Hank Jones

Hank Jones - Handful Of Keys: The Music of Thomas "Fats" Waller (1992)

Hank Jones - Handful Of Keys: The Music of Thomas "Fats" Waller (1992)
EAC Rip | FLAC (image+.cue+log) - 209 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 133 MB | Covers - 41 MB
Genre: Jazz, Piano Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Gitanes/EmArcy (512 737-2)

There are a playfulness and charm underneath Jones' solos that repeatedly surface throughout his excellent renditions on this disc dedicated to Fats Waller's music. While 10 of the 16 songs are Waller compositions, those that aren't, like "How Come You Do Me Like You Do" and "Your Feet's Too Big," are closely identified with him. Jones' flourishes, expert handling of stride rhythms, and delicate but skillful reworkings not only capture the flavor Waller brought to such songs as "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Honeysuckle Rose" and the title track, but add his character to them with tricky phrases, quick melodies and nimble lines.
Hank Jones - Hank Jones Trio With Mads Vinding & Al Foster (1991)

Hank Jones - Hank Jones Trio With Mads Vinding & Al Foster (1991)
EAC Rip | FLAC (image+.cue+log) - 337 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 143 MB | Covers - 18 MB
Genre: Jazz, Bop | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Storyville (STCD 4180)

Although pianist Hank Jones has been a major player since the mid-1940s, his classy swing-to-bop style still sounds fresh a half-century later. Both of his sidemen (bassist Mads Vinding and drummer Al Foster) were actually born in the mid- to late '40s, but they certainly have no difficulty communicating with the elder Jones. This fine trio workout finds the musicians digging into ten jazz standards (mostly from the 1950s and '60s) and coming up with fresh statements on such numbers as "Pent Up House," "Bloomdido," "Quintessence" and "Up Jumped Spring." A typically flawless and swinging effort from Hank Jones.

Hank Jones - Bluesette (1979)  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 24, 2022
Hank Jones - Bluesette (1979)

Hank Jones - Bluesette (1979)
EAC Rip | FLAC (image+.cue+log) - 317 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 146 MB | Covers - 11 MB
Genre: Jazz, Bop | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Black & Blue (233168)

Hank Jones is often taken for granted because of his seemingly effortless ability at the piano, but this 1979 trio session with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Alan Dawson (both of whom are also top-flight players) finds him at the top of his game. The hard-driving opener, Toots Theilemans' "Bluesette," has fine solos by the leader and Duvivier, supported by Dawson's crisp brushwork. Jones shows off his stride piano chops in a jaunty take of "Blue and Sentimental," offers a swaggering take of "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," and a lush treatment of Duke Ellington's "Azure." But the most stunning performance of the session may very well be Jones' moving solo rendition of "St. James Infirmary."

Hank Jones - Just For Fun (1977) [Reissue 1990]  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 15, 2022
Hank Jones - Just For Fun (1977) [Reissue 1990]

Hank Jones - Just For Fun (1977) [Reissue 1990]
EAC Rip | WavPack (image+.cue+log) - 171 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 93 MB | Covers - 13 MB
Genre: Jazz, Bop, Piano Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: OJC/Galaxy Records (OJCCD-471-2 (GXY-5105))

Pianist Hank Jones recorded many dates as a leader during the latter half of the 1970s. A superior transitional player whose two-handed style looks toward both swing and bop, Jones is mostly featured on this CD reissue of a Galaxy date in a trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, although three numbers also welcome guitarist Howard Roberts. None of the seven compositions (by Jones, Brown, Pepper Adams, Thad Jones and J.J. Johnson, along with Sara Cassey's title cut) became well-known, but the fine interplay between the musicians and the concise and purposeful solos uplift the tunes.

Hank Jones - I Remember You (1977) [Reissue 2000]  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 17, 2022
Hank Jones - I Remember You (1977) [Reissue 2000]

Hank Jones - I Remember You (1977) [Reissue 2000]
EAC Rip | FLAC (image+.cue+log) - 374 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 173 MB | Covers - 52 MB
Genre: Jazz, Bop | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Black & Blue (BB 947.2)

Made for the French Black & Blue label and released in the U.S. on a Classic Jazz LP, this outing features pianist Hank Jones emphasizing the swing side of his flexible musical personality. Teamed up with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Oliver Jackson, Jones adds beauty and melodic ideas to such veteran numbers as "You Took Advantage of Me," "Love Walked In," "Like Someone In Love" and (easily the most recent tune) Bobby Timmons' "Dat Dere."

Hank Jones - Hank Jones With The Meridian String Quartet (1991)  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 14, 2022
Hank Jones - Hank Jones With The Meridian String Quartet (1991)

Hank Jones - Hank Jones With The Meridian String Quartet (1991)
EAC Rip | FLAC (image+.cue+log) - 281 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 136 MB | Covers - 15 MB
Genre: Jazz, Bop, Third Stream | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: LRC Ltd. (CDC 9026)

Hank Jones has recorded in many different settings over the years, but this bop-third stream session blending a piano trio with a classical string quartet is one of his more unusual sessions. Jones, accompanied by bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Dennis Mackrel, is the primary soloist, though there is space for Reid as well, while the string quartet primarily provides color and contrast for the trio. The ten standards are arranged with flair by Manny Albam. While this sort of date is an acquired taste for some jazz fans, it is by no means a typical "with strings" session, due to Jones' considerable chops and Albam's imaginative charts. Highlights include the brisk bossa nova setting of "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" and the dramatic, upbeat scoring of "Caravan."

Hank Jones - Ain't Misbehavin' (1979) [Reissue 1999]  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 13, 2022
Hank Jones - Ain't Misbehavin' (1979) [Reissue 1999]

Hank Jones - Ain't Misbehavin' (1979) [Reissue 1999]
EAC Rip | WavPack (image+.cue+log) - 204 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 88 MB | Covers - 16 MB
Genre: Jazz, Bop | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: OJC/Galaxy Records (OJCCD-1027-2 (GXY-5123))

When this set was recorded, Hank Jones was the pianist in the Broadway show Ain't Misbehavin', a revue that celebrated Fats Waller's music. Jones never sounded like Waller, being a swing-to-bop transition player rather than a stride pianist, and he makes no effort to copy Fats during this brief program. Instead he plays five Waller compositions and the swing standard "Mean to Me" in his own style, hinting at Waller slightly in spots but essentially playing mainstream bop. Jones is joined by bassist Richard Davis, drummer Roy Haynes, and (on three of the six numbers) trumpeter Bob Ojeda, tenor-saxophonist Teddy Edwards, and guitarist Kenny Burrell. Swinging if not particularly memorable music.
Hank Jones, Wendell Marshall, Kenny Clarke - The Trio (1956) [Reissue 2008]

Hank Jones, Wendell Marshall, Kenny Clarke - The Trio (1956) [Reissue 2008]
EAC Rip | FLAC (image+.cue+log) - 198 MB | Covers (9 MB) included
Genre: Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Fresh Sound (FSR-CD 480)

Long regarded as one of the jazz worlds most unsung heroes, Hank Jones tasty fireworks and subtle improvisation finally started getting the recognition they deserved in the mid-Fifties. In fact, from 1953 practically every album released by Savoy in that era included Hank Jones on piano. Less than two years later he joined forces with the dependable bassist Wendell Marshall and the always-swinging drummer Kenny Clarke and found hisideal trio. As he put it, a good rhythm section must have the ability to think together as a unit, to all have the same type of drive. After they had worked as a unit on several recording dates for Savoy, most of the critics and jazz fans acclaimed The Trio (as they were called) as the most outstanding rhythm section of their time.
Hank Jones - Hank Jones: Solo & With His Own Bands 1947-59 (2023)

Hank Jones - Hank Jones: Solo & With His Own Bands 1947-59 (2023)
FLAC (tracks), Lossless / MP3 320 kbps | 2:25:08 | 317 / 418 Mb
Genre: Jazz

Hank Jones was a jazz pianist of the post-war decades, whose active recording career spanned 60 years, but who did much of his most renowned work during the post-bop years of the 1950s. Learning his trade as bebop developed in the '40s, he was a noted sideman with many different leaders' bands, but, with a style that critics called eloquent, lyrical and impeccable, he made many noted recordings as a solo artist and leading his own small groups, recording for a variety of labels during these years.

Hank Jones - Compassion (1978) [Reissue 1997]  Music

Posted by gribovar at March 19, 2021
Hank Jones - Compassion (1978) [Reissue 1997]

Hank Jones - Compassion (1978) [Reissue 1997]
EAC Rip | FLAC (image+.cue+log) - 330 MB | Covers - 54 MB
Genre: Jazz, Bop, Piano Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Black & Blue (BB 879.2)

Hank Jones is marvelous in this 1978 trio date with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Alan Dawson, one of several dates they made together for Black & Blue in the latter part of the decade. It's hard to imagine any of these three superb musicians being in anything other than top form, and they do not disappoint. Jones' delightful tradeoffs with Dawson (on brushes) are the highlight of "A Foggy Day." The leader swings mightily in the oldie by Franz Lehár, "Yours Is My Heart Alone." The pop song "Come to Me" is successfully recast as a samba. "Alan's Allies" is a virtual master class for aspiring jazz drummers. The often low-key Duvivier provides terrific support without result to gimmickry. Like many of the reissues by the label during the late '90s, bonus tracks consisting of alternate takes of several numbers have been added.