Big Pacific

Buddy Rich - The New One! (1967) {Pacific Jazz ‎724349450721 rel 1998}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 501 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 169 Mb
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© 1967, 1998 Pacific Jazz / Capitol | 7243 4 94507 2 1
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Swing / Bop / Modern Big Band / Drums

Despite its title, this was actually the third album by Buddy Rich's still-new big band. The recording is taken from two different periods that, although only five months apart, find the band undergoing some major turnover; only six of the 15 sidemen are the same. With such players as altoist Ernie Watts, trumpeter Chuck Findley, and usually Jay Corre on tenor, this was a strong outfit. Most of the material (other than "Chicago" and "I Can't Get Started") was new; among the high points are "The Rotten Kid," "New Blues," and the complex "Diabolus."

Buddy Rich - Big Swing Face (1967) {Pacific Jazz CDP 7243 8 37989 2 6 rel 1996}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 487 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 167 Mb
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© 1967, 1996 Pacific Jazz / Capitol Records | CDP 7243 8 37989 2 6
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Mainstream Jazz / Swing / Drums

This album came out a year after I'd caught Rich with Sinatra, a period when, above all, the great drummer wasn't afraid to swing! Beginning in 1968 Rich, like so many other jazz musicians, practically became paranoid of the walking-bass 4/4 swing pattern that had served everyone from Basie to Charlie Parker to Bill Evans so well. A pulse as fundamental to life as a heart beating or a lung breathing was no longer sufficiently "emphatic" to be heard, or understood, by the '60s generation. Rich tried to "connect" with the Beatles-Stones audience by going to a quasi-rock repertory along with the addition of electric bass. Fortunately, this phase lasted for only several years, and by 1974 Rich was once again validating the swing tradition of Basie, Goodman, Dorsey and his own roots.

Buddy Rich - Swingin' New Big Band (1966) {Pacific Jazz CDP 7243 8 35232 2 1 rel 1995}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 405 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 149 Mb
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© 1966, 1995 Pacific Jazz / Capitol Records | CDP 7243 8 35232 2 1
Jazz / Bop / Modern Big Band / Mainstream Jazz / Swing

1966 was a most illogical time for anyone to try forming a new big band but Buddy Rich beat the odds. This CD reissues the first album by the Buddy Rich Orchestra, augmenting the original Lp program with nine previously unissued performances from the same sessions. The arrangements (eight by Oliver Nelson along with charts by Bill Holman, Phil Wilson, Jay Corre, Don Rader and others) swing, put the emphasis on the ensembles and primarily feature Corre's tenor although trumpeter Bobby Shew, altoist Pete Yellin, pianist John Bunch and guitarist Barry Zweig are also heard from.

Chet Baker - Chet Baker Big Band (1956) {Pacific Jazz CDP 0777 7 81201 2 4 rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 286 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 156 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 1993 Pacific Jazz / Capitol | CDP 0777 7 81201 2 4
Jazz / Big Band / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

This highly enjoyable 1993 CD issue compiles the original six-song Chet Baker Sextet 10" EP as well as the Chet Baker Big Band 12" album. Although these two sessions were held more than two years apart, this was due primarily to an extended European tour during the intervening months and Baker's obvious unavailability stateside. Releasing an entire album under the moniker Chet Baker Big Band is a bit of a misnomer, as only the first four sides actually incorporate an 11-person configuration. The remaining tracks from the long-player feature a slightly smaller nonet configuration. Among the luminaries joining Baker (trumpet) and participating in the big-band arrangements are Art Pepper (alto sax), Bud Shank (alto sax), Phil Urso (tenor sax), and Bobby Timmons (piano).