Retro Reviews

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.

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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.

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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.

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

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.

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Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto: “Getz/Gilberto” (50th Anniversary) (Verve 20749)

As the quintessential summit meeting between American and Brazilian artists, Getz/Gilberto was both an artistic and commercial success. For the 50th anniversary of its release, Verve has issued an new CD edition. Thomas Cunniffe writes that the original stereo album sounds better than ever, but finds the supplemental section lacking in imagination.

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Gil Evans: “Into The Hot” (orig. LP: Impulse 9; CD: Impulse 39104)

Following his 1961 big band masterpiece, Out of the Cool, Gil Evans defied expectations with his next album, Into the Hot. Evans acted only as producer, allowing John Carisi and Cecil Taylor to showcase their music. Amy Duncan reviews this classic album which contrasts Carisi’s progressive big band charts with Taylor’s avant-garde ensemble.

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Herbie Hancock: “Mwandishi” (Warner Bros. 9362 47541)

Herbie Hancock called his 1970 LP, Mwandishi his “favorite record of all the records I have ever made, and the loosest I’ve ever done.” Marissa Dodge examines this pivotal album which expanded the ideas explored in Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew.

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Classic James P. Johnson Sessions (Mosaic 262)

During the 1920s, James P. Johnson’s career developed in four distinct areas: stride pianist, vocal accompanist, songwriter and sideman. A new set from Mosaic features Johnson’s recordings in all these areas during his peak years of 1921-1943. Because the recordings are presented in chronological order, the music of those distinct areas get mixed together. In his Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe suggests that listeners use the programming function on their CD player to separate the styles and omit some of the less artistic tracks.

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Miles Davis: “Kind of Blue” & “Jazz Track” (Columbia CS 8163/CL 1268)

Jazz history textbooks will all tell you that Miles Davis’ 1959 masterpiece Kind of Blue was important because of its extensive use of modal improvisation. Thomas Cunniffe agrees wholeheartedly with that statement, but wonders if the modes were simply a means to an end. He traces the history of the album through its immediate predecessor, Jazz Track and finds a simple reason for the album’s artistic and popular successes.

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Charlie Haden: “Liberation Music Orchestra” (Impulse LP AS-9183)

Jazz and politics might seem strange bedfellows, but no one merged the two better than Charlie Haden. With brilliant arrangements by Carla Bley, Haden’s 1969 LP, Liberation Music Orchestra captured the turbulence of its era, and led to three more albums by this landmark ensemble. Thomas Cunniffe examines the original Impulse album in this Retro Review.

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An Avalanche of Classic Jazz (Resonance)

Resonance Records, a non-profit record label run by George Klabin and Zev Feldman, usually produces a handful of historic jazz releases each year, but this year–in the span of six weeks–they have issued five remarkable albums. In this expanded Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe reviews the CDs by Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Larry Young and Sarah Vaughan.

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Revisiting “Shuffle Along”

When Shuffle Along premiered on Broadway in May 1921, it ended a 12-year drought of black shows on the so-called Great White Way. With a new version of the show about to premiere on Broadway, Thomas Cunniffe examines a 1976 LP and a new CD which reconstruct the show’s proto-jazz score, written by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake. Cunniffe also examines a new solo piano recording by Ehud Asherie of songs from the score.

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Slim Gaillard: “Groove Juice:The Norman Granz Recordings & More” (Verve 27591)

Bulee Slim Gaillard was a man of many gifts–songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist–but his greatest gift may have been as a linguist of both real and invented languages. Gaillard’s recordings for JATP, MGM, Mercury, Clef and Norgran have been collected in a new Verve collection, Groove Juice and Thomas Cunniffe provides his input on how Gaillard’s music and humor have traveled through the years.

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McCoy Tyner: “Inception” (LP: Impulse 18; CD: Impulse 5334721)

Inception was McCoy Tyner’s first album as a leader, and it shows the 24-year-old pianist bridging the gap between bop and modal jazz. The album has been highly influential on several pianists, including Jazz History Online’s Ben Markley, who chose this disc for his first Retro Review.

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