Trumpet Summit

This release contains Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’ complete recordings from their first Japanese tour in 1961. These consist of two sets, one recorded live at Sankei Hall in Tokyo, and a posterior TV show performed in the same city the following week. Both sets feature an amazing lineup, with the leader on drums, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Bobby Timmons on piano, and Jymmie Merritt on bass.

Artie Shaw - Self Portrait (2001) {5CD Box Set Bluebird 09026 63808 2 rec 1936-1954}
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© 1936-54, 2001 Bluebird / BMG | 09026 63808 2
Jazz / Bop / Swing / Big Band / Sweet Bands / Clarinet

As a rule, record companies don't give artists the chance to pick the songs when a boxed set is assembled. They might ask the person who writes the liner notes to interview the artist, or they might even have the artist write the liner notes. But the label, not the artist, usually chooses the material. Self Portrait is an exception; when this five-CD, 95-track boxed set was assembled in 2001, a 91-year-old Artie Shaw was given a rare chance to make the selections himself and comment on them. And for those who are seriously into the clarinetist, it is fascinating to see what he chooses. Self Portrait, which spans 1936-1954, contains most of his essential swing, era hits, including "Stardust," "Begin the Beguine," "Frenesi," and his ominous signature tune, "Nightmare."

The music on Out of This World is consistently exciting, a very winning blend of bop-oriented jazz and Latin rhythms. Among the key players are trumpeter Charlie Sepulveda, trombonist Papo Vazquez, Mario Rivera on tenor, and no less than four Rodriguezes (bassist Bobby, trumpeter Piro, John on bongos, and Jose on chekere).

Dizzy Reece - Mosaic Select 11 (2004) {3CD Box Set, Mosaic MS-011 rec 1958-1960}
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© 1958-60, 2004 Blue Note / Mosaic Records / EMI Music | MS-011
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

The 11th volume in Mosaic's Select series is one of its finest. Devoted to the Blue Note recordings of Jamaican-born trumpeter Dizzy Reece, it offers a particular portrait of one of hard bop's most capable practitioners. There are five sessions compiled here, issued on four albums – the legendary debut Blues in Trinity (1958), Star Bright (1959), Soundin' Off (1960), and Comin' On! (1960). These sides were the introductions American audiences had to the hot licks trumpeter who offered a wealth of influences and styles in his solos and compositions.

Distinct from traditional brass quintets, High Bridge Brass performs on instruments usually associated with brass bands-cornets, alto (tenor) horn, euphonium, and tuba. The homogenous timbre created across five octaves enables High Bridge Brass to create a seamless sound that richly bridges the ensemble together.

Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers - En concert avec Europe 1: Olympia, 13 May, 1961 (1993) {2CD Set, Trema 710373~374}
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© 1961, 1993 Trema / RTE | 710373/374
Jazz / Hard Bop

Art Blakey recorded prolifically during his long career, and one of his best editions of the Jazz Messengers featured Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, Lee Morgan, and Jymie Merritt, the group present on this live two-CD set, which was recorded in 1961 at the Olympia in Paris. Since this concert originated from a taped broadcast, the sound is inferior to commercial live recordings made by Blakey for various U.S. labels, though it is a thoroughly enjoyable evening of music.