Body and Soul has Joe Jackson playing both hot- and cool-styled jazz songs, getting some worthy help from producer David Kershenbaum, who also lent Jackson a hand on his I'm the Man album. This is Jackson at his smoothest, from the fragility of "Not Here Not Now" to the earnestness of "Be My Number Two." While both this song and "Happy Ending" charted fairly low in the U.K., the explosive "You Can't Get What You Want" went to number 15 in the United States, thanks to the brilliant horn work and colorful jazz-pop mingling of all the other instruments, not to mention Jackson's suave singing.
Although he made his recording debut during the 1960s, it wasn't until 1971 that pianist Tete Montoliu began to record prolifically for European labels, often releasing several albums a year until his death in 1997.
At age 25, Freddie Hubbard made inroads into modern jazz most trumpeters could not imagine, much less come through with. As a soloist, one of Hubbard's crowning achievements in his early period was this recording on which he teamed with Wayne Shorter, marginally as a performer but prominent in the role of arranger/conductor for his first time ever. Utilizing a septet, 16-piece big band, and orchestra plus stings to play concise, tight tunes, Shorter provides the backdrop to employ Hubbard's bold toned trumpet and all of its devices in a full display of his powerful melodic talents. ..
A little-known recording that holds up well as a studio sequel of Joe Henderson's classic State of the Tenor live recordings. Here Joe runs through some of his own standards (Blue Bossa, Inner Urge) and well as jazz standards (`Round Midnight, Body and Soul, Take The "A" Train - which would also appear on his following album, the popular and beloved Lush Life). This unfortunately forgotten album serves as a nice bridge between his 80s Blue Note return and his popular latter day albums. Even though this album is a modest affair and nothing to get too excited about, here Joe still has a nice, full classic Blue Note-esque tone to his playing.
For at least his fourth recording in six years heading a pianoless trio, the great tenor Joe Henderson (along with bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Al Foster) is heard on his own "Inner Urge," an original blues, two lengthy versions of "Body and Soul" and three other jazz standards. This Italian import is particularly recommended to listeners not that familiar with Henderson's playing, for he brings new life to these often overplayed compositions.
Murray's first box set in this series was one of Black Saint/Soul Note's better reissues. And this second volume is it's equal, and in some instances possibly better. The seven albums here span the years 1979 to 1993, and show Murray in different playing styles, but always close to the top of his skills. If you've read this far you're probably familiar with Murray's music, so I'll be brief in my album notes.