Joe Coker

Various Artists - The Bakersfield Sound - Country Music Capital Of The West 1940-1974 (2019) {10CD Set Bear Family BCD16036}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 3.90 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.68 Gb
Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 83 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1940-74, 2019 Bear Family Records | BCD 16036
Country / Traditional Country / Bakersfield Sound / Honky Tonk

Buck Owens turned Bakersfield, California into the epicenter of hip country music in the mid-'60s. All it took was a remarkable streak of number one singles that steam rolled right through Nashville with their electrified twang, forever changing the notion of what constituted country music and codifying the Bakersfield sound as hard-driving rhythms, trebly Telecasters, and lean arrangements suited for honky tonks, beer joints, and jukeboxes all across America. Half-a-century later, these remain sonic signifiers of Bakersfield, so the term no longer conveys a specific sound, place, and era, a situation the weighty Bear Family box The Bakersfield Sound: Country Music Capital of the West 1940-1974 intends to rectify.

The Commodore record label was known for its recordings of the early period jazz pioneers up to bebop, and not necessarily the modernists. Frank Wess was one of those post-bop players, coming out of the Count Basie Orchestra, who eventually made his mark as a premier individualist tenor saxophonist and a seminal jazz flutist stepping away from the swing and big band sound. These small group sessions by Wess give proof positive that he was ready to step out as not only a leader and budding composer (he wrote six of these tracks), but to assert himself as a giant of jazz in his own right. Considering the dates of these recordings, 1954, it could easily be said he was ahead of his time…

Dupree Bolton - Fireball (2008) {Uptown UPCD 27.56 rec 1962-1980}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 268 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 130 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 45 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1962-80, 2008 Uptown Records | UPCD 27.56
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Trumpet

An overlooked trumpeter finally gets his due – in this amazingly rich set dedicated to the work of the great Dupree Bolton! Bolton's best known for his early 60s hardbop sides with Harold Land and Curtis Amy – but this may well be the first album to be issued entirely under his own name, and is definitely the first to feature such a wealth of music and historical notes on Dupree's life and career! The package is tremendous – filled with copious notes and vintage photos, and featuring music from three different slices in time – all equally compelling. First up is material from a 1962 TV show, Frankly Jazz – featuring Bolton on trumpet, Curtis Amy on tenor, Ray Crawford on guitar, and Dolo Coker on piano – playing beautifully together with a very soulful sound, on titles that include "Summertime", "Katanga", "Blues For Amy", and "Laura".

The Trombones, Inc. - The Trombones, Inc. (1958) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27372}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 303 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 106 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 161 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1958, 2013 Warner Bros. / Warner Japan / WEA / Rhino | WPCR-27372
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Hard Bop / Big Band / Saxophone

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The 27 trombones that earned one of Down Beat's rare 5***** review. Each of the selections on this set has between seven and a dozen trombonists along with a rhythm section. The first five selections were recorded with East Coast musicians and the next six with players from the West Coast but, truth be told, there is no real difference in the style of music.

Art Pepper - The Way It Was (1960) {Contemporary OJCCD 389-2 rel 1992}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 307 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 124 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 16 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960, 1992 Contemporary / OJC | OJCCD 389-2
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Saxophone

Despite his very erratic lifestyle, altoist Art Pepper never made a bad record. This collection is better than most. The first four titles team together Pepper with tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh, pianist Ronnie Ball, bassist Ben Tucker, and drummer Gary Frommer for generally intriguing explorations of four standards. One can feel the influence of Lennie Tristano (with Pepper in Lee Konitz's place), although Pepper had his own sound and a more hard-swinging style.

Tadd Dameron - Fontainebleau (1956) {Prestige OJCCD-055-2 rel 1987}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 146 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 75 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 8 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 1987 Prestige / Fantasy | OJCCD-055-2
Jazz / Bop / Piano

Pianist-composer-arranger Tadd Dameron led relatively few sessions in his career, making the half-hour of music on this CD reissue quite valuable. Dameron performs five of his originals (best-known are the complex "Fontainebleau" and "The Scene Is Clean") with an octet comprised of trumpeter Kenny Dorham, trombonist Henry Coker, altoist Sahib Shihab, tenor saxophonist Joe Alexander, baritonist Cecil Payne, bassist John Simmons, drummer Shadow Wilson and the leader's sparse piano. As is usual with most Dameron dates, the emphasis is on his inventive arrangements although there is space (most notably on the 11-minute blues "Bula-Beige") for individual solos. Recommended.

Count Basie & His Atomic Band - Complete Live At The Crescendo 1958 (2016) {5CD Box Set, Phono Records 870245}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.97 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 859 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 97 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1958, 2016 Phono Records | 870245
Jazz / Big Band / Bop / Swing

This superb 5-CD collection compiles all existing live recordings made by the Atomic band at the Crescendo Club, in Hollywood, in the summer of 1958, for the first time ever on a single edition. The sound quality is excellent throughout the set. Count Basie’s career was revived in late 1957 thanks to the success of the Neal Hefti-arranged LP Atomic Basie, which became one of his biggest hits. The orchestra was filled with stars, and Joe Williams’ vocals were heard to great effect supported by Hefti’s excellent scores and the superb quality of the band.