Mel Brown

This was André Previn's second album after his long, symphonically enforced absence from jazz, and it sounds noticeably more fluid and relaxed than his first. No longer apprehensive about dusting off his old skills, Previn is delightfully confident and breezy (dig his sly turns on "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "C Jam Blues"), taking some chances as he re-phrases and paraphrases a collection of revivified standards, mostly Harold Arlen and assorted Duke Ellington. Even if Previn, that noted wit, sometimes sounds as if he is kidding the pants off these old tunes, it's great to hear him having such a good time playing jazz again. Mundell Lowe is Previn's new guitar partner, and Ray Brown returns on bass; both are right at home in this refined brand of chamber jazz grooving.

Back in the late 1960s, Solid State put out four LPs in their series Jazz for a Sunday Afternoon. The five titles with Dizzy Gillespie have been more recently reissued on a two-CD Blue Note set titled Live at the Village Vanguard. Laserlight improves upon the packaging by including two additional titles (from Vol. 3) on their first two CDs; unfortunately, the two lengthy songs ("Satin Doll" and "Straight No Chaser") from a Harry "Sweets" Edison date that comprised Vol. 4 remain out of print. The first disc of this three-CD set has a very interesting, if sometimes erratic date matching Gillespie with violinist Ray Nance (sometimes replaced by trombonist Garnett Brown), baritonist Pepper Adams, pianist Chick Corea, bassist Richard Davis, and either Mel Lewis or Elvin Jones on drums. Nance's violin playing is adventurous and eccentric, and there are some loose moments, but Dizzy holds the music together and Pepper Adams is in top form.

Goin' All Out is saxophonist Eric Darius' fourth album since 2004, and his Blue Note debut.

Mel Lewis and The Jazz Orchestra - Naturally (1979) {Telarc CD-83301 rel 1992}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 251 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 111 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 20 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1979, 1992 Telarc | CD-83301
Jazz / Bop / Modern Big Band / Post Bop

This was the first recording by the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, made just a short time after co-leader Thad Jones surprised everyone by suddenly quitting and moving to Europe. Although Jones was gone, the band was still performing his arrangements, and all six of the charts on the set were his; plus, he was the composer of five of the tunes. With such soloists as pianist Jim McNeely, altoist Dick Oatts, trumpeter John Marshall, and the tenors of Bob Rockwell and Richard Perry (along with plenty of tight ensembles), it was clear that the orchestra would live on. Worth searching for.