Joe Pass & Herb Ellis

An excellent bop-based guitarist with a slight country twang to his sound, Herb Ellis became famous playing with the Oscar Peterson Trio during 1953-1958. Prior to that, he had attended North Texas State University and played with the Casa Loma Orchestra, Jimmy Dorsey (1945-1947), and the sadly under-recorded trio Soft Winds. While with Peterson, Ellis was on some Jazz at the Philharmonic tours and had a few opportunities to lead his own dates for Verve, including his personal favorite, Nothing But the Blues (1957). After leaving Peterson, Ellis toured a bit with Ella Fitzgerald; became a studio musician on the West Coast; made sessions with the Dukes of Dixieland, Stuff Smith, and Charlie Byrd; and in the 1970s became much more active in the jazz world…

Herb Ellis had previously recorded with fellow guitarists Charlie Byrd, Joe Pass and Freddie Green, but this early Concord album was his first meeting on records with Barney Kessel. It is of little surprise that the two complementary players (who had both been with the Oscar Peterson Trio at different times in the 1950s) work together quite well. With fine support from bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Jake Hanna, Kessel and Ellis (both generally easy to identify) swing their way through some mostly little-played standards, including "Early Autumn" and "Dearly Beloved," plus a few originals by the co-leaders. Fans of the bop guitar will want this sprightly collaboration.

Dempsey Wright - The Wright Approach (1958) {VSOP 57CD rel 1995}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 228 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 51 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1958, 1995 Andex / V.S.O.P. Records | V.S.O.P. #57 CD
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Guitar

Dempsey Wright, who came out of nowhere to record a small label album in the 1970s, has been essentially forgotten for decades. However, on this Andex album (reissued on CD by V.S.O.P.), Wright holds his own with a strong supporting cast (Richie Kamuca on tenor, Victor Feldman doubling on piano and vibes, bassist Ben Tucker and drummer Stan Levey) on six swing-oriented standards and the obscure "Something for Lisa," all given Bill Holman arrangements. Wright had a quiet, appealing tone and a strong bop-based improvising style.

Since first meeting in the 1920s, neither jazz nor the guitar have ever been the same. This swinging celebration of the union presents four legends of jazz guitar: Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis. "Of all the ways to improvise," says Kessel, "the most stimulating and demanding is jazz". The four artists here demonstrate stunning command of the fingerboard alongside inspired explorations of standards, blues and ballads.

This riveting music documentary traces the history of piano legend Oscar Peterson, from his early days as Montreal's teenage boogie-woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity. One highlight in the treasure trove of musical gems is the legendary Oscar Peterson Trio (bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis) who, after a twenty-year hiatus, reunited in order to 'prove that it still had the magic.' Over 45 minutes of classic and contemporary performances complemented by rare film footage and in-depth interviews with a cast of jazz legends, creates a chronicle spanning four decades of Oscar Peterson's unforgettable music.

Oscar Peterson appeared on hundreds of recordings produced by Norman Granz, though most of his early trio dates for Mercury and Clef were overlooked for CD reissue until the release of this thorough seven-disc compilation by Mosaic in 2008. It still represents only a portion of the pianist's considerable output for the two labels between 1951 and 1953. This collection was put together as a result of laborious detective work, assembling nine different sessions from tape masters and second generation reels, 78s, EPs and LPs, some of which came from collectors and libraries, while also including eight previously unissued performances…