Tag: 1956
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Lee Hazlewood, 400 Miles From L.A. 1955-56, 2019 on Light in the Attic
Recorded in 1955 and 1956 but not released until 2019 by Light in the Attic, the second LP here includes a draft of what became Trouble is a Lonesome Town, Hazlewood’s debut album from 1963. Most know Hazlewood from his Nancy Sinatra collaborations which came from the mid-sixties, so interesting to get these earlier recordings.…
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Horace Silver, Horace Silver Trio, 1956 on Blue Note
BLP 1520, originally released in 1956. Horace Silver on piano with Art Blakey on drums and three different bass players on different cuts: Gene Ramey, Curly Russell, and Percy Heath. Compiles recordings from two earlier 10″ releases: 1953’s New Faces – New Sounds and 1954’s Vol. 2. Sabu Martinez joins on “Message from Kenya.” Excellent…
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Thelonious Monk, The Unique Thelonious Monk, 1956 on Riverside
Monk recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, with Oscar Pettiford on bass and Art Blakey on drums, produced by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer – originally Riverside RLP 12-209 with a different cover. My copy, via Academy Records in NYC, is the 1983 reissue in the Original Jazz Classics series, issued by Fantasy which acquired the…
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Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Ella & Louis: Complete Studio Small Group Recordings, 2015 on Waxtime
Waxtime is sometimes a controversial label. Based on some differences between US and EU copyright law, they’re releasing classic jazz recordings without explicit access o the source material. This means they might be working from a CD, or even a needle-drop on a good vinyl copy- but the source material is more or less unofficial.…
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Dexter Gordon, Daddy Plays the Horn, 1956 on Bethlehem Records
Wonderful mid-50s bop jazz record I’d have bought just for the cover illustration by Howard Stabin. Gordon is joined here by Kenny Drew on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Lawreance Marable on drums. Liner notes by Joseph Muranyi. This was recorded just after Gordon got out of prison at Chino and before being incarcerated…
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Chet Baker, Chet Baker Sings, 1956 on World Pacific Records
Chet Baker is on of my all time favorite jazz trumpeters and singers. The tone in both his trumpet and his voice is just amazing – subtle, warm, smooth. This recorded was recorded in LA (the Forum Teater & Capitol Studios) by Allan Emig and Phil Turetsky. Sleeve notes by Gerald Heard, pictured on the…
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Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Ella and Louis, 1956 on Verve
As though Ella and Louis weren’t enough, the backing band is Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown – (aka the Oscar Peterson Trio) – and Buddy Rich. There’s a followup Ella and Louis Again from 1957, and then a later CD release that combines both also called Ella & Louis. Love the two of them…
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Phineas Newborn Jr., Here Is Phineas (The Piano Artistry of Phineas Newborn Jr.), 1956 on Atlantic.
Phineas Newborn Jr., Here Is Phineas (The Piano Artistry of Phuneas Newborn Jr.), 1956 on Atlantic. 2022 repress via Vinyl Me, Please Great version of “All the Things You Are” With Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Clarke, and brother Calvin Newborn. Liner notes George Wein (original) and listening notes (reissue) Andrew Winistorfer.
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Erroll Garner, Erroll Garner Plays For Dancing, 1956 on Columbia.
Erroll Garner, Erroll Garner Plays For Dancing, 1956 on Columbia. Originally a 10″ record in 1953. Garner’s approach makes many of his recordings hard to dance to – as the liner notes here say: “always his work has been characterized by a rubato of a distinctively characteristic kind. In these songs, however, Garner plays for…
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Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Piano Style of Nat ‘King’ Cole, 1956 on Capitol.
Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Piano Style of Nat ‘King’ Cole, 1956 on Capitol. My copy is a 1962 Capitol pressing With orchestra conducted and arranged by Nelson Riddle. Such style and grace.
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Thelonious Monk, Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington, 1956 on Riverside.
Thelonious Monk, Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington, 1956 on Riverside. My copy is an 1982 pressing in the Original Jazz Classics series – jacket reproduced from the 1958 reissue.
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Oscar Peterson, Pastel Moods, 1956 on Verve.
Oscar Peterson, Pastel Moods, 1956 on Verve. Part of a group of older jazz LPs I picked up via Everything But the House With Ray Brown, Herb Ellis (b-side) and Irving Ashby (a-side).
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Gerry Mulligan, Mulligan Plays Mulligan, 1956 on Prestige, reissued 1982 in the Original Jazz Classics series.
Gerry Mulligan, Mulligan Plays Mulligan, 1956 on Prestige, reissued 1982 in the Original Jazz Classics series. Gerry Mulligan, A Profile of Gerry Mulligan, 1958 on Mercury, original pressing. Two daily albums today – cool bop jazz from Blbaritone sax genius Gerry Mulligan.


