Pass The 65

After 1970's Old Socks, New Shoes…New Socks, Old Shoes landed them a spot on the charts briefly for the single "Hard Times" the Crusaders decided on an entirely new approach by making a very small change: they dropped the word "Jazz" from their moniker for 1971's Pass the Plate, the group's final offering on Chisa. Pass the Plate is notable for many things. For starters, a member of the band wrote every composition on it and yet it's a thoroughly modern recording. It begins with trombonist Wayne Henderson's 15- plus-minute title suite that contains no less than five separate parts (the Crusaders were no strangers to the pop music of the era; here they did their own nearly side-long take on what the Beatles accomplished on side two of Abbey Road)…

Joe Pass - The Complete Pacific Jazz Quartet Sessions (2001) {5CD Box Set, Mosaic MD5-207 rec 1963-1964}
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© 1963-64, 2001 Pacific Jazz / EMI-Capitol / Mosaic Records | MD5-207
Jazz / Cool / Hard Bop / Guitar

Guitarist Joe Pass was known for his forthright, straight-ahead style, gorgeous tone, and melodic concepts. This magnificent five-CD set collects his entire output in 1963 and 1964 as a leader, with additional sessions in which Pass plays in a trio led by Les McCann. Most of the tracks feature a quartet (the five exceptions adding the saxophone or flute of Bill Perkins), with the guitarist virtually always a key voice.

Willie Nelson - It Will Come To Pass: The Metaphysical Worlds And Poetic Introspections Of… (2014) {OMNI-179 rec 1965-1971}
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© 1965-71, 2014 RCA / Omni Recording Corporation | OMNI - 179
Country / Country-Pop / Outlaw Country / Progressive Country / Traditional Country

Every word of the winding title It Will Come to Pass: The Metaphysical Worlds and Poetic Introspections of Willie Nelson indicates that this 2014 Omni compilation is no standard Willie Nelson collection. As is its wont, Omni specializes in the Nashville netherworld that exists somewhere between Tennessee and Hollywood, a place Willie explored quite often in the '60s. Often when his story is told, it's implied there was no room for Nelson in Nashville during the '60s because he was too much of a rough outlaw, but this collection, drawn entirely from records he cut for RCA during that decade, plus a cut or two from the early '70s, illustrates how Willie didn't fit in because he'd descend into spooky, jazzy grooves or strum a 12-string just as often as he'd haul out the western swing.

Being the prolific jazz musician that he is, Joe Pass has a musical collection that is vast and diverse. It can thus be hard to find an appropriate sampling of his repertoire that is both fulfilling and indicitive of his range as one of the "jazz greats." This CD is one such sampling. It is an essential collection of some of Pass's best works, and provides both a new and seasoned listener of Joe Pass and jazz music in general with a treat for the ears. For those bored with the "smooth" or trendy genre jazz formats that tend to dominate the airwaves these days, "The Best of Joe Pass" is a set of classics that sound amazingly fresh and new.

Guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen both play well on these live performances, but the reason to acquire this set is for the remarkable Oscar Peterson. The pianist brilliantly investigates several jazz styles on "Blues Etude" (including stride and boogie-woogie), plays exciting versions of his "Chicago Blues" and "Easy Listening Blues," tears into "Secret Love," and shows honest emotion on "Come Sunday." Peterson really flourished during his years with Norman Granz's Pablo label, and this was one of his finest recordings of the period.