The Jazz Workshop

[Six String]

Ok, for any newbies this thread used to be about the new reissued RVG series from Bluenote/Riverside/Prestige. It still is, but feel free to speak of any new/reissued jazz albums or even lps that haven't been reissued.



This will probably sink like a stone, but I'm thinking it would be good for thesmall group of people here
interested to post their thoughts and experiences on the new RVG's coming out. I probably won't buy every single one, but I want to know about the ones I shouldn't miss.

Yesterday I received two Bluenote RVG's from the True Blue website. They were on sale for $10.00.

Paul Chambers - Bass on Top
I bought this one to complete my three cd collection of Mr. PC's Bluenote output. You can get a Mosaic Select of his Bluenote stuff, but I already had the other two albums. It's a great album. Hank Jones on piano, Kenny Burrell on guitar and Art Taylor on the drums. We're talking cream of the crop in terms of jazz musicians. Along with Paul Chambers' eponymous album on Bluenote, a must own if you like his music or these musicians.

Duke Jordan's Flight to Jordan
Ok, Duke Jordan is not a virtuoso on the piano. He didn't change the face of jazz with his solos, but damn, he knew how to write a song and arrange a group of musicians to perform it. Mr. Jordan is the kind of guy one could easily overlook. I know, because I did. My mistake. He's got Dizzy Reece, a great British trumpet player and Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax on the front line and they just smoke all the way through this record. Reggie Workman and Art Taylor take care of the rhythm department and those two know how to do exactly that. All of the songs except for one bonus track were written by Duke Jordan. Oscar Peterson may be a better pianist, but I don't think he can write and arrange like Duke. Highly recomended.

Next up will be Jackie McLean's Destination Out! I went out and bought it today on T Berry's recomendation. It has Bobby Hutcherson on it, so for those who have been following the other thread on him might want to stay tuned.

So if anyone else is buying these discs, speak up. I want to know about them. That means you Jamie!

[automatic_drip]

I tend to wait for the blue note reissues to make their way to yourmusic.com - not all of them do, but it's worth the wait to pick them up at $6.99 ea.

I do check bluenote.com for the upscoming releases, but have never looked at truebluemusic.com until your post. This could be bad, very bad.....

[Six String]

I don't buy too much from True Blue as I can get most anything here in town, especially now that R5 (Russ Soloman's new store) has been open for a few months. I'm on True Blue's email alert list though, so at least I'm aware of new releases and can act accordingly.

I'm listening to Direction Out! now and it's really good btw. According to the liner notes, there was a previous album with the same band members called One Step Beyond. I have a feeling that by the time I finish listening to Direction Out!, I'm going to want the other one too.

[Balboa]

I am buying up as many Bluenotes as I can, but still digging into the back catalogue. I have just ordered the Jackie Mclean myself! Looking forward to hearing that one.

Interested in reading this thread though!

[Sea Of Tunes]

Great thread yes. I'm a relative novice to Blue Note but since the RVG's sell at 6 Euros here at the moment, I'll take a dive.

[Six String]

I listened to Directio Out! twice yesterday. T Berry speaks the truth. It is a great album. There are only four songs on the album and the trombonist Grachan Moncur III wrote three of them. The similarity between this album and Bobby Hutcherson's Dialogue besides Bobby's presence is the sense of exploration and creativity. Both are very high in the order of things this album produces. Texturally they are quite different. There is no piano on Direction Out, so the vibes are even more up front. The real difference is Moncur's trombone. For those unfamiliar with him, he is a musician of immense talent that belies his lack of notoriety. I don't have much by him myself, but between his playing and writing on this date blows me away. I've never been a huge fan of Jackie McLean. His solos always sound a bit flat to me. When I listen to him, I sometimes find myself wishing for a pitch control during his solos. It wasn't quite as noticeable on this album. As T Berry said, if you like Dialogue, you need Direction Out!

There's another RVG out now that I can recomend. I have the connoisseur version from a few years ago so I won't be buying the new one. It's called Davis Cup by pianist Walter Davis Jr. It's a great album filled with Walter's own compositions. Another good song writer with the support of Donald Byrd, Jackie McLean, Sam Jones, and Art Taylor. Highly recomended.

[Six String]

Bump for T Berry and Kenji. Say something!

[Kenji]

Kenji. Say something!

Six String wants me to review this album - I'll try it!:



(My CD isn't a new RVG Edition, it's a Japanese "24 bit by RVG - Limited Edition - In memory of Alfred Lion" paper jacket edition from 2000)


Jackie McLean (as)
Ornette Coleman (tp)
Lamont Johnson (p)
Scott Holt (b)
Billy Higgins (d)

When I found this album first things that interested me were:

(1) It's Title!
(2) I noticed Ornette Coleman is in the band!
(3) I noticed Ornette Coleman plays trumpet! (Ornette also plays trumpet on some songs on his Blue Note album "New York Is Now!" - I've been a fan of the album for many years so I wanted to hear the Jackie McLean album)

The first track (first side of old LP) is "Lifeline" and has 4 parts about life:

"It's an attempt", Jackie explains, "to parallel in one piece of music a complete life experience from birth to death"

I like this long track because it changes tempo and mood/atmosphere at different parts of your life. For example, it begins fast and it has energy like when someone is born...

Second side (or tracks 2 and 3) are by Ornette Coleman. Track 2 is "Old Gospel" - it's a great track!

Jackie McLean: "This has a real old-time churchy feeling"

Ornette Coleman said this track recalls: "The type of rhythmning sound that people responded to in the south. And not only in the church. This is the kind of religious belief you can see in the streets. This is the sound of people happy that they've had a blessing. The feeling we got in the piece made me happy about growing up in America. There are a lot of good memories in that piece and none of the bad ones, "Old Gospel" is not about being good or bad it's about 'being'"

Producer Alfred Lion says of "Old Gospel": "It's one of the most inspired pieces I've recorded in years. There seems to be no end to the exuberance"

Mrs Kenji just said when "Old Gospel" was playing: "What's this? It sounds happy - it's different from usual "dark" jazz you play..."

Last track of the album is "Strange As it Seems" - it's a slow track with good playing between Ornette and Jackie.

Ornette said this track is "Like a love affair with someone who might not agree with your philosophy but who loves you a great deal"

I've played this album only 2 times so far, but I think it's great and I can recommend it.

[Kenji]

I'm now listening to "Destination...Out!" for second time. It's a very special album...

First track, "Love and Hate" has a wonderful mood - it's like a movie! (not a soundtrack - a movie!)

T. Berry Shuffle is correct about this album and track.

[Kenji]

I've listened to "Desination...Out!" and "New And Old Gospel" 2 times each. I think I prefer "New And Old Gospel"...

(Maybe! I need to listen more )

[Balboa]

Can't let this thread die!

I have had this on heavy rotation this week -



It doesn't seem to get mentioned too much, but I rate this really highly. There are some amazing moments on it - really unhinged. From memory towards the end of 'Passion Dance' where Tyner is playing these block chords and Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones and Ron Carter are thrashing behind him. Life affirming! I don't know why more people don't get their rocks off on this stuff.

[Six String]

Can't let this thread die!

I have had this on heavy rotation this week -



It doesn't seem to get mentioned too much, but I rate this really highly. There are some amazing moments on it - really unhinged. From memory towards the end of 'Passion Dance' where Tyner is playing these block chords and Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones and Ron Carter are thrashing behind him. Life affirming! I don't know why more people don't get their rocks off on this stuff.

I love this one too. It's another one that was brought to my attention by T Berry Shuffle.

I recently purchased another BN Tyner album called Time for Tyner w/Bobby Hutcherson on it and it is real good too. The opener, African Village is in 6/4 that begins with bass and drums setting up the feel of the title of the tune and then Bobby and McCoy come in and off you go. Without reeds or brass it doesn't have quite the same impact as The Real McCoy, but it is far from sedate.

Thank you Balboa for helping me keep this thread alive. I'm hoping T Berry will weigh in here soon after he gets those new RVG's in the mail.

[Andrew Lou Goldman]

I think I've bought around 25 of the RVG's and Keepnews Collection remasters in the last 3 weeks.

[automatic_drip]

Two I would recommend highly....


I think I own more Lee Morgan Albums than any other artist, and all are really good, but this is my favorite. The key ingredient is Billy Higgins drumming - really propulsive and interesting, but not in an upfront obvious way.....


Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - At The Cafe Bohemia Vol 1
I've never heard a Blakey album I didn't love - they're all basically foolproof, but this live one with Hank Mobley is awesome stuff.

I've easily bought 40 of these in the last two years (plus the holes filled in by T Berry.

They just anounced five more releases for 9/18 here - http://www.bluenote.com/newreleases.asp

[Six String]

I just came back from R5 with two more Bobby Hutcherson discs (Stick Up! and Components) and a Johnny Cole album who I'm only familar with as a sideman on BN dates. It looks good and since everything was $2.00 off I decided to take a chance.
I'll report back after I've "studied" them.

[Clippernolan]

I've always admired Paul Chambers as a bassist. He seems almost ubiquitous on jazz recordings from the late 50s to the early-to-mid 60s. Is his solo output much cop?

[Six String]

I've always admired Paul Chambers as a bassist. He seems almost ubiquitous on jazz recordings from the late 50s to the early-to-mid 60s. Is his solo output much cop?

All of the Bluenote albums are essential imo (there's only three). I have two others recorded before he joined MIles that are very good, but I don't know if they are available on cd. They are A Jazz Delegation from the East and Go! The first one has John Coltrane on it and again this is before either joined Miles. The latter one has Cannonball Adderly and Freddie Hubbard on the front line. I play the Bluenote albums more frequently.

[Clippernolan]

I've always admired Paul Chambers as a bassist. He seems almost ubiquitous on jazz recordings from the late 50s to the early-to-mid 60s. Is his solo output much cop?

All of the Bluenote albums are essential imo (there's only three). I have two others recorded before he joined MIles that are very good, but I don't know if they are available on cd. They are A Jazz Delegation from the East and Go! The first one has John Coltrane on it and again this is before either joined Miles. The latter one has Cannonball Adderly and Freddie Hubbard on the front line. I play the Bluenote albums more frequently.

I'm way behind on Bluenote. I still have to secure my copy of Maiden Voyage, probably my favourite jazz record on that label. I had it on cassette for years, then lost it.

[Andrew Lou Goldman]

Picked up these two Van Gelder remasters today:





Can't wait to hear 'em!

[Six String]

I do hope that's not ALL you bought today....

Sorry to disappoint but I didn't get the Vee Jay box (yet). Their sale ended up being $2.00 off everything that wasn't sale priced, so the box set was only 2 bucks off, whereas single cds were also 2 bucks off. I was hoping to get $8.00 or near that off the price of the box, so I passed for now. I can get it cheaper elsewhere.


I have that Oliver Nelson album Screamin' the Blues on lp and the title is very appropriate to what's inside. I think it's one of the better albums for someone to buy if they want a taste of what Eric Dolphy is about. He's a little oblique on the album but doesn't go out as far as he usually does.

I also have the Coleman Hawkins RVG disc and it's very good too. Not his best stuff,but a very relaxing set of music. If you like that one, there's another title of his in the series called The Hawk Relaxes. Different band but it has that same feel.

I listened to Johnny Coles BN RVG entitled Little Johnny. Wow! Six tunes, first five are mid tempo grooves ala Bluenote's recipe and finishes with a jaw dropping ballad, So Sweet My Little Girl. All of the songs were written by Duke Pearson, who is the pianist on the date. Like another Duke (Jordan not THE Duke), he is not a pianist who changed the jazz world with his playing, but he was an excellent song writer and arranger. His album Sweet Honey Bee is also a RVG remaster and very worthy of your attention. Back to Johnny Coles....Technically great player like Donald Byrd who also recorded with Charles MIngus on his legendary European tour of 1964 as well as James Moody and on two of the Miles/Gil Evans albums. So you know he's got some serious chops. I have an lp with him and Frank Wess that I've had for a while, but haven't listened to a lot, so now I need to pull it out and give it another spin. Joe Henderson, Bob Cranshaw and Pete La Roca are also on Little Johnny. It's a sleeper but a keeper.

Sorry for the long post.