Pat Martino El Hombre (1967) [rvg Remaster 2006] (2014_hdtracks 24 44,1)

Willis Jackson was a tough-toned tenor who came to fame as a honker and screamer with Cootie Williams's big band in the late '40s. Although he calmed down his style a bit through the years, he always has a passionate sound and an accessible style best heard on blues, ballads and standards. This is a CD reissue of a 1978 session that features Jackson with guitarist Pat Martino, organist Carl Wilson and a supportive rhythm section. Although the Barbara Streisand-associated "Evergreen" (heard in two versions) and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" may not seem like the best material for the tenor, he uplifts the songs…

Pat Martino - Nightwings (1994) {Muse Records ‎MCD 5552 rel 1996}
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© 1996 Muse Records | ‎MCD 5552
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Post Bop / Guitar

Recorded for Muse only a couple of months after Interchange and a few months before The Maker, the similarities in the recordings are evident. His connection with James Ridl is obvious and continued Martino's penchant for creative relationships with pianists, namely Eddie Green and Gil Goldstein. For this session, Bob Kenmotsu was added on tenor saxophone, and his unison lines with Martino are one of the many highlights here.

Willis Jackson - Soul Night Live! (1964) {Prestige PRCD-24273-2 rel 2002} (with Pat Martino)
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© 1964, 2002 Prestige / Fantasy | PRCD-24273-2
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Blues / Hard Bop / Saxophone

The term "soul" was tossed around quite a bit in the '60s and '70s. It usually had an African-American connotation – as in soul brother, soul sister, soul food, soul music (a specific style of R&B), or James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. But the term isn't always used in reference to black culture; soulful means expressive, and in that sense, country greats Ernest Tubb and Patsy Cline were seriously soulful. However you define the word soul, Willis "Gator" Jackson was the epitome of it. The tenor titan played with a tremendous amount of feeling, and in the '60s, Prestige wasn't shy about using the word soul in connection with his work.

The music of pianist/composer Thelonious Monk has always inspired profound devotion amongst the hippest fans and musicians. Swing ear stars such as Coleman Hawkins and Cootie Williams were among his earliest and most vocal admirers, while Monk's influence on Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane (among others) was profound. As a result, his remarkable body of written work and recordings form an aesthetic cornerstone of modern jazz.

Pat Martino has released a duo album with Grammy Award-winning keyboard player/arranger Gil Goldstein. This is also a re-performance of their classic 1976 album "We'll Be Together Again." With that in mind, Gil dared to use a Fender Rhodes. The sound it produces has a healing taste that will soothe not only jazz fans but everyone. The compositions included are mainly famous jazz songs that are popular in Japan in response to offers from Japan, but also include Pat's originals.

The Miles Davis Quintet - Steamin' With The Miles Davis Quintet (1956) {2007 Prestige RVG Remaster}
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© 2007 Concord / Prestige | 0888072301672
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Hard Bop

Of Miles Davis's many bands, none was more influential and popular than the quintet with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. Davis's muted ballads and medium-tempo standards endeared him to the public. The horns' searing exposition of classics like "Salt Peanuts" and "Well, You Needn't" captivated musicians. The searching, restless improvisations of Coltrane intrigued listeners who had a taste for adventure. The flawless rhythm section became a model for bands everywhere. Steamin' is a significant portion of the music of this remarkable group.

There are a mere handful of guitarists that have changed the way we think about the guitar over the past five or six decades. Pat Martino is perhaps one of the greatest and best-known of those icons. The term “genius” is overused today, but Pat Martino was definitely one. His life story was the very definition of the word. Before Martino's passing in November, 2021, the Alternative Guitar Summit honored him and his enormous contribution to jazz in this set of studio recordings by 14 jazz guitarists playing selections from his imaginative and varied catalog of compositions. Producer Joel Harrison is thrilled to have brought together this crew of great musicians to show their love for him while HighNote Records is proud to present this first volume of their recordings.

Red Garland - Soul Junction (1957) {2007 Prestige RVG Remaster}
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© 2007 Prestige / Concorde | 0888072301696
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

Productivity can be measured in terms of quantity and quality. On both counts, the Red Garland session of November 15, 1957, produced volumes; two volumes, in fact, and part of another (High Pressure/OJCCD-349-2). Soul Junction and its companion, All Mornin' Long (OJCCD-293-2), found Garland and John Coltrane attuned to one another and in superb form as a result of their intensive work in the Miles Davis Quintet.