DECEMBER 11

           GENE HARRIS
             Alley Cats
     
               Recording Date 
                   December 11-12, 1998

               Personnel:
                  Gene Harris      P
                  Frank Potenza   G
                  Luther Hughes   B
                  Paul Kreibich     D
                  Red Holloway    TS
                  Ernie Watts      AS,TS
                 Jack McDuff      O

                                                                              LINK

Review by Alex Henderson
Too many artists have gone their entire careers without providing any live albums, but that hasn't been a problem for Gene Harris whose live recordings from the 1980s and 1990s ranged from unaccompanied solo piano to big-band dates. Arguably, the best live album he gave listeners in the 1990s was Alley Cats; recorded live at Jazz Alley in Seattle on December 11-12, 1998, this CD finds Harris' working quintet (Harris on piano, Frank Potenza on guitar, Luther Hughes on bass, and Paul Kreibich on drums) joined by such accomplished soloists as Red Holloway (tenor sax), Ernie Watts (alto and tenor sax), and Jack McDuff (organ). Many inspired moments occur, and a 65-year-old Harris really goes that extra mile on gems ranging from Nat Adderley's "Jive Samba" and Benny Golson's "Blues March" to Joe Sample's "Put It Where You Want It" (which, in the 1970s, was introduced by the Crusaders before being covered by the Average White Band). A talented but underexposed singer (underexposed in the 1990s, anyway) who has recorded R&B albums but is quite capable of handling jazz, Harris' daughter Niki Harris is featured on earthy performances of "You've Changed," "Please Send Me Someone to Love," and "Guess Who." McDuff, meanwhile, brings his gritty, down-home Hammond B-3 to two songs: Eddie Harris' "Listen Here" and Gene Harris' "Walkin' With Zach." Soul-jazz enthusiasts will definitely want this excellent CD.
 

DECEMBER 10

               DAVE HOLLAND
          Prime Directive
           
              Recording Date: 
                  December 10, 1998

              Personnel:
                 Dave Holland    B 
                 Billy Kilson        D 
                 Steve Nelson  Mar,VB 
                 Chris Potter   AS,TS,SS 

             LINK

Review by Brian Bartolini
You may have to wait a while between Dave Holland-led releases, but it's always worth it. Tremendous taste prevents Holland from making unsatisfying music. He is a great leader in the truest senses of the word — he gives his team space, trusts their abilities and judgment, yet all the while remains firmly in command and infuses the results with his own style and personality. Prime Directive is a wonderful jazz album. These 77 minutes and nine tracks do not cheat or disappoint. The straight-ahead tunes — composed by double-bassist Holland and his talented band mates (one each) — all bear Holland's distinctive rhythmic patterns and harmonics. A fine example is the title track, on which Robin Eubanks on trombone and Chris Potter on saxophones hold a stimulating musical conversation over the rhythm section's driving groove. For listeners who prefer a more deliberate pace, there's the searching, contemplative "Make Believe," with Steve Nelson's lovely vibraphone work appointing the mood. On the hopeful, "A Seeking Spirit," fans will be tapping along to the rhythmic feast offered up by the leader and his pace-setting partner Billy Kilson on drums. The melancholy "Candlelight Vigil" presents Holland at his bowed best. Finally, "Wonders Never Cease" finds the entire band at the height of their collective, improvisational prowess. Prime Directive is recommended; a great leader is, indeed, hard to find.
 

DECEMBER 9

                                                

         JOHN COLTRANE

         A Love Supreme

             Recording Date:
                  December 9, 1964

             Personnel:
                 John Coltrane   TS,Vo
                 Art Davis          B
                 Jimmy Garrison B 
                 Elvin Jones       D 
                 McCoy Tyner     P 

          LINK







Review by Sam Samuelson

Easily one of the most important records ever made, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme was his pinnacle studio outing that at once compiled all of his innovations from his past, spoke of his current deep spirituality, and also gave a glimpse into the next two and a half years (sadly, those would be his last). Recorded at the end of 1964, Trane's classic quartet of Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison stepped into the studio and created one of the most thought-provoking, concise, and technically pleasing albums of their bountiful relationship (not to mention his best-selling to date). From the undulatory (and classic) bassline at the intro to the last breathy notes, Trane is at the peak of his logical yet emotionally varied soloing while the rest of the group is remarkably in tune with Coltrane's spiritual vibe. Composed of four parts, each has a thematic progression leading to an understanding of spirituality through meditation. From the beginning, "Acknowledgement" is the awakening of sorts that trails off to the famous chanting of the theme at the end, which yields to the second act, "Resolution," an amazingly beautiful piece about the fury of dedication to a new path of understanding. "Persuance" is a search for that understanding, and "Psalm" is the enlightenment. Although he is at times aggressive and atonal, this isn't Trane at his most adventurous (pretty much everything recorded from here on out progressively becomes much more free, and live recordings from this period are extremely spirited), but it certainly is his best attempt at the realization of concept -- as the spiritual journey is made amazingly clear. A Love Supreme clocks in at just over 30 minutes, but if it had been any longer it could have turned into a laborious listen. As it stands, just enough is conveyed. It is almost impossible to imagine a world without A Love Supreme having been made, and it is equally impossible to imagine any jazz collection without it.

DECEMBER 8

           EARL HINES
   Great Jazz Piano Solos

            Recording Date:
                December 8, 1928 
                Chicago

            Personnel:
                Earl Hines   P
          
              LINK








1. Stowaway
2. Just Too Soon
3. Chicago High Life
4. A Monday Date
5. Off Times Blues
6. Panther Rag


 Biography by Scott Yanow

Once called "the first modern jazz pianist," Earl Hines differed from the stride pianists of the 1920s by breaking up the stride rhythms with unusual accents from his left hand. While his right hand often played octaves so as to ring clearly over ensembles, Hines had the trickiest left hand in the business, often suspending time recklessly but without ever losing the beat. One of the all-time great pianists, Hines was a major influence on Teddy Wilson, Jess Stacy, Joe Sullivan, Nat King Cole, and even to an extent on Art Tatum. He was also an underrated composer responsible for "Rosetta," "My Monday Date," and "You Can Depend on Me," among others.

Earl Hines played trumpet briefly as a youth before switching to piano. His first major job was accompanying vocalist Lois Deppe, and he made his first recordings with Deppe and his orchestra in 1922. The following year, Hines moved to Chicago where he worked with Sammy Stewart and Erskine Tate's Vendome Theatre Orchestra. He started teaming up with Louis Armstrong in 1926, and the two masterful musicians consistently inspired each other. Hines worked briefly in Armstrong's big band (formerly headed by Carroll Dickerson), and they unsuccessfully tried to manage their own club. 1928 was one of Hines' most significant years. He recorded his first ten piano solos, including versions of "A Monday Date," "Blues in Thirds," and "57 Varieties."

DECEMBER 7

          MAX ROACH
   Featuring the Legendary Hasaan

         Recording Date:
            December 4, 1964  tk 1,4,5  
            December 7, 1964 tk 2-3,6-7
         
          Personnel:
              Hasaan Ibn Ali  P
              Art Davis         B
              Max Roach       D


         LINK






Review by Scott Yanow
Pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali only made one recording in his life, this trio set with drummer Max Roach and bassist Art Davis. A very advanced player whose style fell somewhere between Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor (with hints of Herbie Nichols), Hasaan actually had a rather original sound. His performances of his seven originals on this set (a straight CD reissue of a long out-of-print LP) are intense, somewhat virtuosic and rhythmic, yet often melodic in a quirky way. This is a classic of its kind and it is fortunate that it was made, but it is a tragedy that Hasaan would not record again and that he would soon sink back into obscurity.

DECEMBER 6

              LESTER YOUNG
       Washington, DC, v2
          
            Recording Date: 
                  December 3-9, 1956

             Personnel:
                 Jim Lucht           D 
                  Bill Potts            P 
                  Norman Williams B 
                  Lester Young      TS

           LINK

Review by Cub Koda
The second installment of four projected volumes, this once again captures latter-day Lester Young in top form, relaxed and playing with impeccable phrasing and swing. Ably backed by the Bill Potts Trio during his week-long stand at Olivia's Patio Lounge in Washington, these live tapes put the lie to the longstanding jazz myth that Young was well past his prime in the final decade of his life.

If anything, this second volume captures even more adventurous playing by Prez, with fast paced takes on his "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid" and "Lester Leaps In." But, as always, Young positively shines on midtempo and ballad material like "Three Little Words," "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)," "These Foolish Things" and "Almost Like Being In Love." Lester shares much of the soloing space with all three members of the trio, and his swapping of four-bar phrases with drummer Jim Lucht can get a little wearing on repeated listens, but the group provides such a comfortable cushion for him to relax and stretch out that it's a minor niggle at best. This also includes Young's only known full-length treatment of "Lullaby of Birdland," almost worth the price of admission alone. Nobody could swing like Lester Young, and given the right setting and circumstances like he was on these dates, he was evidently swinging right to the end.
 

DECEMBER 5

                 ROY HAYNES
        Fountain of Youth
             
              Recording Date: 
                  December 4-5, 2002
                  Birdland, NYC

              Personnel:
                 Martin Bejerano P
                 Roy Haynes       D
                 John Sullivan     B 
                 Marcus Strickland
                                CL,SS,TS
                

         LINK

Review by Rick Anderson
Drummer Roy Haynes chose a perfect title for this album: at 79 years of age, he is an undisputed elder statesman of jazz and one of the few surviving ambassadors from the bebop past; at the same time, he plays with the kind of energy and unflagging invention that would be the envy of a drummer one-third his age. Fountain of Youth was recorded live in December of 2002 at the legendary Birdland club in New York City. Haynes leads a quartet that also features pianist Martin Bejerano, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, and bassist John Sullivan. The program opens with a brilliant jazz-waltz setting of the traditional English tune "Greensleeves," and then proceeds to survey both bebop standards (there are no fewer than three Thelonious Monk compositions on the nine-track program), Tin Pan Alley classics (Irving Berlin's "Remember"), and even a Pat Metheny tune (the lovely "Question and Answer"). Everyone plays with both fire and elegance, especially on the dancing "Butch and Butch" and a lovely, meditative rendition of Monk's "Ask Me Now." And while Haynes always plays with consummate taste and never consciously upstages his young bandmates, a listener paying any attention at all will be constantly surprised by his inventive and exquisitely tasteful rhythmic exclamations and subtle prods. Very highly recommended.