Cecil Taylor The Classic Albums

Kenny Dorham had a deeply moving, pure tone on trumpet; his sound was clear, sharp, and piercing, especially during ballads. He could spin out phrases and lines, but when he slowly and sweetly played the melody it was an evocative event. Dorham was a gifted all-round trumpeter, but seldom showcased his complete skills, preferring an understated, subtle approach. Unfortunately, he never received much publicity, and though a highly intelligent, thoughtful individual who wrote insightful commentary on jazz, he's little more than a footnote to many fans.

Dexter Gordon - The Resurgence Of Dexter Gordon (1960) {Jazzland OJCCD-929-2 rel 1997}
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© 1960, 1997 Jazzland / Fantasy | OJCCD-929-2
Jazz / Bop / Saxophone

A play and an alto saxophonist pulled Dexter Gordon out of West Coast obscurity in 1960 and helped revive the bebop pioneer's career. The play was The Connection, which included a performing jazz band in its cast and inspired a classic original score from Freddie Redd as well as subsequent compositions by Kenny Drew, Cecil Payne, and Cecil Taylor. Gordon was the play's musical director in his hometown of Los Angeles, and some of Gordon's score is documented here. Cannonball Adderley produced the session (and many others for Riverside/Jazzland at the time).

Mostly Other People Do The Killing - Red Hot (2013) {Hot Cup 125}
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© 2013 Moppa Music / Hot Cup Records | HC 125
Jazz / Post-Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz

I've been too busy enjoying the music of Mostly Other People Do the Killing (MOPTDK) to realize how controversial they've become. If you doubt their ability to rile the jazz world, all you have to do is post one of their videos on your Facebook page and wait for the ensuing kerfuffle to begin. The core band is comprised of four virtuoso instrumentalists, free-spirits who think nothing of hopping from honest-to-god punk rock, to free improv, to hard bop, to Americana, and back; sometimes in the space of a single track. Many of their original compositions, written by bassist Moppa Elliott, have the outward appearance of overlooked post-bop and bebop gems from the mid-1950s and early 60s.

Various Artists - The House That Trane Built: The Story Of Impulse Records (2006) [4CD] {Impulse! Japan Edition}
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© 2006 Impulse! / Verve | UCCI-7001/4 / B0006680-02
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Bop / Afro-Cuban Jazz / Free Jazz / Hard Bop / Modern Creative

The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records is a four-disc set, compiled and annotated by author Ashley Kahn who wrote the book of the same name being published concurrently with its release. Impulse's great run was between 1961 and 1976 – a period of 15 years that ushered in more changes in jazz than at any other point in the music's history. Impulse began recording in the last weeks of 1960, with Ray Charles, Kai Windig /J.J. Johnson, and Gil Evans. While Impulse experimented with 45s 33 1/3 EPs, cassettes, and reel to reel tapes later in its existence, it was–and this set focuses on– it was the music on its LPs (with distinct orange and black packaging in gatefold sleeves containing copious notes) that helped to set them apart.

Originally comprised of saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman, trumpeter Lester Bowie, bassist Malachi Favors, and later, drummer Famoudou Don Moye, the Art Ensemble of Chicago enjoyed a critical reputation as the finest and most influential avant-garde jazz ensemble of the 1970s and '80s. Whether or not that reputation was wholly deserved is, in retrospect, subject to debate the World Saxophone Quartet and the Cecil Taylor Unit may well have been more influential.

The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records is a four-disc set, compiled and annotated by author Ashley Kahn who wrote the book of the same name being published concurrently with its release. Impulse's great run was between 1961 and 1976 – a period of 15 years that ushered in more changes in jazz than at any other point in the music's history. Impulse began recording in the last weeks of 1960, with Ray Charles, Kai Windig /J.J. Johnson, and Gil Evans. While Impulse experimented with 45s 33 1/3 EPs, cassettes, and reel to reel tapes later in its existence, it was–and this set focuses on– it was the music on its LPs (with distinct orange and black packaging in gatefold sleeves containing copious notes) that helped to set them apart.

Andrew Cyrille Quartet - The Declaration of Musical Independence (2016) {ECM 2430}
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© 2016 ECM Records | ECM 2430
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz

The great avant-jazz drummer Andrew Cyrille – whose associations have ranged from a long collaboration with Cecil Taylor to co-leading the collective Trio 3 with Oliver Lake and Reggie Workman – makes his ECM leader debut with The Declaration of Musical Independence. Featuring a quartet with guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Richard Teitelbaum and bassist Ben Street, the album kicks off with an artfully oblique interpretation of John Coltrane’s “Coltrane Time,” led by Cyrille’s solo drum intro.