Jazz Masters 9

Astrud Gilberto's entry in the nicely appointed Verve Jazz Masters compilation series shows exactly why the Brazilian singer is deserving of such an accolade. In her '60s heyday, Gilberto was often derided by jazz purists for her vibrato-less "desafinado" (deliberately slightly off-pitch) singing style and deadpan, childlike voice. But the diminutive bossa nova star has since been a huge influence on dozens of jazz and pop singers. VERVE JAZZ MASTERS is less of a greatest hits package than it is a smartly balanced retrospective of many of Gilberto's best performances. Her biggest hits, "Call Me" and "Summer Samba," are not included, and her signature tune, "The Girl From Ipanema," is only represented by a live take from a 1964 Carnegie Hall concert. The collection places equal emphasis on Gilberto's bossa nova-style interpretations of jazz standards and on her signature Portuguese-language sambas.

Verve Records celebrated the 50th anniversary of Norman Granz's first Jazz at the Philharmonic concert with an all-star get-together at Carnegie Hall. Different groups of top players from Verve's legacy (both past and present) had opportunities to perform, and this CD has many of the highlights. Pianist Peter Delano plays "Tangerine" with a trio; Dee Dee Bridgewater sings "Shiny Stockings" with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band; Hank Jones pays tribute to Art Tatum; Abbey Lincoln sings "I Must Have That Man"; Joe Henderson meets up with Antonio Carlos Jobim (who made his final concert appearance) on "Desafinado"; "Manteca" features trumpeter Roy Hargrove and trombonist Steve Turre; pianist Yosuke Yamashita pays tribute to Bud Powell; Betty Carter scats on "How High the Moon"; Herbie Hancock and John McLaughlin play a restrained acoustic version of Bill Evans' "Turn out the Stars"; Hargrove teams up with altoist Jackie McLean and guitarist Pat Metheny for "The Eternal Triangle"; organist Jimmy Smith revisits Oliver Nelson's arrangement of "Down by the Riverside"; Art Porter and Jeff Lorber play some crossover, and J.J. Johnson contributes a few trombone solos.

Nat Hentoff prefaced his 1956 down beat review of Verve's first Ella Fitzgerald-Louis Armstrong collaboration with a prediction: "Ella and Louis is one of the very, very few albums to have been issued in this era of the LP flood that is sure to endure for decades." Today, those sublime performances, along with two subsequent Norman Granz-produced Fitzgerald-Armstrong albums, are regarded as milestones of American music. A dozen gems from these works are presented here.

During the three years that he recorded for Verve, flutist Herbie Mann's playing changed from straight bop to incorporating elements of Latin, African and South American music. This CD reissues all of the music from one former LP (Flautista) and several of the selections from two others (The Magic Flute of Herbie Mann and Herbie Mann's Cuban Band). Whether it be with a standard quartet, backed by a string section, jamming with a sextet that includes two percussionists or interacting with a brass section, the flutist is heard in explorative form, satisfying his fertile musical curiosity; he even plays bass clarinet and piccolo on one song apiece. Highlights of this excellent overview of Mann's Verve period include "Baia," "Oodles of Noodles" (Jimmy Dorsey's theme song "Contrasts"), "The Peanut Vendor," "Cuban Patato Chip" and "Caravan."

Johnny Smith - The Johnny Smith Foursome, Vol.1 (1957) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29210}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 156 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 86 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 65 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1957, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29210
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. An overlooked 50s set from guitarist Johnny Smith – one that features a piano added into his trio, hence the "foursome" in the title! The pianist here is Bob Pancoast, who has a fluid, sometimes gentle touch on the keys – one that spins out Smith's guitar a bit more than usual, with a lyrical flair that we really like – and which is sometimes a bit of a contrast to his better-known mellow mode. The rest of the group features Knobby Totah on bass and Jerry Segal on drums.

Johnny Smith - My Dear Little Sweetheart (1960) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29212}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 227 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 76 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1960, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29212
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. One of the most obscure Johnny Smith albums for Roost – and one of the most striking, too! The album takes the sound of Johnny's guitar and backs it with some larger arrangements from Irwin Kostal – very mellow, and very string-laden – with a dreamy late nite quality that's even moodier than that of Johnny's small combo records. There's an eerie mood to the set that really grabs us, and which seems to deepen even more on repeated listenings (probably enhanced by the painting of a child on the cover – as you'd expect a lady from the "sweetheart" title!)

Johnny Smith - Johnny Smith Plays Jimmy Van Heusen (1955) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29281}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 135 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 78 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 74 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1955, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29281
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. Guitarist Johnny Smith plays the music of Jimmy Van Heusen – a composer whose understated approach is a perfect match for the subtle style of the stringman! The songs are mostly easygoing numbers, in a style that suits Johnny well – and allows him to open up those fluid tones and colors in just the right way. Backing is by a trio that features Bob Pancoast on piano, George Roumanis on bass, and Gerry Segal on drums – working with a vibe that matches the strength of Smith's other Roost sessions from the time – the kind of albums that helped redefine the role of the guitar in jazz during the postwar years.

Verve Jazz Masters 37 presents an introduction to the recordings of Oscar Peterson. The enclosed booklet includes biographical material and commentary on the songs selected.
Ever since the beginning of jazz its practitioners have embraced the songs of musical theater as a source for interpretation. But who can explain why show music has such a hold over jazz artists - especially when there are enough original compositions within their own medium to choose for reinterpretation. Perhaps it's because this music has universal appeal, and a song grows with each new recording by a different performer…

Johnny Smith Trio - Designed For You (1959) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29157}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 195 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 80 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 67 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1959, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29157
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. Johnny Smith really helped bring the sound of jazz guitar to a huge audience in the 50s – and an album like this is a perfect demonstration of his subtle genius on the instrument! At a time when so many others were working the guitar with a hard-edged sound, Smith moves into territory that's even more careful and precise – really making the most of the amplification on the strings, so that his touch can be gentle, but very pointed – allowing for lots of space between the notes, in a way that makes each of them mean even more than they might if strung together in a flurry. The group's a trio – with the bass and drums really giving Johnny a lot of room.