Ill Bill

Most of the selections on the sixth and final Classics' CD to reissue all of Benny Carter's pre-war recordings as a leader feature the altoist's commercially unsuccessful big band. With such major soloists as the leader, trumpeter Jonah Jones and Sidney DeParis, trombonists Benny Morton and Jimmy Archey and pianist Sonny White, it is surprising that this orchestra did not make it. The October 23, 1940 recording session (which has three vocals by Roy Felton including one in which he is joined by the Mills Brothers) is quite rare while the opening set from eight days earlier is a small group date with Bill Coleman and Benny Morton that features a pair of W.C. Handy blues sung by Big Joe Turner. Excellent swing music overall.

The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions was not a high point in the careers of either Howlin' Wolf or the guest superstars Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Stevie Winwood, and Ringo Starr, though it's not as bad as some blues purists make it out to be. Still, one has to wonder whether a deluxe edition two-CD set, padding out the original with an entire disc of previously unreleased alternate takes/alternate mixes (and three tracks from the same sessions that eventually showed up on the 1974 compilation London Revisited, which also included material by Muddy Waters), was really justified. The material existed, however, and fewer and fewer leftovers from the Chess catalog were available at the beginning of the 21st century.

The four albums brought together for this double CD release present Hank Snow at his traditional best, covering titles from the Jimmie Rodgers songbook and tales of railroads and trains, both subjects dear to the singer’s heart.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Originally (1956) {Columbia ‎COL4718722 rel 1990}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 289 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 106 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 50 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 1990 Columbia / Sony Music | COL 471872 2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Drums

This LP contains valuable performances by the early Jazz Messengers that sat unissued until decades later. Four selections feature the band when drummer Art Blakey and pianist Horace Silver were co-leaders; trumpeter Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley on tenor and bassist Doug Watkins were also in that quintet. Two numbers from June 1956 find Blakey as sole leader of The Messengers for the first time, heading an otherwise unrecorded unit with Byrd and multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan.