Jan Lundgren - In New York (2005)

On May 31 and June 1, 2005, Swedish jazz pianist Jan Lundgren was in New York to record In New York for Marshmallow Records, an independent Japanese label founded in 1978. Backing Jan were bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. The recording session took place at Nola's Penthouse Studio on 57th St., above the Steinway showroom (both now replaced by a zillion-story tower on what is known in New York as Billionaire's Row). Jim Czak, whom we all miss dearly, co-engineered, mixed and mastered. Most of the songs were chosen by Jan, with three added by the album's producer and Marshmallow founder Mitsuo Johfu: Autumn in New York, Cherokee and The Gypsy. Jan included two originals - Negotiations and M.Z. The balance were standards Jan wanted to record - East of the Sun, Benny Golson's Stablemates, John Coltrane's Straight Street, I Can't Get Started and Wayne Shorter's This Is for Albert. Great choices all. Jan doesn't get to New York as often as he used to. The pandemic changed a lot. This album is as close as we'll get unless you're in Stockholm and vicinity. In New York is exceptional. Listen to Jan on Autumn in New York and I Can't Get Started. Sheer elegance. There was gentle quality and swinging sophistication to Jan's playing then as is the case now, only more so. His level of taste is extraordinary, and his feel for American songbook standards is loving and respectful. Listen to Stablemates, one of the most statuesque trio renditions of the song I've ever heard and the most sensual, which is how Benny likes it played. Or listen to Jan's fabulous introduction to The Gypsy. [Photo above of Jan Lundgren by Steven Haberland] Straight Street, which Coltrane recorded on Coltrane (Prestige) in 1957, is a knockout, with Jan giving the song the mink-glove treatment. And This Is for Albert, which can be heard on Art Blakey's Caravan (Riverside), twists and turns with grace. Jan's originals here have a distinctly Swedish moodiness and are terrific change-ups from the jazz and pop songbook. As for Peter Washington and Kenny Washington, they are the gold standard and continue to inspire everyone they play with. This is an album you'll listen to over and over again. And, if I might add, a perfect album to play while on the sofa in front of the fireplace this season. The music will find its way all the way inside and make you very happy. ~ Marc Myers, JazzWax.com. 

Marshmallow Export, MMEX-106, 2005
Recorded 31st May-1st June, 2005 at Nola Recording Studio, New York 

Musicians:
Jan Lundgren - Piano
Peter Washington - Bass
Kenny Washington - Drums

Tracks:
01. Negotiations {Jan Lundgren} (7:27)
02. East Of The Sun {Brooks Bowman} (5:26)
03. Autumn In New York {Vernon Duke} (7:02)
04. Stablemates {Benny Golson} (7:36)
05. The Gypsy {Billy Reid} (4:52)
06. Straight Street {John Coltrane} (7:29)
07. M.Z. {Jan Lundgren} (5:12)
08. Cherokee {Ray Noble} (5:51)
09. I Can't Get Standerd {Ira Gershwin, Vernon Duke} (4:34)
10. This Is For Albert {Wayne Shorter} (6:14) 

Total Time: 61:46 

Credits:
Producer - Mitsuo Johfu
Recording Engineer - Jim Czak, Bill Moss 

Cherokee

Joe Locke - For The Love Of You (2009)

Honoring various composers, vibraphonist Joe Locke has led his group for three years in an annual gig at Dizzy's Coca Cola Club in New York. Recently Locke decided to record the output with the happy result being For The Love Of You. Four top-flight musicians are gathered for this gig - pianist Geoffrey Keezer, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Clarence Penn. Joining the four, little-known vocalist Kenny Washington - Vocals (not to be confused with the renowned drummer of the same name) is the real star here. How they all got together is an interesting story. Locke met Washington singing in a small venue in Half Moon Bay, Northern California. He was so impressed with what he heard that he decided to collaborate with him in the future. He got the chance during Mancini week at Dizzy's, an event that honored film composer Henry Mancini. This was the beginning of what became a yearly get-together. After the first year, the program expanded to include the music of other film-score writers, including Johnny Mandel and Ennio Morricone. In 2009, the scope was widened further, bringing in material from pop-rockers the Isley Brothers and Neil Young, along with standards and Locke originals. Washington is heard on seven of the ten tracks. He has a smooth tenor voice with a four-octave range. At all times, he respects the lyrics. Each number, whether slow ballad or swing, he stays with the story. In a style akin to Nat King Cole, he begins in a mellow mood with Mancini's "Two for the Road." Next the atmosphere warms with a bouncy version of Lane/Harburg's "Old Devil Moon." The backup from Locke and his crew could not be better. They create a sphere for the vocals to shine while leaving ample space for all to show their solo talents. Three instrumental tracks further emphasize their collective prowess. A centerpiece of the record is Mandel's "The Shadow of Your Smile." At the start, Penn's up-tempo drumming is effective counterpoint to Washington's leisurely pace. Soon it builds toward an explosive climax. Keezer and Locke further add sparks with torrid solos, and Washington finishes with a coda that vividly shows off his wide range. Of the instrumentals, Morricone's "Cinema Paradiso" is a winner. Mraz's stately bowed-bass opening gives way to dreamy solos by Locke and Keezer. Mraz concludes the piece with a lovely pizzicato flourish. ~ by Larry Taylor, AAJ. 

E1 Entertainment, E1E-CD-2046, 2010
Recorded 11th-12th May, 2009 At Systems Two Studios, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Joe Locke - Vibraphone, Arranger
Geoffrey Keezer - Piano
George Mraz - Bass, Arranger
Clarence Penn - Drums
Kenny Washington - Vocals (#1-4,6,7,9) 

Tracks:
01. Two For The Road {Leslie Bricusse, Henry Mancini} (5:04)
02. Old Devil Moon {E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Burton Lane} (7:34)
03. For The Love Of You {Ernie Isley, Chris Jasper} (6:01)
04. Verrazano Moon {Joe Locke} (6:30)
05. I Miss New York [When I Been Gone Too Long] {Joe Locke} (4:57)
06. Birds {Neil Young} (4:56)
07. The Shadow Of Your Smile {Johnny Mandel, Ben Webster} (7:57)
08. Cinema Paradiso {Ennio Morricone} (5:24)
09. Pure Imagination {Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley} (5:27)
10. Bright Side Up {Joe Locke} (5:11) 

Total Time: 59:01 

Credits:
Producer, Liner Notes - Joe Locke
Producer - Todd Barkan
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Michael Marciano
Mastering Engineer - Alan Silverman [Art Studio]
Management - nadworks. ltd Nadja von Massow
Arranger - Art Hirahara, Pat O'Leary
Artwork, Graphic Design - Nadja von Massow
Cover Photo - Christoph Risch
Photography - Russ Titelman, Alexandros Lambrovassillis, Tom Marcello

Red Holloway - In The Red (1997)

Red Holloway is joined by a set of veteran jazz performers for a no-nonsense, down-to-earth blowing session recalling those magnificent Prestige and Blue Note recordings of the 1950s and '60s by Johnny Griffin, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, and others. The first cut, "The Chase," was the vehicle for the seminal Dexter Gordon/Wardell Gray tenor sax battle recorded in 1947, which set the ground rules for all such battles to come. On this cut, Holloway shows he has lost little, if any, of the fingering dexterity that characterized his playing in earlier days with such notables as "Brother" Jack McDuff, Bill Doggett, and Lloyd Price. Holloway continues to be equally adroit on alto as he is on tenor, bringing out the smaller sax on "The Gypsy" and "A Tear in My Heart" (the latter a composition by piano player Norman Simmons). A highlight of the album is the very poignant rendition of Duke Ellington's "In My Solitude," played in soulful, long musical lines. HighNote Records, the successor to the old Muse label, became a home for several veteran saxophonists. In addition to Holloway, the stable includes Houston Person and Teddy Edwards. HighNote deserves considerable kudos for providing a forum for this hard driving saxophone playing, done with soul, which otherwise might be lost. ~ by Dave Nathan, AMG.

HighNote Records, HCD 7022, 1998

Recorded 27^th November, 1997 At Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Red Holloway - Tenor Sax, Alto Sax (#4,7)

Norman Simmons - Piano

Peter Washington - Bass

Kenny Washington - Drums

Tracks:

1. The Chase {Dexter Gordon} (4:36)

2. In My Solitude {Eddie DeLange, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills} (7:33)

3. Snu-Fu {Norman Simmons} (7:36)

4. The Gypsy {Billy Reid} (8:58)

5. Claudia {Red Holloway} (6:05)

6. Watermelon Man {Herbie Hancock} (6:49)

7. A Tear In My Heart {Norman Simmons} (5:48)

8. Rapture {Harold Land} (8:30)

Total Time: 55:35

Credits:

Producer - Houston Person

Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Cover Photo - Ken Franckling

Tray Card Photo - J. Flint

Art Direction - Dick Smith

Wallace Roney - No Job Too Big Or Small (1999)

32 Jazz/Savoy's No Job Too Big or Small contains 11 highlights (as chosen by producer Adam Dorn) from Wallace Roney's recordings for Muse in the late '80s and early '90s. Although these were made at the outset of his career, Roney was already at the top of his game, as evidenced by this highly enjoyable collection. While the original albums are certainly worth hearing themselves, this is an excellent introduction to the trumpeter's finest recordings. ~ by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG.

Savoy Jazz, SVY 17274, 1999

Recorded 19^th February, 1987 - 6^th June, 1993

Musicians:

Wallace Roney - Trumpet

Kenny Garrett - Alto saxophone

Gary Thomas - Tenor Saxophone, Flute

Antoine Roney, Ravi Coltrane - Tenor saxophone

Jacky Terrasson, Donald Brown, Geri Allen, Mulgrew Miller - Piano

Peter Washington, Christian McBride, Charnett Moffatt - Bass

Eric Allen,Cindy Blackman,Kenny Washington,Tony Williams - Drums

Tracks:

01. Melchizedek {Antoine Roney} (7:33)

02. Alone Together {Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz} (8:53)

03. Daahoud {Clifford Brown} (6:08)

04. Obsession {Wallace Roney} (6:10)

05. Blue In Green {Bill Evans} (5:46)

06. Donna Lee {Charlie Parker} (4:22)

07. Solar {Miles Davis} (8:57)

08. Float {Cindy Blackman} (5:43)

09. Lost {Wayne Shorter} (6:10)

10. For Duke {Wallace Roney} (8:24)

11. Love For Sale {Cole Porter} (7:40)

Credits:

Producer - Don Sickler, Joe Fields, Tony Williams, Michael Cuscuna

Compilation Producer - Adam Dorn

Production Coordination - Becky Wisdom

Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Mastering, Reissue Mastering - Gene Paul

Cover Photo, Photography - David Gahr

Graphic Design - Page Simon

Photography - Pamela Stanfield