Mel Torme Back Town

Up until he suffered a stroke at age 70 in 1996, singer Mel Tormé continued to improve with age and seemed to have inexhaustible energy. This four-CD set from Rhino does a fine job of covering Tormé's pre-Concord output, although the omission of his Concord work of 1986-1995 is unfortunate for that catalog contains many of Tormé's most exciting recordings. In general, the earlier selections (some of which were with his vocal group the Mel-Tones) feature Tormé on hip (for the period) swing tunes and ballads. Things greatly improve once the singer reaches the year 1975 and there are enough high points throughout the set to justify its purchase by Tormé's many fans. Three previously unreleased selections (best is "Walkin' Shoes" with Shorty Rogers in 1962) are a plus and the colorful 84-page booklet is quite definitive.

Mel Torme - The Art Pepper-Marty Paich Sessions (2007) {Verve–Lone Hill Jazz LHJ10304 rec 1959-1960}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 435 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 183 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 55 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959-60, 2007 Verve / Lone Hill Jazz | LHJ10304
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Bop / Cool / West Coast Jazz

The two albums compiled on this CD provide the only existing testimony of singer Mel Tormé accompanied by the great Art Pepper. The combination is sublime, for Peppers sound seems to fit particularly well behind Tormé's voice. The other important collaboration on these sessions is the one between Tormé and celebrated arranger Marty Paich. However, these are by no means their only works together as they collaborated many times.

Mel Torme and The Marty Paich Dek-Tette - The 1956 Torme-Paich Legendary Sessions (1956) {Fresh Sound Records rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 299 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 176 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 263 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 2006 Bethlehem / Fresh Sound Records | FSRCD 2230
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Bop / Cool / West Coast Jazz

50th Anniversary Commemoration Edition of the TORMÉ-PAICH legendary sessions. A milestone in the history of vocal jazz, with fully illustrated booklet (rare & unpublished photos). The definitive edition. Fascinated by the sound of the 1953 Gerry Mulligan Ten-tette, Mel Tormé had always felt that these same patterns, re-worked for the proper vocalist, could blend voice and instrument to the mutual satisfaction of both. In 1956, this idea became a reality. The task of selecting musicians who could produce this sound was given to the versatile pianist-arranger Marty Paich who, in fact, co-featured with Mel on these recordings.

This is a totally traditional surf instrumental cd. If you like trad-surf, this is a must for your collection. There's not a dud tune on the whole disc. Nineteen songs, all original, all cool, all instrumental…what more could you want? ~ R.Davey

Various Artists - Love Me or Leave Me: The Bethlehem Records Story 1958-1963 (2013) {3CD One Day Music DAY3CD040}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 0.98 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 462 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1958-62, 2013 Bethlehem Records / One Day Music / Not Now Music | DAY3CD040
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Others

An excellent budget compilation of the wonderful Bethlehem Records label - what a roster of artists they had. Very good sound too. The Bethlehem label focused on jazz releases, and this set collects some great examples of jazz–vocally and instrumentally–between the years 1958-62. One look at the artists on this 60 track 2 CD set shows how many fine artists released music on the label. Like other collections from One Day Music, there's no booklet, only a short paragraph about the label and a few of the featured artists. The digitally remastered sound is good overall within the limits of recording styles of the era.