Roy Hargrove - Family (1995)

This well-rounded set not only features trumpeter Roy Hargrove with his mid-'90s quintet (tenor saxophonist Ron Blake, pianist Stephen Scott, bassist Rodney Whitaker, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson) but with two other rhythm sections and a few special guests. The first three selections (which includes the up-tempo blues "Brian's Bounce") are called "Trilogy" and dedicated to various family members. Hargrove shows off his warm tone on "The Nearness of You" (a ballads with strings album was in the near future), and other highlights include the lyrical "Pas de Trois," a duet by Hargrove and bassist Walter Booker on Larry Willis' "Ethiopia," and a driving version of "Firm Roots." A meeting between Hargrove and Wynton Marsalis on the bop standard "Nostalgia" is disappointingly tame, but otherwise this is a high-quality modern hard bop release. ~ by Scott Yanow, AMG.

Verve Records, 314 527 630-2, 1995

Recorded 26^th-29^th January, 1995 At Studio B, Clinton Recording Studios, NY

Musicians:

Roy Hargrove - Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Ron Blake - Soprano & Tenor Saxophones

Jesse Davis - Alto Saxophone

David "Fathead" Newman - Tenor Saxophone, Flute

Wynton Marsalis - Trumpet

Stephen Scott, John Hicks, Larry Willis, Ronnie Mathews - Piano

Troy Halderson - Synthesizer

Rodney Whitaker, Christian McBride, Walter Booker - Bass

Gregory Hutchinson, Lewis Nash, Jimmy Cobb, Karriem Riggins - Drums

Tracks:

01. Velera {Roy Hargrove} (2:22)

02. Roy Allen {Roy Hargrove} (3:48)

03. Brian's Bounce {Roy Hargrove} (4:56)

04. The Nearness Of You {Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington} (7:03)

05. Lament For Love {Ronnie Mathews} (4:01)

06. Another Level {Roy Hargrove} (6:23)

07. A Dream Of You {Christian McBride} (6:11)

08. Pas De Trois {Paul Arslanian} (8:39)

09. Polka Dots And Moonbeams {Johnny Burke, James Van Heusen} (5:36)

10. The Challenge {Roy Hargrove} (3:46)

11. Ethiopia {Larry Willis} (3:36)

12. Nostalgia {Fats Navarro} (6:00)

13. Thirteenth Floor {David "Fathead" Newman} (5:57)

14. Firm Roots {Cedar Walton} (6:51)

15. The Trial {Roy Hargrove} (3:38)

Credits:

Producer - Roy Hargrove, Larry Clothier

Executive Producer - Richard Seidel

Engineer - Troy Halderson

Editing, Engineer, Mastering, Sequencing - Ed Rak

Assistant - Mark Agostino, Jonathon Mooney

Photography - Jimmy Katz, Michael Lavine

Art Direction - David Lau

Art Direction, Design - Patricia Lie

May He Rest In Peace

Charles Davis - Ingia! (1974) [vinyl>flac]

Charles Davis is joined by Louis Hayes & Company on this rare post-bop outing released on Strata-East Records back in 1974. Charles excels as a musician, composer and arranger. All players are on fire and there is plenty of room for them to express their individual talents. It is an LP that can be revisited many a time. Highly Recommended!

Strata-East Records, SES-7425, 1974

Recorded 15^th July, 1974 At Minot Sound Studio, White Plains, New York

Musicians:

Charles Davis - Baritone Saxophone

Andrew "Tex" Allen - Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Gerald Hayes - Alto Saxophone, Flute

Ronnie Mathews - Piano, Electric Piano

Louis Davis - Guitar

David Williams - Bass

Louis Hayes - Drums

Tracks:

A1. The Gems Of Mims {Charles Davis} (10:30)

A2. Little Miss Jump Up {Charles Davis} (7:05)

B1. Linda {Charles Davis} (11:22)

B2. Ingia {Billy Higgins} (9:07)

Credits:

Producer, Arranger - Charles Davis

Recording & Mixing Engineer - John R. Battiloro

Mastering Engineer - Donald Van Gorden

Design - Sandra Williams

Photography - Charles Stewart

Ronnie Mathews - Legacy (1979) [vinyl>flac]

New link now available. Ripped from a mint LP in flac with scans.
Aside from the songs on Johnny Hartman's LP "Once In Every Life" that were featured on the "Bridges of Madison County" soundtrack, none of the material released on the Beehive label has been reissued. The man who owns the catalog has resisted repeated urgings to reissue the music himself or to let someone else do it for him. Sad.

Review by Scott Yanow:
Pianist Ronnie Mathews assembled an all-star group (tenor saxophonist Ricky Ford, trumpeter Bill Hardman, bassist Walter Booker, Jr. and drummer Jimmy Cobb) for this hard bop set. Mathews had long been a distinctive but underrated player and is heard in prime form on a varied program including two of his songs, a pair of Tex Allen originals, "Suicide Is Painless," "A Child Is Born" and "Once I Loved." The musicians all live up to their potential, making one wish that the Bee Hive releases of the late 1970s were available on CD.

01 - Legacy
02 - A Child Is Born
03 - Once I Loved
04 - Ichi Ban
05 - Theme From Mash
06 - Loose Suite
07 - Four For Nothing

Ronnie Mathews (p) Ricky Ford (ts) Bill Hardman (t) Walter Booker Jr (b) Jimmy Cobb (d)
Rec: NYC, Setember 21, 1979

Incidentally, 'Ichi Ban' composed by Mathews, is revisited here, having first been released on the marvellous 1963 Prestige recording 'Doin' The Thang', which featured Freddie Hubbard.

Dexter Gordon - Homecoming (LP rip)

Ahhhh yes, it is actually me over here for a moment! Given the major sparks being thrown off this last week by all my beloved blog-mates, I just HAD to chip in with a bit of a firework of my own!

My coffee mate Cliff has pointed out to me that this particular album is more than a little over-looked in the Dex catalog, largely due to some unfortunate decisions at Columbia/Sony. Clifford recently went and bought a crispy promo copy of the original LP and gave it to me to rip; couldn't leave y'all out of the Lagniappe.

These marvelous live tracks were recorded shortly after Dex's return from Europe but I seem to recall there was a Xanadu date just prior to this. In a surprising but savvy move, Dex chose to play his first Vanguard booking with Woody Shaw and his magnificent working band of the time.

Michael Cuscuna and Columbia had the good sense to show up and record the gigs and this very well received double album set (subsequently released in 1977) was the fortunate result. Now comes the confusing part.....Despite the relative popularity (jazz-wise) of both Dex and Woody in the ensuing years, this album sees only two pressings and then disappears from print until 1990. In 1990 Columbia reissues the set with two additional tunes on a double disc CD. Great news, eh? Well....not so much... do you remember those first Columbia digital remasters on the blue cover Jazz Masterpieces series? Do you remember the way they absolutely butchered their first CD issue of Kind Of Blue? They may have done an even worse job on their reissue of this jewel! Even more baffling is the idea that they have yet to rectify this travesty to this day!

Soooo...here we are - my buddy scored this lovely copy and I've ripped it to FLAC, of course. We enter the Way-Back Machine to 1976 at the Village Vanguard, the bill says Dexter Gordon, Woody Shaw, Ronnie Mathews, Stafford James and Louis Hayes....You buying a ticket?