Japan Bethlehem Album Collection

John Coltrane - The Bethlehem Years (1957) {2014 2CD Set Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6151}
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© 1957, 2014 Solid Records Japan / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6151
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description, lyrics, and bonus tracks. Features original cover artwork. The complete recordings done by John Coltrane for Bethlehem Records – mostly cut during December of 1957, and issued on the albums The Winner's Circle and Art Blakey Big Band! Both albums were a bit unusual for the label – in that The Winner's Circle was sort of a blowing/jam session type record, cut with some of the big poll winners of the year, but with shorter tracks than the usual Prestige-styled set of that nature. The lineup includes Donald Byrd, Al Cohn, Eddie Costa, Oscar Pettiford, and Philly Joe Jones – and Coltrane's a bit buried in the group, but gets out some nice licks from time to time.

Don Elliott - Mellophone (1955) {2013 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 Series CDSOL-6098}
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© 1955, 2013 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6098 | LP BCP-12
Jazz / Cool / Mellophone

They're not lying with the title of this great little set — as Don Elliott blows his unique horn with a very mellow tone ! The instrument is kind of a bigger version of a flugelhorn — and is used by Don in a laidback combo that also features trombone from Billy Byers, trumpet from Howie Reich, and baritone sax from Danny Bank — all deep sounds that set up a bank of color for Elliott to work with in his most vivid way. Other players include Hal McKusick on alto and flute — but working without as much of the sharper, cutting tones of other 50s albums — and rhythm is from Barry Galbraith on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, and Mel Zelnick on drums.

Charlie Shavers - The Most Intimate (1955) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6152}
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© 1955, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6152 | LP BCP-5002
Jazz / Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Trumpet

Reissue. Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description, lyrics. Features original cover artwork. Wonderfully sweet work from trumpeter Charlie Shavers – a set that has Shavers blowing on ballads over larger orchestrations – in a style that's really our favorite side of his music! Charlie's horn already has a long legacy by the time of this record – a slightly mature style that sounds wonderfully as he drifts magically over string-heavy backings from Sy Oliver – in a mode that's warm and lush, yet also beautifully soulful, and manages to really personalize the familiar tunes in the set. Titles include "Stella By Starlight", "Ill Wind", "Stormy Weather", "Out Of Nowhere", "Stardust", and "I Cover The Waterfront".

Sam Most - Sam Most Plays Bird, Bud, Monk and Miles (1957) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6138}
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© 1957, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6138 | LP BCP-75
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Clarinet

Reissue. Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description, lyrics. Features original cover artwork. Sam Most in two wonderful settings – a large group on half the record, then a smaller combo with David Schildkraut on tenor, Bob Dorough on piano, and Tommy Potter on bass! Sam plays clarinet throughout, but uses some of the phrasing he'd be more likely to employ with a saxophone – a practice that makes the album a great showcase for Most's really unique talents on his instrument. And although the title might make you think the whole thing's a bop rehash record, the arrangements are pretty darn inventive – and really help bring new life into tunes that include "Serpent's Tooth", "Celia", "Bluebird", "Strictly Confidential", and "In Walked Bud" – especially from Sam's solos, and the trumpet work of Doug Mettome.

Terry Pollard - Terry Pollard (1955) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6122}
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© 1955, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6122 (BCP-1015)
Jazz / Bop / Piano

Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description, lyrics, and bonus track(s). Features original cover artwork. One of the few female pianists in 50s jazz – the great Terry Pollard, a player who's usually associated with the Detroit scene, but who works here in a hip west coast setting for Bethlehem Records! The date's got Terry's strong piano in a quintet – with Don Fagerquist on trumpet and Howard Roberts on guitar – both musicians who bring a strong sense of presence to the group passages on the date, but who are also more than willing to step aside and let Pollard really flourish on her solos during some of the album's trio tracks.

The Australian Jazz Quartet - The Australian Jazz Quartet/Quintet (1956) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6140}
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© 1956, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6140 | LP BCP-6002
Jazz / Cool / Vibes / Flute

Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description, lyrics. Features original cover artwork. Forget the hokey kangaroo picture on the cover, because the record's a mighty sweet set of 50s modern jazz – played by some key musicians from Australian who were working in the US at the time! The record's got a style that's somewhere between the hippest sessions of LA and Sweden at the time – all the coolness of both scenes, but a sense of playful expression that really comes through on some of the more unusual passages. The core group features Errol Buddle and Dick Healey on reeds, Bryce Rhode on piano, and Jack Brokensha on vibes – with added work from John Fawcett or Jimmy Gannon on bass, and Nick Stabulas on drums. Titles include "Loose Walk", "Like Someone In Love", "Music For Walkin", "Fascinating Rhythm", "A Foggy Day", and "Little Girl Blue".

Bobby Scott - The Compositions Of Bobby Scott (1955) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6126}
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© 1955, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6126 (BCP-8)
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Piano

Really wonderful work from pianist Bobby Scott – a perfect showcase not just for his young talents as a composer and arranger, but also for a host of key solo performers as well! This full album brings together two previous 10" LP sessions – both of them brilliant, and graced by some of the most modern talents Bethlehem Records had to offer – which makes for extremely fresh sounds from Scott's wonderful music – jazz that's at a level that's really hard to peg – neither west coast cool, nor east coast arranged – but a really special space of its own!

Teddy Charles - Salute To Hamp (1958) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000}
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© 1958, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6147 | LP BCP-6032
Jazz / Cool / Vibes

All vibraphonists owe a debt of gratitude to Lionel Hampton for paving the way in traditional and modern jazz, pioneering the instrument as more than in an accompanist role or being heard only in lounges. In his heyday, Teddy Charles was a prime example of taking Hampton's approach to a different level, eventually in hard and post-bop, but here he takes swing era tunes of Hamp's, changing up or editing their melodic structures with a quartet featuring pianist Hank Jones, and a larger ensemble with horn complement.

Booker Little - Booker Little & Friend +2 (1961) {2012 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6003}
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© 1961, 2012 Solid Records Japan / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6146 | LP BCP-6029
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

A fantastic sextet session recorded in 1961, shortly before Booker Little's death – and filled with all the promise and power he ever packed into his playing! There's a sharp, angular groove to many of the numbers here – that mix of modern and hardbop that was cresting best in the early 60s Blue Note generation – and which echoes some of the work that Little had done with Max Roach in the years before this date. The lineup's filled with great players to help Book realize his strongest musical vision – Julian Priester on trombone, George Coleman on tenor, Don Friedman on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums – and although the set's issued on the sometimes-staid Bethlehem label, it's got all the sharper edges of an early 60s date on a label like Impulse or Candid! Titles include "Matilde", "Booker's Blues", "Forward Flight", and "Victory and Sorrow". CD features two bonus tracks – alternate versions of "Looking Ahead".

Sam Most - The Amazing Mr. Sam Most (1957) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000}
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© 1957, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6139 | LP BCP-78
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Clarinet

Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description. Features original cover artwork. A compelling Bethlehem set from reedman Sam Most – a date that's possibly his most sophisticated session for the label, thanks to arrangements from producer Teddy Charles! Charles sets up Most in a "with strings" format here – but one that's a bit more laidback than usual – as the tunes are somewhat long for the setting, and often feature Sam's solos snaking out wonderfully on flute, tenor, and a bit of clarinet. Jimmy Raney plays a bit of guitar on the record, but the main charm comes from the interplay between Most's reeds and the strings – which really comes off with a dark sort of sound overall, one that clearly marks Charles' presence on the record. Titles include "Lover Man", "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Alone Together", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", and "You Stepped Out Of A Dream".