Avid Jazz continues with its Four Classic Albums series with a re-mastered 2CD release from Mal Waldon, complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details. “Mal 2”; “Left Alone”; “Mal 1” and “Mal 4”.
Although possibly best known as a fine composer and arranger, Mal Waldron, born New York City in 1925 started his musical career playing alto sax until he ran into a guy they called “Bird” and smartly changed over to the piano! Incredibly Mal had over 100 albums released under his own name during his long career and featured in countless more as composer, arranger and pianist. His name has probably appeared on more albums in the extensive Avid Jazz catalogue than any other musician! It would probably take less time and space to name the musicians Mal hasn’t played with than has! In 1956 he was recommended by Jackie McLean to take the chair as house pianist for the famed Prestige label…

Cannonball Adderley gave up his own band in 1957 when he had the opportunity to become a sideman in Miles Davis' epic ensemble with John Coltrane, eventually resulting in some of the greatest jazz recordings of all time (including Milestones and Kind of Blue). Davis returned the favor in March of 1958, appearing as a sideman on Adderley's all-star quintet date for Blue Note, and the resulting session is indeed Somethin' Else. Both horn players are at their peak of lyrical invention, crafting gorgeous, flowing blues lines on the title tune and "One for Daddy-O," as the rhythm team (Hank Jones, Sam Jones, Art Blakey) creates a taut, focused groove (pianist Hank Jones' sly, intuitive orchestrations are studies of harmonic understatement).

Juanita Hall is best-known for being a stage actress, playing Bloody Mary in South Pacific. However on this 1958 set for Counterpoint she shows that she could effectively sing blues. Mostly sticking to songs from the Bessie Smith songbook (including "You've Been a Good Old Wagon," "Gimme a Pigfoot" and "Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out"), Hall's extroverted and shouting style fit the music quite well. Pianist Claude Hopkins arranged for the sextet and gathered quite an all-star backup group that includes tenor-saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, clarinetist Buster Bailey and trumpeter Doc Cheatham. Well worth getting.

The final of his series of jam sessions for Prestige features an excellent septet (the leader on tenor, trumpeter Idrees Sulieman, baritonist Pepper Adams, pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Doug Watkins, drummer Art Taylor and Ray Barretto on congas) stretching out on three original blues and the ballad "Hip Tip"; all four pieces were written by Waldron. Few surprises occur but everyone plays up to their usual high level.

Like his debut, Smithville is another set of thoroughly winning straight-ahead bop from the underappreciated trumpeter Louis Smith. Stylistically, there are no surprises here - this is mainstream bop and hard bop, comprised of original and contemporary bop numbers, as well as standards ("There'll Never Be Another You," "Embraceable You") - but since the music is performed so well, it doesn't matter. There is genuine passion to this music, not only from Smith, but also from pianist Sonny Clark, tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor. It's a first-rate hard bop set that deserves wider distribution than it has received.

This CD reissue (put out in 1990) may be hard to find, now that Savoy has been sold to the Japanese Denon label. Originally issued under flugelhornist Wilbur Harden's name, the 1958 quartet (which also includes pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Granville T. Hogan) performs nine Rodgers & Hammerstein songs mostly taken from The King and I, plus a reprise and an alternate take of "Hello Young Lovers." The interpretations are tasteful yet swinging, and include such familiar tunes as "Getting to Know You" and "We Kiss In a Shadow," along with some obscurities. Enjoyable music.

Although he plays guitar exclusively on two of the eight selections included on this CD reissue, it is Toots Thielemans' harmonica playing that is most unique. He holds his own on a hard bop blowing date with baritonist Pepper Adams, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Art Taylor, jamming on such songs as "East of the Sun," "Struttin' with Some Barbeque" and "Isn't It Romantic." Even four decades later, no jazz harmonica player has dethroned the great Toots.

Less a "best of" than an early full album that brings together some of Muddy Waters' earliest recordings for Chess - a great collection of early singles recorded in Chicago between 1950 and 1954! The work's relatively spare and rootsy overall - a great example of Chicago blues in its formative years, with some traces of a more southern style still in the mix.

A seminal session as a leader by the young Art Farmer - recorded for United Artists, and a great set of tight lyrical tunes, played by Farmer in his sparkling style - in a group along with Benny Golson on tenor and Bill Evans on piano. Evans is a special treat here, as the 1958 session was recorded at a time when he was making a fair bit of appearances in various rhythm sections for horn players (like Miles Davis) - and although this role in Evans' career was a short one, it yielded some amazingly beautiful moments, as you'll hear on this album. Art's brother Addison plays bass, and Dave Bailey rounds out the group on drums.

In 1956, trumpeter Art Farmer was teamed with tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and pianist Horace Silver in one of the most vital and important modern jazz groups of the seminal hard bop era. But it was Farmer here who was emerging as a leader, with Mobley tagging along on this excellent date. Not to say that Mobley was a slouch, and indeed far from it as a peer of Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. Fact is, Mobley led the band with Farmer and Silver, but achieved his greatest acclaim alongside trumpeters Lee Morgan, and eventually Miles Davis. For Farmer, this recording was a coming out party, establishing him not only as a fine player, but a composer who lyricists were attracted to. "Farmer's Market" with its by now immortal swift hard bop melody and harmony courtesy of the Farmer/Mobley tandem, and the languid ballad "Reminiscing" with Mobley out but pianist Kenny Drew adding reinforcement a hundredfold…

Avid Jazz continues with its Five Classic Album series with a re-mastered 2CD release from Dakota Staton complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details. “Late Late Show”; “Dynamic!”; “More Than The Most” “ Crazy He Calls Me” and “Time To Swing”.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dakota Staton attended the famed George Westinghouse High School, (alumni include pianist Ahmed Jamal, possibly at the same time!) and went on to study music before entering the music scene through that tried and tested, and very tough route, of the night club circuit. From a young age she was travelling around the country appearing in night clubs from Detroit to Indianapolis to Cleveland and to St. Louis and to Harlem in New York, where she was discovered by Capitol Records producer Dave Cavanaugh…