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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…
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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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Miles Davis/John Coltrane: “All of You: The Last Tour” (Acrobat 7076)
By 1960, John Coltrane had played with Miles Davis for nearly five years. With the release of Giant Steps, he was auditioning musicians for his own quartet. However, Davis needed Coltrane for an tour of Europe, and Coltrane reluctantly accepted. The brilliant concert recordings from that tour have been bootlegged for years, but a new…
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Miles Davis at Newport, 1955-1975 (Columbia/Legacy 81952)
When Miles Davis first took the stage at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1955, Duke Ellington joked that Davis and his fellow musicians inhabited the world of Buck Rogers. Actually, the music Davis played that day was fairly accessible, and it wasn’t until 14 years later that his music began to alienate his long-time fans.…
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A Plethora of Historical Releases
The reissues have been piling up in the JHO offices, so this month, Thomas Cunniffe has selected seven new collections (a total of 26 discs!) for discussion in the Retro Review. Included are the Mosaic Savory Collection, and collections featuring Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Erroll Garner.
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Stan Getz Presents Jimmy Rowles: “The Peacocks” (Columbia 34873)
In 1975, Stan Getz was asked to produce several jazz albums for Columbia. One of his first projects was The Peacocks, an album displaying the instrumental and vocal talents of Jimmy Rowles. In this Retro Review, Thomas Cunniffe calls the album the best showcase Rowles ever had.
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Jo Stafford: “Jo + Jazz” (Corinthian 108)
Jo Stafford never considered herself a jazz singer, but her 1960 Columbia LP Jo + Jazz shows us what might have been. Arranged and conducted by Johnny Mandel, and featuring an all-star band made up of Ellington veterans and West Coast jazz stalwarts, Stafford performs the most jazz-infused performances of her career. Thomas Cunniffe revisits…
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Louis Armstrong: “Red Beans & Ricely Yours” (Smithsonian-Folkways 60005)
In what would be his penultimate public appearance, Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars played a 30-minute concert at the National Press Club on January 29, 1971. The performance, and a tribute concert from the following year have been reissued by Smithsonian-Folkways. Thomas Cunniffe reports that the music may not be profound, but the Creole recipes…
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Manhattan Transfer: “Extensions” (Atlantic 19258)
In their 30-year history, the Manhattan Transfer has recorded several fine albums. However, few were as pivotal as Extensions, the 1979 LP which introduced Cheryl Bentyne as a new member of the group, and solidified the group’s commitment to jazz and vocalese. Thomas Cunniffe takes a fresh look at the album in this Retro Review.
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Mary Lou Williams: “Solo Recital, Montreux Jazz Festival, 1978” (OJC 962/ EagleVision 39053)
One of Mary Lou Williams’ proudest claims was that she played through all the major jazz eras. In the final years of her life, she codified the styles so thoroughly that any piece she played could have elements of stride, swing, boogie, bop and free. Thomas Cunniffe reviews her stunning solo performance at the 1978…