Bob Graf

Grant Green - The Holy Barbarian, St. Louis, 1959 (2012) {Uptown Records UPCD 27.68 rec 1959-60}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 325 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 166 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 28 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959, 2012 Uptown Records | UPCD 27.68
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Guitar / Organ

Grant Green's star rose after his signing to Blue Note in 1960, though he appeared as a sideman on several releases during the 1950s. These previously unissued live recordings, made in 1959 and 1960 at the Holy Barbarian Coffee House in St. Louis, document some of his earliest work. Although the music wasn't taped professionally, the sound is quite good, with several extended performances. The St. Louis native is joined by tenor saxophonist Bob Graf (a former Woody Herman sideman who had returned to his hometown), the somewhat obscure organist Sam Lazar, and drummer Chauncey Williams, though none of the three have very large discographies.

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).

With a terrific cast including Maria Bengtsson and Katharina Magiera, and under the baton of Sebastian Weigle, OehmsClassics and Opera Frankfurt bring back to live a nearly forgotten jewel of comic opera in the 19th century. After the premiere at the Viennese Kärntnertortheater in 1847, Friedrich von Flotow’s Martha or The fair at Richmond became for nearly half a century one of the most popular operas in Europe. Full of charming melodies and with a plot as hilarious as racy, the story of bored Lady Harriet Durham and her friend Nancy, who disguised themselves as Martha and Julia and travel to the servant’s fair of Richmond, where they actually not only find a job, but also true love, is an enchanting example for the 1850’s civic opera and also Friedrich von Flotow’s wonderful light hearted music. After “Der Graf von Luxemburg” OehmsClassics is happy to continue the collaboration with Opera Frankfurt with this remarkable recording.