The Informer 1956

In 2003 Collectables doubled up two mid-'50s Mitch Miller albums on one CD. It's So Peaceful in the Country was released in 1956 and features Miller teaming up with fellow smoothie Percy Faith on a selection of standards like "Darn That Dream" and "Moonlight Becomes You," as well as some that never quite reached standardhood, like "I'll Be Around" and "Love Among the Young." All the songs are bathed in strings and have pretty standard elevator-lite arrangements – very pretty and very boring. The second album collected here, 1956's European Holiday, is of more interest as it features vocals, less treacly arrangements, and a fun theme: a European holiday, believe it or not. The first side of the album has Jerry Vale, Jill Corey, and the Michael Stewart Chorus on vocals, and while none of them will give Ella or Carmen any pause, they still are fun and tuneful vocalists…

In the bebop revolution of the 1940’s, as Charlie Parker was the leading voice of the alto saxophone, so was Bud Powell the leading voice of the piano. Recorded in 1956 (before his Paris sojourn), the long-unavailable Blues in the Closet features Powell’s lightning-fast runs and nimble keyboard navigations on a set of originals and well-chosen standards. He is accompanied by Osie Johnson, a solid mainstream drummer, and the dean of jazz bassists, Ray Brown. A must for Powell fans and bop devotees.

It was a sad day for cool jazz when Lennie Niehaus made film music - not jazz - his primary focus. From a jazz standpoint, the Los Angeles resident had so much going for him. Niehaus had an attractive tone along the lines of Lee Konitz and early Bud Shank, and he was a talented arranger to boot. Produced by Lester Koenig in L.A. in 1956, Lennie Niehaus, Vol. 5: The Sextet is quite representative of Niehaus' Contemporary output of the 1950s. This album, which Fantasy reissued on CD on its Original Jazz Classics imprint in 2001, finds Niehaus leading a sextet that boasts Bill Perkins on tenor sax and flute, Jimmy Giuffre on baritone sax, Stu Williamson on trumpet and valve trombone, Buddy Clark on upright bass, and Shelly Manne on drums - in other words, the cream of the southern California crop…

Johnny Hartman's album debut is a set of tender ballads, each word of which is treasured by Hartman's expansive, evocative voice. The ballads appear not only especially chosen, but practically written with Hartman in mind. He shines on highlights like "I Fall in Love Too Easily," "We'll Be Together Again," "Moonlight in Vermont," and "I See Your Face Before Me," often transforming midtempo songs into completely downtempo ballads and shifting the emphasis on different beats with his phrasing. The backing - from drummer Ralph Sharon, trumpeter Howard McGhee, bassist Jay Cave, and drummer Christy Febbo - is soft, spare, and completely supportive. A CD reissue by Bethlehem Archives adds six bonus tracks, alternate takes of tracks from the original LP.

A live performance at the Club Bohemia in New York, this is the first Mingus recording to feature mostly his own compositions. Some are his future standards. Here are his first attempts at future techniques such as combining two songs into one. His bass playing really stands out.