parker

Total Time: 31:35

Credits:
Supervisor - Ozzie Cadena
Engineer - Rudy van Gelder
Photography - Hank Schneider
Design [Album] - Levy A. Agency
Liner Notes - H. Alan Stein

Willis Jackson - Star Bag (1968) [re-rip]

Not for the alienated, compulsively cool generation that likes to hide its feelings, if any, behind oversize shades and make like it's very unhip to have a ball, is the tenor sax of Willis "Gator" Jackson, from Florida long ago, veteran of several thousands of wailing R&B sessions from here to eternity. Gator has that thing on the stove all the time, and never stops cooking. The ingredients are a big, fat, Black tone; roots, main; soul power; a time that relaxes right behind the beat, just enough to make you shut your eyes, rock your head, and pop your fingers, and murmur Oh yes, Gator, tell your story; a melodic thing that's as graceful as a Bird in flight; a chord sense that colors every tree a different hue; and always, that out-back tone. The cats (and one chick) Prestige gathered up to surround Willis on this date are all, as the album title clues you, stars in their own bag on the Soul Circuit: Trudy Pitts on organ, Wild Bill Jennings, the guitar man whose sound is as distinctive as his stance (he's lefthanded); Jimmy Lewis on Fender bass providing a solid underpinning to the chords; and swinging Bobby Donaldson on drums, abetted by Victor Allende on conga drums. ~ Excerpts from Liner Notes, Ralph Berton (June 1968).

Prestige Records, PRST 7571, 1968

Recorded 22^nd March, 1968 At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Willis Jackson - Tenor Saxophone

Trudy Pitts - Organ [Hammond B-3]

“Wild” Bill Jennings - Guitar

Jimmy Lewis - Electric Bass

Bobby Donaldson - Drums

Victor Allende - Conga Drums

Track Listing:

A1. Star Bag {Willis Jackson} (7:14)

A2. The Girl From Ipanema {Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Norman Gimbel} (5:42)

A3. Good To The Damn Bone {Willis Jackson, Clarence Lewis, William Robinson} (5:16)

B1. More {Riz Ortolani, Nino Oliviero, Norman Newell} (7:07)

B2. Smoke Rings {Rudolf Friml, Otto Harbach} (5:51)

B3. Yellow Days {Willis Jackson} (5:35)

Credits:

Producer - Cal Lampley

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder
Design - Don Schlitten
Cover Art - Irving Riggs

Liner Notes - Ralph Burton (June 1968)

Wally Richardson - Soul Guru (1968) [vinyl>flac]

Wally Richardson came out of a rhythm and blues, soul jazz and pop experience. Because of this background and music reading ability, he was very active as an all-around studio guitarist in the late 50's/60's/70's. He recorded a good cult album of psychedelic jazz funk which is now a collector’s item. "Soul Guru" came out in 1969 on Prestige Records in New Jersey.

Guitar driven soul jazz album with a great variety of influences, soul, jazz, east, blues, rock, from sitar-like sounds on Soul Guru to twangy style Surf Side Shuffle, acoustic songs and jazz driven themes. ~ mekkipuur, RateYourMusic.

Prestige Records, PRST 7569, 1968

BGP Records, BGPD 1113, 1988

Recorded 5^th (#A1,A3,B1-B3) & 7^th (#A2,A4,B4) February, 1968

At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Wally Richardson - Guitar

Zane Zacharoff - Bass Clarinet (#A1,A3,B1-B3)

Ernest Hayes - Piano (#A2,A4,B4)

Everett Barksdale - 12-String Guitar (#A1,A3,B1-B3)

Richard Davis - Bass (#A1,A3,B1-B3)

Jimmy Lewis - Bass (#A2,A4,B4)

Orville Mason - Fender Bass (#A1,A3,B1-B3)

Bobby Donaldson - Drums

Montego Joe - Percussion (#A1,A3,B1-B3)

Tracks:

A1. Senor Boogaloo {Wally Richardson} (4:11)

A2. Elbow Blues {Wally Richardson} (5:25)

A3. Monday Monday {John Phillips} (3:08)

A4. Surf Side Shuffle {Wally Richardson} (5:43)

B1. Soul Guru {Wally Richardson} (6:02)

B2. Lonely Rider {David Raksin} (2:44)

B3. Khyber Pass Boogaloo {Wally Richardson} (3:50)

B4. Square Heels, White Stockings {Wally Richardson} (4:53)

Credits:

Producer - Cal Lampley

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Design, Photography - Don Schlitten

Liner Notes - Chris Albertson (April, 1968)

Willis Jackson - Neapolitan Nights (1962) [re-rip]

Naples (or, if you will, Napoli) is one of the world's most scenic cities, and also the home of the pizza pie. Like all the great cities of Italy, it is full of music; among other accomplishments, Naples gave the world Enrico Caruso. Here it serves as the starting point of a musical tour of Italy, guided by the potent tenor saxophone of Willis Jackson at the helm of a swinging rhythm-section. Some of the tunes are old, others are new, and one (Verdi's Vonce) is the blues - though not very blue. All are melodic and have that special romantic flavor long associated with the popular songs of the homeland of grand opera and bel canto. Willis Jackson handles this material with appropriate gusto and warmth. His big, ripe tone is admirably suited to bring out the flavor of a singable melody, and his jazz conception and innate swing stand him in good stead where the avoidance of excessive sentimentality and bathos is concerned. This is not a schmaltzy album, though Mama - one of the best-loved tearjerkers in the Mediterranean repertoire - is handled with the proper traditional feeling. ~ Excerpt from the Liner Notes by Dan Morgenstern

On this album Jackson is joined with a number of other heavyweights. Gildo Mahones for one sets up some wonderful backing including space to showcase some brilliant piano solos. Equally, Bucky Pizzarelli lays down some marvellous sections of guitar. In essence the rest of the group also command much praise, bassist George Tucker holds things together while drummer Bobby Donaldson and conga expert Montego Joe add their special touches to this broad selection of Italian derived tunes. I have to admit whilst perfecting this rip from a very old well-loved vinyl I have grown much love for this LP. Hopefully you too can share in my delight of this relatively hard to find side from the "Gator".

Prestige Records, PR 7264, 1963

Recorded 19^th December, 1962 At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Willis Jackson - Tenor Saxophone

Gildo Mahones - Piano

Bucky Pizzarelli - Guitar

George Tucker - Bass

Bobby Donaldson - Drums

Montego Joe - Congas

Tracks:

A1. Neapolitan Nights {Traditional} (6:58)

A2. Arrivederci Roma {Renato Rascel, Pietro Garinei, Sandro Giovannini} (5:42)

A3. Mama {Cesare Andrea Bixio} (5:14)

B1. Volare {Franco Migliacci, Domenico Modugno} (5:32)

B2. Al Di Là {Carlo Donida, Mogol} (4:38)

B3. Verdi's Vonce {Willis "Gator" Jackson} (7:05)

Credits:

Producer - Ozzie Cadena

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Liner Notes - Dan Morgenstern