Two former LPs by big bands led by bassist Oscar Pettiford (who doubles on cello) are reissued in full on this single CD. The arrangements by Gigi Gryce, Lucky Thompson, and Benny Golson feature a lot of concise solos, an inventive use of the harp (either by Janet Putnam or Betty Glamann), and colorful ensembles. Among the many soloists are trumpeter Art Farmer, trombonists Jimmy Cleveland and Al Grey, the French horn of Julius Watkins, the tenors of Thompson or Golson, and the bassist-leader. This formerly rare music is highly recommended to straight-ahead jazz fans, for it is full of fresh material and subtle surprises.
This CD contains the Complete 1956-1957 ABC albums: - The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi & - The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi Vol. 2. This CD brings together the two LPs which were recorded in the studio by Oscar Pettiford's orchestra –formed as a fulfillment of a wish which accompanied Oscar throughout his ill-fated career– with three versions among many other titles recorded live at the famous Birdland club of New York. This excellent jazz big band made up of some of the top soloists of modern jazz.
Stunning 100 CD set containing a plethora of classic Bebop Jazz. Bebop marked the beginning of Modern Jazz, a musical and technical revolution and the first example of Jazz as an art. New harmonic structures coupled with improvising at a fast tempo together with hip outfits.
Aside from a three-song session for V-Disc during the late 1940s, this CD contains Clark Terry's first recordings as a leader. Already an alumni of both Charlie Barnet's and Count Basie's bands, and a then-current member of Duke Ellington's orchestra, Terry is more focused on bop in these dates, with a terrific band including trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne, pianist Horace Silver, cellist/bassist Oscar Pettiford, bassist Wendell Marshall, and drummer Art Blakey, with charts by Quincy Jones. ~ AllMusic
Thelonious Monk, in full Thelonious Sphere Monk (born Oct. 10, 1917, Rocky Mount, N.C., U.S. - died Feb. 17, 1982, Englewood, N.J.) American pianist and composer who was among the first creators of modern jazz. As the pianist in the band at Minton’s Playhouse, a nightclub in New York City, in the early 1940s, Monk had great influence on the other musicians who later developed the bebop movement. For much of his career, Monk performed and recorded with small groups. His playing was percussive and sparse, often being described as “angular,” and he used complex and dissonant harmonies and unusual intervals. A collection of some of the most remarkable recordings which laid the foundation of modern jazz and unfluenced generations of other musicians. The vast majority of these recordings became popular standards.
This two CD set features the complete recordings of Jimmy Cleveland as a leader. Trombonist Cleveland closely follows in the footsteps of the great J.J. Johnson. Fluid, dynamic solos over the great ensemble writing of Quincy Jones, Benny Golson and others. A must have for fans of trombone and mid-'50s post-Bop. One of the most exciting jazz trombonists of the 1950s, Jimmy Cleveland had a technique equal to that of Bill Watrous (who would not emerge until a decade later), an enthusiastic style that could hold its own with Frank Rosolino, and was the first important new voice on the trombone to emerge after J.J. Johnson.