Dizzy Gillespie - Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 CD

Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 album for sale On paper it seems as if such titanic and distinctive musical personalities as Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane might not mix very well, but this stellar set, recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 1957, plays almost like a blissful extended duet between the two (with support from a sensitive yet hard-swinging bassist and drummer). The opener, "Monk's Mood," for example, features the composer/pianist's typically brilliant, idiosyncratic playing, while Coltrane floats over the top in the most lyrical of modes. Monk, in particular, is a master of tension-and-release tunefulness, creating rhythmic and harmonic intricacies that seem to spur Coltrane's saxophone exploration to new heights. The quartet shines on ballads ("Sweet and Lovely"), but the leaders display their best chemistry on the Monk's thorny, uptempo bop numbers. "Evidence" and "Epistrophy," for instance," have Monk adding rhythmic, dissonant punctuation to Coltrane's torrential stream of ideas, creating a thrilling push-pull balance. A superb date, and a must for fans of both artists, AT CARNEGIE HALL captures two of jazz's most important figures working in perfect symbiosis. Recording information: Carnegie Hall, New York, NY (11/29/1957). Personnel: Thelonious Monk (piano); John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); Ahmed Abdul-Malik (bass instrument); Shadow Wilson (drums). Liner Note Authors: Larry Appelbaum; Robin D.G. Kelley; Ira Gitler; Lewis Porter; Amiri Baraka; Stanley Crouch; Ashley Kahn. Award Winner

Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 buy CD music Contains previously unreleased material. Some of the recordings on the CELLAR DOOR SESSIONS were originally released in edited form on the 1971 double-LP LIVE EVIL. There is an entire universe contained in this box. Sumptuously packaged and scrupulously annotated, CELLAR DOOR SESSIONS 1970 is a six-disc set that documents Miles Davis's extended residency at the Washington, D.C., club. Davis is backed by a group of genius musicians: keyboardist Keith Jarrett, drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Michael Henderson, saxophonist Gary Bartz, percussionist Airto Moreira and guitarist John McLaughlin (who appears only on the last two discs). Together they pioneered an ecstatic fusion of jazz, rock, funk, and abstract sound-painting that established the blueprint for the future of progressive music. Each disc contains a different live set, and while songs are often repeated across the set lists, no two tracks sound the same. The players improvise at a fever-pitch, pushing themselves to endless invention, and the ensemble's interplay--expressionistic, protean, and fierce--is near telepathic. The influence of rock artists like Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix can be heard in the layering of deep funk rhythms and psychedelic inflections (especially with Miles's wah-filtered trumpet), but the overall sound seems to subsume and transcend the entire history of 20th century music. In a career full of musical innovation, this is some of Miles's most visionary work, and this essential set (which also boasts splendid remastering) documents it for a near-religious listening experience. Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); Miles Davis; John McLaughlin (guitar, electric guitar); Keith Jarrett (Fender Rhodes piano, electric organ); Michael J. Henderson (electric bass); Michael Henderson (bass guitar); Gary Bartz (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Jack DeJohnette (drums); Airto Moreira (percussion). Liner Note Authors: John McLaughlin; Keith Jarrett; Airto Moreira; Gary Bartz; Jack DeJohnette; Michael J. Henderson; Adam Holzman. Recording information: The Cellar Door, Washington DC (12/16/1970-12/19/1970). Introduction by: Bob Belden. Photographers: Jim Marshall ; Art Maillet; David Gahr; Urve Kuusik; Sandy Speiser; David Redfern.

Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 songs The dramatic, spiraling inventions of Tyner lend a frenetic element to Coltrane's already intense lines, while Jones and Garrison find and rearrange nearly every rhythm and counter-rhythm imaginable. There are only four tracks here (spread out over two discs), but each--whether it's the fiery title track or the exhilarating take on "My Favorite Things"--is a study in artistry. Live Recording Recording information: Half Note, New York, NY (03/26/1965-05/07/1965). Author: Elvin Jones. Introduction by: Alan Grant. Photographer: Raymond Ross. ONE DOWN, ONE UP: LIVE AT THE HALF NOTE, recorded in the last year of the classic quartet's existence, captures John Coltrane, drummer Elvin Jones, pianist McCoy Tyner, and bassist Jimmy Garrison going full blast. Recorded a year after A LOVE SUPREME, Coltrane was already moving on to extended improvisation, stretching out a single composition for 15 or 20 minutes while deconstructing it from every conceivable angle, turning his saxophone into an instrument of relentless exploration. Personnel: John Coltrane (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); John Coltrane; Alan Grant (spoken vocals); Jimmy Garrison (double bass); McCoy Tyner (piano); Elvin Jones (drums). Liner Note Authors: Ravi Coltrane; Ashley Kahn.

Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 CD music Initial pressings of SEVEN STEPS are packaged with a deluxe metal spine. Also includes a 92-page booklet with rare photos, complete discography and essays by Michael Cuscuna and Bob Blumenthal. All tracks have been digitally mastered using 24-bit technology. In the 1960s, trumpeter Miles Davis became a star outside of the jazz world, first with what history refers to as "the Quintet" with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, then with his highly influential post-BITCHES BREW electric bands. But there was a "transitional" period, after John Coltrane left Davis's employ and before the Shorter/Hancock era, which the SEVEN STEPS box set based around the SEVEN STEPS TO HEAVEN album documents in its entirety, often in a live context. Davis was seeking the right combination of musicians for his sonic flights, where hard-bop and modal styles could be combined with a wide-open, increasingly elastic sound. Before settling on Shorter (present here), he tried the conventionally hearty, blues-accented bop approach of saxophonist George Coleman and the rippling, somewhat more avant-garde Sam Rivers. Both soar and sear at their respective best, providing remarkable contrast to Davis's magically cool horn. UK-born pianist Victor Feldman plays on some tracks, Hancock on others; the drum chair features Tony Williams (also an explorer of avant expression) and Frank Butler (a crackling, swinging mainstream bopper). SEVEN STEPS includes material originally available on the early-'60s albums IN EUROPE and FOUR & MORE, among others, with (attention, collectors!) the inclusion of eight previously unreleased tracks. Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); Miles Davis; Ron Carter (double bass); Tony Ruption Williams , Tony Williams (drums); George Coleman, Sam Rivers, Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone); Victor Feldman, Herbie Hancock (piano); Frank Butler (drums). Audio Remixer: Mark Wilder. Liner Note Authors: Michael Cuscuna; Bob Blumenthal. Recording information: Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Berlin, Germany (04/16/1963-09/19/1964); Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York, NY (04/16/1963-09/19/1964); Columbia Studios, LA (04/16/1963-09/19/1964); Kohseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan (04/16/1963-09/19/1964); Philharmonic Hall, New York, NY (04/16/1963-09/19/1964); The Festival Mondial Du Jazz Antibes, Juan-Les-Pins, Fr (04/16/1963-09/19/1964). Introduction bys: Billy Taylor ; André Francis; Terry Isono; Mort Fega. Photographers: Vernon Smith; John Wilkes; Ted Williams ; Joe Alper; Jan Persson; Roger Marshutz; Lee Tanner; Chuck Stewart.

Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 buy CD music Tex Book Tenor was recorded in 1968 as a follow-up to Booker Ervin's debut date for Blue Note, The In Between, which was released in January of the same year. (Ervin had made two records for Pacific Jazz, which is now owned, like Blue Note, by EMI.) The album remained unreleased until 1976, when it was issued with an also unreleased Horace Parlan date on a double LP called Back from the Gig. This is its first appearance on CD. The lineup is stellar and includes Billy Higgins, Woody Shaw, Kenny Barron, and bassist Jan Arnet from Czechoslovakia. Barron and Ervin had worked together before, and Arnet had worked with Ervin three years earlier as a touring partner in Germany. The music here includes three Ervin originals, Barron's wonderful "Gichi," and Shaw's "In a Capricornian Way." The Afro-Latin-influenced grooves of "Gichi" display Ervin playing his solo in prime snake-charmer mode. His own "Den Tex" is classic hard bop with Barron and Ervin going head to head throughout. "Lynn's Tune" is a beautiful midtempo ballad with wonderful work by Arnet and a loping solo by Shaw. The closer is "204," a steaming hard bop tune with a killer head featuring the two horns just pushing the tempo before Ervin goes off the map into his solo. Barron's playing is totally inspired, pushing huge chords at both players as they dig into the changes and come out breathing fire. This is a wonderful addition not only to the Blue Note catalog on CD, but to Ervin's own shelf as well, and should be picked up by anyone interested in him as a bandleader and composer. ~ Thom Jurek Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (06/24/1968). Personnel: Booker Ervin (tenor saxophone); Booker Ervin; Jan Arnet (double bass); Woody Shaw (trumpet); Kenny Barron (piano); Billy Higgins (drums). Liner Note Author: Michael Cuscuna.

Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 songs Given that 'Round About Midnight was Miles Davis' debut Columbia recording, it was both a beginning and an ending. Certainly the beginning of his recording career with the label that issued most if not all of his important recordings; and the recording debut of an exciting new band that had within its ranks Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers, pianist Red Garland, and an all but unknown tenor player named John Coltrane. The title track was chosen because of its unique rendition with a muted trumpet, and debuted at the Newport Jazz Festival the summer before to a thunderous reception. The date was also an ending of sorts because by the time of the album's release, Davis had already broken up the band, which re-formed with Cannonball Adderley a year later as a sextet, but it was a tense year. Musically, this sound is as unusual and as beautiful as it was when issued in 1956. Davis had already led the charge through two changes in jazz -- both cool jazz and hard bop -- and was beginning to move in another direction here that wouldn't be defined for another two years. Besides the obvious lyrical and harmonic beauty of "Round About Midnight" that is arguably its definitive version even over Monk's own, there are the edges of Charlie Parker's "Au Leu-Cha" with its Bluesology leaping from every chord change in Red Garland's left hand. Coltrane's solo here too is notable for its stark contrast to Davis' own: he chooses an angular tack where he finds the heart of the mode and plays a melody in harmonic counterpoint to the changes but never sounds outside. Cole Porter's "All of You" has Davis quoting from Louis Armstrong's "Basin Street Blues" in his solo that takes out the tune, and Coltrane has never respected a melody so much. But it's in "Bye-Bye Blackbird" that we get to hear the band gel as a unit, beginning with Davis playing through the melody, muted and sweet, slightly flatted out until he reaches the harmony on the refrain and begins his solo on a high note. Garland is doing more than comping in the background; he's slipping chord shapes into those interval cracks and shifting them as the rhythm section keeps "soft time." When Coltrane moves in for his break, rather than Davis' spare method, he smatters notes quickly all though the melodic body of the tune and Garland has to compensate harmonically, moving the mode and tempo up a notch until his own solo can bring it back down again. Which he does with a gorgeous all-blues read of the tune utilizing first one hand and then both hands to create fat harmonic chords to bring Davis back in to close it out. It's breathtaking how seamless it all is. There's little else to say except that 'Round About Midnight is among the most essential of Davis' Columbia recordings. ~ Thom Jurek Recorded at Columbia Studios, New York, New York between October 26, 1955 and September 10, 1956. Includes liner notes by Bob Blumenthal. Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); Miles Davis; Paul Chambers, Percy Heath (bass instrument); John Coltrane, Zoot Sims (tenor saxophone); Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone); Red Garland, Thelonious Monk (piano); Connie Kay, Philly Joe Jones (drums). Liner Note Authors: George Avakian; Gene Norman; Bob Blumenthal. Recording information: Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York, NY (07/17/1955-09/10/1956); Columbia Studio D, New York, NY (07/17/1955-09/10/1956); Newport Jazz Festival (07/17/1955-09/10/1956); Pasadena Civic Auditorium (07/17/1955-09/10/1956). Photographers: Don Hunstein; Dennis Stock; Art Maillet; Aram Avakian. Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); William "Red" Garland (piano); Paul Chambers (bass); Philly Joe Jones (drums).