Retro Reviews

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019March 24, 2019

Louis Armstrong: “Columbia & RCA Victor Live Recordings” (Mosaic 257)

Mosaic’s new collection of Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars includes over 11 hours of live performances spread over 9 CDs. Co-Producer and annotator Ricky Riccardi has long held that Armstrong’s later recordings are as important as his early works, and reviewer Thomas Cunniffe states that the music in this Mosaic set validates Riccardi’s arguments. This expanded Retro Review offers a detailed look at the music in this outstanding collection.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019April 16, 2019

Erroll Garner: The Complete “Concert by the Sea” (Columbia/Legacy 20842)

By all indications, it shouldn’t have been that special: just a run-out concert by the Erroll Garner Trio in a small California coastal town on the off-night of a nightclub engagement in San Francisco. Yet, on September 19. 1955, Erroll Garner’s concert in Carmel-by-the-Sea was recorded by a young Army DJ, and subsequently issued by Columbia. To celebrate the album’s 60th anniversary, the complete concert is being issued for the first time. In this Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe tells the story behind Concert by the Sea and notes that the remastered and restored sound is better than any previous issues.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019March 24, 2019

Count Basie and Lester Young: Live and in the Studio

It’s always good to be a fan of Count Basie and Lester Young, but with the concurrent releases of Mosaic’s 8-CD box set Classic 1936-1947 Studio Sessions and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem’s second volume of Bill Savory recordings (focused entirely on Basie and Young from 1938-1940), the artistry of these great musicians can be understood in greater detail than ever before. In this extended Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe notes that the highly inclusive Mosaic set allows listeners to compare recordings that were made for competing record companies, and Savory’s radio broadcasts capture the band live at New York’s Famous Door, Boston’s Southland Ballroom and Chicago’s Panther Room.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019April 16, 2019

National Jazz Museum of Harlem Savory Collection, Vol. 1 (Apple download)

In the Thirties and Forties, a young radio engineer named Bill Savory captured broadcast performances of Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, and many others. Up until this year, a double-disc set of Goodman airchecks were the only parts of Savory’s collection available to the general public. However, this fall Loren Schoenberg and the National Jazz Museum of Harlem released the first in a series of digital albums featuring highlights from the Savory archive. As Thomas Cunniffe notes in this Retro Review, the recordings make us reconsider our knowledge of these great jazz icons.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019March 24, 2019

Discoveries!

The modern-day discoveries of unreleased recordings keep jazz history an ongoing endeavor. Historians like Loren Schoenberg (of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem) and Zev Feldman (of Resonance Records and other independent companies) have discovered unissued recordings that have changed our perspective on the artists. This month, Thomas Cunniffe reviews the third volume of the Bill Savory Collection and Thelonious Monk’s film score for Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019April 16, 2019

Fred Astaire: “The Astaire Story” (Verve 26605)

Fred Astaire may not have been a fan of his own singing voice, but Norman Granz was, and in 1952, he called up Astaire to propose a 4-LP set commemorating his career. Astaire turned him down, but after his son reminded him of the JATP concert recordings they listened to at home, Astaire changed his mind. A new double CD reissue of The Astaire Story has just been released, and Thomas Cunniffe details the music and backstory of this timeless recording.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019March 24, 2019

Cleo Laine: “Shakespeare and All That Jazz” (Fontana 5209 or Philips 6382 014)

A modern Renaissance woman, Dame Cleo Laine’s 1964 LP Shakespeare and All That Jazz is one of her finest recordings, and one that begs for a CD reissue. Thomas Cunniffe discusses that album and a similar project recorded by Laine’s daughter, Jacqui Dankworth, 32 years later.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019April 16, 2019

Ella Fitzgerald: “Ella at Zardi’s” (Verve 27422)

By the early months of 1956, Ella Fitzgerald had appeared in concert halls, and nightclubs, as well as on radio and television. She tailored her repertoire to fit each venue. A new release, Ella at Zardi’s, offers the earliest authorized recording of Fitzgerald in a nightclub, and reviewer Thomas Cunniffe notes the casual atmosphere and the banter between Ella and her audience makes this recording significant, enlightening and highly entertaining.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019March 24, 2019

Ella Fitzgerald: “Ella Swings Lightly” (Verve 314 517 535)

In the mid-1950s, Ella Fitzgerald entered a period of simultaneous artistic growth and enormous popularity. Although the Song Book series garnered most of the attention, Fitzgerald several jazz albums including the splendid Ella Swings Lightly with the Marty Paich Dek-tette. Thomas Cunniffe discusses this album in this Retro Review.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019April 16, 2019

Duke Ellington: The Complete “Ellington Indigos” (Jazz Beat 527)

Neglected among Duke Ellington’s classic albums of the late 1950s, Ellington Indigos contains definitive versions of standards by Ellington and his contemporaries. In this Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe offers a fresh interpretation of this album and sorts out its various releases.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019April 16, 2019

The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia & Master Recordings of Duke Ellington & his Famous Orchestra (Mosaic 248)

While Duke Ellington was one of Columbia Records’ signature artists, the company (now owned by Sony) has not always been an ideal custodian of Duke’s recordings. As a whole, Ellington’s 1932-1940 Columbia, Brunswick and Master big band sides have been out-of-print for years, with Columbia providing two outstanding collections in the 1960s, and little else since then. Mosaic Records has again stepped up to correct this problem, and in his Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe notes the wide variety of Ellington treasures in this 11-CD box set.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019June 4, 2019

Eric Dolphy: “Out To Lunch” (Blue Note 84163/HD Tracks FLAC remaster)

From its iconic cover to the groundbreaking music within its grooves, Eric Dolphy’s Out To Lunch is one of the classic free jazz albums of the 1960s. In this Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe examines this complex masterpiece.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019March 24, 2019

Erroll Garner: “Ready, Take One” (Columbia/Legacy 36331)/ Shirley Horn: “Live at the Four Queens” (Resonance 2015)

The names Erroll Garner and Shirley Horn do not usually appear side-by-side in jazz histories. Yet in a vintage interview, Horn said that Garner was her first jazz influence. Both Garner and Horn created unique styles that were difficult for others to copy, specifically Garner’s idiosyncratic approach to rhythm and Horn’s intimate way with ballads. Thomas Cunniffe reviews newly released recordings by Garner and Horn in this month’s Retro Review.

Retro Reviews by Thomas CunniffeMarch 5, 2019April 16, 2019

Frank Sinatra on the Radio

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s birth, Sony Music and the Smithsonian Institute have released a total of 5 CDs featuring radio performances spanning the first two decades of the legendary vocalist’s career. In this month’s Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe reviews both the Sony 4-CD set and the Smithsonian single disc package, noting that the recordings offer a rare opportunity to hear Sinatra performing songs he never officially recorded.