by Scott Yanow,
I reviewed all of these recordings somewhere during the past year. I did not include any albums for which I wrote liner notes. All of these sets have been released on CDs and/or Lps; downloads are not included. There are 27 new releases and 23 that are reissues/historical music. The two lists are in alphabetical order by the leaders’ names.
Of course there are hundreds of other recent jazz albums that are well worth acquiring (there are a remarkable number of rewarding jazz recordings) but these are the ones that have stuck in my mind. Rather than just being recordings of cutting-edge (or avant-garde) jazz, like many of the lists from other writers, these cover a wide range of styles.
One can certainly argue that there are other recordings that are “better” or that should have been included on this list. Suffice it to say that these 50 are ones that I very highly recommend.
Affinity Trio – New Outlook – Origin
Joe Alterman/Houston Person – Brisket For Breakfast – Self-Released
Mike Clark – Itai Doshin – Wide Hive
Josie Falbo – Kickin’ It – Self-Released
Joe Farnsworth – The Big Room – Smoke Sessions
Irving Flores Afro-Cuban Sextet – Armando mi Conga – Amor de Flores Productions
Sullivan Fortner – Southern Nights – Pias
Nnenna Freelon – Beneath The Skin – Origin
Caity Gyorgy – Hello! How Are You? – Self-Released
Mary Halvorson – About Ghosts – Nonesuch
Tyler Henderson – Love Endures – Cellar Music
Rodney Jordan – Memphis Blue – Baxter Music Enterprises
David Kikoski – Weekend At Smalls – Cellar Music
Fern Lindzon/Colleen Allen/George Keller – Tryptique – ZSAN Records
Branford Marsalis – Belonging – Blue Note
James Moody – 80 Years Young – Origin
Oz Noy – Fun One – Criss Cross
Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – Mundoagua – Zoho
Anais Reno – Lady Of The Lavender Mist – Club 44
Gonzalo Rubalcaba – First Meeting – 5passion
Loren Schoenberg – So Many Memories – Turtle Bay
Eldad Tarmu – Silver On Aluminum – Self-Released
3 Cohens & WDR Big Band – Interaction – Anzic
Andrew Wilcox – Dear Mr. Hill – Truth Revolution
Brandon Woody – For The Love Of It All – Blue Note
Brandee Younger – Gadabout Season – Impulse
James Zito – Zito’s Jump – James Zito Music
Jaki Byard – Blues For Smoke – Candid
Bob Crosby – Classic Decca Recordings Of Bob Crosby Orchestra/Bob Cats (1936-1942) (Mosaic)
Miles Davis – Miles In Paris – Columbia/Legacy
Kenny Dorham – Blue Bossa In The Bronx – Resonance
Ella Fitzgerald – Live At The Concetgebouw 1961 – The Lost Recordings
Don Goldie – Presenting Don Goldie – Fresh Sound
Johnny Hartman – The Last Balladeer – Fresh Sound
Willis Jackson – The Prestige Collection – Englightenment
Keith Jarrett – The Old Country – ECM
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Vibrations In The Village – Resonance
Oscar Moore – The Enchanting Guitar – Fresh Sound
Charlie Parker – Bird In Kansas City – Verve
Paul and his Gang – First Sessions – Self-Released
Art Pepper – An Afternoon In Norway – Elemental Music
Andre Previn – Early Years – Acrobat
Omer Simeon – The New Orleans Clarinetist – Retrospective
Zoot Sims – Zoot Sims In France – Fresh Sound
Sphere – The Complete Live At Umbria Jazz – Red
Louis Stewart & Martin Taylor – Acoustic Guitar Duets – Livia
McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson – Forces Of Nature – Blue Note
Charles Tolliver & Music Inc. – Live At The Captain’s Cabin – Reel To Reel
Terry Waldo – Treasury Vol. 2 – Turtle Bay
Various Artists – Classic Vanguard Small Group Swing Sessions – Mosaic
One of the great electric bassists, Marcus Miller has always straddled the boundaries between jazz, funk and r&b. While he is as funky as anyone, his groups feature plenty of jazz solos propelled by his inspired playing.
At Catalina Bar & Grill, Miller performed with his touring quintet which also included trumpeter Russell Gunn, tenor-saxophonist Donald Hayes, keyboardist Xavier Gordon, and drummer Anwar Marshall. Hayes took plenty of soulful solos (including on “Red Baron”) but Gunn was surprisingly underutilized although, when he had an opportunity to solo (as on “Untamed”); he displayed a wide range and a real feeling for the music. Larry Black (from the Temptations and Tower Of Power) was a guest singer on several numbers including “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” and an Al Green song, while Cory Henry sat in quite effectively on organ. In addition, Miller switched to bass clarinet for a duet with pianist Gordon on “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (after telling the story behind the Roberta Flack hit) and with the full group on Luther Vandross’ “For Only One Night.” The evening concluded with “Tutu,” the song that Miller wrote for Miles Davis. This version was different than usual, doubling its tempo for the organ and tenor solos. As always, Marcus Miller and his band put on a varied and consistently enjoyable night of music.
CHARLES LLOYD
During a period of time when the news is tumultuous, annoying and quite worrisome, the playing of Charles Lloyd is a complete contrast. The 87-year old tenor-saxophonist appeared before a capacity crowd on a Monday night at Blue Note LA and played music that was soothing, adventurous, peaceful, and passionate, all at the same time.
Lloyd was joined by pianist Gerald Clayton (who was heard at his most creative), bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Kreku Sumbry. Since Lloyd never mentioned the song titles, here is a description of some of the music. From the start of the opening ballad, every note Lloyd played was quite beautiful, particularly some of those in his upper register. Even when he played rapid double-time runs, each note seemed to fit the mood of the piece. Some of the music was spiritual including a one-chord piece with a catchy rhythm that included some wailing tenor playing. On John Coltrane’s “Dahomey’s Dance,” Clayton displayed the influence of McCoy Tyner, Lloyd spent some time accompanying him on maracas, and Grenadier played a rhythmic bass solo that concluded the number. A long part of another piece was a thoughtful and quietly emotional tenor-piano duet. Lloyd switched to flute for a pretty melody over an infectious rhythm, showing that he is as fluent on flute as he is on tenor. While continuing on flute, he performed his irresistible “Island Blues” which was in his repertoire back in the 1960s. For the closer Lloyd switched to what I believe was a taragato for an avant-garde free duet with drummer Sumbry that also had some spoken word.
Charles Lloyd, who is apparently quite ageless, is still very much in his musical prime. At this point in time, it seems as if all of his performances are quite memorable.
CLANCY HAYES
Clancy Hayes (1908-72) was arguably the finest male singer to be heard with trad jazz bands during the 1950s and ‘60s other than Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden. A humorous and lovable personality in addition to being a fine banjoist and rhythm guitarist, Hayes found fame in the jazz world through his recordings with Bob Scobey in the 1950s and his own solo sessions in the 60s. He also sang with Lu Watters in the 1940s, wrote “Huggin’ And A Chalkin’” which became a minor hit, and had “Ace In The Hole,” “Rose Of Washington Square,” and “Silver Dollar” as his signature songs.
But as one discovers in reading the recently published definitive biography The Swinging Minstrel (by Chris Reid with Hal Smith), Hayes also had an earlier and very successful career as a star on the radio. A natural entertainer, Hayes in the 1930s and ‘40s was regularly on the radio, not just singing and playing music but providing a wide variety of mostly-humorous voices for shows. Sometimes he played all of the characters on a program, alternating several personalities and dialects. By the time he joined Lu Watters Yerba Buena Jazz Band in the 1940s, Hayes was a major celebrity in the San Francisco Bay area and his fame was a strong asset for the influential group.
Chris Reid certainly did a tremendous amount of research in putting together the 438-page Swinging Minstrel (published by Harding Simpole and available from www.amazon.com). In addition to lots of information about Hayes’ life and career, there are loads of photos, copies of memorabilia, reproductions of scores of letters, and plenty of miscellaneous features. One learns about Hayes’ beginnings, his years in radio (unfortunately few of the broadcasts still exist), and his jazz life. In addition to Reid’s narrative and the highlights of the many interviews that he conducted, drummer Hal Smith (an important force behind the scenes) contributed chapters on Hayes’ singing and his contributions to rhythm sections, Frank Selman recalled his experiences with Hayes, and the singer’s niece Melissa Phillippe included some reminiscences about her uncle. There is also a chapter about the banjos that Hayes used and a complete discography of all of his vocal recordings including an extensive list of unissued private recordings that are known to exist, some of which can be found on You Tube.
Clancy Hayes – The Swinging Minstrels is highly recommended to any one with even a slight interest in the masterful and always entertaining singer-banjoist.
DAKOTA STATON AND MORGANA KING
Dakota Staton (1930-2007) was one of the great singers of the 1950s. Morgana King (1930-2018) gained fame as both a singer and an actress. Both of these vocalists have recently had their earliest recordings reissued on two-CD sets released by Acrobat Music.
Dakota Staton had a powerful voice from the start of her career, able to hit passionate high notes with ease. Dinah Washington was her main influence, when she occasionally scatted she hinted strongly at Ella Fitzgerald, and the fullness of her wide range was comparable to Sarah Vaughan’s. The Complete Early Years 1955-58 starts off with 16 songs from 1954-56 that were originally released as singles. From the first numbers, “My Heart’s Delight” and “What Do You Know About Love,” she displays an assertive no-nonsense style that makes one surprised that none of these early numbers were hits. While the unidentified bands often play clichés with repetitious tenor and rhythmic patterns by the pianists, the singing should have made Staton into a star. Perhaps the rise of rock and roll hurt her chances. She had better luck after that with the jazz-oriented Capitol albums The Late Late Show, Dynamic, and Crazy He Calls Me which are reissued in full on this twofer along with her half of In The Night. The latter was a collaboration with the George Shearing Quintet; the instrumentals are not included here. Nelson Riddle and Van Alexander provided the arrangements for an album apiece and there are some short solos along the way including from trumpeter Harry “Sweets” Edison, pianists Shearing and Hank Jones, and a trombonist who might be Jimmy Cleveland.
“The Late Late Show” was easily Dakota Staton’s most popular song but she does justice to all 55 selections (most of them superior standards) on the comprehensive reissue. Her consistently dazzling singing during these early years (she was just 28 when this release ends in 1958) makes this a highly recommended twofer.
Morgana King always had a beautiful voice. A song stylist rather than a fulltime jazz singer whose background was in opera and Italian music, she was able to improvise and swing in a subtle style when the setting was right. The Early Years (Classic Albums 1956-59) reissues all of the music from her first four albums plus two singles. For You, For Me, Forever More has her joined by an orchestra in 1956. While the ballads are taken pretty straight, she displays her jazz chops on some of the medium-tempo songs including “There’s A Lull In My Life” and “Delovely.” Morgana Sings The Blues is performed with a quartet that often includes pianist Harvey Leonard on celeste and guitarist Barry Galbraith; vibraphonist Terry Gibbs guests on “It’s Only A Paper Moon.” Despite its title, only one of the dozen songs are blues (“Frankie And Johnnie”) and this album actually a tribute to the famous torch singer Helen Morgan. King performs a vintage repertoire from the 1920s and 30s with three being from the classic Kern/Hammerstein musical Show Boat. The other two albums, Let Me Love You and Greatest Songs Ever Swung, have the singer joined by a sextet or a big band arranged by Ernie Wilkins with most of the jazz interest being heard in the solos of her sidemen. But fans of the singer’s voice will find much to enjoy during these melodic and tasteful outings.
Both the Dakota Staton and Morgana King sets are available from www.amazon.com and www.mvdb2b.com.
The history of jazz in Europe can easily be divided into three overlapping parts. In the 1920s, European musicians did their best to try to learn jazz despite only being able to gain knowledge through the visits of some American jazz artists and a limited access to recordings. With a few exceptions, they sounded like beginners who, particularly rhythmically, were only in the early stage of figuring out the new music. In the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s the Europeans were much more successful in emulating the Americans and, while few could be considered jazz innovators (with the exception of Django Reinhardt and a handful of others), they were often quite impressive if a bit derivative. In the 1960s and especially the ‘70s up until the present time, European jazz musicians found their own voices, often blending together modern jazz with influences from their culture.
The four-CD set Swedish Cool And Modern Jazz – 1949:1959: The Golden Years is a particularly strong sampling of the jazz recordings that were made in Sweden during that decade. Sweden was ahead of most other countries during the 1950s in developing some truly great players who, while most did not have an overly original voice, could hold their own with their American counterparts. Among those were trumpeters Rolf Ericson, Bengt-Arne Wallin, and Jan Allan, trombonist Ake Persson, clarinetist Putte Wickman, altoist Arne Domnerus (who doubled on clarinet), tenor-saxophonist Rolf Blomquist, baritonist Lars Gullin, and pianist Bengt Hallberg.
All of those players plus other talents are featured throughout the 92 selections on this superior compilation put together by Jordi Pujol of Fresh Sound Records. One can hear the influence of such West Coast cool jazz-styled Americans as Chet Baker, J.J. Johnson, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Lennie Tristano and the writing of Shorty Rogers and Gerry Mulligan in these performances. Many of the originals were contrafacts based on the chord changes of swing standards, the rhythm sections are quietly swinging, and the focus is on the arrangements and the cool-toned soloists. The performances selected for this release include many that have not been widely available in years. Possibly the biggest surprise is a version of “Sweet And Lovely” that is performed as an unaccompanied duet by altoist Rolf Billberg and baritonist Lars Gullin.
Fans of West Coast jazz will find Swedish Cool to be a consistent delight and an opportunity to be introduced to many talented cool jazz exponents from Sweden. It is available from www.freshsoundrecords.com.
Every recording deserves informative liner notes (I have written 1,005) and every jazz musician needs a well-written press biography along with press releases that announce important events. I write all of these and more at reasonable rates. Please contact me at 661-678-3542 or at scottyanowjazz@yahoo.com for further information about my services. My latest book, Jazz Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist (My Jazz Memoirs) is available at www.amazon.com.
My latest book, Jazz Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist (My Jazz Memoirs) is available at www.amazon.com.
I have a new book that is available from amazon.com. Life Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist. It is subtitled My Jazz Memoirs and is my 12th book and first in a few years. I discuss in an often-humorous fashion my early days and discovery of jazz, my period as the jazz editor of Record Review, the story behind my involvement with the All Music Guide, and I reminisce about some of my adventures as an amateur musician. Included are vintage interviews with Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, and Maynard Ferguson, encounters with Clint Eastwood, summaries of the Monterey and Playboy Jazz Festivals (including a full-length review of the 1985 Playboy Festival), memories of other events (such as the IAJE Conventions), and brief snapshots of many memorable club and concert performances. There is also background information about my other books, evaluations of the jazz critics who inspired me early on, and my thoughts on jazz criticism which includes advice to up-and-coming jazz journalists. Rounding out the book is a chapter on how the jazz writing business has changed over the past 50 years, and appendixes that include the jazz greats of the past, 86 jazz giants of today, 21 young performers to look for in the future, jazz books and DVDs that everyone should own, and a dozen enjoyable Hollywood jazz films.
Life Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist, a paperback book, sells for $26 through Amazon.com Signed copies (which will take 2-3 weeks) are also available for $30 (which includes free postage) by sending the money via Pay Pal to scottyanowjazz@yahoo.com and by sending your mailing address to that E-mail.