MARCH 7

              SONNY ROLLINS

               Way Out West

                  Recording Date:
                      March 7, 1957

                  Personnel:
                      Ray Brown       B 
                      Shelly Manne    D
                      Sonny Rollins    TS 

                  LINK Retired

Review by Scott Yanow
The timeless Way out West established Sonny Rollins as jazz's top tenor saxophonist (at least until John Coltrane surpassed him the following year). Joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Rollins is heard at one of his peaks on such pieces as "I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)," his own "Way out West," "There Is No Greater Love," and "Come, Gone" (a fast stomp based on "After You've Gone"). The William Claxton photo of Rollins wearing Western gear (and holding his tenor) in the desert is also a classic. [The Contemporary re-release appends three bonus tracks, all of them alternate takes.]  

MARCH 6

                     BIG JOE TURNER
                 Boss of the Blues

                  Recording Date:
                       March 6-7, 1956

                  Personnel:
                      Lawrence Brown    TB 
                      Pete Brown           AS 
                      Freddie Green       G 
                      Pete Johnson         P
                      Cliff Leeman          D
                      Joe Newman          TP
                      Jimmy Nottingham TP 
                      Walter Page           B 
                      Seldon Powell        TS 
                      Big Joe Turner        Vo 
                      Frank Wess          TS 

                                                                                                LINK Retired

Review by Scott Yanow
During an era when Big Joe Turner recordings were often surprise hits with rock & roll fans (particularly "Shake, Rattle and Roll"), he occasionally recorded no-nonsense blues-oriented jazz dates too. This reissue album matched Turner for one of the last times with the veteran boogie-woogie pianist Pete Johnson and also includes a variety of top swing players: trumpeter Joe Newman, trombonist Lawrence Brown, altoist Pete Brown, tenor saxophonist Frank Wess, guitarist Freddie Green, bassist Walter Page, and drummer Cliff Leeman. It is not surprising, considering the number of Basie-ites on the date, that the band often sounds like a Count Basie combo. Turner is in top form on remakes of some of his early tunes (including "Cherry Red," "Roll 'Em Pete," and "Wee Baby Blues"), a few traditional blues, and a couple of swing standards. This music should appeal to many listeners.

MARCH 5

                CHARLIE PARKER
                 Royal Roost set

                  "Royal Roost", NYC
                        February 5, 1949

                   Personnel:
                       Kenny Dorham  TP
                       Charlie Parker  AS
                       Al Haig             P
                       Tommy Potter   B
                       Max Roach        D

                 LINK Retired




1. Scrapple from the Apple
2. Barbados
3. Salt Peanuts

MARCH 4

                       LEE KONITZ

            Gong with Wind Suite
     
                     Recording Date: 
                         March 2002

                     Personnel:
                        Lee Konitz    AS 
                        Matt Wilson   D 

             

               LINK Retired

Review by Scott Yanow
Altoist Lee Konitz and drummer Matt Wilson perform 13 mostly concise free improvisations on this likable but not particularly memorable outing. Konitz has long been a melodic and mellow-toned improviser, even at his freest. His playing always sounds logical and purposeful, even in this sparse setting. Wilson is very much in the background most of the time, offering quiet and occasionally inaudible support. The music is fine but would have benefited from closer interaction between the two players and a lot more heat and fire.
 

MARCH 3

                BILLIE HOLIDAY

                Last Recordings

               Recording Dates:

                  March 3, 1959, NYC  tk 8-11

                  March 4, 1959, NYC  tk 2-4, 7

                  March 11, 1959,       tk 1, 5, 6, 12

              Personnel:

                 Jimmy Cleveland  TB
                 Romeo Penque     TS
                 Hank Jones           P
                 Kenny Burrell        G
                 Joe Benjamin       B
                 Osie Johnson        D
                 Ray Ellis               CD
                 Billie Holiday        VO
                 Janet Putman        HP

                                                                                                                              LINK Retired

Review by Ron Wynn
In many ways, a sad event. 1988 reissue of an album with Ray Ellis and his orchestra. It's poignant in a tragic way.

MARCH 2

                    MILES DAVIS

                 Kind of Blue

        
               Recording Date:
                   March 2, 1959  tk 1-3
                   April 6, 1959    tk 4-5
         
                Personnel:
                   Miles Davis              TP
                   Cannonball Adderley AS tk 1-2  
                   John Coltrane          TS
                   Wynton Kelly            P  tk 1
                   Bill Evans                 P  tk 2-5
                   Paul Chambers          B
                   Jimmy Cobb             D

                  LINK Retired

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace — each tune has a similar relaxed feel, as the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than easy listening. It's the pinnacle of modal jazz — tonality and solos build from the overall key, not chord changes, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. All of this doesn't quite explain why seasoned jazz fans return to this record even after they've memorized every nuance. They return because this is an exceptional band — Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb — one of the greatest in history, playing at the peak of its power. As Evans said in the original liner notes for the record, the band did not play through any of these pieces prior to recording. Davis laid out the themes before the tape rolled, and then the band improvised. The end results were wondrous and still crackle with vitality. Kind of Blue works on many different levels. It can be played as background music, yet it amply rewards close listening. It is advanced music that is extraordinarily enjoyable. It may be a stretch to say that if you don't like Kind of Blue, you don't like jazz — but it's hard to imagine it as anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection.
 

MARCH 1

                            GRANT GREEN
              Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark

                   Recording Date: 
                       March 1, 1962 tk 1-8
                       September 7, 1962 tk 9-10
                 
                   Personnel:
                      Sonny Clark        P 
                      Grant Green       G 
                      Louis Hayes        D  tk 1-8
                      Sam Jones         B  tk 1-8
                      Ike Quebec        TS tk 9-10
                      Wendell Marshall B tk 9-10
                      Willie Bobo        D tk 9-10
                      Carlos  Valdes   CGA tk 9-10

                LINK Retired

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Mosaic released a four-disc box set titled The Complete Blue Note With Sonny Clark in 1991, rounding up everything that the guitarist and pianist recorded together between 1961 and 1962. Blue Note's 1997 version of the set, The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark, trims Mosaic's collection by two discs, offering only the quartet sessions (the Ike Quebec sessions, Born to Be Blue and Blue and Sentimental, are available on individual discs). In some ways, this actually results in a more unified set, since it puts Green and Clark directly in the spotlight, with no saxophone to complete for solos, but it doesn't really matter if the music is presented as this double-disc set, the four-disc box, or the individual albums — this is superb music, showcasing the guitarist and pianist at their very best. All of the sessions are straight-ahead bop but the music has a gentle, relaxed vibe that makes it warm, intimate, and accessible. Grant and Clark's mastery is subtle — the music is so enjoyable, you may not notice the deftness of their improvisation and technique — but that invests the music with the grace, style, and emotion that distinguishes The Complete Quartets. Small group hard bop rarely comes any better than this.