Jackie McLean - Lights Out!

"To some people 'Lights Out' might bring to mind the series of radio chillers penned by Arch Oboler some years back. Perhaps these are the same people who went to sleep with the lights on when they were children. As the title of this LP and the name of a specific selection, 'Lights Out' signifies relaxation rather than terror.

"The recording bugaboo has been written about before and although the jazz musician's second home seem to be in the recording studio these days, tensions still exists for the self critical jazz artists when he is confronted with microphone, tape machine and clock.

"I don't doubt that the lights out method has been used before. I can recall two other specific instances where it was employed to good advantage. Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh recorded 'Fishin' Around' without the fluorescents (Prestige LP 7004) and Miles Davis' 'Blue Haze' (Prestige LP 161) flowed through only the light coming from the control room. Both times the absence of light helped relax the musicians and fit in with the mood of the piece. The dark can be very relaxing. You know how more perceptive your hearing becomes when your eyes are not forced to work. I'm sure that is why many musicians close their eyes when soloing.

"In this session, Bob Weinstock remembered the example of 'Blue Haze' and felt that the slow blues would be well served by a dim studio. It's more for the mood of the piece than to relax these effervescent musicians. That is how the title came about. The photograph taken at the time it was being taped proved to be an expressive reason for duplicating the title for the entire LP, although the remaining five numbers were done 'lights on'. While there is illumination let me shed some light on the featured performers.

"John Lenwood McLean (often erroneously spelled McClean) is known better as simply Jackie. A native New York (born May 17, 1932), Jackie was left a musical heritage by his father, John Sr., who played guitar with Tiny Bradshaw. He died in 1939. The incentive to further the heritage was given him by his mother when she bought him his first saxophone.

"Jackie grew up in Harlem with bop already flowering around him. He played in a neighborhood band that included Sonny Rollins and Andy Kirk Jr. on saxophones and Kenny Drew on piano. After school hours he would jam and study with Bud Powell and although he names Charlie Parker, Rollins and Kirk as his favorite saxophonists, Jackie states that 'Bud Powell is my inspiration'. In those afternoon sessions Bud taught him chord changes and imparted the important lesson of 'time'. It was in 1951 that Jackie made his first recordings. These can be heard on Miles Davis' 'Dig' (Prestige LP 7012).

"Actually it wasn't until 1955 that Jackie start playing jobs that brought his name before the public. With Paul Bley's quartet and George Wallington's quintet he started to fulfill the promise he had shown when Bud Powell unveiled him one night at Birdland some five years before. 1956 finds him with Charlie Mingus' quintet as another phase of his career opens.

"Donald Byrd is one of the young stalwarts from Detroit who have made their mark in the past year. He was studying at the Manhattan School of Music and jamming around New York when George Wallington hired him for his quintet in the summer of 1955. This is where he and Jackie played together at length for the first time. Later Donald was with anothr edition of the Wallington quintet (Prestige LP 7032) and in early 1956 replaced Kenny Dorham in the Jazz Messengers. His style is in the Dorham vein but his sonority is more akin to Fats Navarro's.

"Jocularity was in order in keeping with Jackie's and Donald's youthful personalities which blended musically and socially. Added to this combination was the exuberance of Donald's Detroit running mate from the Messengers. Doug Watkins, the whimsical self of Elmo Hope and the sarcastic, but not malicious, jibes of Arthur Taylor. This was the varied humorous climate in which the session took place.

"It is definitely what can be classified as a 'blowing session'. There are no written lines except for the ending of 'Inding'.

"'Lights Out', the show blues, starts with bass which is joined by drums four bars later and piano in the last four of the first chorus. From the beginning of the second chorus it's all solo with a short one by Elmo, then Jackie followed by muted Donald. After a longer Hope stint, Jackie and Donald take over for two choruses of two bar exchanges before Jackie takes it out.

"The medium blues, 'Kerplunk', a more modern treatment than 'Lights Out', begins with Elmo, followed by Donald and Jackie. Then Donald and Jackie take one chorus apiece for five rounds before going into 'The Peck' and out.

"'Inding' and 'Up' are based on the 'I Got Rhythm' type chord changes but in different keys. The former starts with the rhythm sections romping and Donald, Elmo and Jackie solo in that order. 'Up' begins and ends with a sort of call sounded by the horns. It's tempo is described by its title. Donald, Jackie, Elmo and Art Taylor appear in that order solowise.

"'A Foggy Day' has an intro by the horns and then Jackie comes out of his corner 'wailing'. Donald's solo is muted and he's followed by Elmo before Jackie comes in again. Everyone makes use of suspended rhythmic and harmonic interludes during their solos and the horns end it in this manner as they fade out over London town.

"'Lorraine' is the ballad and while she may not be sweet, she certainly is embraceable. Donald's solos sandwich Jackies'." (Ira Gitler. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (a-sx), Donald Byrd (tp), Elmo Hope (pi), Doug Watkins (bs), Art Taylor (dr)

A1. Lights Out

A2. Up

A3. Lorraine

B1. A Foggy Day

B2. Kerplunk

B3. Inding

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Horace Silver - 6 Pieces of Silver

"The release of this LP by the Horace Silver quintet has more significance than might appear on the surface; for although Horace's career on records in general and on Blue Note in particular has covered a broad area of styles, performances and groups, this is the first time he has ever been able to present, and present with pride, a permanently-formed combo of his own.

"There are many of us who felt that this step was long overdue, not only in terms of his talent, but also on the strength of his personality. His mild manner, pleasant speaking voice and clean living habits seemed to equip Horace for the role of leader, and if the reaction of night club owners in recent months is any yardstick, he didn't start a moment too soon.

"Since this is, then, a milestone in the Silver career, it might be advisable to pause and recapitulate briefly the biographical backgrounds of each member of the quintet as it is heard on these sides, since the writers of liner notes tend too often to take for granted a knowledge of all these facts on the part of the fan.

"The leader was born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver in 1928 in Norwalk, Conn. After saxophone studies in high school and private piano lessons, he played gigs around Connecticut on both tenor and piano. It was after Stan Getz heard him in Hartford that he was hired to tour with the Getz quartet, staying with the group for a year in 1950-51. Settling in New York City, he worked frequently during the next year with Art Blakey, as well as with combos led by Terry Gibbs, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Bill Harris and others. From then until he formed his own group, he was most frequently a part of the Jazz Messengers.

"Hank Mobley, Horace's tenor man, was born in Eastman, Georgia in 1930, but was raised in New Jersey. After working with rhythm and blues groups until 1950, he jobbed mostly with Max Roach from 1951-53, spent several months with the Gillespie group in '54 and since then has been with Horace, first in the Jazz Messengers and now in the Silver quintet.

"Donald Byrd, Horace's trumpeter on this date, was born in Detroit in 1932, the son of a Methodist minister who was also a musician. He studied at Cass Tech High, Wayne University and Manhattan School of Music. After serving in the Air Force from 1951-53 and then working with local groups, he came to New York and played with George Wallington's group and Blakey's Messenger in 1955.

"Twenty-two-year-old Doug Watkins, also a Cass Tech man from Detroit, was schoolmate of Byrd and of bassist Paul Chmabers, who is his cousin by marriage. Leaving home with James Moody in '53, he settled in New York in August, 1954 and gigged mostly with the men in and around the Messengers.

"Louis Hayes, Horace's talented young drummer, is only 18 years old and is also a Detroiter; he replaced Art Taylor on very short notice in this group, and according to those of us who have heard him at Birdland and on other gigs, he shows signs of becoming a big name before too long.

"With the exception of one standard tune, the music heard on this first session by Horace's new group consisted entirely of Silver originals. 'Cool Eyes' is a swinging opener; notice the interesting use of the double augmented effect at the 23rd bar of the theme. The performances lend an extra sense of construction in that the solos are tied together by eight-bar unison interludes. Mobley, Byrd and Horace have extended solo space and Watkins walks a while. After the closing ensemble, in which the piano plays unison along with the horns, the last phrase is repeated effectively in descending keys.

"'Shirl', named for a young female friend, is a piano solo with rhythm, pensive and delicate, striking a sort of 'Stella by Starlight' mood.

"'Camouflage' has an unusual device in the rhyhthm pauses during the solo, as a result of which it seems to swing as much as anything in the album, yet in a slightly different way. Hank, Horace and Donald are featured in that order.

"'Enchantment' is an exotic theme that demonstrates how much can be extracted from the use of two-part harmony. Notice the use of an unorthodox Latin beat in which the third eighth not is left open; Louis Hayes's use of mallets; Horace's employment of octaves and other devices not typical of him.

"'Señor Blues' is, for this listener at least, the most exciting of the seven performances on these sides. Set in a minor key with the horns voiced, it is in a triple time, which Horace describes as 6/8, though I would be inclined to call it 12/8. The performance is full of tricky rhythmic and counter-rhythmic effects. When piano solo time arrives, the rhythm changes again and of this time signature Horace confesses, 'I don't know what you call that!' (We call it fine and funky.) Both in its solos and in the ensemble approach, this is a striking demonstration of the degree of originality to which the twelve-bar motif can be stretched.

"'Virgo', named for the sign under which Horace was born, is a fast unison theme in which the solos again are spelled by eight-measure interludes. Horace, on his solo here, is a fluent as a pianistic Charlie Parker. Louis Hayes, after trading fours with the horns, has a long solo, and there is a suddent bop-style ending.

"'For Heaven's Sake', a popular song of a few years ago, is given the same brand of treatment as 'Shirl', a piano solo in a pleasantly relaxed ballad mood.

"It need hardly be pointed out in conclusion that this record debut by the new Silver quintet augers a successful future for Horace as a leader. Assuming the main ingredients of success are talent, ambition and luck, it can safely be said that Horace is already two-thirds of the way there." (Leonard Feather. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Horace Silver (pi), Donald Byrd (tp), Hank Mobley (t-sx), Doug Watkins (bs), Louis Hayes (dr)

A1. Cool Eyes

A2. Shirl

A3. Camouflage

A4. Enchantment

B1. Señor Blues

B2. Virgo

B3. For Heaven's Sake

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Jackie McLean - 4, 5 and 6

"Jackie McLean is musically coming of age. His playing, out of Charlie Parker and Sonny Rollins, has become a personalized, more individual voice in 1956 and he has not lost any of the basic-emotion, swinging qualities which help his style live up to the second syllable of his last name so well.

"Here the vitality of the McLean alto is heard in three different size groups.

"The rhythm section remains the same for all the combinations and is made up of Mal Waldron, one of the promising pianist-composers in the East, who has been Jackie's teammate in the Charlie Mingus group at various times during 1956. Doug Watkins, the Detroit bass product who made his mark with the Jazz Messengers and more recently Horace Silver's new group. Arthur Taylor, the mustachioed swinger heard previously with Art Farmer-Gigi Gryce, Bud Powell, etc. and who has been splitting the duties as Prestige's house drummer with Philly Joe Jones.

"The quartet finds Jackie in the standards department interpreting 'Sentimental Journey', 'Why Was I Born?' and 'When I Fall in Love'. Mal Waldron contributes solos on all three and Doug Watkins travels a solo road on the 'Journey'.

"The scene shifts to the originals section as another Detroit gift to the Eastern jazz locale, Donald Byrd, makes the group a quintet. Donald, after a short stint with the Messengers, has recently been featured with the Max Roach group. He and Jackie teamed up before in 'Lights Out' (Prestige LP 7035). Both originals in this segment of the session are by pianists. The sombre beauty of 'Abstraction' was created by Mal Waldron and pulsating 'Contour' was molded by Kenny Drew.

"Originals only continue as Hank Mobley, another ex-Messenger who has been promoted to vice-president in the new Horace Silver group, swells the group to sextet size. The oirignal is Charlie Parker's classic, 'Confirmation'.

"Thus - 4, 5 and 6... hencecforth - get your kicks." (Ira Gitler. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Jackie McLean (a-sx), Donald Byrd (tp), Hank Mobley (t-sx), Mal Waldron (pi), Doug Watkins (bs), Art Taylor (dr)

A1. Sentimental Journey

A2. Why Was I Born

A3. Contour

B1. Confirmation

B2. When I Fall In Love

B3. Abstraction

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Elmo Hope - Informal Jazz

"Friday is Prestige Day at Van Gelder's. Either recording, tape editing or master cutting is carried on. The Friday that this particular session was cut, the gathering was an informal one. Many of the musicians had played together before and the ones who hadn't were familiar with each other's work.

"Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley had played together in the Jazz Messenger and John Coltrane, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones represent, numerically, a majority vote in the Miles Davis quintet. Elmo Hope and Joe are old buddies, having played together in Joe Morris' band and in countless sessions, then and since.

"No introductions were necessary between the players but to you, the audience, it would be an oversight if they were omitted.

"Elmo Hope, the nominal leader on the date, is a native New Yorker who grew up with Bud Powell. With the Joe Morris' band in the Forties, Elmo has done mostly free-lance playing in the Fifties appearing occasionally with Dud Bascomb. [...]

"Donald Byrd is another of the recent Detroit immigrants to New York. Still in his early twenties. Donald studied at famed Cass Tech High in Detroit and continued at the Manhattan School in New York. He first appeared with George Wallington at Cafe Bohemia in 1955 and later replaced Kenny Dorham in the Jazz Messengers. [...]

"Henry 'Hank' Mobley was born in Georgia but raised in New Jersey. Played with Paul Gayten's R&B band but first attracted attention with Max Roach's combo in the early Fifties. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie for most of 1954, he joined Horace Silver's quartet late in that year. This group evolved into the Jazz Messengers of which Hank was a regular member until he left midway in 1956.

"John Coltrane is from Philadelphia. Born in North Carolina, he moved to the Quaker City at an early age. In that city he studied at both the Granoff and Ornstein music schools. 'Trane', as he is known, played with Eddie Vinson in 1947-48, Dizzy Gillespie 49-51, Early Bastic 52-53, Johnny Hodges 53-54 nad has been with Miles Davis since 1955. [...]

"Paul Chambers. Born in Pittsburgh but spent most of his life in Detroit before coming to New Yorkin 1954. Worked with Bennie Green, Jay and Kai and George Wallington. With Miles Davis group since 1955. Considered to be -the- new star on his instrument, Paul is equally adept at plucked or bowed solos. Two of the latter are his contributions in this set. [...]

"Philly Joe Jones is, as you've surmised, from the City of Brotherly Love. As mentioned before, he was with Elmo in Joe Morris' band. Joe came to prominence in the Fifties with Tony Scott's combo and Tadd Dameron's band. Since late 1955 he has been swinging the Miles Davis quintet along with Chambers. [...]

"In keeping with the informal format, the tunes are mainly vehicles for blowing. The two originals 'Weeja' and 'On It' are by Elmo. Both are riffers which expedite the blowing. 'Weeja' has everyone 'confirming' Bird's word and 'On It' is a blues. 'Polka Dots and Moonbeams' has that after a love affair feeling - a kind of reminiscing over what no longer is but how wonder were those moments, nevertheless. 'Avalon' lends itself to swinging admirably. 'Weeja' and 'On It' revive the tenor battle which died when Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons broke up. It's still a stimulating tournament and Hank and Trane make it interesting because although they are both in a general idiom they are as different as two men in a similar area can be." (Ira Gitler. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Elmo Hope (pi), Donald Byrd (tp), John Coltrane/Hank Mobley (t-sx), Paul Chambers (bs), Philly Joe Jones (dr)

A1. Weeja

A2. Polka Dots And Moonbeams

B1. On It

B2. Avalon

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Doug Watkins - Watkins at Large

"[...] The second album, Watkins at Large, was bassist Doug Watkins first date as a leader and a great example of his confident soloing. Byrd is again in vividly dramatic form, with authoritative playing by Mobley and Burrell, sustained by a vigorous rhythm section nourished by the blues rooted drive of Watkins bass, the warmth and fluidity of Jordans piano and Taylors sturdy support. Intensity and skill are married to cohesive emotional purpose." (From a review of a multi-disc reissue from Fresh Sounds Records. See here.)

Performers: Doug Watkins (bs), Donald Byrd (tp), Hank Mobley (t-sx), Kenny Burrell (gt), Duke Jordan (pi), Art Taylor (dr)

A1. Return To Paradise

A2. Phinupi

B1. Phil T. McNasty's Blues

B2. More Of The Same

B3. Panonica

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André Grétry; Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Richard Cœur de Lion; Le Devin du Village

"At the time when 'Richard Cœur de Lion' was first performed, at the Comédie Italienne on 21 October 1784, its composer, André-Modeste Grétry, was one of the favourites of the French stage, and a master of opéra-comique, a genre which at the end of the eighteenth century was experiencing an unequalled expansion. Believe it or not, this extremely popular entertainment, liked by all levels of society, was only eighty years old. The vaudevilles and comedies interspersed with songs which for a time made the trestle-theatres so popular, flouring at Saint Germain and Sain Laurent, the most important fairs in the capital, had long had their days, as had the parodies and pastiches of grand opera. One constraint remained, and would persist throughout the following century, before being set aside: that of alternating spoken dialogue and sung couplets, the Académie Royale de Musique (otherwise known as the Opéra) reserving itself the privilege of putting on works which were entirely sung. But as to the choice of subject, imagination was the order of the day. François-André Philidor and Pierre Alexandre Monsigny had led the way: Grétry was to be their worthy successor.

"In 1768, for the two-act 'Le Huron', he had found a note collaborator in the person of Jean-François Marmontel; with 'Zémire et Azore' in 1771, they turned success into triumph. They had a fruitful collaboration up until 'La fausse Magie' (1775). But for 'Le Magnifique', in 1773, another writer lent his words to the composer's music: Michel-Jean Sedaine (1719-1797). It was to his librettos that Grétry composed some of his most ambitious works, 'Richard Cœur de Lion' (1784), which is always cited if never heard, together with 'Raoul Barbe-bleue' (1789) and 'Guillaume Tell' (1791). The comedy sung couplets and the 'opéra-comique' were Sedaine's chosen ground, to the extent that his career as a playwright would always suffer. Back in 1756, for 'Le Diable à quatre ou la double métamorphose', he had partnered Philidor, with whom he worked again three years later on 'Blaise le savetier'. He teamed up with Monsigny for 'On ne s'avise jamais de tout' (1761). In 'Le Paradoxe sur le comédien', Diderot wonders: 'Without wishing to prefer Sedaine over Voltaire or Voltaire over Sedaine, could you tell me what would have come out of the head of the author of 'Le Philosophe sans le savoir, Le Déserteur' and 'Paris' if, instead of spending thirty-five years of his life mixing plaster and cutting stone, he had used all that time, like Voltaire, or you and me, reading and thinking about Homer, Virgil, Tasso and so on? We should never have had his vision of things, and he would never have learned to speak like us. I regard him as a great-nephew of Shakespeare.' As for Voltaire, he was only too glad to send him a most affable letter: 'I was very sick when I received the two plays you were good enough to send me; they made me forget all my ills. I know no-one who understands the theatre better than you and who allows his actors to speak more naturally.'

"Under Sedaine's hand, 'opéra-comique' changes its tone, deserting the fairy tale and approaching bourgeois drama and sentimental comedy of the kind exemplified also by Diderot; the world of the imaginary became that of sentiment, and not only was music to appeal to the spirit, it was to speak directly to the heart, just as a picture by Greuze can - it should not be forgotten that Sedaine's and Monsigny's 'Le Déserteur' made a whole generation weep. 'Richard Cœur de Lion' is innovative in more than one way. Considered as the ancestor of French historical opera, it is also the first musical stage-work to go over to that troubadour style which would be so dear to the early romantics: it evokes a fantasy-Middle Ages by means of romantic adventures, but starting out from the true story of one of the period's most significant figures, and moreover a King of England (there are traces of the captivity of Richard Cœur de Lion on his way home from the crusades in the various avatars of 'Robin Hood', as well as in Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe'). The sovereign's deliverance may be said to adumbrate the 'rescue' genre, highly esteemed during the Revolution. Librettist and composer here effect a kind of skilful synthesis of various tendencies, under the banner of sentiment, simplicity and naturalness. Sedaine is certainly not a first-class stylist, but he knows how to manage a plot, and also how to delineate a character - a quality all the more praiseworth since those in 'Richard Cœur de Lion' embrace the most disparate levels of society, from the nobility to the peasantry, as well as Blondel, the faithful squire and the real hero of the piece, who as a poet is classless.

"Grétry's score easily matches this variety of inspiration, by turns amiable, touching, lively and amusing To those who would reproach him for not being learned enough, the composer, in his 'Mémoires', which he started to compile soon after he completed 'Richard', vouchsafed the secret of his aesthetic: 'The misuse of learning is more dangerous in relation to music than to any other art... We will dare to say that there are still far too many of those would-be 'savants' in music who must have harmonic transitions at all costs, without stopping to think whether they are justified by the sense of the words... Learning can have only one definition, that is, the study of nature; as soon as it departs from that, we say boldly that this learning is an abuse'. Incidentally, Lauretta's aria 'Je crains de lui parler la nuit' has, by adoption, taken on a life of its own: it is in fact the song with which the Countess in Tchaikovsky's 'The Queen of Spades' recalls the happy days of her past.

"That is something which would have pleased Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who was a great admirer of Grétry. To be honest, although he fancied himself as a composer, the apostle of the return to nature is far from having left to prosterity any imperishable masterpieces in the sphere of music. He was a theoretician and above all a polemicist. In his 'Letter on French music' of 1753, he is scathing: 'I think I have shown that French music has neither rhythm nor melody, because the language does not take to it; that French singing is just a continual howling, which is unbearable to any ear not accustomed to it; that its harmony is crass, without expression, and above all a mere schoolboy's exercise...'. A fierce champion of the Italians in the 'Querelle des Bouffons', he was to change sides twenty-five years later, taking Gluck's part against Piccinni. First performed at the court of Fontainebleau on 18 October 1752 by such famous artists as Marie Fel, the tenor Pierre Jelyotte and the baritone Cuvillier, his 'Le Devin du village' (The Village Soothsayer) is a brightly coloured trifle. Louis XV, who was fond of it, apparently sang its opening aria 'with the most out-of-tune voice in the kingdom'. In 1768, Mozart used the same libretto, in German, for 'Bastien and Bastienne'; at the age of twelve he outdid his predecessor, whose delicate little one-acter was unable to free itself of the out-of-date graces of the 'Ancien Régime'." (Michel Parouty, tr. Hugh Graham. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Orchestre de Chambre de la RTB, Edgard Doneux, Mady Mesplé, Charles Burles, Michel Trempont, Orchestre de Chambre Louis de Froment, Louis de Froment, Janine Micheau, Nicolai Gedda, Michel Roux

1.1. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: Overture/'Chantons, Chantons, Célébrons Ce Bon Ménage'

1.2. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Antonio, Qu'entends-je?'

1.3. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'La Danse N'est Pas Ce Que J'aime'

1.4. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Va, Mon Fils... Oui, Voilà Des Tours'

1.5. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'O Richard, Ô Mon Roi!'

1.6. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Quoi! De La Part Du Gouverneur?'

1.7. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Rentrez Dans La Maison'

1.8. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Je Crains De Lui Parler La Nuit'

1.9. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Vous L'aimez Donc Bien, Belle Laurette?'

1.10. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Un Bandeau Couvre Les Yeux'

1.11. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Ah! Voici Je Ne Sais Combien De Personnes'

1.12. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Que Le Sultan Saladin Rassemble'

1.13. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Ronde De Nuit'

1.14. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'L'aurore Va Se Lever'

1.15. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Si L'univers Entier M'oublie'

1.16. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Mon Garçon, J'aime Á Respirer'

1.17. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Une Fièvre Brûlante'

1.18. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Sais-tu, Connais-tu, Qui Peut T'avoir Répondu?'

1.19. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Voici Monsieur Le Gouverneur'

1.20. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Ah! Monseigneur!'

1.21. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Il Faut Que Je Lui Parle'

1.22. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Sire Williams'

1.23. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Oui, Chevaliers'

1.24. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Ah! Chevaliers'

1.25. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Le Gouverneur, Pendant La Danse'

1.26. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Et Zic Et Zic Et Zic'

1.27. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: Danses

1.28. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Que Richard À L'instant'

1.29. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: Marche

1.30. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'O Ma Chère Comtesse'

2.1. Le Devin Du Village: Ouverture

2.2. Le Devin Du Village: 'J'ai Perdu Tout Mon Bonheur'

2.3. Le Devin Du Village: 'Elle Compte Dans Sa Main'

2.4. Le Devin Du Village: 'Perdrai-je Colin Sans Retour?'

2.5. Le Devin Du Village: 'Si Des Galants'

2.6. Le Devin Du Village: 'Je Vous Rendrai Le Sien'

2.7. Le Devin Du Village: 'L'amour Croit Qu'il S'inquiète'

2.8. Le Devin Du Village: 'J'ai Tout Su De Colin'

2.9. Le Devin Du Village: 'L'amour Et Vos Leçons'

2.10. Le Devin Du Village: 'Non, Non, Colette N'est Pas Trompeuse'

2.11. Le Devin Du Village: 'Ce N'est Point Un Berger'

2.12. Le Devin Du Village: 'Je Vais Revoir Ma Charmante Maîtresse'

2.13. Le Devin Du Village: 'Je L'aperçois'

2.14. Le Devin Du Village: 'Ma Collette, Êtes-vous Fâchée'

2.15. Le Devin Du Village: 'Ta Foi M'est Point Ravie'

2.16. Le Devin Du Village: 'Hélas!'

2.17. Le Devin Du Village: 'Tant Qu'à Mon Colin'

2.18. Le Devin Du Village: 'A Jamais, Colin'

2.19. Le Devin Du Village: 'Je Vous Ai Délivres'

2.20. Le Devin Du Village: 'Colin Revient À La Bergère'

2.21. Le Devin Du Village: 'Dans Ma Cabane Obscure'

2.22. Le Devin Du Village: Pantomime

2.23. Le Devin Du Village: 'Il Faut Tous'

2.24. Le Devin Du Village: 'Quand On Sait Bien Aimer, Que La Vie Est Charmante'

2.25. Le Devin Du Village: 'Allons Danser'

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Hampton Hawes - All Night Session! Vol. 3

"In 'All Night Session' the characteristic sound of the quartet is produced by the interplay between Hawes and Red Mitchell's bass. As with many West Coast combos, Hawes prefers a drummer with a light beat. In selection after selection, the rhythmic pulse is generated by the bass while the drums are heard only in the delicate ching of an afterbeat cymbal.

"Bassist Red Mitchell, a native New Yorker (born September 20, 1927) is, like many West Coasters, a Californian by migration. He has been steadily associated on records with Hampton Hawes from the first Hawes Trio album made in June, 1955. Mitchell has also recorded with combos led by Barney Kessel, Tal Farlow, Red Norvo, Jack Montrose, and Gerry Mulligan. He has also made two LP's with combos of his own, the most recent 'Presenting Red Mitchell' for Contemporary (C3538).

"Although Red played piano with Chubby Jackson (at the Royal Roost in 1949), alto sax in an Army band, and the vibories on a recent record album, he had a new love the moment he traded 15 cartons of cigarettes for a string bass while in Germany. Up until then he had been studying the piano on his own. He cultivated the bass in the same way, acquiring bass methods by Bob Haggarr and others and industriously plowing his way through them. Mitchell also learned by listening to every bass player who came his way, on records or alive, acquiring in the process an unusual knowledge of the entire range of bassists.

"'I guess the first bass player that really thrilled me,' Red recently stated, 'was Page.' This was on a Count Basie record even before Mitchell had settled on the bass as his instrument. Ray Brown, who played with Dizzy Gillespie, 'just turned me inside out. I heard the new music, the new phrasing.' At Minton's, Red heard Charlie Mingus, who 'frightened me... because I remember the way he went up to the top of the fiddle.' But the greatest of all bass players to Red was the late Jimmy Blanton, who is generally credited with inaugurating the revolution that took the bass out of the rhythm section in the late 30's and made a melody instrument of it.

"Despite his talking intimacy with the top bassmen of our time, Red feels that he has been more influenced by horn men and pianists than by bassists. He mentions among the jazzmen he has admired and studied: saxists Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Lester Young, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Jimmy Giuffre; trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis; and pianists John Lewis and Hampton Hawes.

"As an improviser, Red is to be heard to advantage particularly in 'Broadway' and 'Groovin' High', both of which reveal not only a prodigious command of technique but fast, jazz solos of the very highest order. Red has a fat tone when occasion demands and there are slow, stinging solos to be heard in 'Hampton's Pulpit' and 'The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea'. Insofar as giving the Hawes piano the rhythmic support is needs, Red's pulsating beat is masterful.

"In the fall of 1956 Jim Hall, then a member of Chico Hamilton's group, used to sit in for kicks when Hawes' Trio worked at the Tiffany in Los Angeles. The discovered kinship of feeling between the two led to the invitation that made Hall part of 'All Night Session'. Born in Buffalo, New York on December 4, 1930, Hall was raised in the Buckeye State. Although he attended the well-known Cleveland Institute of Music, receiving a Bachelor's degree in music, Jim studied guitar privately with Brenton Banks. His style was also formed by constant listening to records of the abortive American genius Charlie Christian and the French gypsy giant of the guitar, Django Rheinhardt. Other formative influences include the tenor sax playing of Bill Perkins and Zoot Sims, whose modern improvisational lines are to be heard in Hall's solos.

"At the precocious age of 13, Jim Hall began working with local Ohio bands. For short or long periods, he was associated with the Bob Hardaway Quartet, Ken Hanna's band, with whom he made a Capitol album, and later, with the Dave Pell Octet. In the early months of 1955, Hall came to Los Angeles and began studying with the classical guitarist Vincente Gomez. At about the same time, drummer Chico Hamilton hired Jim for his newly formed Quintet.

"It was the Hamilton Quintet that brought Hall's name into the national jazz arena. During the latter part of '55 and early '56, Jim toured with Chico's Quintet, recorded three albums for Pacific Jazz with a trio of his own that included the late Carl Perkins on piano and Red Mitchell on bass. Since making 'All Night Session' with Hawes, Hall has been steadily associated with the trio of Jimmy Giuffre. He also is to be heard with John Lewis in a new album just made by Lewis without the Modern Jazz Quartet.

"Of the roles of the drums in his Quartet, Hampton Hawes has said: 'I don't like a drummer that plays a heavy foot pedal because it has the dull sound of somebody trudging down the street. I like the drums to sound like a heartbeat - just like a heartbeat pumping blood into the tune, nice and smooth... I don't like a heavy-footed drummer.'

"In drummer Buzz Freeman, born in Chicago on August 11, 1921 and a West Coaster since 1954, Hawes found an ideal man for his quartet. Buzz became interested in music through his two brothers, tenorman Von and guitarist George. At 9 he was playing violin. At 13 he shifted to the piano. Then came the drums. After a stint in the Air Force, during which he flew with Percy Heath of the Modern Jazz Quartet (Percy as a fighter and Buzz as a bomber pilot), he returned to Chicago to gig with a group known as the Freeman Brothers Band. Later he played at Chicago's Beehive, sitting in with men like Sonny Stitt, Bird, J.J. Johnson. Before he settled in California, he played for singers Ella Fitzgerald and Lurlean Hunter and went on the road with Anita O'Day and Sarah Vaughan. 'On drums,' he says, 'Max is my man. On other instruments: Miles Davis, J.J. and Bird.'

"Of the 'All Night Sessions', Hawes recently said reflectively: 'It's hard to put into words how good it feels to play jazz when it's really swinging. That's the greatest feeling I've ever had in my life. I've reached a point where the music fills you up so much emotionally that you feel like shouting hallelujah - like people do in church when they're converted to God. That's the way I was feeling the night we recorded 'All Night Session'. (Arnold Shadow, March 26, 1958. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Hampton Hawes (pi), Jim Hall (gt), Red Mitchell (bs), Buzz Freeman (dr)

1. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me

2. Blues #3

3. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

4. Blues #4

5. Blues Of A Sort

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Hampton Hawes - All Night Session! Vol. 2

"Comparatively little has been written on the art of jazz improvisation. How the jazzman plays notes, devises figures, invents rhythm, concocts chords which were not in his mind a moment before he plays them; how he succeeds in spontaneously altering the notes, chords, figures and rhythm patterns so as to achieve the freshness and a jazz feeling - these are the enigmas of the creative process. Of his approach to improvisation, here is what Hawes has revealingly said: 'You know the tune you're going to play and after you play the melody through, it comes time for you to blow. You build your solo on the chords as they go by and you use the chord changes to tell your story... Just like, maybe a painter painting a picture, he has his brushes. Well, his brushes are the chord changes. What he paints is what he's thinking about, so what kind of solo you play is what comes out of your mind, or the soul that you have for that song you're playing. I believe that the way a person thinks usually comes out in his playing. You've got to really feel what you're doing. Even the way my hands feel on the keys, that has a lot to do with what I play. I like my hands to feel good when they're playing. Like between the black notes and the white notes on the piano, when I'm phrasing I like to have my hands fall off right so I can feel like I'm getting into it. If I know my hands are feeling good, then I know that I'm phrasing right. If something feels awkward - well, I'm doing something wrong. I don't try to play too much at first. I like to start out just playing a few things and then keep building, chorus by chorus, until you reach a big climax, when you're playing to your fullest capabilities, in other words, where you're really doing everything you can do - then after than you cool it and give yourself a little rest and you're playing just a few things while you're thinking about something else to play... Sometimes I think about the melody. But before I think about the melody, I think about the 'underneath notes' of the melody - the harmony notes that move under the top notes and show where the chord goes...'

"Three concepts stand out in Hawes' statement. While they involve technical matters, their import may be grasped by the layman without resorting to technical exposition. The three concepts pivot on the words: climax, chord changes, and 'underneath notes'. Climax in improvisation is not different from climax in a story so that it is not too difficult to discern. Hawes' procedure in adding notes, chords and figures, chorus after chorus, may be studied in 'Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me' or 'Will You Still Be Mine' where the third choruses are like the full, complex, colorful flowers that have sprouted from the small, simple buds of the original melody. The building process involves a variation of chord changes and, in turn, of the 'underneath notes', which significantly determine the sequence of chords.

"Imitation is an important device for developing a piece of music and, of course, as an improvisational technique. It involved the repetition of a line or riff in another key, a different register, or on another instrument. As an instance of imitation, listen to the way guitarist Hall picks up and echoes Hawes' melodic line in 'Will You Still Be Mine' or 'Hampton's Pulpit'. In the latter, consider also the question and answer interplay between piano and bass, another device for variation. More important than either of these improvisational procedures is the shifting of accents and the variation of rhythm figures, which are wonderfully displayed in Hawes' improvised solos on 'April in Paris', 'Woody'n You' and 'Blue 'n Boogie'. Used imaginatively and with feeling, and not just manipulated mentally, these devices produce constantly fresh variants of well-known melodies.

"How an improviser handles these devices depends on a number of factors: specifically, on whether he is interested in a) motion or placidity, b) dissonance or prettiness, c) a thick sound or a delicate texture, d) static or shifting rhythm patterns, e) short or long melodic lines. To understand Hawes' handling of these factors, it will be helpful to see him in relation to other contemporary jazz pianists.

"At the moment, there are three axes in jazz piano. I prefer the word 'axis' to school or style because within any one so-called school, there are sufficient tension to make for a direction rather than a pat definition. For example, Brubeck and Tristano have more in common as representatives of a modern-classical-intellectual-far-out approach than Brubeck and Garner. Yet there also obvious contrast and conflicts. Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell as practitioners of bop piano share more characteristics than do Powell and Oscar Peterson. Yet there is an undeniable gulf between Monk's emphasis on an economy of notes as against Powell's tendency toward flooding and constant motion. Here then are the three major current axes in contemporary jazz piano: 1) a Garner-Tatum axis, stressing rich harmonies and the fullness and pumping beat of stride piano; 2) a Brubeck-Tristano axis, combining modern classical polyrhythms and polyharmonies with jazz improvisation; and 3) a Bud Powell-Thelonious Monk axis, stressing a single note, horizontal style, using the left hand for punctuation, and playing off the beat.

"Clearly, Hampton Hawes is closest to the bop axis of Powell and Monk. He strives for constant motion rather than placidity, tart rather than pretty harmonies, a delicate rather than a thick density, shifting rhythm pattersn, and longer rather than shorter lines.

"Within the bop axis, the main influence on Hawes' improvising comes from an alto sax player rather than any pianist. In 1947 when Hawes was just turning nineteen, one of the founders of bop, the late, great Charlie Parker came out to Hampton's native Los Angeles. Hawes not only met and listened to Bird, which proved a turning point in many a contemporary musician's career, but he played with him for almost two months in Howard McGhee's band. Not too long ago, Hawes described Parker's influence as having to do 'with Bird's conception of time.' Working with Parker, Hawes began taking liberties with time, 'playing double time or letting a couple of beats go by to make the beat stand out - not just playing on top of it all the time.' Hawes emphasizes: 'I think Parker has influenced me more than anybody, even piano players.'

"The Parker bop influence is apparent in 'All Night Session' in many ways, not the least significant being Hawes' choice of material. Included among the sixteen selections are four Gillespie compositions that have become bop classics - 'Groovin' High', 'Woody'n You', 'Two Bass Hit' and 'Blue 'n Boogie'. Comparison of Hawes' version of 'Woody'n You' with the Modern Jazz Quartet's chamber music treatment of the same reveals a style in which there is greater dissonance, more pronounced changes and a feeling of intensity that reminds one of Parker. Characteristic of these selections, and particularly of an original composition 'Takin' Care', is Parker's device of altering melodic passages containing few notes with figures full of gusts of fast-moving ones. (Arnold Shaw, March 26, 1958. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Hampton Hawes (pi), Jim Hall (gt), Red Mitchell (bs), Buzz Freeman (dr)

A1. I'll Remember April

A2. I Should Care

A3. Woody'n You

A4. Two Bass Hit

B1. Will You Still Be Mine

B2. April In Paris

B3. Blue 'N' Boogie

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Hampton Hawes - All Night Session! Vol. 1

"As a group, the three albums and sixteen selection comprising 'All Night Session' represent a most unusual achievement in the annals of jazz recording. The almost two hours of music were recorded at a single, continuous session, in the order in which you hear the numbers, and without editing of any kind. This seems like an impossible fear. Playing steadily for several hours is a taxing physical experience at best, but improvising continually for that length of time is an exhausting one, mentally and emotionally. Yes the later selections in 'All Night Session' reveal no flagging of vitality, spontaneity, or inventiveness. 'The feeling wasn't like recording,' Hampton Hawes has said in commenting on the session. 'We felt like we went somewhere to play for our own pleasure. After we got started, I didn't even think I was making records. In fact, we didn't even listen to playbacks. We didn't tighten up as musicians often do in recording studios - we just played because we loved to play.' Considering the buoyant beat, skillful pacing, variety of material, spontaneous jazz feeling and the richness of invention, 'All Night Session' is a testimonial of the highest order to the musicianship of jazzman Hampton Hawes and his associates.

"As a pianist, Hawes possesses a remarkably robust and vigorous style. The sixteen selections in 'All Night Session' teem with a pulsating energy and are marked by a seemingly inexhaustible stream of ideas. Although he can create chord patterns of great beauty as in 'I'll Remember April' and 'April in Paris', and he he can command a singing, lyrical tone, he is more attracted at this stage of his career to expressions of a dynamic character. His touch is firm and authoritative and he possesses a split second sense of timing. His technical mastery is so great that there is not a single blurred run, tangled triplet or ragged arpeggio, no matter how fast the tempo.

"Included among the sixteen selections are four original compositions by Hawes. They are of interest for two reasons. In the first instance, it is to be noted that they were composed at the record date itself and not written down beforehand. This gives them a spontaneous, ebullient quality, which is in a sense, their strongest characteristic. I was interested to learn that virtually all of Hawes' originals have been composed in this way. Instead of being written down, they are transcribed from his live performance, emphasizing the fact that his creative activity is the result of his role of an improviser. The second fact to be noted is that all four selections are blues - fast, vigorous blues, but blues nonetheless.

"Born in the center of West Coast jazz on November 13, 1928, Hampton Hawes became a member of the musicians' union when he was sixteen. The following year, while he still attended L.A.'s Polytechnic High School, from which he was graduated in 1946, he played with Big Jay McNeely's band. Before he was drafted into the army in 1953 for the usual two year stint, he gigged around L.A. with various modern combos, among them, Wardell Gray's, Red Norvo's, Dexter Gordon's, Teddy Edwards', and Howard Rumsey's All-Stars at the Hermosa Beach Lighthouse. The latter assignment came through a meeting with trumpeter Shorty Rogers, who after hearing him at a Gene Norman concert, immediately invited him to play the recording date which produced the first 'Giants' album on Capitol (1952).

"On his release from the army in 1955, Hawes took his own trio into L.A.'s Haig. He also recorded his first trio album for Contemporary Records (C3505), employing Chuck Thompson on drums and Red Mitchell on bass. This was followed in short order by two other trio albums (C3515 and C3523), both with the same personnel. Hailed as the 'Arrival of the Year' by 'Metronome' in the 1955 yearbook, Hawes was voted in 1956 'New Star' on piano by the annual 'Down Beat' poll of leading jazz critics. In the same year (1956), after completing a highly succesful engagement at The Tiffany in L.A., he left for an extended cross country tour, he met many Eastern jazzmen and was most impressed by Thelonious Monk as a musician and personality. In 1957 he made another tour back East, and enjoyed playing with Oscar Pettiford and Paul Chambers.

"Although his first three album for Contemporary were with his own trio, Hawes enjoys working with a quartet. 'You can do more rhythmic things and you can have more beats going. The full rhythm of drums, bass and guitar gives you two instruments to play rhythm (drums and bass) and keep the beat going. Then you can switch around. I like to hear other people play solos because it's inspiring, and gives you ideas other than your own to conjure with." (Arnold Shaw, March 26, 1958. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Hampton Hawes (pi), Jim Hall (gt), Red Mitchell (bs), Buzz Freeman (dr)

A1. Jordu

A2. Groovin' High

A3. Takin' Care

B1. Broadway

B2. Hampton's Pulpit

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The Return of Art Pepper

"The return of Art Pepper to the Los Angeles jazz scene recently was truly an auspicious occasion, and created a tremendous stir of excitement from fan and jazz musician alike. Los Angeles jazz clubs fortunate enough to have Art drop by and 'sit in' suddenly discover a land office business, and recording companies strongly bid for Art's services on wax. Pepper being back was certainly a jazz event, because everyone remembered Art, whose incomparable work on alto was a source of pleasure to all jazz lovers. When Art blows, you just naturally feel that warm inner glow, and a happy smile crosses your face that only comes from listening to great jazz.

"Herb Kimmel of Jazz:West recognized these facts, and decided that Jazz:West would be the first record company to present Art Pepper with a group under his leadership. This mean more than just the face that Art would get leader credits. It meant that Art had the oppourtnity to select the musicians used on the date, and also a chance to present some of his recent original compositions.

"Art Pepper has achieved recognition by the jazz world in general as being one of the all-time greats, and has placed in the top ten on Down Beat polls for almost a decade. A native Californian, Art was born in Gardena on September 1st, 1925. Music stirred Art's soul at the early age of nine, whne he took up the clarinet. He stuck by it until he was 12, then switched to this horn of destiny: alto sax. Mostly self taught and possessing a rare amount of natural talent, Art was first influenced by the great Joe Thomas, later by Lester Young, Johnny Hodges and the ballad master Ben Webster. Today Art digs Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, and naturally Bird. Pepper's proficiency propelled him into the spotlight at the age of 18 when he joined the Gus Arnheim band. A quick succession of better jobs followed in 1943 with such great bands as Lee Young's, the fine Benny Carter aggregation, and finally the enviable jazz alto chair with Stan Kenton. Being only 18 prohibited Art from travelling with Stan's band, so with much dismay, he stayed behind when the band went on the road. In February 1944, Art entered the service where he remained until 1946, during which time very little opportunity presented itself to play. After the war, Art returned to Los Angeles where he again joined the Kenton band in 1947, staying until 1951. During this great period in Art's career, close association with Shorty Rogers and Bill Russo proved quite beneficial. As Art says: 'Shorty and Bill were a great help to me in developing my playing and writing, and this was about the only 'schooling' I ever had.' In 1951 Art returned to Los Angeles where he fronted several exciting groups with such fine up and coming jazz artists as Hamp Hawes, Russ Freeman, Larry Bunker and Jack Montrose (with whom Art is now working with in a Hollywood jazz club). It was also during this period that Art recorded his famous version of 'Over the Rainbow' with Short Rogers' Giants, now considered a jazz classic. Even though Art Pepper has spent most of his jazz life on the West Coast, he has achieved honored distinction as one of the all time great jazzmen. Especially among musicians who eagerly seek his musical association, and hold his tremendous ability in the greatest respect. The likeable Pepper is quiet and soft spoken, yet when his alto speaks, the jazz world recognizes the unmistakable voice of a giant. Such is the regard for Art Pepper. Even though Art and his horn were not heard from too much from 1953 to 1956, as soon as you hear the first few bars in this album, it becomes apparent this is one of the great moments in modern jazz... the return of Art Pepper.

"In choosing musicians for this date, Art has come up with a dream group which unites itself into a wailing combo. For the other horn, the versatile trumpet of Jack Sheldon was selected. Jack, a familiar and exciting figure in jazz, is also heard on his own Jazz:West LP (JWLP-6). Sheldon's inspired blowing on this sessions guarantees him a higher rung on the jazz ladder of success. For rhythm, a close knit section was needed to infuse life into the group. Therefore, on drums Art selected the great Shelly Manne. On bass, the fabulous Blanton of modern jazz, Leroy Vinnegar, who proved so tremendous an asset on Kenny Drew's Jazz:West LP (JWLP-4). Added to this was the brilliant piano of the keeper of 88 sounds, Russ Freeman. Shelly, Russ and Leroy are no newcomers to each other, as they ae three swinging members of Shelly's great quintet. With remarkable ease, all five welded together breathing fire and spirit into the up tunes, sensitivity and taste into the ballads. No wonder Sheldon and Pepper blow with such superior facility as Russ, Shelly and Leroy boost them along. The awesome jazz ability of Art Pepper is even further demonstrated as he presents eight wonderful original compositions that run the gamut from blues to minor riffs, a ballad and an exciting Latin jazz tune. The happy mood felt by all is quite obvious in the hilarious execution of 'Funny Blues'. All the tunes offer lavish opportunity for the group's abundant ability, and showcase Pepper's horn in one of its finest hours, blowing chorus after chorus of classic flowing lines with the effortless ease of falling rain. I am sure as you listen to this album, a warm inner glow will develop, and a smile will cross your face as you realize this is not just jazz... this is great jazz." (Don Clark. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Art Pepper: a-sx, Jack Sheldon: tp, Russ Freeman: pi, Leroy Vinnegar: bs, Shelly Manne: dr

A1. Pepper Returns

A2. Broadway

A3. You Go To My Head

A4. Angel Wings

A5. Funny Blues

B1. Five More

B2. Minority

B3. Patricia

B4. Mambo De La Pinta

B5. Walkin' Out Blues

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Webb Pierce - The Wondering Boy

Fantastic collection of early material from 1950s superstar honky-tonker Webb Pierce. This is an extended LP-length disc based on an earlier 1954 10" containing some of the same songs (see here). 'There Stands the Glass' has been covered often (Conway Twitty and Carl Smith deserve mentions) but never sung quite so sensationally as Pierce does here. 'Love, Love, Love' and 'Slowly' are also particular standouts, but the overall quality is very high throughout.

 

1. Wondering

2. There Stands The Glass

3. That's Me Without You

4. Don't Throw Your Life Away

5. Love, Love, Love

6. If You Were Me

7. Back Street Affair

8. It's Been So Long

9. Slowly

10. That Heart Belongs To Me

11. Yes I Know Why

12. I'm Gonna Fall Out Of Love With You

mp3/128kbps

Gian Francesco Malipiero - Giulio Cesare

"With Giulio Cesare Malipiero he discovered the need for new musical forms, far from 'panel' compositions and capable of articulating a continuous, changing and yet logical discourse in its uninterrupted flow. It is the period that Malipiero himself called a 'lyrical parenthesis'. It goes from 1935 to 1941 and, coinciding with a season of cultural obscurantism in Italian society, it is probable that the master wanted to expose himself as little as possible to the occasion of a controversy.

"The plot. Act one. On a street in Rome, Cesare, followed by a procession, goes to the celebration of the Lupercali. A fortune teller approaches him and warns him to beware of the Ides of March. Brutus, Cassius and Casca comment on the cheers of the crowd and express their fear that Caesar will be offered the imperial crown. During the night the three, gathered in the garden of Brutus together with other conspirators, continue to express their fear about the danger that represents the popularity of Caesar for the security of the Republic. Porzia, Brutus' wife, begs her husband not to keep her in the dark about what's going on. 

"Act two, scene one. Meanwhile, in Caesar's palace, his wife Calpurnia has made premonitory dreams that have put her in great agitation. It urges her husband not to go out, since the response of the wishes during the propitiatory sacrifices was also unfavorable. Cesare decides to stay home, but when Brutus, Cassius and the other conspirators go to him, he fears that he is accused of cowardice and goes with them. 

"Second scene. In the Senate room on the Capitol, the conspirators established that Casca was the first to strike Caesar. Metellus Cimbro prostrates himself before Caesar to ask for grace for his brother in exile. Cesare remains impassive and Casca hits him in the neck with a stab: the other conspirators are immediately on him. Brutus is the last to strike and Caesar falls at the foot of the statue of Pompey. Antonio is ready to fall too at the hands of the conspirators, but they declare that they intend to spare him. He shakes their hand, then asks forgiveness from the memory of Caesar, for having had to come to terms with his assassins. He asks Brutus for permission to give Caesar a proper burial and to speak with the people. 

"Act three, scene one. Caesar's funeral takes place in the Forum. Brutus speaks first and explains to the people the reasons why he was forced to kill Caesar. When the word falls to Antonio, he knows how to maneuver the feelings of the crowd, and when he announces the testament of Caesar with which he has arranged that all his belongings go to the people, it is all a burst of invectives against the conspirators. Meanwhile, in a street, some citizens, meeting the poet Cinna and exchanging him for the homonymy with a conspirator, chase him to kill him. 

"Second scene. On the battlefield the opposing forces are about to collide; on one side Ottaviano and Antonio, on the other Bruto and Cassio. The battle begins. Cassio appears followed by Pindaro; he asks him to go up the hill to dominate the situation and give him news. Pindar accepts and from above, seeing Brutus surrounded, believes him prisoner. Cassius cannot bear the idea of ​​defeat and kills himself; so will Brutus. The victorious troops of Antonio and Ottaviano praise the greatness of Rome." (Comment and synopsis by Maria Simone Mongiardino. Translated with Google from the Italian. See here.)

Performers: Orchestra e Coro di Milano della RAI, Nino Sanzogno, Anselmo Colzani, Silvana Zanolli, Renato Capecchi, Aldo Bertocci, Saturno Meletti, Afro Poli

1.1. Preludio
1.2. Atto I: 'Va Di Qua, Poltroni. Tomate Alle Vostre Case'
1.3. Atto I: 'Calpurnia!... Olà, Silenzio! Cesare Parla!'
1.4. Atto I: 'Venite A Vedere La Corsa'
1.5. Atto I: 'Antonio!... Cesare!'
1.6. Atto I: 'Casca! Diteci Perchè Cesare'
1.7. Atto I: 'Ehi, Lucio! Non Riesco A Capire'
1.8. Atto I: 'C'è Vostro Fratello Cassio Che Desidera Vedervi'
1.9. Atto I: 'Mio Signore... Porzia, Che Volete'
1.10. Atto I: 'Lucio, Vattene. Ebbene, Figlio Mio'
1.11. Atto II: Preludio
1.12. Atto II: 'Nè Il Cielo, Nè La Terra Sono Stati In Pace Questa Notte'
1.13. Atto II: 'O Cesare, Queste Sono Cose Inaudite'
1.14. Atto II: 'Ho Avuto Torto Di Farmi Attenddere Così'

2.1. Atto II: 'Potrei Commuovermi Se Fossi Come Voi'
2.2. Atto II: 'Possente Cesare! Sei Tu Caduto Tanto In Basso'
2.3. Atto III: 'Romani, Compatrioti E Amici'
2.4. Atto III: 'Dunque Non Ho Offeso Nesuno'
2.5. Atto III: 'Ancora Ieri Sera La Parola Di Cesare'
2.6. Atto III: 'Se Avete Lacrime, Ora Preparatevi A Versarle!'
2.7. Atto III: 'Il Vostro Nome... Dove Andate'
2.8. Atto III: 'Ecco Le Forze Nemiche In Vista'
2.9. Atto III: 'Anche La Voce, Chè Alle Api Voi Avete Preso'
2.10. Atto III: 'Pindato, Sali Più In Alto Su Quella Collina'
2.11. Atto III: 'Lo Spetto Di Cesare M'è Apparso Due Volte!'
2.12. Atto III: 'Alme. Sol, Curru Nitido Diem Qui'

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Duke Ellington - Such Sweet Thunder

This is a twelve part suite composed by Ellington based on the works of Shakespeare, dedicated to the Shakespearean Festival in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario. Written in just under three weeks in 1956 and recorded the following year, there is an excellent sense of creative drive and focus here: much like Verdi Ellington shows how much musical life is in Shakespeare's words. There is a sound here that only Ellington's bands could produce, with such synergy between musicians and their director that ideas can flow directly out from the great bandleader's mind. 

A1. Such Sweet Thunder
A2. Sonnet For Caesar
A3. Sonnet To Hank Cinq
A4. Lady Mac
A5. Sonnet In Search Of A Moor
A6. The Telecasters
B1. Up And Down, Up And Down (I Will Lead Them Up And Down)
B2. Sonnet For Sister Kate
B3. The Star-Crossed Lovers
B4. Madness In Great Ones
B5. Half The Fun
B6. Circle Of Fourths

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Johann Sebastian Bach - The Art Of Fugue

"If there is a recording of Bach's music which, in spite of this competitive variety, has achieved exceptional status, not least because it has been heard throughout the entire world, it is Helmut Walcha's version of The Art of Fugue. For Walcha himself, his realisation of the work on his chosen instrument reflected 'the inner message of this music' and did so, moreover, 'in a very special way'. Walcha's playing is entirely concerned with the linearity of the text and as such leaves the listener in no doubt that the organist's aim was to allow the notes on the printed page to speak for themselves as far as possible. The recording was made on the main organ at St. Laurenskerk in Alkmaar in the Netherlands between 9 and 14 September 1956 and was Deutsche Grammophon's very first stereo recording, even though it was initially released in mono only, the stereo recording not following until the early 1960s.

"The international acclaim accorded Walcha's reading of Bach's enigmatic opus was due in no small part to the clarity of his playing with its abundant use of legato, the elegance of the part-writing suggesting an objective approach to the music. No less important, however, was the international standing of Deutsche Grammophon's Archiv label, whose recordings were felt to have archival value on the world's record markets of the time. Though not in fact the first recording of The Art of Fugue - it had been preceded by ten others, including organ versions by E. Power Biggs (1940) and Fritz Heit-mann (1950) - Walcha's interpretation quickly acquired benchmark status, thanks also to the technical quality of the recording. Its reissue on CD restores to the catalogue a performance that is part of the canon of the 20th-century history of interpretation and which - quite rightly - is of particular significance to the reception history of Bach's music. 

"Among the other works included in the present release, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 is of special interest. This is a work that owes its great popularity in the English-speaking world to the brilliantly virtuoso version for large orchestra that was prepared by Leopold Stokowski and used by Walt Disney in his film Fantasia. The suspicion voiced by several Bach scholars on the basis of its stylistic peculiarities that the work may originally have been conceived for solo violin, or may not even be by Bach at all, does nothing to alter the fact that this is a stupendous display vehicle, generating the most powerful sonorities, with a fugal section notable for its strict motoric rhythms. It is impossible to imagine a more effective piece of music." (Martin Elste, tr. Stewart Spencer. From the liner notes.)

Performer: Helmut Walcha

1.1. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus I
1.2. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus II
1.3. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus III
1.4. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus IV
1.5. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus V
1.6. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus VI, A 4, In Stylo Francese
1.7. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus VII, A 4, Per Augumentationem Et Diminutionem
1.8. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus VIII, A 3
1.9. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus IX, A 4, Alla Duodecima
1.10. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus X, A 4, Alla Decima
1.11. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus XI, A 4
1.12. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: (XIV) Canon Alla Ottava
1.13. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: (XVII) Canon Alla Duodecima In Contrapuncto Alla Quinta
1.14. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: (XVI) Canon Alla Decima In Contrapuncto Alla Terza
1.15. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: (XV) Canon Per Augumentationem In Contrario Motu
1.16. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: (XIII) Contrapunctus A 3 - Rectus
1.17. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: (XIII) Contrapunctus A 3 - Inversus
1.18. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: (XII) Contrapunctus A 4 - Rectus
1.19. Die Kunst Der Fuge, BWV 1080: (XII) Contrapunctus A 4 - Inversus

2.1. Fuga A 3 Soggetti
2.2. Prelude & Fuge, BWV 547: Praeludium
2.3. Prelude & Fuge, BWV 547: Fuga
2.4. Trio Sonata No. 1, BWV 525: I. (Allegro)
2.5. Trio Sonata No. 1, BWV 525: II. Adagio
2.6. Trio Sonata No. 1, BWV 525: III. Allegro
2.7. Toccata, Adagio & Fugue, BWV 564: Toccata
2.8. Toccata, Adagio & Fugue, BWV 564: Adagio
2.9. Toccata, Adagio & Fugue, BWV 564: Fuga
2.10. Trio Sonata No. 6, BWV 530: I. Vivace
2.11. Trio Sonata No. 6, BWV 530: II. Lento
2.12. Trio Sonata No. 6, BWV 530: III. Allegro
2.13. Toccata & Fugue, BWV 565: Toccata - Adagio
2.14. Toccata & Fugue, BWV 565: Fuga

flac/16-bit

Art Farmer - Farmer's Market

Enjoyable outing from a pre-Jazztet Art Farmer. Hank Mobley appears on tenor on all but two tracks (the ballad 'Reminiscing' and muted vamp 'By Myself') and Farmer's trumpet is backed by the always terrific Kenny Drew on piano, be-bop mainstay Addison Farmer on bass, and an early appearance from Elvin Jones on drums; the latter should need no introduction. The mood here is light, airy and has all of the carefree hustle and bustle the title suggests. Even the more sombre numbers have the comfort in them of a breezy weekend afternoon. 

Performers: Art Farmer (tp), Hank Mobley (t-sx), Kenny Drew (pi), Addison Farmer (bs), Elvin Jones (dr)

 

A1. With Prestige

A2. Ad-Dis-Un

A3. Farmer's Market

B1. Reminiscin'

B2. By Myself

B3. Wailin' With Hank

mp3/320kbps