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Clarence Gene Shaw in Chicago
In 1957, trumpeter Clarence Shaw left the music business after a violent argument with his employer, Charles Mingus. By 1962, Shaw was in Chicago and playing again . Now using his middle name, Gene, he recorded three superb LPs for Argo featuring the best of the Windy City’s musicians Thomas Cunniffe discusses those rare albums…
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Ben Webster: “Soho Nights” (Resteamed 106/112)
When Ben Webster traveled from New York to London in December 1964 for an engagement at Ronnie Scott’s, he probably did not imagine that he would never return to the US. A new release by Stan Tracey’s Resteamed label captures Webster on his second night in London. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the disc and an earlier…
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Carol Sloane: “Live at 30th Street” (Columbia CS-8743)
On an August night in 1962, Columbia turned its fabled 30th Street Studio into a nightclub for a live recording by vocalist Carol Sloane. In this Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe notes that the rarely reissued, Live at 30th Street shows playful, swinging elements of Sloane’s style only hinted at on her orchestral debut LP, Out…
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Art Pepper: “Unreleased Art, Vol. 8: Live at the Winery” (Widow’s Taste 13001)
When Art Pepper was released from Synanon in 1972, he was hesitant to resume his playing career. He realized that the music he loved to play was also the conduit for his substance abuse. Yet, with the encouragement of his wife Laurie, Pepper gradually started playing again. Thomas Cunniffe reviews a brilliant 1976 concert recording…
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Art Pepper: “Live at Fat Tuesday’s” (Elemental 5990427)
For years, Art Pepper proved that being white and a Californian were not detriments to being a great jazz musician. However, even near the end of his career, Pepper believed he had to prove himself yet again. A newly released nightclub performance from New York’s Fat Tuesday’s finds Pepper performing exciting and emotionally ripe solos…
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Duke Pearson: “The Right Touch” (Blue Note 84267)
Under-appreciated by the jazz public, but beloved by musicians, Duke Pearson recorded seventeen albums in just under 11 years. Michael Verity singles out Pearson’s 1968 Blue Note LP The Right Touch as his crowning achievement in this month’s Retro Review.
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Charlie Parker with Strings (Deluxe Edition) (Verve 22596)
The exclusive recording contract between Charlie Parker and Norman Granz was beneficial to both parties. Signing Parker was a coup for Granz, who did not yet have the large stable of recording artists. Under Granz, Parker recorded with a wide range of musicians, and was able to realize a long-held dream of recording with strings.…
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Beny Moré: “Lo Mejor de Lo Mejor” (The Best of the Best) (BMG Mexico 72826)
Known as the Wildman of Rhythm, Cuban singer and bandleader Beny Moré was beloved by fans and musicians. In a solo career that lasted just over a decade, Moré accumulated several hit records, 40 of which are compiled in RCA’s Lo Mejor de Lo Mejor. Jazz History Online’s Latin jazz expert Janine Santana revisits this…
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Charles Mingus: “Pre-Bird” (aka “Mingus Revisited”) (Verve 314 538 636)
The music of Charles Mingus was always ahead of its time, and on his album Pre-Bird he presents compositions that he wrote before hearing Charlie Parker. In this Retro Review, Ellen Johnson discusses all of the music and how it related to Mingus’ life.
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Carmen McRae at the Great American Music Hall (Blue Note 709)
Recorded in June 1976, Carmen McRae’s live album …At the Great American Music Hall is one of the singer’s least-heralded masterpieces. Featuring the outstanding rhythm section of Marshall Otwell, Ed Bennett and Joey Baron, plus four tracks with guest artist Dizzy Gillespie, the album finds McRae creating one memorable performance after another. In this Retro…