Byrd in Flight
Artist: Donald Byrd

Two separate dates are combined on this Blue Note album. Trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Duke Pearson and drummer Lex Humphries are heard in both quintets with either tenorman Hank Mobley or altoist Jackie McLean and Doug Watkins or Reggie Workman on bass. The consistently strong originals by Pearson and Byrd ("Little Boy Blue" is the lone... Read More

Sonny Rollins & Co. 1964
Artist: Sonny Rollins

This CD from the Bluebird reissue series fills a lot of gaps in Sonny Rollins' discography. The 13 selections are taken from six different sessions from 1964. The personnel changes from date to date, with either Ron Carter or Bob Cranshaw on bass and Roy McCurdy or Mickey Roker on drums, along with pianist Herbie Hancock on five songs and... Read More

Sonny Meets Hawk!
Artist: Sonny Rollins

This is a truly strange (but, ultimately, pretty great) conglomeration of material: tracks one through six comprise a tenor saxophone summit meeting of sorts between bebop master Sonny Rollins and pre-bop elder statesman Coleman Hawkins, with Paul Bley on piano, drummer Roy McCurdy and the bass chair alternating between Henry Grimes and Bob... Read More

Alternatives
Artist: Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins's RCA recordings of 1962-64 found him really stretching out his style, listening to and learning from Ornette Coleman without losing his own musical personality. This CD, in addition to two numbers with bassist Bob Cranshaw and the congos of Candido ("Jungoso" and "Bluesongo") that were originally on the album What's New, has four... Read More

All the Things You Are
Artist: Sonny Rollins

Half of this CD contains the famous session on which Sonny Rollins teamed up with his idol, the great tenor Coleman Hawkins. Actually the competitive Rollins did everything he could during these performances to throw Hawk off with plenty of sound explorations and free playing but Hawkins keeps from getting lost and battles Rollins to a tie;... Read More

Doin' Allright
Artist: Dexter Gordon

The title of this Blue Note set, Doin' Allright, fit perfectly at the time, for tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon was making the first of three successful comebacks. Largely neglected during the 1950s, Gordon's Blue Note recordings (of which this was the first) led to his rediscovery. The tenor is teamed with the young trumpeter Freddie Hubbard,... Read More

Dexter Calling...
Artist: Dexter Gordon

Tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon recorded seven Blue Note albums during 1960-1964, and all are easily recommended. The power and creativity he showed during those performances led to his first successful comeback and display him in prime form. Dexter Calling. . . showcases the distinctive tenor with a quartet that also includes pianist Kenny... Read More

Cheesecake
Artist: Dexter Gordon

Dexter Gordon's long stint at the Club Montmartre in Copenhagen during the summer of 1964 included weekly radio broadcasts. These live performances have been preserved and released by SteepleChase on a series of albums. This particular LP features the great tenor with a rhythm section comprised of Europe's best (pianist Tete Montoliu, bassist... Read More

Together Again!
Artist: Teddy Edwards

Tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards and trumpeter Howard McGhee had played together regularly during 1945-47. For their recorded reunion, they are assisted by the masterful pianist Phineas Newborn, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen. Edwards, McGhee and Brown contributed one new song apiece which alternates with a trio of standards ("You... Read More

Good Gravy!
Artist: Teddy Edwards Quartet

Teddy Edwards has long been one of the most underrated of the bop tenors, due in large part to his decision to settle in Los Angeles. Edwards is in typically swinging form on this quartet date with either Phineas Newborn, Jr., or Danny Horton on piano, bassist Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Milt Turner. The tenor contributed four originals and also... Read More

Happy Days
Artist: Lucky Thompson

This CD has the full contents of two of Lucky Thompson's LPs. The earlier session, since it was originally released on the Prestige subsidiary Moodsville, emphasizes ballads, as Thompson interprets eight Jerome Kern melodies (none of the obvious ones) plus his own moody original "No More." One of the first "modern" jazz musicians to start... Read More