Tag: Ryan Smith
-
Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd, Jazz Samba, 1962 on Verve
Early work in the bossa nova trend in the US, recorded at Pierce Hall, All Souls Unitarian Church in DC and released two years before Getz/Gilberto. Includes “Desafinado” (which was also on Getz/Gilberto) and “Samba de Uma Nota” composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. My copy—via a private sale—is the 2023 Acoustic Sounds Series reissue on…
-
Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Study in Brown, 1955 on EmArcy
Brown and Roach are joined by Harold Land (tenor), Richie Powell (piano), and George Morrow (bass). Recorded Feb 23rd and 25th of 1955. Fantastic album. My copy—via private sale—is the 2021 Acoustic Sounds Series reissue on 180g vinyl, supervised by Chad Kassem, cut by Ryan Smith, and pressed at Quality Record Pressing. As you’d expect,…
-
Nina Simone, Baltimore, 1978 on CTI
The inimitable Nina Simone recorded in Brussels in January 1978 – her first and only record with CTI (Creed Taylor Inc). Apparently she and Creed Taylor did not find good creative collaboration and she disclaimed any choice of material or creative control. “Baltimore” is the Randy Newman song from Little Criminals. Quincy Jones’ version of…
-
Joni Mitchell, The Hissing of Summer Lawns, 1975 on Asylum
Mitchell’s seventh studio LP and third on Asylum – continuing to draw on more jazz-rock influences and more synthesizers (Moog, ARP). Some find it a step down from 1974’s Court and Spark but I really love this record and this presing. My copy is the 2024 Vinyl Me, Please reissue by Rhino in the Vinyl…
-
David Porter, . . . Into A Real Thing, 1971 on Enterprise
Porter was the staff songwriter for Stax – this was his second full length LP issued under his name, following up Gritty, Groovy, & Gettin’ It. Enterprise was a sub-label of Stax, which also released the early Isaac Hayes solo albums. (Apparently label president Al Bell was a Star Trek fan). Wonderful early 70s Stax/Volt…
-
McCoy Tyner, Trident, 1975 on Milestone
Tyner (who plays harpsichord and celeste as well as piano) is joined here by Ron Carter (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums), and the album was produced by Orrin Keepnews. It was his eighth LP for Milestone after recording on Blue Note and Impulse! throughought the 60s. (Elvin Jones worked with Tyner in the John Coltrane…
-
Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers, Natural Boogie, 1974 on Alligator Records
Second record from Hound Dog Taylor and his band, originally issued as AL 4704. The band her includes Ted Harvey on drums and Brewer Phillips on 2nd guitar, with Hound Dog Taylor on lead guitar and vocals. (Their debut LP had been the first release on newly-formed Alligator in 1971). Great electrified Chicago blues. Unfortunately…
-
Marty Stuart, Busy Bee Cafe, 1982 on Sugar Hill Records
No, that’s not the same Sugar Hill that put out Rapper’s Delight – it’s a folk/bluegrass label out of North Carolina, later merged in Concord and now Rounder. Although Stuart’s recorded output starts in the 80s, he spent years touring with Lester Flatt and in Johnny Cash’s road band. This was his second album, the…
-
John Coltrane, Sun Ship, 1971 on Impulse!
Recorded in August of 1965 at RCA Victor studios in NYC, and released (posthumously) in 1971. Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums), and McCoy Tyner (piano) with Coltrane. All song s written by Coltrane. Produced (“Prepared for release”) by Alice Coltrane and Ed Michel. Engineered by Bob Simpson (not Rudy Gelder like the other quartet…
-
Otis Redding, The Immortal Otis Redding, 1968 on ATCO
The second of a number of posthumous releases that came after Redding died in December 1967 – recordings made during the spring, summer and fall of 1967. Atlantic owned the rights to Redding’s catalog and all unreleased masters, so issued these albums under the ATCO label in the US. Personnel not credited on the release,…
-
Bob Dylan, Blonde on Blonde, 1966 on Columbia
Dylan’s catalog is so extensive and so amazing it’s hard to keep track. Most of it just feels like it’s always just been there – part of the atmosphere. Blonde on Blonde came out in 1966, which feels impossibly early, even given Dylan started releasing albums in 1962. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (aka…
-
Roberta Flack, Quiet Fire, 1971 on Atlantic
Flack’s third album, with “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” as the hit single, but also including covers of Bridge Over Troubled Water and To Love Somebody (among others). Produced by Joel Dorn. My copy is the Vinyl Me, Please reissue from 2021, with listening notes by H. Zahra Caldwell, newly cut laquers by Ryan…
-
Sonny Rollins, Freedom Suite, 1958 on Riverside.
Sonny Rollins, Freedom Suite, 1958 on Riverside. Another excellent Vinyl Me, Please reissue from September 2020 via Craft Recordings Pressed at QRP from lacquers cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound