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

Big Bags
Artist: Milt Jackson

Vibraphonist Milt Jackson is backed by a big band for this change-of-pace release, reissued on CD along with two alternate takes. The Ernie Wilkins and Tadd Dameron arrangements fit the high-quality standards well and Jackson (who contributed two originals) is in top form. There are short solos for cornetist Nat Adderley, trombonist Jimmy... Read More

Live in Stockholm, 1963
Artist: John Coltrane

Featuring Coltrane's classic quartet (McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones), Live In Stockholm, 1963 is a fairly typical example of the group's set list at the time. Along with concert favorites like "Mr. P.C.," "Spiritual," and "I Want To Talk About You," there is the seldom heard "Traneing In." This minor-mood, blues swinger finds... Read More

The European Tour
Artist: John Coltrane

Norman Granz produced a couple of the John Coltrane Quartet's European tours, releasing some of their live performances years later. Although the liner notes state that these performances of "The Promise," "I Want to Talk About You," "Naima" and "Mr. P.C." are from Nov. 1962, they are actually taken from their Stockholm concert of Oct. 22, 1963.... Read More

Bye Bye Blackbird
Artist: John Coltrane
Community Score: 7.00

A straight reissue of the Pablo LP, this CD only contains 36 minutes of music but the quality is quite high. John Coltrane and his Quartet (pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones) perform extended versions of "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Traneing In" that gradually build up to great intensity. Well recorded, this... 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

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

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

Whistle Stop
Artist: Kenny Dorham

Kenny Dorham was always underrated throughout his career, not only as a trumpeter but as a composer. This CD reissue features seven of his compositions, none of which have been picked up by any of the "Young Lions" of the 1990s despite their high quality and the many fresh melodies. Dorham teams up with tenor-saxophonist Hank Mobley (who he had... Read More

The Best of John Coltrane - PABLO
Artist: John Coltrane

Over the years, there has been more than one LP or CD that was titled either The Best of John Coltrane or -- if the label is especially aggressive when it comes to marketing -- "The Very Best of John Coltrane." In the case of this Fantasy-owned Pablo release, The Best of John Coltrane is a misleading title because it isn't really a best-of. A... Read More

The Centaur and the Phoenix
Artist: Yusef Lateef

From his first explosion of recordings in the mid-'50s, Yusuf Lateef was a player who was always gently stretching the boundaries of his music to absorb techniques, new rhythms, and new influences from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The Centaur and The Phoenix, however, takes the risk-taking and innovation that Lateef was known for, and... Read More