MAY 16

                FRED HERSCH
            Live at Village Vanguard
          
              Recording Date: 
                  May 16-18, 2002

              Personnel:

                  Drew Gress       B 
                  Fred Hersch      P
                  Nasheet Waits   D 

      
    







 LINK RETIRED

Review by Paula Edelstein
Renowned pianist/composer Fred Hersch debuts on Palmetto Records in this classic jazz piano trio performance titled Live At The Village Vanguard. Formally released at a "live" date at the world-renowned jazz club in New York City, Hersch is joined by bassist Drew Gress and drummer Nasheet Waits. In his own words, Hersch has stated that the trio specializes in high lyricism and high danger. Truer words were never spoken as the disc opens with Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing." Fred Hersch is in great form during his solo introduction before the bass and drums swing in. "Phantom of The Bopera" is a sensational bebop original that features the technical virtuosity of the trio and their ability to engage their listeners in compelling musical improvisations and conversations. The trio is really in the pocket on this one. Throughout the program, Nasheet Waits plays amazing drumlines including two outstanding solos on "Phantom of the Bopera" and Wayne Shorter's"Miyako/Black Nile" medley. He clearly shows why his is one of the better drummers of his generation. In addition to the seven originals written by Fred Hersch, the trio covers "Some Other Time" and "I'll Be Seeing You." These GAS favorites benefit from Hersch's award-winning style and shine in a pristine, new jazz environment. Live At The Village Vanguard is by far a major accomplishment for Hersch and shines just as brightly as his previous Grammy-nominated efforts.
 

MAY 15

               CHARLIE PARKER

          Live Birdland 1950

               Recording Date:
                  May 15-16, 1950

               Personnel:
                  Fats Navarro     TP
                  Charlie Parker   AS
                  Bud Powell         P
                  Curly Russell      B
                  Art Blakey         D

    





LINK RETIRED

Reviewby Scott Yanow

The recording date may be suspect (trumpeter Fats Navarro died of tuberculosis only a week later) and the recording quality is not state of the art but the music on this two-LP set is often quite brilliant. Charlie Parker is teamed with Navarro, pianist Bud Powell, bassist Curley Russell and drummer Art Blakey for extended (usually six- to ten-minute) versions of 13 songs including "'Round Midnight" (the only time that Bird ever recorded a Thelonious Monk tune), "Move," "Out of Nowhere" and "Ornithology." The all-star lineup clearly inspired each other, making this two-fer well worth searching for.

MAY 14

                 BILL EVANS 
           Undercurrent
      
              Recording Date:
                 April 24, 1962 tk 2,7,8
                 May 14, 1962  tk 1,3-6

              Personnel:
                 Bill Evans   P
                 Jim Hall     G



   






LINK RETIRED

Review by Scott Yanow
Other than four piano solos from April 4, 1962, this set was pianist Bill Evans' first recordings after a hiatus caused by bassist Scott LaFaro's tragic death in a car accident. The first of two meetings on record in a duo format with guitarist Jim Hall, the collaborations are often exquisite. Both Evans and Hall had introspective and harmonically advanced styles along with roots in hard-swinging bebop. The six selections on the original LP have been expanded to ten for this CD reissue with the inclusion of two alternate takes and previously unheard versions of "Stairway to the Stars" and "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You." There is more variety than expected on the fine set with some cookers, ballads, waltzes, and even some hints at classical music. Recommended.

MAY 13

                  JACK KEROUAC
       On the Beat Generation

          
                   Recording Date:
                       May 13, 1959

                  Jack Kerouac   Vo


     






LINK RETIRED

Reviewby Bruce Eder

Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation was the culmination of the author's short-lived recording career, a solo performance that transcends poetry and music -- it's literally spoken jazz, the artist improvising freely on the printed text of his own work in front of him. Produced by Bill Randle, it was Kerouac's most musical performance, despite the fact that the recording contained only his voice and no accompaniment, using his voice and language the way a saxophonist might improvise on a particular melodic line or riff. He's spellbinding throughout, intense, focused, and even subtly changing voices with the work itself. [Reissued in Rhino's Jack Kerouac Collection with a bonus track consisting of an excerpt from a 1958 forum on the existence of the "Beat Generation," held at Hunter College in New York.]

MAY 12

                   SONNY STITT

        Personal Appearance

               Recording Date:
                   May 12, 1957

               Personnel:
                   Kenny Dennis       D
                   Sonny Stitt          AS,TS 
                   Bobby Timmons   P 
                   Edgar Willis         B

LINK RETIRED

Review by Ken Dryden
While the comparisons to Charlie Parker were inevitable throughout a good part of his career, Sonny Stitt was very much his own man. He is in top form throughout this 1957 session made for Verve, featuring a very young Bobby Timmons on piano, bassist Edgar Willis, and drummer Kenny Dennis. Alternating between alto and tenor saxophone in a program consisting mostly of standards, Stitt is equally at home on each horn. His soulful tenor shines in "Easy Living," while the loping "Autumn in New York" showcases his exuberant alto. Timmons, who had just made his recording debut as a sideman with Kenny Burrell the previous year, hints at his potential with a blues-drenched solo in "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To." Long out of print and one of Stitt's best recordings at this point in his career, Personal Appearance was digitally remastered and reissued in a slim-line CD mini-record jacket as a limited edition; it is available until June 2007.
 

MAY 11

                CHARLIE PARKER
           Dizzy Gillespie And His All Stars
  
                Recording Date:
                     May 11, 1945

                Personnel:
                     Dizzy Gillespie   TP,Vo
                     Charlie Parker    AS
                     Al Haig               P
                     Curly Russell        B
                     Sidney Catlett     D
         

   





LINK RETIRED

1. G565A-1 Salt Peanuts 
2. G566A-1 Shaw 'Nuff  
3. G568A-1 Hot House

MAY 10

              ASTOR PIAZZOLLA

          Tango:  Zero Hour
     
               Recording Date: 
                   May 1986

               Personnel:

                   Hector Console       B
                   Horacio Malvicino   G
                   Fernando Suarez     Vio
                   Astor Piazzolla        ACC
                   Pablo Ziegler          P 

LINK RETIRED

Review by Stephen Cook
Considered by Piazzolla to be his best work, 1986's Tango Zero Hour was the culmination of a career that began in Argentina in the 1930s. Piazzolla started out auspiciously enough working with one of the brightest lights of the classic tango era, singer Carlos Gardél. After Gardél's tragic death in 1935 (by turning down an offer to tour with the singer at the age of 13, Piazzolla amazingly avoided the plane crash that killed Gardél), Piazzolla went on to perfect his bandoneón playing in various tango bands during the '40s and '50s, eventually studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Like she did with so many other great talents like Aaron Copeland and Quincy Jones, Boulanger encouraged Piazzolla to find a new way of playing his county's music. Piazzolla began experimenting and soon enough perfected what is now known as "nuevo tango." Moving tango music into the more serious area of high-art composition, Piazzolla added eccentric and, at times, avant-garde touches to the traditional format; he gained the appreciation of adventurous music lovers worldwide while alienating tango purists back home. Tango Zero Hour is the fruition of his groundbreaking work and one of the most amazing albums released during the latter years of the 20th century. Joined by his Quinteto Tango Nuevo featuring violin, piano, guitar, and bass, Piazzolla offers up seven original tango gems that take in the noirish, "Zero Hour" world found between midnight and dawn. Essential for all music lovers.