Bill Jones

The remix collection that complements Original Jam Sessions 1969 has a handful of stunners, with the rest of the tracks being groovy enough, if only because of Bill Cosby and Quincy Jones' original recordings. Herbert mucks everything up on his track, making Quincy's band sound both death metal and amusement-park carousel. Cornershop relate the wacka-wacka guitar to the sitar in their mix, while Bedrock and Said Mrad both take the deep and creeping noir route with great results. Mix Master Mike and Cosby's rap on "Hikky-Burr" sound like a match made in funk heaven, but the turntable master doesn't do much more than scratch over the original track. Everything else is more pleasing than memorable, with few of the remixers willing to really mess with master Quincy's groove…

What can you expect but good things from a date featuring three players of such high pedigree. With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones representing the steadfast rhythm sections of old, and with Frisell's post-modern tones being among the finest voices moving jazz forward, a date like this should easily yield some classic moments. But Frisell comes up with only partial melodies and bare bones sketches for the band to play. Jones sounds at times utterly bored with his rhythm duties, desperate for a chance to stretch out. Frisell himself is often hesitant. Henry Mancini's "Moon River" and Stephen Foster's century-and-a-half old "Hard Times" together offer brief glimpses of levity, but cannot save the set entirely.

What can you expect but good things from a date featuring three players of such high pedigree. With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones representing the steadfast rhythm sections of old, and with Frisell's post-modern tones being among the finest voices moving jazz forward, a date like this should easily yield some classic moments. But Frisell comes up with only partial melodies and bare bones sketches for the band to play. Jones sounds at times utterly bored with his rhythm duties, desperate for a chance to stretch out. Frisell himself is often hesitant. Henry Mancini's "Moon River" and Stephen Foster's century-and-a-half old "Hard Times" together offer brief glimpses of levity, but cannot save the set entirely.

Recorded 1959-1962. An obscure Bill Evans trio set (with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones), On Green Dolphin Street went unissued until the mid-'70s, when the pianist decided that it was worth releasing as a fine example of Chambers' work. Very much a spontaneous set - it was recorded after the rhythm section made part of a record accompanying trumpeter Chet Baker - the group runs through a few standards such as "You and the Night and the Music," "Green Dolphin Street," and two versions of "Woody 'N You." Although lacking the magic of Evans' regular bands, the date has its strong moments, and the pianist's fans will be interested in getting this early sampling of his work.

The legend of Bill Evans really begins with this album, his second. The pianist had just spent most of 1958 as part of one of the major units in jazz history: the Miles Davis Sextet that also featured John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. His fellow musicians already knew his worth (the album title was almost literally accurate, and the four endorsements on the cover, which embarrassed Bill, could easily have been greatly multiplied); with this record, the jazz public began to follow their lead. Aided by Sam Jones and Philly Joe Jones, Evans set down some of his most swinging trio sides, but the session would be memorable if it had only yielded the remarkable and haunting solo improvisation called "Peace Piece."

In 2019, following their joint tour of Japan, guitarist Robben Ford and saxophonist/keyboardist Bill Evans recruited jazz bassist James Genus and Steely Dan drummer Keith Carlock to cut The Sun Room in a Nashville studio. The group is back with Rolling Stones' bassist Darryl Jones in the bass chair. Recorded in the same studio, this set's focus relies heavily on a more rockist jazz-funk and blues. Common Ground was co-produced by the saxophonist and Clifford Carter, and its nine tracks clock in at just under an hour. The session gets unruly early on with "Ever Ready Sunday," a mean, funky, jazz-rocker. Kicked off with a power chord vamp by Ford, Jones rumbles behind Carlock's snare and hi-hat breaks. Evans solos on soprano and Ford follows with a meandering meld of jazzy arpeggios and blues licks.

With ears dead set on the trends of the moment but still drawing now and then on his jazz past, Quincy Jones came up with another classy-sounding pop album loaded with his ever-growing circle of musician friends. Disco was king in 1978 and Jones bows low with the ebullient dance hit "Stuff Like That" – which is several cuts above the norm for that genre – along with a healthy quota of elegantly produced soul ballads.