Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest 24bit 192kHz remastering. Hardly a free for all at all – as the album's a masterpiece of focus and direction, and a classic set from the sextet lineup of the Jazz Messengers! The album's a real feather in the mid-60s cap of Art Blakey –and features an expanded sound from the quintet era of his group – with a sublime horn lineup that features Wayne Shorter on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Curtis Fuller on trombone – all gliding along these soaring piano lines from Cedar Walton! Reggie Workman works some real magic on bass, too – and the tracks are all very long – with titles that include "Free For All" and "Hammer Head" – both written by Shorter – plus "The Core", by Hubbard, and a beautiful version of Clare Fischer's "Pensativa".
Originally released as two separate LPs (and reissued in 2004 as a double CD package) THE NIGHT OF THE COOKERS, VOLUMES 1 & 2 puts trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, two of the biggest guns of the hard-bop era, head to head throughout an extended live set. James Spaulding plays alto sax and flute, balancing out the brighter, brassier timbres of Hubbard and Morgan, and a crack rhythm section of pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Larry Ridley, drummer Pete La Roca, and conga player Big Black keeps things simmering.
"Soul Cycle," recorded in 1969, is pianist/composer Cedar Walton's attempt to "groove those who are already tuned in, while picking up some entirely new ears along the way." In his candid liner notes, he describes a major concern for jazz musicians at that time–how to be commercial without selling out. The electric instruments featured here are a nod to the times, but sound innocent compared to Miles Davis' contemporaneous "Bitch's Brew."
Mark Soskin has built an impressive discography as a sideman, though he hasn't been recorded nearly enough as a leader since his arrival on the jazz scene. Nearly 20 years after his first record date of his own, the veteran pianist assembled a top-shelf band with tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Bill Stewart for this studio date, which like most of his recordings is for a non-U.S. label.
This was flutist Dave Valetin's 15th release for GRP and, as with his previous ones, it features impeccable musicianship, subtle funk grooves, some heated Latin rhythms and rather lightweight melodies. Despite some passionate moments, the music always sounds a bit controlled, never exceeding prescribed time limits or emotional boundaries. There are some strong moments of interest on this relatively pleasing CD, particularly a restrained melodic statement by trumpeter Arturo Sandoval on "We'll Be Together Again" and a groovin' version of "With a Little Help from My Friends."
Marian McPartland has continued to grow as a musician over her long career, constantly exploring new songs and new styles while rekindling standards and jazz classics with her own distinctive touch at the keyboard. This pair of 1995 sessions at the Yoshi's Nitespot in Oakland, CA, feature her in a trio setting with bassist Bill Douglass and drummer Glenn Davis. She slowly percolates a driving bop arrangement of "Like Someone in Love," and her striking approach to "If I Should Lose You" conveys the emotion of the song even though the lyric isn't heard. She also ventures into modern Broadway with a mesmerizing waltz interpretation of the ballad "Pretty Women" (from Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd)…
A sublime little set all the way through - an early 60s date from the west coast scene - and one that was almost as important to that side of the country as the Verve bossa records were to New York! Bud Shank's in the lead on alto sax - no flute at all this time around - blowing sharp and soulfully, in a way that's even more deft than most of his other albums! But the equal star here is the young Clare Fischer - who plays piano in the group, and also contributed a host of original tunes to the set - fresh numbers that are way different than the usual "bossa-ized" standards, or American remakes of Brazilian classics. Ralph Pena is a key member of the group on bass - and Larry Bunker plays some vibes as well. Titles include "Joao", "Pensativa", "Samba Guapo", "Samba Da Borboleta", and "Que Mais?".
So Danço Samba is the fourth album by keyboardist/composer-arranger Clare Fischer, and his first in the bossa nova vein, recorded and released in 1964 on the World Pacific label. Devoted primarily to the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, it also features three of Fischer's own compositions.