mikeweil

This looks like a straight single CD reissue of the original Solo Monk LP with some bonus material added. I can't understand why Body And Soul is not included, which struck me as one of Monk's greatest solos when I first heard it on the Monk Alone twofer.

At the deceased BNBB I suggested they break it up into 4 (!) sets, like the Miles stuff: Studio, 1963-63 (quartet with Frankie Dunlop) Live, 1963-64 (quartet and big band with Dunlop) Studio, 1965-68 (quartet and big band with ben Riley) Live, 1965-68 (dtto.) - the solos slipped in chronologically or kept seperate as in the excellent 2 CD set available. This would give them a chance to include the obscurer live material, some of which appeared on the Misterioso LP (Brandeis University, Mexico), or even some bootleg live recordings - there are not that many with Dunlop. I too don't think it will ever happen, but I wonder if the Brandeis and Mexico live recordings will come out in a series based on the original LPs, as the Misterioso LP will become obsolete.

Thanks, P.D.! Rudy Stevenson I know only from a Cedar Walton Prestige session. But Gale ..... he's doing some real hardcore blues guitar here. I could have sworn it was some Chicago veteran!

If you are into early Mingus - as documented by the excellent Uptown CD - this is the perfect companion. It is of course more about Mingus the producer and sideman, but everything bears his stamp. He was just as great a bass player as he was as composer and bandleader. And there's a lot of his working band of the mid-1950's in this set. I find it as indispensable as the Uptown CD and the Atlantic and Columbia dates. He recorded a lot - and arguably the more important dates - for other labels during the existence of Debut, maybe also to support his label. The very good booklet tells a lot about this. You will want to have it, sooner or later .....

Coles, Spaulding and Coleman are the main soloists besides Pearson. Mickey Roker's in fine form on it, too. (Peter Jophnson forgot to mention him.) The sound is one of the examples of extreme left/right stereo in Atlantic's catalogue ..... jazzbo is right, if you like Pearson (and Coles, in particular) you will dig this. But this was no blowing session, just as much writing as on Duke's Blue Note's - the more polished Van Gelder sound just makes this more obvious. I waited for decades for it to be reissued. Had a Duke Pearson day recently, played all of his Blue Note CDs, no surprise it was a nice day ....

Your comments encourage me to check out the Philips box. "Sings The Blues" is my favourite Nina Simone album, just put on the LP today... The first track sends chills down my spine every time! Is this really complete on that Novus CD? BTW, does anyone know who the guitar player is on that LP? The Bruyninckx disco gives Simone piano & vocals, Buddy Lucas harmonica, Bob Bushnell fender bass, Bernard Purdie drums, Ernie Hayes organ but no guitarist.

I'm exited that Brookmeyer's albums "Traditionalism Revisited" and "Kansas City Revisited" will be back in print - missed them the first time around. As far as I remember, Paul Quinichette is on one of them, one of my top five tenor favourites.

Well, that's not accurate enough. He was hired as a trumpet player, but regretted that decision, he found out he wanted to play tenor sax rather than trumpet as he had a stronger personal identity on that instrument. See Mike's Messengers chronology for details.

The Bruyninckx Disco list only one William Fielder recording: a 1984 session, "Love Progression" obviously self-produced for a label called Prescription, un-numbered, with Kenny Garrett, Mulgrew Miller, David Eubanks and Ralph Peterson. Must be a heavyweight. Seems to be teaching in Chicago. The interview on the Jazz Insttitute of Chicago website gives some info.

The first CD issue of this fine session was another Japanese Blue Note CD, CJ28-5127, released in 1990, combining it with the 10" LPs of Tal Farlow and Sal Salvador. These two have been reissued in compilation with other 10" material by Howard McGhee and Sal Salvador's Capitol material in the Connoisseur 10" series, which regrettably left out the Lou Mecca (as well as the Urbie Green and the two Best from the West LPs). I guess you have the Gil Mellé with Mecca?

How's the previously unissued session with Cecil Payne?

Actually Duke was the pianist in the Quintet Thad Jones and Mel Lewis led just before they started the big band; maybe Pearson was its first pianist? I consider Duke Pearson to be one of the exponents of the lyrical piano school in jazz, in the line of Teddy Wilson, Hank Jones and John Lewis, he had a beautiful touch. I also dig his Fender Rhodes playing, and he had a great affinity for excellent bossa nova playing. I will order that Mosaic select for sure and hope they will at last arrange all that stuff in session order ....

Dizzy was on the same artistic level as Bird, that's why he got my vote. All the others were great, and I dig Dorham or McGhee even a little more than Diz, but this pairing was beyong comparison.

My favourite "Softly" is by Joe Newman, with Hank Jones, George Duvivier and Alan Dawson, from a Black & Blue LP recorded somewhere in the 1970's (anyone in for a recording date?). They smoke the hell out of that one! The Illinois Concert is a real gem, BTW!

I agree the new front page does not fit the style of the remaining (unchanged) pages. As a page # 2 it would be okay. Just about as hastily done as the Blue Note Board changes - hope this doesn't mean the Mosaic site will be temporarily closed

Jim, check out Carla White, especially her first album with manny Duran, where she is a second horn rather than a voice in the conventional sense. Full-fledged bebop. Carla White at Jazz Corner

Regarding Baby Face Willette, that's all I could find (except for a few single sessions before the Blue Note dates): Blue Note BN 4064 Grant Green - Grant's First Stand Blue Note BN 4066 Lou Donaldson - Here 'Tis Blue Note BN 4068 'Baby Face' Willette - Face To Face Blue Note BN 4084 'Baby Face' Willette - Stop And Listen Now if they would add the two Argo LPs: Argo LP 739 'Baby Face' Willette - Mo-Roc Argo LP 749 'Baby Face' Willette - Behind The 8-Ball plus an unissued session, if the tapes still exist ...

Please !!! give us a link here !!!

I'll definitely go for the Pearson set, if they do it in session order - the LPs were a scattered affair - it'll be a treat. When I heard the few tracks with Vinnie Burke as bonus tracks to the Mulligan Songbook CD issue, it made me wish there was more ..... I have all of the Bennie Green stuff on LP, this is great stuff, Green was one of the most entertaining serious jazz soloists ever. I'll get that one too ... pity my purse

So far these two are my favourites, especially with the bonus material on the Pacific Jazz CDs. I have yet to check out his Prestige albums; Groove with Chambers and Higgins, sounds real interesting.

That says what I think about it - I voted for Herbie for these reasons, too.

21 February Tadd Dameron *1917 Al Sears *1910 Nina Simone *1933 Warren Vache *1951 Not bad, but Jim, how come your list is so impressive? Except for the lucky guy who shares his birthday with the Duke...

Well, better than nothing. Just ordered My Labors and The Lost Tapes.

There is an excellent Elmo Hope Discography on the web, written by Noal Cohen. The twofer LP All Star Sessions consisted of the Prestige Session known as Informal Jazz and the Riverside LP Homecoming with Blue Mitchell, Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster and Hope's bandmates from the Joe Morris R & B group, Percy Heath and Philly Joe Jones. Their trio title tune is one of the greatest improvised blues performances I have ever heard! Highly recommended! Available as Original Jazz Classics OJCCD-1810-2 with three bonus tracks. There is a CD issue of the Milestone twofer as well, but it omits one or two tunes from the Riverside LP and doesn't have the (very good) bonus tracks - the info on the Elmo Hope page at the Fantasy website is not quite correct as it does not mark all three bonus tracks on the Homecoming CD issue. Informal Jazz is available only on the All Star Sessions CD issue or in the Prestige Coltrane box set. I consider the Blue Notes, the Riversides (there is a great solo/duo piano LP with his wife Bertha) and the Contemporary (ex HIFIJazz) albums the best. The Last Sessions are great, too.

For me, Bloomfield was the greatest white blues guitarist ever! But he had his ups und downs, Kooper's new liner notes to the Live Adventures reissue are very telling in this respect. But nevertheless, this disc contains what is IMHO Bloomfield's greatest solo on disc, in "I Wonder Who". His vocals are second rate, but his guitar solo is fantastic; listen to the point where he milks that one note and stretches the beat to its utter limit. Gonna get me that new reissue. Curious to hear that track without the horns, who were, as Kooper already stated on the original liner, "added as an afterthought". Second afterthought: take your own choice ..... BTW I'm looking for Nick Gravenites' live LP (Fillmore?) with Bloomfield guesting (Epic). Anybody got that, or was there any reissue?