Listening Room – “10 to 4 at The Five Spot”

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

This 1958 Riverside date was recorded during this group’s two month stint at The 5 Spot and features some fantastic interplay between a group of upcoming players including a young Donald Byrd and Elvin Jones. The Long Two/Four and Hastings Street Bounce are prime examples of the Hard Bop sound that would become one of the most enduring styles in jazz.

Buy at Amazon

Released 1958 : Riverside Records : Catalog # RLP 12-265

Players:
Pepper Adams – Baritone Sax
Donald Byrd – Trumpet
Bobby Timmons – Piano
Doug Watkins – Bass
Elvin Jones – Drums

Pepper Adams – The Long Two/Four from “10 to 4 at The Five Spot”

Pepper Adams – Hastings Street Bounce from “10 to 4 at The Five Spot”

Listening Room – “Portrait of Cannonball”

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

This was Cannonball Adderley’s first record for Riverside and was the start of a very successful run of albums he would produce for the label. “Portrait of Cannonball” is a prime example of Adderley at his hard bop best and he assembled a great group of like-minded players such as Bill Evans on piano and Blue Mitchell on trumpet. The album only has a couple of of original tunes, but the song choices are excellent, including Blue Funk written by Sam Jones and a classic version of Gigi Gryce’s Minority.

Buy at Amazon

Released 1958 : Riverside Records : Catalog # RLP 12-269

Players:
Cannonball Adderley – Alto Sax
Blue Mitchell – Trumpet
Bill Evans – Piano
Sam Jones – Bass
Philly Joe Jones – Drums

Cannonball Adderley – Minority from “Portrait of Cannonball”

Cannonball Adderley – Blue Funk from “Portrait of Cannonball”

Listening Room – “Jazz Contrasts”

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

This 1957 record teams up a young Kenny Dorham with Sonny Rollins and Max Roach, both of whom were huge stars in the jazz world at the time. The album contains no originals, but all the selections are well chosen for the assembled group. Two of the tracks add Betty Glauman on harp, while the rest of the album showcases Dorham’s famously melodic tone while backed by a stellar all-star group.

Buy at Amazon

Released 1957 : Riverside Records : Catalog #RLP 12-239

Players:
Kenny Dorham – Trumpet
Sonny Rollins – Tenor Sax
Betty Glauman – Harp
Hank Jones – Piano
Oscar Pettiford – Bass
Max Roach – Drums

Kenny Dorham – Falling in Love with Love from “Jazz Contrasts”

Kenny Dorham - I’ll Remember April from “Jazz Contrasts”

Listening Room – “Serenade To A Bus Seat”

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Clark Terry recorded “Serenade To A Bus Seat” in 1957 when he was still better known as a trumpet player then the master of the flugelhorn that he would become in the coming decades. Terry wrote five of the eight tracks on the album including the title track – a tribute to Terry’s life on the road playing with Duke Ellington. Of particular note is the playing between Terry and the tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, especially on the Terry composed tracks Boomerang and Cruising.

Buy At Amazon

Released 1957 : Riverside Records : Catalog # RLP 12-237

Players:
Clark Terry – Trumpet
Johnny Griffin – Tenor Sax
Wynton Kelly – Piano
Paul Chambers – Bass
Philly Joe Jones – Drums

Clark Terry – Boomerang from “Serenade To A Bus Seat”

Clark Terry – Cruising from “Serenade To A Bus Seat”

Listening Room – “The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco”

Posted on March 8, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Cannonball Adderley – This Here

Cannonball Adderley – Hi Fly

From “In San Francisco” :1959 : Riverside RLP 12-311

An essential jazz recording, this album was recorded live at The Jazz Workshop in San Francisco and released in 1959 on Riverside Records. Cannonball Adderley was just ending his extremely successful tenure with the Miles Davis Quintet (resulting in the classics “Round About Midnight”, “Milestones” and “Kind of Blue”) when his own group caught fire with this release. Joined by his brother on Nat on Cornet as well as Bobby Timmons, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes, the group scored a huge hit with the Timmons track This Here. The rest of the album is just as solid and paved the way for a very fruitful period for Adderley and the various groups he would front over the next few years.

Players:
Cannonball Adderley – Alto Sax
Nat Adderley – Cornet
Bobby Timmons – Piano
Sam Jones – Bass
Louis Hayes – Drums

Listening Room – “Johnny Griffin Sextet”

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Johnny Griffin Sextet

Johnny Griffin – Johnny G.G.

Johnny Griffin – Catharsis

From “Johnny Griffin Sextet“: 1958 : Riverside RLP 12-274

More great Hard Bop, this album was actually Tenor Sax player Johnny Griffin’s debut on the Riverside Records label. Joined by some great talent, including Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams (who would soon have their own fruitful partnership), Griffin tackles some obscure compositions as well as one of his original tunes (Catharsis).

Players:
Johnny Griffin – Tenor Sax
Pepper Adams – Baritone Sax
Donald Byrd – Trumpet
Kenny Drew – Piano
Wilbur Ware – Bass
Philly Joe Jones – Drums

Listening Room – “Thelonious Alone In San Francisco”

Posted on February 25, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Thelonious Alone In San Francisco

Thelonious Monk – Blue Monk

Thelonious Monk – Ruby My Dear

As the title suggests, Thelonious Monk recorded this album of himself unaccompanied in San Francisco in 1959. A great introduction to the talents of Monk, it features his solo take on some of his classic compositions including Blue Monk and Ruby My Dear.

Players:
Thelonious Monk – Piano

Listening Room – “Really Big!”

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Really Big!

Jimmy Heath – Big “P”

Jimmy Heath – Old Fashioned Fun

Tenor Saxophonist Jimmy Heath led a tentet on this 1960 Riverside Records release. This big band swings like a small group and is definitely a family affair, with Heath joined by his brothers Percy and Albert and altoist Cannonball and his brother Nat Adderley providing some great solos on the horns. Both Big P and Old Fashioned Fun were composed by Heath, who was proving himself to be a force in both composing and arranging.

Players:
Jimmy Heath – Tenor Sax
Clark Terry – Trumpet
Nat Adderley – Cornet
Cannonball Adderley – Alto Sax
Pat Patrick – Baritone Sax
Dick Berg – French horn
Tom McIntosh – Trombone
Tommy Flanagan or Cedar Walton – Piano
Percy Heath – Bass
Albert “Tootie” Heath – Drums

Listening Room – “Big 6″

Posted on February 19, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Big 6

Blue Mitchell – “Blues March”

Blue Mitchell – “Sir John”

From “Big 6” : 1958 : Riverside Records

This was trumpeter Blue Mitchell’s debut recording in 1958 for Riverside Records. Mitchell put together an all-star sextet of young playes each of whom are now jazz legends. “Big 6″ featured the debut recording of Benny Golson’s Blues March as well as two Mitchell originals including Sir John.

Players:
Blue Mitchell – Trumpet
Johnny Griffin – Tenor Sax
Curtis Fuller – Trombone
Wynton Kelly – Piano
Wilbur Ware – Bass
Philly Joe Jones – Drums

Listening Room – “Ezz-thetics”

Posted on February 16, 2009 by Jazz Sermon

Ezz-thetics

George Russell – “Nardis”

George Russell – “Honesty”

From “Ezz-thetics” : 1961 : Riverside Records

Pianist and composer George Russell released this classic on Riverside Records in 1961. A mixture of avant-garde and post-bop, the music is not easily categorized. Highlights include a great reading of Miles Davis’ Nardis, as well as Honesty composed by trombone player David Baker.

Players:
George Russell – Piano
Eric Dolphy – Alto Sax, Bass Clarinet
Don Ellis – Trumpet
David Baker – Trombone
Steve Swallow – Bass
Joe Hunt – Drums