Johnny Griffin & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Lookin' at Monk

When the two tough tenors waxed this record in 1961, the idea of a Thelonious Monk tribute was fresh, daring, and affectionate--not at all the overdone and uninspired exercise that it can often be decades later. Johnny Griffin had already been an integral part of Monk's late-1950s quartet; bassist Larry Gales and drummer Ben Riley would wind up joining Monk's band just three years later. The contrasting but compatible styles of the two leaders teach a valuable lesson in what makes Monk's music special: Davis offers soulful, blues-based, earthbound lines while Griffin tends toward feisty, soaring, far-reaching sounds, but both capture the essence of Monk's compositions. Pianist Junior Mance's chord-feeding isn't as jagged as Monk's, but is no less effective. As fiery as the five hot numbers are, the two ballads--Griffin on "'Round Midnight" and Davis on "Ruby, My Dear"--are just as impressive. Both Davis and Griffin are capable of having their own unique voices shine through while still upholding the spirit of Monk's ideas.
--Marc Greilsamer (Amazon.com)



Personnel:

Johnny Griffin, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (tenor saxophone)
Junior Mance (piano)
Larry Gales (bass)
Ben Riley (drums)

Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York, New York on February 7, 1961



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Grassella Oliphant - Grass Roots/Grass is Greener

Two soulful jazz albums on one CD from the vastly underrated Grassella Oliphant. The Grass Roots and The Grass is Greener were released by Atlantic in 1965 and 1967 respectively. Featured tracks include an inspired cover of Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo" and a groovy rendition of Allen Toussaint's "Get Out Of My Life Woman."


Personnel:

Grassella Oliphant (drums)
Grant Green (guitar)
Harold Ousley (tenor saxophone)
Clark Terry (trumpet)
John Patton (organ)
Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone)
Major Holley, Ray McKinley (bass guitar)



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Charles Mingus - Timeless

Personnel:

Charles Mingus (bass)
John La Porta (alto saxophone & clarinet)
Shigeo Suzuki (alto saxophone)
Teo Macero (tenor & baritone saxophones)
Bobbie Jones (tenor saxophone, clarinet)
George Barrow (tenor saxophone)
Eddie Preston (trumpet)
Wally Cirrillo, Masahiko Sato (piano)
Rudy Nichols, Kenny Clarke (drums)



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Al Cohn & Zoot Sims - Easy as Pie (Live at the Left Bank)

Al Cohn was initially known in the 1940s for playing in Woody Herman's Second Herd as one of the Four Brothers, along with Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, and Serge Chaloff. Unlike his the better known tenors Sims and Getz, Cohn contributed arrangements to the Herman band. Cohn has a reputation as a lyrical flowing soloist.

Zoot Sims developed into an innovative tenor saxophonist. Throughout his career, he played with renowned bands, including Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, and Buddy Rich. Sims was also one of Woody Herman's "Four Brothers", and he was known among his peers as one of the strongest swingers in the field. He frequently led his own combos and sometimes toured with his friend Gerry Mulligan's sextet, and later with Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band.

In the 1950s and '60s, Sims had a long, successful partnership as co-leader of a quintet with Al Cohn, which recorded under the name "Al and Zoot". That group was a favorite at the New York club "The Half Note." Always fond of the higher register of the tenor sax, Zoot also liked to play alto and late in his career added the soprano saxophone to his performances, while recording a series of albums for the Pablo Records label of impressario Norman Granz.


Personnel:

Al Cohn, Zoot Sims (tenor saxophone)
Dave Frishberg (piano)
Victor Sproles (bass)
Donald McDonald (drums)

Recorded live at the Famous Ballroom, Baltimore, Maryland on October 27, 1968




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Edward "Sonny" Stitt - Deuces Wild

Sonny Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist. He was a quintessential saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom and was also one of the most prolific saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 records in his lifetime. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern in tribute to his relentless touring and his devotion to jazz. Although his early career was overshadowed by Parker, Stitt was never a copyist. Indeed, his was a highly original musical mind, as became apparent after he switched to tenor and forged a new and appreciative audience for his work.


Personnel:

Sonny Stitt (alto & tenor saxophones)
Robin Kenyatta (soprano & alto saxophones)
Rufus Harley (tenor saxophone, bagpipes)
Wilmer Mosby (organ)
Billy James (drums)

Recorded in 1966



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Benny Green - Soul Stirrin'

One of the more unique recordings in the Blue Note 1500 series, trombonist Bennie Green oversees a cool mix of swing, blues and mambo arrangements, including vocal contributions by the leader himself and the great Babs Gonzales. With his bone tone still rooted in the swing era, Green was starting to take notice and become influenced by the emergence of soul and rhythm and blues. Case in point; inviting Gene Ammons to sit in on tenor. Adding Billy Root as a second tenor creates a front line like no other while the legendary Sonny Clark handles the piano. Ike Isaac’s bass and the brute-drumming of Elvin Jones round out the sextet. Highlights include a forceful “We Wanna’ Cook”, plus heartbreaking takes of the ballads “That’s All” and “Lullaby Of The Doomed”.


Benny Green - Trombone, Vocals
Babs Gonzales - Vocals
Gene Ammons - Tenor
Billy Root - Tenor
Sonny Clark - Piano
Ike Isaac - Bass
Elvin Jones - Drums


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Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Volunteered Slavery

Recorded at Regent Sound Studios, New York, New York in 1969 and The Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, Rhode Island on July 7, 1968. Originally released on Atlantic (1534).

One of Roland Kirk's very best albums, 1969's VOLUNTEERED SLAVERY is a half-studio, half-live smorgasbord that comes closer than possibly any of his dozens of other releases to capturing all of his many musical sides. Opening with the classic call-and-response soul jazz title track, side one features two brilliant pop covers, Stevie Wonder's "Ma Cherie Amour" and a scorching reinterpretation of Bacharach-David's "I Say a Little Prayer," reworked into a eulogy for the recently slain Bobby Kennedy. Between those two comes the brief but stirring "Search for the Reason Why," a gospel-tinged hippiesque singalong that in lesser hands might sound drippy. Side two, recorded at 1968's Newport Jazz Festival, is built around the brilliant "Tribute to John Coltrane," a three-song medley that pays tribute without imitation, and the legendary "Three for the Festival," Kirk's wild yet controlled solo played simultaneously on three different reed instruments. This is a jazz classic.
Entertainment Reviews:

Rolling Stone - 3/7/70, p.48
"...[ROLAND KIRK] is one of the absolute best jazz musicians in the world, as good as the best on all the axes he plays....[he's] got an amazing sense of humor in everything he does..."


Roland Kirk - Saxophone [Tenor], Horns [Stritch, Manzello], Flute, Flute [Nose], Gong, Whistle, Vocals
Roland Kirk Spirit Choir - Vocals
Vernon Martin - Bass
Charles Crosby , Jimmy Hopps , Sonny Brown - Drums
Ron Burton - Piano
Dick Griffin - Trombone
Charles McGhee - Trumpet

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