Sonny Stitt - Stitt Plays Bird

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:39
Size: 104,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:16)  1. Now's the Time
(3:04)  2. My Little Suede Shoes
(4:18)  3. Parker's Mood
(3:15)  4. Constellation
(2:39)  5. Au Privave
(6:23)  6. Hootie Blues
(4:34)  7. Confirmation
(4:52)  8. Ko-Ko
(4:49)  9. Yardbird Suite
(3:46) 10. Scrapple from the Apple
(3:38) 11. Ornithology

Sonny Stitt forged his own approach to playing bebop out of the sound and style of Charlie Parker, so this tribute album was a very logical project. With fine support from guitarist Jim Hall, pianist John Lewis, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Connie Kay, Stitt performs ten Parker compositions, plus Jay McShann's "Hootie Blues"; these renditions of "Now's the Time" and "Yardbird Suite" were previously unreleased. Stitt, who mastered bebop and could play hot licks in his sleep, is in top form on such numbers as "Constellation," "Confirmation," and "Ko-Ko," making this an essential item for straight-ahead jazz fans (although the prolific altoist would record eight other albums in 1963 alone). ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/stitt-plays-bird-mw0000195617

Personnel: Sonny Stitt – alto saxophone; John Lewis – piano; Jim Hall – guitar; Richard Davis – bass; Connie Kay – drums

Stitt Plays Bird

---

Jaki Byard - Parisian Solos

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1971
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:10
Size: 140,7 MB
Art: Front

( 3:19)  1. Dedicated to Bob Vatel of the Ten Gallons
( 4:36)  2. When Lights Are Low
( 4:17)  3. Besame Mucho
( 6:08)  4. Willow Weep for Me
( 3:42)  5. Tribute to Jimmy Slide
( 5:19)  6. Love Is Here to Stay
( 6:23)  7. Isle to Isle
( 5:40)  8. Shiny Stockings
( 4:28)  9. Bugle Call Rag
(12:06) 10. Medley: Goin' Out Of My Head / Mind And Soul / Besame Mucho / Sunday
( 5:06) 11. Going Home Blues

The late Jaki Byard was, arguably, the most versatile pianist in jazz, though he also played trombone and was an excellent tenor saxophonist. Born in 1922, he grew up during the golden era, and while younger than Duke Ellington, he embraced, as had his predecessor, all of the changes the music went through, from its origins in New Orleans through the free improvisation era. Byard would, in a single solo concert, reveal his truly awesome mastery of the aforementioned styles, as well as R&B, stride, swing, funk, blues, honky tonk, and the extreme arpeggios of Art Tatum. But Byard's style was completely his own, developed from his early days playing with Earl Bostic in the late '40s and early '50s. After leaving Bostic, he played with Herb Pomeroy and Maynard Ferguson until he won a spot in the legendary Charles Mingus band of 1962-1964 along with Eric Dolphy. He also recorded with Dolphy and Booker Ervin, as well as Charlie Mariano and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. 

One of his notable achievements was as the pianist in the Mingus band that tore apart concert halls all over Europe in 1964. Between 1961 and 1972, he issued a string of his own dates for Prestige (Hi-Fly, Here's Jaki, and Out Front! among them) and other labels; they embody his finest work, with a rhythm section that included Richard Davis and Alan Dawson, though he never made a bad record. Byard became an educator in the early '70s (after another collaboration with Mingus in 1970), teaching at Harvard, the Hartt School of Music, and the New England Conservatory, and he recorded and performed intermittently the world over until his death from a gunshot wound in 1999. 

~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jaki-byard-mn0000112535/biography

Personnel: Jaki Byard - piano

Parisian Solos

---