Thelonious Monk - The Complete Prestige 10 Inch LP Collection [vinyl 24/96]

 Contributed by KingCake.

Full discographical details can be found here:

https://www.jazzdisco.org/thelonious-monk/

Don Byas - Midnight At Minton's (1941)

Tenor saxophone legend Don Byas is heard with great clarity on this, a relative jam session, as is vocalist Helen Humes (the first two cuts) and ostensible leader/trumpeter Joe Guy, whose high energy solos are very good in spots. Less audible in the mix are pianist Thelonious Monk and drummer Kenny Clarke, working in this band while bebop was fermenting. These two would lead the bop charge later in the '40s at Minton's Playhouse, the bebop concubine/jazz club in N.Y.C. The music is pretty much swing material, with Humes tossing in a ballad ("Stardust") and a bluesy number ("Exactly Like You") while the instrumental "Indiana" is all fired up, and they typically chill down "Body & Soul." Present on the dates is an unidentified tenor saxophonist and trumpeter tossing in his/her less than two-cents worth solos. Even annotator Dan Morgenstern, with his detailed and informative liner notes, can't ID the pair. The star is clearly Byas. His well-rounded tenor inflections and characteristic quarter-to-eight note slurve is on throughout the performance. He can be at once warm, witty, smooth, precise, and consistently wonderful. He's one of the first original jazz voices on his horn and emphatic to boot on these tunes. These are true club date "field recordings," from the then Columbia University student Jerry Newman's portable unit, replete with crowd noise in the background (one can hear Humes rebuffing a heckler/admirer) annoying kicking of the stage area, and a brief drop out or distortion. Total time is barely 39 minutes. But the overall sound quality is quite acceptable, at most times remarkable. The music itself is priceless, the document of a transitional period from swing to bop, and some of the people that made it happen, especially the underappreciated genius Byas. ~ by Michael G. Nastos, AMG.

HighNote Records, HCD 7044, 1999

Recorded March, 1941 At Minton's, New York

Musicians:

Don Byas - Tenor Saxophone

Helen Humes - Vocals (#1,2)

Joe Guy - Trumpet

Thelonious Monk - Piano (#1,2)

Kenny Clarke - Drums (#5,6)

On other selections unknown Bass and Drums

Tracks:

1. Stardust {Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish} (9:09)

2. Exactly Like You {Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh} (9:06)

3. Uptown {Don Byas} (2:48)

4. Body And Soul {Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green} (7:34)

5. I Can't Give You Anything But Love {Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh} (4:11)

6. [Back Home Again In] Indiana {James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald} (6:31)

Credits:

Producer - Jerry Newman, Don Schlitten

Reissue Producer - Joe Fields

Recordings [Original] - Jerry Newman

Remastering [CD] - Malcolm Addey

Repackaging, Design & Digital Imaging - Hal Wilson

Cover Photo - Frank Driggs Collection

Photos [Inside & Tray] - Bob Parent

Note:

Originally released on Onyx Records (1973)

Total Time: 39:19

Gigi Gryce/Hall Overton/Duke Jordon - Signals (24/48 vinyl rip)

A new rip in 24/48! Sounds pretty good to me.


The story of these rather extraordinary records dates back to a short lived label called Signal (thus the title). Signal was the brain child of Jules Colomby, brother of Harold Colomby who was Monk's manager. Colomby had the idea that they would make records of a soloist over a crack rhythm section and put that on one side of the record, while on the other side the soloist would be deleted, leaving space for the home player to now play over the rhythm section. Kind of a cool idea. Jules got his brother Harold and Don Schlitten to become his partners and they found a silent partner investor for capitol. The investor eventually wanted his money back and the label was folded and sold to Savoy.

Sides one and two here are the quartet sides from Jazz Laboratory - Do It Yourself Jazz, volumes 1 and 2. On side one Gryce plays in front of the jaw dropping rhythm team of Duke Jordon, Oscar Pettiford and Kenny Clarke! Side two features Phil Woods in front of Hall Overton, Teddy Kotick, and  Mick Stabulas. Both sessions are quite nice but I think Phil's tone sounds a bit muddy next to Gryce's.

The second record gets REALLY interesting. I'm not sure if these two sessions were ever presented in the format described above or even intended to be, but each is half a record so who knows what they had in mind. Side three is a lovely large band set with Gryce sounding glorious in front of a large portion of the Oscar Pettiford Orchestra of that time. Side four is the BIG payoff though...four tracks of Gryce in a quartet with Thelonious Monk, Percy Heath, and Art Blakey!!! Can you imagine if they DID make a second side without Gryce and you got to try to play over those guys? This second record was later released as Nica's Tempo.

Gigi Gryce - Duke Jordan - Hall Overton – Signals
Label:Savoy Records – SJL 2231, Format:2 × Vinyl, LP, Reissue
Country:US, Released:1978, Genre:Jazz, Style: Bop, Swing

A1         Sometimes I'm Happy        
A2         Embraceable You        
A3         Jordu        
A4         Oh Yeah!        
B1         Pennies From Heaven        
B2         Yesterdays        
B3         It's Only A Paper Moon       
B4         You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To        
C1         Speculation        
C2         In A Meditation Mood        
C3         Social Call        
C4         Smoke Signal        
C5         (You'll Always Be) The One I Love        
C6         Kerry Dance        
D1         Shuffle Boil        
D2         Brake's Sake        
D3         Gallop's Gallop        
D4         Nica's Tempo        

   Alto Saxophone – Gigi Gryce (tracks: A1 to A4, C1, C2, C4, C6, D1 to D4), Phil Woods (tracks: B1 to B4)
    Baritone Saxophone – Cecil Payne (tracks: C3, C5), Danny Bank (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6)
    Bass – Oscar Pettiford (tracks: A1 to A4, C1, C2, C4, C6), Percy Heath (tracks: D1 to D4), Teddy Kotick (tracks: B1 to B4)
    Drums – Art Blakey (tracks: C3, C5, D1 to D4), Kenny Clarke (tracks: A1 to A4, C1, C2, C4, C6), Mick Stabulas* (tracks: B1 to B4)
    Executive Producer – Steve Backer
    French Horn – Gunther Schuller (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6), Julius Watkins (tracks: C3, C5)
    Mastered By, Recorded By [Original Recording] – Rudy Van Gelder
    Piano – Duke Jordan (tracks: A1 to A4), Hall Overton (tracks: B1 to B4), Horace Silver (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6), Thelonious Monk (tracks: D1 to D4)
    Producer [Original Sessions] – Jules Colomby
    Reissue Producer – Bob Porter
    Trombone – Eddie Bert (tracks: C3, C5), Jimmy Cleveland (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6)
    Trumpet – Art Farmer (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6)
    Tuba – Bill Barber (tracks: C1, C2, C4, C6)
    Vocals – Ernestine Anderson (tracks: C3, C5)

Side 1 Recorded In Hackensack. March 7, 1955.
Side 2 Recorded In Hackensack. February 8, 1955.
Side 3 Recorded In Hackensack. October 22 & 30, 1955.
Side 4 Recorded In Hackensack. October 15, 1955.

That's The Way I Feel Now - A Tribute To Thelonious Monk (vinyl rip)

"Two years after the death of pianist-composer Thelonious Monk, this very unusual and quite memorable double-LP tribute was put together. Producer Hal Willner's most successful project, the 23 interpretations of Monk originals all feature a different group of all-star players and stretch beyond jazz. Some of the performances are fairly straightforward while others are quite eccentric; certainly the crazy duet on "Four in One" by altoist Gary Windo and Todd Rundgren (on synthesizers and drum machines) and the version of "Shuffle Boil" featuring John Zorn on game calls (imitating the sound of ducks) are quite unique. There are many colorful moments throughout the project and the roster of musicians is remarkable: Bobby McFerrin with Bob Dorough, Peter Frampton, Joe Jackson, Steve Lacy, Dr. John, Gil Evans, Randy Weston, Roswell Rudd, Eugene Chadbourne and Shockabilly, the Fowler Brothers, NRBQ, Steve Khan, Carla Bley, Barry Harris, Was (Not Was) and many others. There is not a slow moment or uninteresting selection on this highly recommended set."