Tag: 1950s
-
Ella Fitzgerald, Ella at the Hollywood Bowl: The Irving Berlin Songbook, 2022 on Verve
Recorded in August 1958, but not released until 2022, this concert followed the release of the Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Songbook LP. The concert was conducted and arranged by Paul Weston, who had played the same role in the LP. There’s an animated video for Puttin’ on the Ritz, one of the songs…
-
Thelonious Monk Septet, Monk’s Music, 1957 on Riverside
What a great set of players on this. In addition to Monk you’ve got Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Gigi Gryce, Wilbur Ware, and Ray Copeland. Recorded at Reeves Sound Studios in NYC June 26th, 1957. Can’t go wrong with Riverside jazz from the ’50s. My copy is a 2023 reissue by Vinyl Me…
-
Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra, Afro, 1954 on Norgran Records
While this came out in 1954 on Norman Granz’s Norgran Records, my copy is a Vinyl Me, Please reissue from 2022, via UMG Recordings/Verve. When Granz formed Verve in 1956 he carried over the Norgran (and Clef) catalog. Verve then was sold to MGM in 1960, Polydor in 1972, and then became part of Universal…
-
Session at Riverside, 1957 on Capitol
Follow up (of sorts) to 1956’s “Session at Midnight” recorded in Hollywood – this one recorded at the Riverside Plaza ballroom in New York. A dozen top jazzmen join forces in a free-and-easy session that swings solidly all the way Bill Coss (liner notes) Players include Coleman Hawkins, Jerry Jerome, Earl Warren, Charlie Shavers, Dave…
-
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…
-
Blossom Dearie, Blossom Dearie. 1957 on Verve.
The inimitable Blossom Dearie’s debut album. My copy is the 2022 reissue from Vinyl Me, Please, which includes listening notes by Natalie Weiner. Ray Brown, Jo Jones, and Herb Ellis make up the band.
-
Ornette Coleman, The Shape Of Jazz To Come, 1959 on Atlantic.
Ornette Coleman, The Shape Of Jazz To Come, 1959 on Atlantic. Coleman’s debut on Atlantic and his third LP. With Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins. My copy is a 2022 mono reissue from Vinyl Me, Please
-
Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Paul Quinichette, & Wardelll Grey, Tenors Anyone?, 1958 on Dawn.
Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Paul Quinichette, & Wardelll Grey, Tenors Anyone?, 1958 on Dawn. My copy is a 1980 reissue on Biograph Great compilation
-
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk, 1958 on Atlantic.
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk, 1958 on Atlantic. My copy is a 1977 reissue with the Rockefeller Plaza address. Classic collaboration
-
Coleman Hawkins, The “Hawk” Talks, 1955 on Decca.
Coleman Hawkins, The “Hawk” Talks, 1955 on Decca. First released on two 45 rpm 12″ EPs in 1953, then as an LP in 1955. Conducted and arranged by Danny Mendelsohn with Candido on percussion on three tracks and Sam Makia on Hawaiin steel guitar on two. Via a Mill No. 5 record fair
-
Dinah Wahington, For Those In Love, 1955 on Emarcy.
Dinah Wahington, For Those In Love, 1955 on Emarcy. Emarcy is what you get when you pronounce MRC (Mercury Record Company). Arrangements by Quincy Jones, with Wynton Kelly, Clark Terry, Jimmy Cleveland, Paul Quinichette, Barry Galbraith, Jimmy Cobb, Keter Betts, and Cecil Payne. Great versions of My Old Flame, You Don’t Know What Love Is,…
-
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.
-
Erroll Garner, Erroll Garner, 1953 on Columbia.
Erroll Garner, Erroll Garner, 1953 on Columbia. Mine’s a 1956 pressing, with the “six-eye” Columbia labels, with the registered trademark on “LP” Sleeve was really just two pieces of cardboard so some major surgery required, but the vinyl in pretty decent shape for 65+ years old.
-
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…
-
Barbara Lea, Lea in Love, 1957 on Prestige.
Barbara Lea, Lea in Love, 1957 on Prestige. My copy is a 2022 Vinyl Me, Please reissue - great underappreciated vocalist
-
Erroll Garner, Paris Impressions, 1958 on Columbia.
Erroll Garner, Paris Impressions, 1958 on Columbia. Multiple songs feature Garner on harpsichord, first heard on this LP.
-
Sarah Vaughan, Favorites, 1959 on Columbia.
Sarah Vaughan, Favorites, 1959 on Columbia. Mine is issued on Columbia Special Products but I believe is still from the 50s.
-
Billy Eckstine, Billy Eckstine’s Imagination, 1956 on EmArcy.
Billy Eckstine, Billy Eckstine’s Imagination, 1956 on EmArcy. EmArcy (MRC for Merury Record Company pronounced as initials) pressing from the mid fifties. Wonderful version of “That’s All,” which is (one of) my wife and my songs.