Bethlehem

Various Artists - Bethlehem Blends, Day and Night (2014) {2CD Set, Bethlehem–V2 Records VVNL26172 rec 1950s, Maestro presents}
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© 1950s, 2014 Bethlehem Records / V2 Records | VVNL26172
Jazz / Classic Jazz / Vocal Jazz

DJ Maestro, (Martijn Barkhuis), is a Dutch DJ, composer and arranger. Barkhuis has a classic background. Barkhuis played the violin from the age of seven to twenty-seven, including with the Netherlands Student Orchestra. DJ Maestro studied politics and art management with a specialization in musicology. He gained fame when he was invited by the jazz label Blue Note Records to become the world's first DJ to make compilations of mixes from the label's archives. He received five platinum records for these Blue Note Trip compilations. After working for Blue Note, he signed with the Verve jazz label. Today, he is signed to the New York-based jazz label Bethlehem Records. Get this album now!

The Australian Jazz Quartet - The Australian Jazz Quartet/Quintet (1956) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6140}
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© 1956, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6140 | LP BCP-6002
Jazz / Cool / Vibes / Flute

Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description, lyrics. Features original cover artwork. Forget the hokey kangaroo picture on the cover, because the record's a mighty sweet set of 50s modern jazz – played by some key musicians from Australian who were working in the US at the time! The record's got a style that's somewhere between the hippest sessions of LA and Sweden at the time – all the coolness of both scenes, but a sense of playful expression that really comes through on some of the more unusual passages. The core group features Errol Buddle and Dick Healey on reeds, Bryce Rhode on piano, and Jack Brokensha on vibes – with added work from John Fawcett or Jimmy Gannon on bass, and Nick Stabulas on drums. Titles include "Loose Walk", "Like Someone In Love", "Music For Walkin", "Fascinating Rhythm", "A Foggy Day", and "Little Girl Blue".

Eddie Shu & Bob Hardaway - Jazz Practitioners (1954-55) {Bethlehem Toshiba-EMI TOCJ-62084 rel 2001}
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© 1954-55, 2001 Bethlehem / Toshiba-EMI | TOCJ-62084
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Trumpet / Saxophone

Not that this artist isn't pretty cool; far from it. Credited either as Bob Hardaway or Robert Hardaway, he spent much of the 20th century at the top of the studio musician scene in Los Angeles, playing a bewildering array of woodwind instruments — even bass clarinet, English horn, and alto flute — on a tall stack of records that stylistically give the impression of having been snatched at random out of a burning used record store, the Partridge Family, Dinah Washington, Bonnie Raitt, and his efforts with the Eddie Shu/Bob Hardaway Jazz Practitioners among them.

John Coltrane - The Bethlehem Years (1957) {2014 2CD Set Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6151}
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© 1957, 2014 Solid Records Japan / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6151
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description, lyrics, and bonus tracks. Features original cover artwork. The complete recordings done by John Coltrane for Bethlehem Records – mostly cut during December of 1957, and issued on the albums The Winner's Circle and Art Blakey Big Band! Both albums were a bit unusual for the label – in that The Winner's Circle was sort of a blowing/jam session type record, cut with some of the big poll winners of the year, but with shorter tracks than the usual Prestige-styled set of that nature. The lineup includes Donald Byrd, Al Cohn, Eddie Costa, Oscar Pettiford, and Philly Joe Jones – and Coltrane's a bit buried in the group, but gets out some nice licks from time to time.

Don Elliott - Mellophone (1955) {2013 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 Series CDSOL-6098}
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© 1955, 2013 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6098 | LP BCP-12
Jazz / Cool / Mellophone

They're not lying with the title of this great little set — as Don Elliott blows his unique horn with a very mellow tone ! The instrument is kind of a bigger version of a flugelhorn — and is used by Don in a laidback combo that also features trombone from Billy Byers, trumpet from Howie Reich, and baritone sax from Danny Bank — all deep sounds that set up a bank of color for Elliott to work with in his most vivid way. Other players include Hal McKusick on alto and flute — but working without as much of the sharper, cutting tones of other 50s albums — and rhythm is from Barry Galbraith on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, and Mel Zelnick on drums.

Sam Most - I'm Nuts About The Most….Sam That Is! (1955) {2014 Japanese Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6129}
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© 1955, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6129 | LP BCP-18
Jazz / Bop / Cool / East Coast Jazz / Flute

Sweet flute work from the great Sam Most – a player who really shone brightly during his 50s recordings for Bethlehem Records – of which this is one of the best! Sam's got a mean, lean quality to his solos – a mode that rivals that of Frank Wess on the instrument at the time, and may well beat Herbie Mann – able to step lively on more boppish numbers, but step back into these soulful lines at just the right moments. The rest of the group has a tight feel too – modern, but a bit playful too – with Marty Flax on baritone, Barry Galbraith on guitar, Billy Triglia on piano, and Oscar Pettiford on bass. Titles include "Deed I Do", "Broadway", "Smiles", "Don't Worry Bout Me", "How Deep Is The Ocean", and "Tea For Two".

Howard McGhee - Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries (1956) {2014 Japanese Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6134}
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© 1956, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6134 | LP BCP-61 | Mono
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trumpet

Quite an unusual album for trumpeter Howard McGhee – one that has the famous bop trumpeter working in a sweet "with strings" format – ala similar 50s sessions on Verve! Frank Hunter handles the larger group here – working the strings with some nice touches that go way past just sleepy orchestrations – into a realm of playful passages that help coax some quite unfamiliar sounds from Howard's horn! The approach is quite different than some of McGhee's more seminal sides, but is also a great illustration of this under-acknowledge side of his talents – and a voice that definitely seems to echo some of his personal struggles at the time. Titles include "Sonny Boy", "The Thrill Is Gone", "The Best Things In Life Are Free", "Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries", and "My Sin".

The Six - The Six (1955) {2014 Japanese Bethlehem Album Collection 1000}
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© 1955, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6131 | LP BCP-28
Jazz / Bop / Cool

Reissue. Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description, lyrics. Features original cover artwork. A mainstream jazz combo, but one with plenty of modern edges too – thanks to the skills of the players in the sextet! The musicians here are equally comfortable skirting a number of different styles, which they do very well in the set – especially the horn section, which features Bob Wilber on tenor, Sonny Truitt on trombone, and Johnny Glasel on trumpet! Most numbers are originals by the group members, and the arrangements have that fresh flair that Wilber would bring to later, better-known work – swung by a rhythm section that includes Bob Hammer on piano, Bill Britto on bass, and Eddie Phyfe on drums. Titles include "Itchy Fingers", "Two Kinds Of Blues", "Strange Diet", "Tasty", "As Far As We're Concerned", and "Pink Ice".

Ralph Burns And His Ensemble - Bijou (1955) {2014 Japanese Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-613}
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© 1955, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6137 | LP BCP-68
Jazz / Bop / Piano

Amazing small group work from Ralph Burns – a real standout, given the amount of his larger ensemble sessions in the 50s! The album features Burns on piano – overdubbed on some tracks – working with a combo that includes Jimmy Raney on guitar, Clyde Lombardi on bass, and Osie Johnson on drums – all gently modern players who fit perfectly with Ralph's vision for the record. Things aren't as dark or as arch as on some of Burns' bigger dates of the decade – almost a bit warm at times, especially thanks to Ralph's piano lines. Titles include "Autobahn Blues", "Echo Of Spring", "Spring Sequence", "Spring", "Spring Is Here", and "Gina".

The Australian Jazz Quintet - At The Varsity Drag (1956) {2014 Japan Bethlehem Album Collection 1000 CDSOL-6143}
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© 1956, 2014 Solid Records / Bethlehem | CDSOL-6143 | LP BCP-6012 | Mono
Jazz / Cool / Vibes / Flute

Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description. Features original cover artwork. Weird winds make this a mighty nice record – a blend of the tenor and bassoon of Errol Buddle and alto and flute of Dick Healy – all set to piano from Bryce Rhode, and vibes from the great Jack Brokensha! All players have a very strong sense of tone and color – and move together at a level that might be influence by the experiments of the Modern Jazz Quartet, but which also takes on a much more expressive feel with the presence of the reeds. Tracks are short and tightly arranged – and tunes include "So Nice", "Few Get It", "That Old Feeling", "Koala", and "Lover Man".