Teddy Edwards - The Inimitable Teddy Edwards

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:28
Size: 95,1 MB
Art: Front

( 9:59) 1. Sunset Eyes
( 4:43) 2. That Old Black Magic
( 7:20) 3. Mean To Me
( 5:41) 4. Imagine
( 3:35) 5. One On One
(10:08) 6. Stella By Starlight

The underrated tenor great Teddy Edwards had only recorded one album as a leader during before he made this Xanadu date, and he would have to wait around for four years before his next session. The neglect had much more to do with geography (he spent his career living in Los Angeles) than it did with talent. Edwards, backed by pianist Duke Jordan, bassist Larry Ridley, and drummer Freddie Waits, is in top form throughout these five standards (including his most famous original "Sunset Eyes") plus Edwards' newer piece "One on One." Whether it be "Stella by Starlight" (which has an opening tenor cadenza), a relaxed "Mean to Me" or a cooking rendition of "That Old Black Magic," this LP is a superior outing. By Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-inimitable-mw0001881694

Personnel: Teddy Edwards – tenor saxophone; Duke Jordan – piano; Larry Ridley – bass; Freddie Waits – drums

The Inimitable Teddy Edwards

---

Andrew Hill - Grass Roots

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:07
Size: 160,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:41)  1. Grass Roots
(4:45)  2. Venture Inward
(6:19)  3. Mira
(8:22)  4. Soul Special
(7:45)  5. Bayou Red
(9:12)  6. MC (bonus track)
(4:36)  7. Venture Inward (first version) (bonus track)
(8:52)  8. Soul Special (first version) (bonus track)
(5:58)  9. Bayou Red (first version) (bonus track)
(7:33) 10. Love Nocturne (bonus track)

This reissue contains not only Hill’s original LP, but also a previously unreleased session from four months prior. On this earlier session, an entirely different lineup plays three of the tunes from Grass Roots, along with two numbers from deep within the vault  "MC," a tribal 12/8 blues, and "Love Nocturne," an angular quasi-ballad. Thanks to the juxtaposition of the two sessions, we are afforded a rare treat: a chance to listen closely to the stylistic contrasts between Lee Morgan and Woody Shaw, Booker Ervin and Frank Mitchell, Ron Carter and Reggie Workman, and Freddie Waits and Idris Muhammad. (Guitarist Jimmy Ponder also appears on three of the five new tracks.) We also get to hear what these different lineups bring out in Hill, both as a pianist and a composer. On the whole, Grass Roots is "inside" compared to Hill’s more representative Blue Note masterpiece, Point of Departure. "Venture Inward" and "Bayou Red" are the most advanced pieces, while the calypso "Mira" and the boogaloo "Soul Special" traverse more familiar Blue Note terrain. The title track, with its deliberately square melody, is an excellent sample of Hill’s fractured, fragmented style. The alternate takes and new tracks are less energetic, although Woody Shaw sounds more in his element than does Lee Morgan. And whereas Booker Ervin cooks a variegated stew containing traces of Trane, Dexter, and Johnny Griffin, Frank Mitchell sounds almost like a carbon copy of Wayne Shorter. Ponder’s tasty licks are in the style of early Pat Martino. ~ David Adler https://www.allaboutjazz.com/grass-roots-andrew-hill-blue-note-records-review-by-david-adler.php?width=1920

Personnel, 1-5: Lee Morgan, trumpet; Booker Ervin, tenor saxophone; Andrew Hill, piano; Ron Carter, bass; Freddie Waits, drums

Personnel, 6-10: Woody Shaw, trumpet; Frank Mitchell, tenor saxophone; Andrew Hill, piano; Jimmy Ponder, guitar; Reggie Workman, bass; Idris Muhammad, drums

Grass Roots

---

Clifford Jordan - Hello, Hank Jones

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 29:53
Size: 68,6 MB
Art: Front

(15:23)  1. Vienna
( 6:58)  2. Bohemia After Dark
( 7:32)  3. Love for Sale

Direct-to-disc recordings were highly sought by audiophiles during their heyday in the late '70s and early '80s, prior to the widespread availability of digital recordings. The technology had its advantages, especially during jazz sessions, where musicians the caliber of Clifford Jordan weren't handicapped by the engineer's inability to splice takes or overdub afterwards. Jordan, who is the leader of the session, shines on tenor sax, driven by an outstanding rhythm section with seasoned pianist Hank Jones, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Freddie Waits. Following an extensive exploration of Jordan's very catchy post-bop "Vienna" (which he previously recorded nine years earlier for the LP In the World), the quartet shifts into a bop mode with a superb take of Oscar Pettiford's "Bohemia After Dark" and a hard-blowing interpretation of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale." Like all direct-to-disc recordings, this long unavailable LP is a limited edition that was in short supply and difficult to find even when it was issued. Any jazz fan fortunate enough to locate a copy decades later will enjoy the performances and marvel at the warm, very intimate sound achieved by the musicians and the engineers on that summer day in 1978. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/hello-hank-jones-mw0000877175

Personnel:  Clifford Jordan - tenor saxophone;  Hank Jones - piano;  Reggie Workman - bass;  Freddie Waits - drums

Hello, Hank Jones

---

Donald Byrd - 'Mustang!'

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1966
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:00
Size: 91,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:31)  1. Mustang
(5:27)  2. Fly Little Bird Fly
(5:54)  3. I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
(6:43)  4. Dixie Lee
(7:43)  5. On the Trail
(5:39)  6. I'm So Excited by You

Trumpeter Donald Byrd made many worthwhile records during the sixties. Mustang, the first of four terrific Blue Note sessions Byrd made with ill-fated alto sax man Sonny Red between 1966 and 1967, is one of the great ones. Much of the success of this recording is due in no small part to Red's top-drawer participation. Pianist McCoy Tyner and under-valued tenor great Hank Mobley are exceptional throughout as well. All excel on the "Sidewinder" groove of the title cut, the "Watermelon Man" funk of the excellent "Dixie Lee," the familiar Blue Note bop of Byrd's "Fly Little Bird Fly" and "I'm So Excited By You" and the well-done covers of Grofe's "On The Trail" and Ellington's "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good." The CD also includes two similar bonus tracks ("Gingerbread Boy" and "I'm So Excited By You") recorded by Byrd in 1964 with Jimmy Heath (in place of Red and Mobley) on tenor. Mustang is excellent jazz and a most highly recommended purchase. Next, let's hope Blue Note plans to release Byrd's excellent Blackjack, another superb Byrd-Red collaboration from 1967 featuring Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins.~Douglas Payne http://www.allaboutjazz.com/mustang-donald-byrd-blue-note-records-review-by-douglas-payne.php?width=1920 

Players: Donald Byrd (trumpet) with Sonny Red (alto sax); Hank Mobley (tenor sax); McCoy Tyner (piano); Walter Booker (bass); Freddie Waits (drums); Jimmy Heath (tenor sax), Joe Chambers (drums).

Mustang!

---