Art

Verve's Ultimate Art Tatum may not live up to its billing, but the budget-priced collection is nevertheless a terrific introductory sampler. Hank Jones selected the 16 tracks on the compilation and he also wrote the liner notes. He did an excellent job balancing acknowledged classics with choices that illustrate Tatum's range. Some listeners will undoubtedly find a favorite or two missing, but these 16 tracks - including "Tenderly," "I Cover the Waterfront," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Yesterdays," "Willow Weep for Me," "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)," "Sweet Lorraine," "There Will Never Be Another You," and "Too Marvelous for Words" - capture the essence of Tatum's Verve recordings, which is enough to make this a worthwhile sampler.

A seminal session as a leader by the young Art Farmer - recorded for United Artists, and a great set of tight lyrical tunes, played by Farmer in his sparkling style - in a group along with Benny Golson on tenor and Bill Evans on piano. Evans is a special treat here, as the 1958 session was recorded at a time when he was making a fair bit of appearances in various rhythm sections for horn players (like Miles Davis) - and although this role in Evans' career was a short one, it yielded some amazingly beautiful moments, as you'll hear on this album. Art's brother Addison plays bass, and Dave Bailey rounds out the group on drums.

Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings is a previously unissued 3-LP collection of recordings from jazz icon and virtuosic pianist, Art Tatum, captured live at the Blue Note jazz club in Chicago in March of 1953 with guitarist Everett Barksdale and bassist Slam Stewart. These recordings were transferred from the original tape reels and mastered for LP and CD by engineer Matthew Lutthans (who also worked on Resonance’s Grammy-nominated 2019 Nat King Cole release Hittin’ the Ramp). Containing a whopping nearly 3 hours of never-before-heard Art Tatum captured in an intimate setting at the height of his powers with his longtime trio, the deluxe, limited-edition 180-gram 3-LP gatefold set (and 3-CD set) includes rare photos and memorabilia from Herman Leonard, Bob Parent and the Holzfeind family archives (owners of the Blue Note jazz club in Chicago); plus liner notes from Columbia University professor and author, Brent Hayes Edwards; as well as statements from Ahmad Jamal, Sonny Rollins, Monty Alexander, ELEW, Spike Wilner, Johnny O’Neal, Michael Weiss and Terry Gibbs.

Blue Note will issue a never-before-released studio album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, Just Coolin’, on 17 July. It was recorded on 8 March 1959 in the Hackensack, New Jersey studio of feted recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder.

Jewels in the Treasure Box: The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings is a previously unissued 3-LP collection of recordings from jazz icon and virtuosic pianist, Art Tatum, captured live at the Blue Note jazz club in Chicago in March of 1953 with guitarist Everett Barksdale and bassist Slam Stewart. These recordings were transferred from the original tape reels and mastered for LP and CD by engineer Matthew Lutthans (who also worked on Resonance’s Grammy-nominated 2019 Nat King Cole release Hittin’ the Ramp). Containing a whopping nearly 3 hours of never-before-heard Art Tatum captured in an intimate setting at the height of his powers with his longtime trio, the deluxe, limited-edition 180-gram 3-LP gatefold set (and 3-CD set) includes rare photos and memorabilia from Herman Leonard, Bob Parent and the Holzfeind family archives (owners of the Blue Note jazz club in Chicago); plus liner notes from Columbia University professor and author, Brent Hayes Edwards; as well as statements from Ahmad Jamal, Sonny Rollins, Monty Alexander, ELEW, Spike Wilner, Johnny O’Neal, Michael Weiss and Terry Gibbs.

These two sessions were produced by Lee Kraft in 1957 featuring the inimitable tenor saxophonist John Coltrane in two different formats; a quintet with Donald Byrd, Walter Bishop, Jr., Wendell Marshall and Art Blakey, and a 15-piece big band organized by Blakey. Coltrane was featured prominently in both settings and played exceptionally throughout. While the other soloists were all top-notch musicians, Coltranes compositions and performance clearly stole the show. His solos were powerful and confident, ripping out sequences of 16th note lines that soared over the full range of the horn with complete command.