The long-awaited sequel to 2010's groundbreaking 4-CD set "Judy Garland Lost Tracks: 1929-1959," "Judy Garland Lost Tracks 2 - 1936-1967" features a whopping 40 new-to-CD tracks. In the years between the two releases many new, previously unreleased and/or thought-lost Garland recordings have been discovered. Also during that time, audio restoration software has advanced to the point that, as in the capable hands of audio engineer John H. Haley, "old" recordings can now sound better than ever thought possible.
Red Garland's third session as a leader finds the distinctive pianist investigating eight standards (including "Please Send Me Someone to Love," "Stompin' at the Savoy," "If I Were a Bell," and "Almost Like Being in Love") with his distinctive chord voicings, melodic but creative ideas, and solid sense of swing. Joined by bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor, Garland plays up to his usual consistent level, making this an easily recommended disc for straight-ahead fans.
AVID Jazz continues with its Four Classic Albums series with a finely re-mastered 2CD release from John Coltrane with The Red Garland Trio & Quintet.
Life to Life documents the culmination of three decades worth of respectful colleagueship between with two of the UK’s most revered jazz musicians – keyboardist Jason Rebello and multi-reedist Tim Garland. Rebello and Garland are both lauded musicians who between with them have worked with luminaries such as Sting, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter and Jeff Beck.
The seminal quartet recordings compiled on this collection were made during a transitional period in John Coltrane's musical career. He had first joined the Miles Davis Quintet in 1955 and would form his own celebrated quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones in 1960. In the intervening years, he overcame his narcotics addiction and began to expand on his own musical ideas while experimenting with both the Thelonious Monk Quartet and the Miles Davis Sextet (featuring Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderley). Although Trane belonged to both the Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk groups, he also recorded studio sessions with other musicians and presented his own albums during this period. Among them were many quartet sides, all of them featuring Red Garland on piano and Paul Chambers on bass (both of whom he had known from the Miles Davis Quintet).
The late 1950s were tough on Judy Garland, but this live recording, cut on April 23, 1961, at Carnegie Hall, would (rightfully) bring the legendary icon back into the spotlight. Live would go on to win five Grammys, be Garland's bestselling record, and confirm that, yes, on certain levels, she still had it. Her vocals are as strong as ever on these tunes, and Garland has fun with an audience obviously enraptured by her charms. She's self-deprecating where necessary–on "You Go to My Head" she "forgets" the lyrics but pretends to improvise. Mostly she just shines, especially on tunes she made famous, such as "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Stormy Weather," and "Over the Rainbow." This is easily one of pop music's greatest live recordings and a fine testament to Garland's recorded legacy. This two-CD set has been remastered for EMI's 40th-anniversary reissue to coincide with the ABC film based on daughter Lorna Luft's memoir Me and My Shadows.