Japan+jazz+the+best

Cannonball Adderley - Sophisticated Swing (1957) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9960}
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© 1957, 2013 EmArcy / Mercury / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9960
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Swing / Saxophone

Sophisticated Swing is the fifth album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, and his fourth released on the EmArcy label, featuring performances with Nat Adderley, Junior Mance, Sam Jones, and Jimmy Cobb. A couple of decades ago Sophisicated Swing was the title of an instrumental tune - by Will Hudson, if our memory holds up - and the music that corresponded with it had a certain sleekness that probably justified the title by the standards of that era. But today sophistication in jazz has a somewhat deeper meaning. The true jazz sophisticate has absorbed the lessons of a new musical generation, one that brought with it great advances in harmonic, melodic and rhythmic subtlety. The word "swing", too, has acquired a significance mare far-reaching than any of us could have imagined in the days of monotonous four-to-the-bar rhythm sections and comparatively limited and unimaginative syncopation.

Cannonball Adderley - Cannonball Enroute (1958) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9961}
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© 1958, 2013 Mercury / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9961
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

Cannonball Enroute is the sixth album by the jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, and his first released on the Mercury label, featuring performances with Nat Adderley, Junior Mance, Sam Jones, and Jimmy Cobb. Cannonball Adderley's enroute to a great jazz legacy here – stepping out in a groove that begins to show some of the soul jazz modes he was forging at the end of the 50s – a great change from the straighter bop styles of his early years! The lineup here is a wonderful early expression of the familiar Adderley groove – with brother Nat Adderley on cornet, Junior Mance on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – with Mance and Jones bringing an especially nice bottom end to the record – one that gets things moving in a very soulful way! Titles include "Porky", "Hoppin John", "That Funky Train", "I'll Remember April", and "18th Century Ballroom".

The John Young Trio - A Touch Of Pepper (1962) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9742}
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© 1962, 2013 Argo / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9742
Jazz / Cool / Hard Bop / Piano

One of the few sides ever recorded as a leader by Chicago soul jazz pianist John Young – a tasty trio set with just the right touch of pepper! The tracks are short and lively, very much in the mode of other Chicago trio players – like John Wright or Ramsey Lewis – and most of the tunes have a nicely rolling groove, thanks to great backing from from Sam Kidd on bass and Phil Thomas on drums – both of whom echo strongly the great Chicago groove going on at the time. The album also features a strong mixture of originals and upbeat standards – with titles that include "Joey", "In Other Words", "Blues Oreenee", "The Bridge", "Serenata", and "Search Me".

Cannonball Adderley - Cannonball's Sharpshooters (1958) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9962}
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© 1958, 2013 Mercury / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9962
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Saxophone

A set that's right on target, right from the start – and one that has the young Cannonball Adderley really coming into his groove! The set's a lot more soul jazz-oriented than some of Cannon's records from a few years before – played by a rock-solid group that includes brother Nat Adderley on cornet, Junior Mance on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – hitting a groove that's got plenty of nascent elements of that Cannonball sound that would virtually take over jazz in the 60s! Yet there's also a nicely different vibe going on here too – a bit less structure, and a looser approach to the mode – spun out with some modern moments too, on titles that include "Straight No Chaser", "Jubilation", "Our Delight", "Fuller Bop Man", and "Stay On It".

The Modern Jazz Quartet And The Oscar Peterson Trio At The Opera House (1957) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9945}
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© 1957, 2013 Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9945
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Third Stream

The Modern Jazz Quartet make a rare appearance on Verve Records in the 50s – splitting half the album here with the classic Oscar Peterson Trio! The live performance was recorded in Chicago, and definitely has the MJQ working in a looser vibe than on some of their late 50s recordings for Atlantic – a bit more open and swinging, in a Verve mode – with some of the bop inspiration that first showed up on their early Prestige recordings – as you'll hear on the cuts "Now's The Time", "Round Midnight", and "D&E Blues". The second half of the record features live material from Oscar Peterson's hip group with Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass – that great drum-less lineup that really lets Oscar take off on piano – on tunes that include "Big Fat Mama", "Should I Love You", "Indiana", and "Elevation".

Sonny Stitt - Mr. Bojangles (1973) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24bit Remaster UCCU-9983}
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© 1973, 2013 Cadet / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9983
Jazz / Bop / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

Mr. Bojangles pairs Sonny Stitt with arranger Don Sebesky for one of the smoothest and most mainstream-facing dates of the saxophonist's career. Sebesky's luminous treatments underscore the elegance of Stitt's soulful alto and tenor leads–Roland Hanna's graceful electric piano leads the music even closer to funk, but the overall emphasis is more on atmosphere than rhythm. The material likewise spotlights ballads and slow-burn groovers, borrowing liberally from the pop charts for tunes including "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and "Ben"–even War's "The World Is a Ghetto" simmers instead of boils.

Nat Adderley - The Scavenger (1968) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series UCCO-90203}
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© 1968, 2013 Milestone / Concord / Universal Japan | UCCO-90203
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Cornet

One of the best-ever Nat Adderley albums, and a damn funky set of tracks that has a tight soulful feel! The session's got a similar feel to some of the other rare late 60s Milestone albums (like the 2 killers by Bobby Timmons!) – especially in that it's got a group that plays with the fullness of a larger ensemble, and who race in and out nicely, to support the funky solos of the leader. Of course, some of the other players are pretty darn nice in the solo department too – like Joe Henderson on tenor, Jeremy Steig on fluge, and Joe Zawinu on piano – and they also manage to keep a tight rhythmic groove throughout. Titles include "The Scavenger", "Sweet Emma", "Rise Sally Rise", and "Melnat".

Paul Bley - Paul Bley - EmArcy (1954) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9739}
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© 1954, 2013 EmArcy / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9739
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano

Early early work by Paul Bley – years before he picked up the synthesizer, and years before he became the moody modernist he was in the 70s! The album's a relatively straight batch of tracks, but does have a touch of modernism – an early example of the sharp sounds that Bley would fully forge in alter years. The lineup is nice, too – with either Percy Heath or Peter Ind on bass, both players who clearly feel Bley's intentions – and Al Levitt on drums. Tracks are mostly standards, but they're done by Bley in a way that's fresh and sprightly – and titles include "My Heart", "Topsy", "I Want To Be Happy", "Autumn Breeze", and "My Old Flame".

The Buddy DeFranco Quartet - Jazz Tones (1954) {2012 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24bit Remaster UCCU-9953}
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© 1953, 1954, 2012 Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9953 | Verve LP MG V-8158
Jazz / Bop / Clarinet

The jazz tones here are mighty nice — on a record that sparkles with some of Buddy DeFranco's best music ever ! As with other Verve dates from the time, this DeFranco outing's got a rhythmic pulse that really gets things going — a sense of swing that's nice and lean, but quite powerful too — pushing Buddy past any cliched clarinet modes of the 50s, into a realm that really unlocks new sax-like sounds in his horn! The piano has a lot to do with the record – played here by either Kenny Drew or Sonny Clark — with bass from Milt Hinton or Gene Wright, and drums from Art Blakey and Bobby White.

Frank Foster - Basie Is Our Boss (1963) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9979}
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© 1963, 2013 Argo / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9979 | Argo LP 717
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Tracks have a nice rolling feel, and the group is very comfortable with each other. Foster's tone is excellent. “….this is a great, great record; a very swingin', soulful, and I dare say slightly modal side from the great sax man Frank Foster, long time sideman and musical director of the Count Basie organization. …..Foster has assembled a very competent and skillful support crew, mostly former and then current Basie sideman (which accounts for the title of the LP: 'Basie is Our Boss…) but he is also supported by a great favorite of this blog; the unheralded John Young on piano. Unusually for an Argo side, there are only 6 tracks on this LP, as Foster & company are given a rare opportunity to stretch out and tackle the material.