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Wes Montgomery: “In the Beginning” (Resonance 2014)
While Wes Montgomery was not well-known in the jazz world before 1960, he had been a semi-professional musician in his home town of Indianapolis since 1944. Following on their acclaimed album Echoes of Indiana Avenue, Resonance Records has issued a new collection called In the Beginning which traces Montgomery’s playing back to 1949. Thomas Cunniffe…
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Wes Montgomery: “Echoes of Indiana Avenue” (Resonance 2011)
The legacies of many jazz legends have been enriched with posthumous releases. Resonance’s Echoes of Indiana Avenue is the first album of unissued Montgomery in a quarter-century, and as reviewer Thomas Cunniffe notes, the album has clues that more unissued Montgomery may still be forthcoming.
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Re-Discovering Tubby Hayes
Tenor saxophonist Tubby Hayes has been nearly forgotten in the United States, but in the United Kingdom, he is revered as one of the greatest jazz musicians Britain ever produced. Hayes died over 40 years ago, but his legacy has been kept alive through an avalanche of live and unissued Hayes recordings issued in the…
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Wes Montgomery in Paris (Resonance 2032)
Resonance Records’ latest Wes Montgomery issue will not be new to seasoned fans. The guitarist’s 1965 Paris concert has been available as a bootleg for many years. However, Resonance’s edition offers the concert in its entirety, mastered from the original ORTF master tapes. It is also the first legitimate release of this material. Thomas Cunniffe…
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Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin: “Road Time” (RCA Victor 22242)
One of the finest ensembles of the 1970s was the Los Angeles big band co-led by Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin. Their double LP, Road Time documented their 1976 tour of Japan, and netted the group a Grammy nomination. Amy Duncan examines this out-of-print classic in this month’s Retro Review.
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Classic Brunswick & Columbia Teddy Wilson Sessions (Mosaic 265)
Teddy Wilson was one of the most prolific jazz musicians of the 1930s, recording with Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, and many others. No single CD box set could ever cover all of Wilson’s recordings from this period, and Mosaic’s new collection contains some–but not all–of Wilson’s best sides as a leader, including all of his…