Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Cannonball & Coltrane (1959)

This LP (whose contents have been reissued many times) features the Miles Davis Sextet of 1959 without the leader. Altoist Cannonball Adderley and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane really push each other on these six selections, with this version of "Limehouse Blues" really burning. Coltrane's very serious sound is a striking contrast to the jubilant Adderley alto; the latter is showcased on "Stars Fell on Alabama." With pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb playing up to their usual level, this gem is highly recommended.

by Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Hard-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Limehouse Blues (04:39)
02 - Stars Fell on Alabama (06:15)
03 - Wabash (05:44)
04 - Grand Central (04:33)
05 - You're a Weaver of Dreams (05:31)
06 - The Sleeper (07:15)

Line-up:
Cannonball Adderley - alto saxophone
John Coltrane - tenor saxophone
Wynton Kelly - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Jimmy Cobb - drums

Pharoah Sanders - Heart is a Melody (2004)

Line-up:
Pharoah Sanders - tenor sax, vocals
Matthew Garrison - bass
Orrin Evans - piano
Will Calhoun - drums

Cecil Taylor Unit - Dark To Themselves (1976)

This CD reissue has a continuous 61-plus-minute performance by pianist Cecil Taylor and his 1976 quintet (which also includes such fiery players as trumpeter Raphe Malik, his longtime altoist Jimmy Lyons, tenor saxophonist David S. Ware and drummer Marc Edwards). There is a quick theme along with brief transitions that form the composition "Streams and Chorus of Seed" but the bulk of the passionate performance is taken up by spontaneous and intense solos. Listeners with very open ears and longtime fans of Cecil Taylor can consider this explosive performance to be essential.
by Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Avant-Garde
Free-Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Streams and Chorus of Seed (61: 45)

Line-up:
Cecil Taylor: piano
Jimmy Lyons: alto saxophone
Raphe Malik: trumpet
David S. Ware: tenor saxophone
Marc Edwards: drums

Wayne Shorter - Super Nova (1969)

This CD reissue brings back an important transitional album for tenor-saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Doubling on soprano (which he had recently begun playing), Shorter interprets five of his originals (including "Water Babies" which had been recorded previously by Miles Davis) and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Dindi." He definitely used a forward-looking group of sidemen for his "backup band" includes guitarists John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock, Walter Booker (normally a bassist) on classical guitar for "Dindi," bassist Miroslav Vitous, both Jack DeJohnette and Chick Corea (!) on drums and percussionist Airto; Maria Booker takes a vocal on the touching version of "Dindi." The influence of Miles Davis' early fusion period is felt throughout the music but there is nothing derivative about the often-surprising results. As with Wayne Shorter's best albums, this set rewards repeated listenings.

by Sctott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Post-Bop
Fusion

Tracks:
01 - Supernova (04:45)
02 - Sweet Pea (04:35)
03 - Dindi (09:45)
04 - Water Babies (04:50)
05 - Capricorn (07:45)
06 - More Than Human (06:10)

Line-up:
Wayne Shorter — soprano saxophone
John McLaughlin — acoustic and electric guitar (1, 2, 4 & 5)
Sonny Sharrock — electric guitar
Miroslav Vitous — bass
Jack DeJohnette — drums, thumb piano
Chick Corea — drums, vibes
Airto Moreira — percussion
Walter Booker — acoustic guitar (3)
Maria Booker — vocals (3)

Donald Byrd - Black Byrd (1973)

Purists howled with indignation when Donald Byrd released Black Byrd, a full-fledged foray into R&B that erupted into a popular phenomenon. Byrd was branded a sellout and a traitor to his hard bop credentials, especially after Black Byrd became the biggest-selling album in Blue Note history. What the elitists missed, though, was that Black Byrd was the moment when Byrd's brand of fusion finally stepped out from under the shadow of his chief influence, Miles Davis, and found a distinctive voice of its own. Never before had a jazz musician embraced the celebratory sound and style of contemporary funk as fully as Byrd did here -- not even Davis, whose dark, chaotic jungle-funk stood in sharp contrast to the bright, breezy, danceable music on Black Byrd. Byrd gives free rein to producer/arranger/composer Larry Mizell, who crafts a series of tightly focused, melodic pieces often indebted to the lengthier orchestrations of Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield. They're built on the most straightforward funk rhythms Byrd had yet tackled, and if the structures aren't as loose or complex as his earlier fusion material, they make up for it with a funky sense of groove that's damn near irresistible. Byrd's solos are mostly melodic and in-the-pocket, but that allows the funk to take center stage. Sure, maybe the electric piano, sound effects, and Roger Glenn's ubiquitous flute date the music somewhat, but that's really part of its charm. Black Byrd was state-of-the-art for its time, and it set a new standard for all future jazz/R&B/funk fusions -- of which there were many. Byrd would continue to refine this sound on equally essential albums like Street Lady and the fantastic Places and Spaces, but Black Byrd stands as his groundbreaking signature statement.

by Steve Huey in All Music Guide

Styles:
Crossover Jazz
Jazz-Funk
R&B

Tracks:
01 - Flight Time (08:27)
02 - Black Byrd (08:00)
03 - Love's So Far Away (06:00)
04 - Mr. Thomas (05:15)
05 - Sky High (05:59)
06 - Slop Jar Blues (06:00)
07 - Where Are We Going? (04:40)

Line-up:
Donald Byrd - trumpet, flugelhorn, electric trumpet, vocals
Allen Curtis Barnes - flute, oboe, saxophone
Roger Glenn - saxophone, flute
Fonce Mizell - trumpet, vocals
Larry Mizell - vocals
Kevin Toney - piano
Freddie Perren - piano, synthesizer, vocals
Dean Parks - guitar
David T. Walker - guitar
Barney Perry - guitar
Joe Sample - piano, electric piano
Wilton Felder - bass
Joe Hill - bass
Harvey Mason - drums
Sr, Keith Killgo - drums
Bobbye Hall Porter - percussion
Perk Jacobs - percussion
Stephanie Spruill - percussion

Sun Ra - All Stars in Berlin (1983)

Tracks:
01 - Announcement Michael Naura
02 - Happy Birthday / Stars That Shine Darkly
03 - Title
04 - Somewhere Else
05 - Early Morning Blues
06 - Poinciana
Line-up:
Sun Ra - keyboardsDon Cherry - trumpet, vocal
Lester Bowie - trumpet
Marshall Allen - alto sax, percussion
John Gilmore - tenor sax, flute
Archie Shepp - tenor sax, vocals
Richard Davis - bass
Clifford Jarvis - drums
Philly Joe Jones - drums
Famoudou Don Moye - percussion

Duke Ellington - Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (1962)

The combination of Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins alone would be ideal for the vast majority of jazz fans. But add to the front line trombonist Lawrence Brown, saxophonists Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges, and cornetist/violinist Ray Nance, and you have a modern small jazz ensemble for the ages that would be tough to beat under any criteria, not so much a showcase for Hawkins as a group effort with everyone getting more than two cents' worth in. On this collection you receive, for your hard-earned dollars, eight originals, two of which have become well-known standards. Of the familiar fare, you hear a brief but unique off-minor intro on the heart-melting ballad "Mood Indigo," and all horns united on the democratic evergreen swinger "The Jeep Is Jumpin'." Hawkins plays a bit atonally and Brown struts during the bluesy modal head-nodding "Ray Charles' Place," while the band acts sly and slinky as you hear a signature uptown Ellington melody during the purebred "You Dirty Dog." The main feature for Hawkins where you clearly hear his familiar stoic and robust vibrato tenor sax sound is the slow and bluesy "Self-Portrait (Of the Bean)." The recording is bookended by Ellington's chiming, playful, concise, and rhythmic "ricitic" piano phrasings on the all-time favorite "Limbo Jazz" and "The Ricitic," the latter piece a showcase for the singularly beautiful and distinctive violin of Nance. Over the years, this near-perfect and timeless recording has only grown and matured with age, and should be a must-own for any traditional, mainstream, or general jazz aficionado. Also -- consider that this historic session was done in a single day! [This edition of Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins includes the bonus track "Solitude."]

By Michael G. Nastos in All Music Guide

Styles:
Early Jazz
Hard-Bop
Bop

Tracks:
01 - Limbo Jazz (05:15)
02 - Mood Indigo (05:56)
03 - Ray Charles' Place (04:05)
04 - Wanderlust (05:00)
05 - You Dirty Dog (04:20)
06 - Self-Portrait (of the Bean) (03:53)
07 - The Jeep is Jumpin' (04:50)
08 - The Ricitic (05:53)
09 - Solitude (05:51)

Line-up:
Duke Ellington - piano
Coleman Hawkins - tenor saxophone
Lawrence Brown - trombone
Harry Carney - bass clarinet, baritone saxophone
Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone
Aaron Bell - bass
Ray Nance - violin, cornet
Sam Woodyard - drums

Andrew Hill - Dance with Death (1968)

Andrew Hill's Dance of Death, recorded in 1968 with a stellar band, was not issued until 1980. In the late 1960s, Blue Note was no longer the most adventurous of jazz labels. While certain titles managed to scrape through -- Eddie Gale's Ghetto Music did but only because Francis Wollf personally financed it -- many didn't. The label was firmly in the soul-jazz groove by then, and Hill's music, always on the edge, was deemed too outside for the label's roster. Musically, this is Hill at his most visionary. From hard- and post bop frames come modal and tonal inquiries of staggering complexity. Accompanied by trumpeter Charles Tolliver, saxophonist Joe Farrell, drummer Billy Higgins and bassist Victor Sproles, Hill engages, seemingly, all of his muses at once. Check out the sinister modal blues that is "Fish 'N' Rice" with its loping Eastern-tinged blues and loping horn lines around Hill's knotty fills in the head and choruses. In "Partitions" the steaming head is so rigorously tangled it's only the counterpoint of Hill's piano that makes an exit possible, with deep blues underpinnings and strident swinging soul. The title cut dances Afro-Cuban in the head, but Hill's piano is in a minor modal groove, with Higgins playing a textural, syncopated four-four as Sproles' punches on the two and four as the solos begin winding through the modes, bringing back the blues on tags. Dance of Death is a phenomenal record, one that wears its adventure and authority well.

By Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Post-Bop
Avant-Garde

Tracks:
01 - Yellow Violet (05:30)
02 - Partitions (05:49)
03 - Fish 'n Rice (07:29)
04 - Dance with Death (06:37)
05 - Love Nocturne (06:41)
06 - Black Sabbath (06:21)
07 - Dance with Death [alternate take] (07:12)

Line-up:
Andrew Hill - piano
Charles Tolliver - trumpet
Joe Farrell - soprano saxophone (track 1), tenor saxophone (tracks 2-7)
Victor Sproles - bass
Billy Higgins - drums

Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Stances a Sophie (1970)

In 1970, the members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago were living as expatriates in Paris. The group had only recently expanded to its permanent quintet status with the addition of drummer/percussionist Don Moye when they were asked by New Wave director Moshe Misrahi to provide the soundtrack for his movie, Les Stances a Sophie. The music was never used in the film but, luckily, it was recorded. The result was one of the landmark records of the burgeoning avant-garde of the time and, simply put, one of the greatest jazz albums ever. On two of the tracks, the Art Ensemble is joined by vocalist Fontella Bass, at the time the wife of trumpeter Lester Bowie and riding the success of her pop-soul hit Rescue Me. She's featured most prominently on the opening number, Theme De Yoyo, an astounding piece that has achieved legendary status as the finest fusion of funk and avant-garde jazz ever recorded. The mix is indeed seamless, with Moye and Favors laying down a throbbing, infectious groove, Bass singing the surreally erotic lyrics with enormous soul and the horn players soloing with ecstatic abandon. The remaining pieces cover a wide range stylistically with no less beauty and imagination, including two variations on a theme by Monteverdi, intense free improvising and soft, deeply probing sonic investigations.Their extensive knowledge of prior jazz styles, love of unusual sound sources (the so-called "little instruments) and fearless exploration of the furthest reaches of both instrumental and compositional possibilities came into full flower on this record.

by Brian Olewnick in All Music Guide

Styles:
Free-Jazz
Avant-Garde

Tracks:
01 - Theme de Yoyo (09:06)
02 - Theme de Celine (03:04)
03 - Variations Sur un Theme de Monteverdi I, II (04:47)
04 - Theme de l'Amour Universal (03:52)
05 - Proverbes No. 1, No. 2 (03:55)
06 - Theme Libre (08:53)

Line-up:
Joseph Jarman - saxophones, clarinets, percussion instruments
Roscoe Mitchell - saxophones, clarinets, flute, percussion instruments
Lester Bowie - trumpet, percussion instruments
Malachi Favors Maghostut - bass, percussion instruments, vocals
Fontella Bass - vocals, piano
Don Moye - drums, percussion

John Gilmore and The Jazz Messengers - I Can't Get Started (1966)

Woody Shaw - Blackstone Legacy (1970)

Originally a two-fer on vinyl and now on one CD, Shaw's debut as a leader is one of the first "free bop" sessions, in many ways his answer to Bitches Brew. The trumpeter's ensemble extracts dense, energetic, meaty collective sounds based in pure improvisation with a skeleton of a rhythmic framework to expound upon. Saxophonists Gary Bartz & Bennie Maupin, electric pianist George Cables, twin bassists Ron Carter and Clint Houston, and drummer Lenny White respond to Shaw's heavy direction, making for some of the most kinetic jazz heard in that period of early fusion. Shaw's bright melodicism, hard edged swing and refusal to compromise are his greatest assets. They come shining through on tuneful classics like the unstoppable "Think On Me" and stop-start gymnastics of "Boo-Ann's Grand." It represents the progressive bop aesthetic at a fever pitch. The title track is as wild and wooly as Woody could be, while "Lost & Found" is free bop at its finest. "New World" is a free funk number, quite a trend setter for its time, while "A Deed For Dolphy" shows an abstract, no-time side rarely heard from Shaw. All tunes are quite lengthy, no shorter than nine, no longer than seventeen minutes. This allows the band to develop their ideas and interact in a manner more akin to a concert setting. Bartz (alto and soprano saxophone) and Maupin (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet and flute) consistently show why they are two of the best improvising jazzmen out there. As much as the music is the thing, it is the singular presence of Shaw that refracts many colors of light and dark, like a multi-hued beacon directing many ships to port. There is not a better example of this music from its inception, documented on tape, than this other worldly session that brought the trumpeter to the jazz world's attention. Furthermore, few have done it better since. Truly a landmark recording, and a pivot point in the history of post-modern music.

By Michael G. Nastos in All Music Guide

Styles:
Modern Creative
Hard-Bop
Post-Bop
Progressive Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Blackstone Legacy (15:59)
02 - Think On Me (10:44)
03 - Lost and Found (11:49)
04 - New World (18:05)
05 - Boo-Ann's Grand (14:19)
06 - A Deed for Dolphy (08:55)

Line-up:
Woody Shaw - Trumpet
Gary Bartz - Alto Sax, Soprano Sax
Bennie Maupin - Tenor Sax, Bass Clarinet, Flute
Georges Cables - Piano, Electric Piano
Ron Carter - Bass
Clint Houston - Bass
Lenny White - Drums

Gary Bartz - The Shadow Do! (1975)

Not as known as the later Music Is My Sanctuary -- which was an even further departure, in its increased smoothness, from his Ntu Troop dates, and more popular by virtue of being released on Blue Note -- The Shadow Do! was the first time Gary Bartz sought production assistance from Fonce and Larry Mizell, the sibling duo who enlivened many sessions throughout the '70s with their soaring fusion of soul, funk, and (as Bartz would say) "the j-word." At this point, some j-word purists were hip to the Mizell program, what with dates from Bobbi Humphrey, Donald Byrd, and Johnny Hammond already in circulation. Checking the back of this Prestige release supplied all the info they needed to know: production by the Mizells, and four people credited with playing some form of synthesizer. Keyboardist Hubert Eaves, bassist Michael Henderson, guitarist Reggie Lucas, percussionist Mtume, and drummer Howard King help lend a sound that is a little funkier and heavier than most Mizell-guided sessions, but it's no less sweet. The second through fourth songs of side one exude joy and love, anchoring the album in a sense of contentedness so infectious that it might have even won over a few cold souls expecting straight jazz. Bartz's saxophones are at their melodic best, dancing, skipping, and trilling through the arrangements. He also sings lead, present on most of the songs, and though he probably didn't win any publication's best vocalist award, no one sounds like him, and the Mizells' own background harmonies are on-point as ever. [The Shadow Do! was reissued on CD at least twice in Japan, in 1993 and 2007.]

by Andy Kellman in All Music Guide

Styles:
Jazz-Funk
Post-Bop
Soul Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Winding Roads (03:19)
02 - Mother Nature (06:34)
03 - Love Tones (05:15)
04 - Gentle Smiles (04:21)
05 - Make Me Feel Better (04:40)
06 - Sea Gypsy (06:17)
07 - For My Baby (04:58)
08 - Incident (03:01)

Line-up:
Gary Bartz - Saxophone [Alto, Soprano], Synthesizer, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
Michael Henderson - Bass
Howard King - Drums, Synthesizer
Reggie Lucas - Guitar
Hubert Eaves - Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer
Larry Mizell - Synthesizer
James Mtume - Percussion

Gato Barbieri - Fenix (1971)

Some artists totally change directions; some reinvent their personalities. It is hard to know exactly what to make of the case of this Argentinian tenor saxophonist, who first appeared as a sideman on several extremely important Don Cherry projects, making such an essential contribution to the overall feel of these records that listeners expected great things. After a few attempts at finding a meeting place between the energy and harshness of free jazz and the his own rhythmic roots, he created this album in which everything seemed to come together perfectly. If a judgement is to be made based on Barbieri's overall career, then a lot of credit would be given to his accompanying musicians here, who are strictly the cream of the crop. A horn player certainly couldn't complain about a rhythm section featuring bassist Ron Carter, drummer Lenny White, and pianist Lonnie Liston Smith, the last fresh out of the band of Pharoah Sanders, where he had established himself as the absolute king of modal, vaguely Latin or African sounding vamps. Smith was able to fit right in here, and he of course knew just what to do when the saxophonist went into his screaming fits, because he surely had plenty of practice with this kind of stuff playing with Sanders. The leader adds a nice touch of ethnic percussion with some congas and bongos and Na Na on berimbau; in fact, this was the first time many American listeners heard this instrument. From here, Barbieri continued to build, reaching a height with a series of collaborations with Latin American musicians playing traditional instruments. He would then switch gears, tone down the energy, and become kind of a romantic image with a saxophone in his mouth, producing music that brought on insults from reviewers, many of whom would have bit their tongues if they'd known much worse sax playing was to come via later artists such as Kenny G. But at this point in 1971, well before the Muppets would create a caricature out of him, Barbieri was absolutely smoking, and for a certain style of rhythmic free jazz, this is a captivating album indeed.

by Eugene Chadbourne in All Music Guide

Styles:
Latin Jazz
World-Fusion
Avant-Garde

Tracks:
01 - Tupac Amaru (04:13)
02 - Carnavalito (09:1o)
03 - Falsa Bahiana (05:48)
04 - El Dia Que Me Quieras (06:10)
05 - El Arriero (07:24)
06 - Bahia (06:22)

Line-up:
Gato Barbieri - Tenor Sax
Lonnie Liston Smith - Piano, Electric Piano
Na-Na* - Congas, Berimbau
Ron Carter - Electric Bass
Gene Golden - Congas, Bongos
Lenny White - Drums

Bobby Hutcherson - Components (1965)

Perhaps the single album that best sums up Bobby Hutcherson's early musical personality, Components is appropriately split into two very distinct halves. The first features four Hutcherson originals in a melodic but still advanced hard bop style, while the latter half has four free-leaning avant-garde pieces by drummer Joe Chambers. Hutcherson allots himself more solo space than on Dialogue, but that's no knock on the excellent supporting cast, which includes Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto sax and flute, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Ron Carter on bass. It's just more Hutcherson's date, and he helps unite the disparate halves with a cool-toned control that's apparent regardless of whether the material is way outside or more conventionally swinging. In the latter case, Hutcherson's originals are fairly diverse, encompassing rhythmically complex hard bop (the title track), pensive balladry ("Tranquillity," which features a lovely solo by Hancock), down-and-dirty swing ("West 22nd Street Theme"), and the gaily innocent "Little B's Poem," which went on to become one of Hutcherson's signature tunes and contains some lyrical flute work from Spaulding. The Chambers pieces tend to be deliberate explorations that emphasize texture and group interaction in the manner of Dialogue, except that there's even more freedom in terms of both structure and tonal center. (The exception is the brief but beautiful closing number, "Pastoral," an accurate title if ever there was one.) Components illustrated that Hutcherson was not only the most adventurous vibes player on the scene, but that he was also capable of playing more straightforward music with intelligence and feeling.

by Steve Huey in All Music Guide

Styles:
Modal
Post-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Components (06:23)
02 - Tranquility (05:01)
03 - Little B's Poem (05:08)
04 - West 22nd Street Theme (04:42)
05 - Movement (07:29)
06 - Juba Dance (05:21)
07 - Air (04:45)
08 - Pastoral (02:02)

Line-up:
Bobby Hutcherson: vibraphone
Joe Chambers: drums
Herbie Hancock: piano
James Spaulding: alto saxophone, flute
Freddie Hubbard: trumpet
Ron Carter: bass

Eric Dolphy - Iron Man (1963)

The companion piece to Conversations (recorded at the same mid-1963 sessions with producer Alan Douglas), Iron Man is every bit as essential and strikes a more consistent ambience than its widely varied twin. It also more clearly anticipates the detailed, abstract sound paintings of Dolphy's masterwork Out to Lunch, in large part because this time around the program is weighted toward Dolphy originals. "Iron Man," "Burning Spear," and the shorter "Mandrake" all have pretty outside themes, full of Dolphy's trademark wide interval leaps and playful sense of dissonance. Yet there's enough structure and swing to make their roots in hard bop perfectly clear, and once the front-line horns blast out the themes, the ensemble shifts into a more cerebral, exploratory mode. In the absence of a piano, Bobby Hutcherson's vibes are a crucial anchor, outlining dissonant harmonies that hang in the air almost spectrally behind the rest of the group. Most of the same musicians from Conversations appear here, including trumpeter Woody Shaw, flutist Prince Lasha, altoist Sonny Simmons, and soprano sax player Clifford Jordan. And once again, Dolphy duets with bassist Richard Davis, twice this time -- on bass clarinet for Ellington's "Come Sunday" and on flute for Jaki Byard's "Ode to C.P." Both are lovely, meditative pieces filled with conversational exchanges between the two players, illustrating what similar wavelengths they were on. Between Conversations and Iron Man, split up the way they are, one has to give a slight edge to the latter for its more cohesive presentation, yet these are classic sessions in any form and constitute some of the most brilliant work of the early-'60s avant-garde.

by Steve Huey in All Music Guide

Styles:
Avant-Garde
Free-Jazz
Post-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Iron Man (09:07)
02 - Mandrake (04:50)
03 - Come Sunday (06:24)
04 - Burning Spear (11:49)
05 - Ode to C.P. (08:05)

Line-up:
Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet, flute, alto saxophone
Richard Davis – bass
Clifford Jordan – tenor saxophone
Sonny Simmons – alto saxophone
(William) Prince Lasha – flute
Woody Shaw Jr. – trumpet
Bobby Hutcherson – vibraphone
J.C. Moses – drums
Eddie Khan – bass ("Iron Man")