Curtis Counce

Avid Jazz continues with its Four Classic album series with a re-mastered 2CD release by Curtis Counce, complete with original artwork and liner notes. Tedddy Charles - ”Collaboration West”; “You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce”; “Exploring The Future” and “Carl’s Blues”. Perhaps not as widely known as some of his contemporary bassist’s like Mingus (only last name required!), Red Callender, Oscar Pettiford, Art Davis, Ray Brown, Paul Chambers or Milt Hinton, our featured artist Curtis Counce was a very highly regarded bassist who played with amongst others Lester Young, Shelly Manne, Teddy Charles, Clifford Brown, Wardell Gray, Shorty Rogers and Stan Kenton as well as making his own albums. Three fine examples of which we feature here alongside Counce’s excellent contribution to the Teddy Charles led album “Collaboration West”.

The Curtis Counce Group - Sonority (1958) {Contemporary CCD-7655-2 rel 1989}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 289 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 122 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 8 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956-58, 1989 Contemporary Records / Fantasy | CCD-7655-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / West Coast Jazz / Bass

This CD, which adds "Drum Conversation" (a Frank Butler feature) to the earlier LP, contains material taken from bassist Curtis Counce's Contemporary sessions which resulted in three other albums but these particular performances were not released until 1989. Half of the program features Counce's 1956 quintet (which includes trumpeter Jack Sheldon, tenor saxophonist Harold Land, pianist Carl Perkins and drummer Frank Butler) while the remainding selections are from 1958 when the group had Gerald Wilson on trumpet and pianist Elmo Hope (who contributed three originals). "Sonor" and "Landslide" are heard in alternate versions and "Woody'n You" has also been since reissued as a "bonus" cut on the CD You Get More Bounce with Curtis Counce. The playing is quite rewarding, and all four of the Counce reissues are easily recommended to hard bop collectors.

Clifford Brown All Stars - Best Coast Jazz +1 (1954) {EmArcy Japan PHCE-3062 rel 1996}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 267 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 102 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 5 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954, 1996 EmArcy / Mercury Japan | PHCE-3062 | 24/96 mastering
Jazz / Bop / Cool

Clifford Brown: "Best Coast Jazz" is the Five Star bookend session to "Clifford Brown All Stars", both having been recorded at the same session in Los Angeles in 1954. On the vinyl LP, each song took up a side, allowing for plenty of blowing room. "BCJ" would be released in 1955. One year later, Clifford Brown (and pianist Richie Powell and wife) would be dead from a car wreck on the Penn Turnpike during a rainstorm. Thus altering the course of jazz trumpet history in one tragic act. "CBAS" would be hurriedly released following the accident and we would once again shake our heads at the tremendous loss of trumpet genius Clifford Brown.

3-CD Box set, 60-page booklet including comprehensive biography, original liner notes and cover art, rare photos, unseen memorabilia and extensive discography. Shelly Manne (1920-1984) was one of the most important drummers in jazz history. Opening with his first recordings as a leader for Dee Gee Records in 1951 (Chicago) and 1952 (Los Angeles), this collection covers both these septet sessions and the great series of all-star septet and quintet recordings made for Contemporary by Shelly Manne and His Men between 1953 and 1958. Here’s that Manne.

Shorty Rogers - West Coast Sounds: Shorty Rogers and His Orchestra, featuring the Giants 1950-1956 (2006) {Fresh Sound Records}
XLD rip | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 808 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 347 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 45 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1950-56, 2006 Capitol / RCA / Fresh Sound Records | FSR 2231
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

This 2-CD set truly demonstrates what was defined as the "West Coast style of jazz" but, in fact, was the Shorty Rogers style. We can hear arrangements of a loose variety, played by the most outstanding group of musicians of the Los Angeles jazz scene. The music presented here is a major example of Shorty Rogers' great talent, and a milestone in the orchestral idiom of modern jazz. Shorty's writing and playing were a pretty honest reflection of his own personality. If there was ever an individual to be selected as the head of the West Coast school, it definitely would have been Shorty Rogers.

Chet Baker & Art Pepper - Picture Of Heath (1956) {Pacific Jazz 724349410626 rel 1998}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 263 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 1998 Pacific Jazz / Capitol Records | 7243 4 94106 2 6 | 20-bit SBM
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet / Saxophone

The seven sides that make up the all-star outing Picture of Heath (1961) might be familiar to fans of co-leads Chet Baker (trumpet) or Art Pepper (alto saxophone), as Playboys (1956). Perhaps owing to trademark-related issues with the men's magazine of the same name, Picture of Heath became the moniker placed on the 1961 Pacific Jazz vinyl re-release, as well as the 1989 compact disc. Regardless of the designation on the label, the contents gather selections recorded on October 31, 1956 – the third encounter between Baker and Pepper.

Shorty Rogers And His Giants - The Swinging Mr. Rogers (1955) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit WPCR-27077}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 282 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 107 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 25 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1955, 2012 Atlantic / Warner Japan / Rhino | WPCR-27077 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. A standout set from Shorty – tightly arranged numbers performed by a quartet that includes Jimmy Giuffre, Pete Jolly, Curtis Counce, and Shelly Manne – all working with Shorty in perfect west coast form! Despite the length of the tunes, the overall feel is similar to Rogers' excellent Wherever The Five Winds Blow album for RCA – and makes the record a great set, done without any gimmicks or tricks – and enough of the modern touch still left from Rogers' first few years on record. Titles include "Martians Go Home", "Trickleydidlier", "Not Really The Blues", and "Michele's Meditation".

Buddy Collette & Chico Hamilton - Tanganyika (1956) {Dig–V.S.O.P. #20 CD rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 223 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 100 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 1993 Dig / Tampa / V.S.O.P. Records | V.S.O.P. #20 CD / Tampa #34
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Reeds / Drums

The cover and the title tend to make you think you're going to experience something like Herbie Mann's 'Sugarloaf - Jazz Impressions Of Brazil', a musical reaction to a country and its culture, but that's not really what's on offer here. Sure, there is a track called 'Tanganyika' and another called 'Jungle Pogo Stick' and a third titled 'A Walk On The Veldt' but their connection to Tanganyika (Tanzania) or any other part of Africa is pretty hard to discern. No matter, because what we have here is a great session from the Capital Records Studios in Hollywood CA on Oct 11, 1956 with Buddy Collette and John Anderson blowing up a storm, driven along by Chico Hamilton on drums and with some very sympathetic guitar from Jim Hall.