Tag: 1950s
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Lou Donaldson, Blues Walk, 1958 on Blue Note
Great late 50s Blue Note album, with Donaldson joined by Peck Morrison on bass, Ray Barretto on congas, Dave Bailey on drums, and Herman Foster on piano. Sleeve notes by Ira Gitler. (Donaldson died last month – November 2024). I wasn’t as familiar with Donaldson as some of his better known contemporaries, but he started…
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Chet Baker, Chet Baker in New York, 1958 on Riverside
In something of the same vein as the West Coast / East Coast rap rivalry of 90s hip hop, the jazz scene in the 50s had a bit of a California vs New York thing happening. As the sleeve notes by Orrin Keepnews puts it: . . . during much of the 1950s considerable conversation…
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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, 1959 on Riverside
The labels carry a subtitle of “Ballads by Chet Baker,” and the rear cover suggests “The lyrical trumpet of Chet Baker” but most people just call it Chet. Riverside RLP 12-299 (mono) and RLP 1135 (stereo). He’s joined here by Pepper Adams, Paul Chambers, Herbie Mann, Bill Evans, and Philly Joe Jones / Connie Kay…
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Big Joe Turner, Rhythm & Blues Years, 1986 on Atlantic
Although this compilation was put out by Atlantic in 1986 (Turner died in late 1985), the recordings come from the 1950s. Turner met the Erteguns at the Apollo Theater in 1951 and made five albums plus many singles and EPs on Atlantic during those years. Great 2xLP with a gatefold and liner notes including contributions…
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Gerry Mulligan, Concert Days, 1966 on Sunset Records
Although this compilation came out in the mid-sixties, the recordings are all from 1954-1957. Thanks to the Gerry Mulligan Discography compiled by Antoine Perier, Gérard Dugely, and Kenneth Hallqvist, they would seem to be: My copy is a Canadian pressing via Aux 33 Tours in Montreal, QC
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Gerry Mulligan Tentette & Quartet, Walking Shoes, 1953 on Capitol
This LP was a reissue of what had been a 10″ record – Gerry Mulligan And His Ten-Tette – with two tracks from Gene Norman Presents The Gerry Mulligan Quartet added. Just as labels created bonus tracks when reissuing LPs on CD, these were bonus tracks added when the 10″ became a 12″ LP. The…
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Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, 1958 on Blue Note
Fantastic late 50s “hard bop” jazz record, with Clark joined by Art Farmer (trumpet), Jackie McLean (alto sax), Paul Chambers (bass), and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, liner notes by Nat Hentoff. This should be in everyone’s vinyl collection whether you think of yourself as a Jazz fan or not.…
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Art Farmer, Portrait of Art Farmer, 1958 on Stereo Records
“Stereo Records” was a jazz label made by Contemporary Records in 1958 to push records made with the new-fangled stereo technology: Stereophonic two-channel disc recording utilizing Westrex 45-45 “StereoDisc” cutting system. To be reproduced only with stereophonic cartridge. Warning: use of conventional monaural cartridge without sufficient vertical compliance may well result in damage to this…
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Milt Jackson, Ballads & Blues, 1956 on Atlantic
Jackson’s most well know as the vibraphonist in the Modern Jazz Quartet but he also collaborated and recorded with many other bop musicians. Here he is joined by Lucky Thomson (sax), John Lewis (piano), Skeeter Best (guitar), Oscar Pettiford (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums), Barney Kessel (guitar), Percy Heath (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums), and Barry Gailbraith…
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Django Reinhardt, Nuages, 2017 on Jazz Images
Nuages was first issued under that name in 2002, as a reissue of The Great Artistry of Django Reinhardt, a 1953 10″ record on Norman Granz’s Clef label, plus 4 bonus tracks that had been issued as singles by Decca (also in 1953). This vinyl issue was produced in 2017 by Jazz Images, presumably a…
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Chet Baker, Big Band, 1957 on Pacific Jazz
A ton of great musicians here, including Chet Baker but also: Norman Faye, Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Bill Perkins, Phil Urso, Bobby Timmons, James Bond, Lawrence Marable, Bob Burgess, Bob Graf, Fred Waters, Bill Hood, Bobby Timmons, Peter Littman, Jame McKean. Produced by Richard Bock, the “chieff panjandrum” of Pacific Jazz…
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Gerry Mulligan & Chet Baker, Timeless, 1968 on World Pacific Jazz
Originally released on Pacific Jazz in 1963, and then reissued as part of the Jazz Milestones Series by World Pacific Jazz in 1968, these are all recordings from 1952-1956. The first side includes Gerry Mulligan, whereas side 2 is Chet Baker with later incarnations of Baker’s bands. Recorded at Gold Star Studios, Radio Recorders, The…
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Thelonious Monk, The Complete Genius, 1976 on Blue Note
Though this compilation was released in 1976 – part of The Blue Note Re-Issue Series – it actually collects sides he recorded for Blue Note in 1947, 1948, 1951, and 1952. Note: This album contains the complete Monk on Blue Note with the exception of his appearance as a sideman on two of his compositions…
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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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Dave Brubeck Quartet, Brubeck On Campus, 1972 on Columbia
This is actually a reissue of two earlier LPs: Jazz Goes To College (1954) and Jazz Goes To Junior College (1957). The former featured Bob Bates (bass), Joe Dodge (drums), Paul Desmond (sax), and Brubeck (piano); the latter Joe Morello on drums and Norman Bates on bass (Norman and Bob were brothers). Jazz Goes To…
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Chet Baker, Deep in a Dream, 2017 on Jazztwin
Places where record collectors hang out online are full of threads about “grey market” European pressings of Jazz from the 50s and early 60s. Many of these take advantage of some “loopholes” in coverage of copyright and press vinyl sourced from CDs or existing records ripped to digital. When I picked this up, I worried…
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Gil Evans, Gil Evans & Ten, 1957 on Prestige
My copy is the 2023 reissue by Craft Recordings for Record Store Day. Players: Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, this was Gil Evan’s fist recording as a pianist. Not sure if Lee Konitz couldn’t appear under his own name for contractual reasons (he was recording with Gerry Mulligan Quartet and solo at this same time).…