Benny Green Solo

Renowned as a virtuoso jazz clarinetist and legendary bandleader, Benny Goodman is also remembered for the works he commissioned from leading composers of his day. Poulenc’s strikingly beautiful Clarinet Sonata was his last composition, while Bernstein’s was his first published piece. Both Gershwin and Stravinsky added their distinctive stamp to the swing vibe which was all the rage in the early 20th century. The jazz flavour of Morton Gould’s Benny’s Gig is heightened by the unusual coupling of clarinet and double bass, while pungent folk rhythms define Bartók’s virtuoso Contrasts.

On his Telarc disc, Ray Brown teams up with five different piano players but, rather than this being a tribute to the veteran bassist (who has solo space on every selection), the CD ends up being a celebration of the great Oscar Peterson because Benny Green, Dado Moroni, and Geoff Keezer have, to various degrees, based their styles on Peterson’s, but the indivual standout is actually Ahmad Jamal, who had never previously recorded with Brown.

As a follow-up to bassist Ray Brown’s previous record in which he collaborated with several of his favorite pianists, Some of My Best Friends Are…The Sax Players features six major saxophonists (tenors Joe Lovano, Ralph Moore, Joshua Redman and Stanley Turrentine plus altoists Benny Carter and Jesse Davis) on two songs apiece with his regular trio. Although more than 60 years separate the ageless Carter from Redman, each of the saxes originally developed their own voice in the straight-ahead jazz tradition. Highlights of the colorful set include Benny Carter’s playful rendition of “Love Walked In,” Moore’s cooking solo on “Crazeology” (a Benny Harris bop classic which the record mistakenly lists as written by Bud Freeman), Davis ripping through “Moose the Mooche” and Turrentine’s romp on the blues “Port of Rico.”

Benny Carter - 4 Albums From The MusicMasters Catalogue - Set 2 (1990-95) {4CD Set Nimbus Records rel 2011}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.42 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 664 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 54 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1990-95, 2011 MusicMasters / Wyastone Estate / Nimbus Records | NI 2741/44
Jazz / Bop / Jazz Blues / Post Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Saxophone

Benny Carter's MusicMasters catalogue turned up some fine sessions in which colleagues included Clark Terry, Hank Jones, and Doc Cheatham, among a raft of musicians - for the stellar singers, see the end of this review. The recordings, made in various locations, span the years 1990-95 and reveal the altoist seemingly unruffled by the reach of Time, still spinning some sublime and harmonically darting lines as if for the first time.

Pianist Oscar Peterson's final Pablo album (after a countless amount of appearances as both a leader and a sideman) features his quartet (which at the time included guitarist Joe Pass, bassist David Young and drummer Martin Drew) on the second of two CDs (along with Oscar Peterson Live) recorded during an engagement at Los Angeles's Westwood Playhouse in Nov. 1986. For the well-rounded set Peterson performs two of his originals, the blues "Soft Winds," a solo ballad medley and, as a climax, a burning version of "On the Trail."

This project, interpretations of ten songs written by , would not seem to have much potential from a jazz standpoint. But by reharmonizing the tunes and contributing inventive charts for a notable group of jazz players, arranger Bob Belden put together a very memorable set, turning pop material into creative jazz. Belden (who takes a tenor solo on "Children's Crusade") allocated solo space to such players as guitarists John Scofield, John Hart and Fareed Haque, pianists Billy Childs, Benny Green, Joey Calderazzo, Marc Copland and Kevin Hays, trumpeter Tim Hagans, tenors Rick Margitza and Kirk Whalum and altoist Bobby Watson. In addition, there is a vocal apiece by Dianne Reeves ("Wrapped Around Your Finger"), Phil Perry ("Sister Moon"), Mark Ledford ("Every Breath You Take") and Jimi Tunnell ("I Burn for You"), but the emphasis is on jazz improvizing.