Tadd Dameron - A Summer Sky Shines

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:12
Size: 155,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:05)  1. Our Delight
(6:01)  2. Eb-Pob
(4:59)  3. Good Bait, Pt. 2
(4:10)  4. Symphonette
(2:55)  5. Sid's Delight - Tadd's Delight
(5:50)  6. Good Bait, Pt. 1
(5:25)  7. Anthropology, Pt. 2
(3:00)  8. Casbah
(3:42)  9. Anthropology, Pt. 1
(3:31) 10. Tiny's Blues
(5:17) 11. Dameronia
(4:04) 12. The Squirrel
(4:32) 13. The Tadd Walk
(6:27) 14. Wahoo
(3:09) 15. Lady Be Good

The definitive arranger/composer of the bop era, Tadd Dameron wrote such standards as "Good Bait," "Our Delight," "Hot House," "Lady Bird," and "If You Could See Me Now." Not only did he write melody lines, but full arrangements, and he was an influential force from the mid-'40s on even though he never financially prospered. Dameron started out in the swing era touring with the Zack Whyte and Blanche Calloway bands, he wrote for Vido Musso in New York and most importantly, contributed arrangements for Harlan Leonard's Kansas City Orchestra, some of which were recorded. Soon Dameron was writing charts for such bands as Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, Billy Eckstine, and Dizzy Gillespie (1945-1947) in addition to Sarah Vaughan. Dameron was always very modest about his own piano playing but he did gig with Babs Gonzales' Three Bips & a Bop in 1947 and led a sextet featuring Fats Navarro (and later Miles Davis) at the Royal Roost during 1948-1949. Dameron co-led a group with Davis at the 1949 Paris Jazz Festival, stayed in Europe for a few months (writing for Ted Heath), and then returned to New York. He wrote for Artie Shaw's last orchestra that year, played and arranged R&B for Bull Moose Jackson (1951-1952) and in 1953 led a nonet featuring Clifford Brown and Philly Joe Jones. Drug problems, however, started to get in the way of his music. After recording a couple of albums (including 1958's Mating Call with John Coltrane) he spent much of 1959-1961 in jail. After he was released, Dameron wrote for Sonny Stitt, Blue Mitchell, Milt Jackson, Benny Goodman and his last record but was less active in the years before his death from cancer. Tadd Dameron's classic Blue Note recordings of 1947-48, his 1949 Capitol sides and Prestige/Riverside sets of 1953, 1956, 1958, and 1962 are all currently in print on CD. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tadd-dameron-mn0000016759/biography

A Summer Sky Shines

---

Tadd Dameron - Fontainbleau

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:18
Size: 71,9 MB
Art: Front

( 4:53)  1. Fontainbleau
( 5:05)  2. Delirium
( 5:05)  3. The Scene Is Clean
( 4:53)  4. Flossie Lou
(11:21)  5. Bula-Beige

One of the prettiest octet albums of the 1950s was Tadd Dameron's Fontainebleau. Recorded in March 1956, the album for Prestige featured Kenny Dorham (tp), Henry Coker (tb), Sahib Shihab (as), Joe Alexander (ts), Cecil Payne (bar), Tadd Dameron (p,arr), John Simmons (b) and Shadow Wilson (d). The regal quality of Dameron's compositions and arrangements are steeped in classy romanticism yet remain in the hip bop realm. The players on the album come together well, as if carefully selected for their tones. Dorham's spirited trumpet playing is paired with Coker's mournful trombone and the deliberate reeds of Shihab, Alexander and Payne. Behind them, the rhythm section swishes along, powered by Wilson. Dameron on piano is an entity unto himself. Fontainebleau is a concept-album tribute to the one-time palace and weekend getaway of the French nobility southeast of Paris. When Dameron saw the landscape and Château de Fontainebleau in 1949, he was emotionally touched by the visiual beauty and symmetry. The forest, lake dotted with white swans and magnificent chateau float into each other, and Dameron's pieces seem to do the same. If we think of the first track, Fontainebleau, as the concept's overture, one can visualize the rising sun crash through the foliage and across the sprawling lawns. The quick-paced Delirium seems to depict the animals dashing about in the forest. The Scene Is Clean sounds like an ode to the swans floating across the water without disturbing the surface. Flossie Lou depicts the architectural exterior of the palace while Bula-Beige, clocking in at more than 11 minutes, seems to be a guided tour of the majestic interiors. For me, the album is as perfect as a panoramic landscape painting of the site. The music is delicate and cohesive, and the solos celebrate the vistas that dazzle the eye. Tadd Dameron died in 1965. ~ Marc Myers https://news.allaboutjazz.com/tadd-dameron-fontainebleau.php

Personnel: Tadd Dameron (p,arr), Kenny Dorham (tp), Henry Coker (tb), Sahib Shihab (as), Joe Alexander (ts), Cecil Payne (bar), John Simmons (b) and Shadow Wilson (d)

Fontainbleau

---

Tadd Dameron - The Magic Touch

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:37
Size: 85,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:59)  1. On A Misty Night
(4:11)  2. Fontainebleau
(4:54)  3. Just Plain Talking
(3:18)  4. If You Could See Me Now
(2:51)  5. Our Delight
(3:01)  6. Dial B For Beauty
(4:56)  7. Look, Stop And Listen
(3:31)  8. Bevan's Birthday
(3:42)  9. You're A Joy
(3:12) 10. Swift As The Wind

Tadd Dameron is known to proclaim that he became an arranger rather than stay an exclusive instrumentalist because it was the only way he could get his music played. In retrospect, considering his best-known works are widely revered, few of them are frequently played by other bands, and only the finest musicians are able to properly interpret them. Dameron's charts had an ebb and flow that superseded the basic approach of Count Basie, yet were never as quite complicated as Duke Ellington. Coming up in the bop movement, Dameron's music had to have been by definition holding broader artistic harmonics, while allowing for the individuality of his bandmembers. The Magic Touch includes a handful of Dameron's most beloved compositions, as well as those that were more obscure, and have still never been covered. When you look at the sheer talent level of the players on this recording Clark Terry, Charlie Shavers, Joe Wilder, Jimmy Cleveland, Britt Woodman, Julius Watkins, Jerry Dodgion, Jerome Richardson, Johnny Griffin, Bill Evans, Ron Carter, George Duvivier, et al.one has to be in awe of them, and that only Dameron was able to convene such a band of extraordinary jazz performers in their prime. To effectively rein them all in was the trick, keeping solos at a bare minimum, and blending their personalized sounds together so harmoniously. "If You Could See Me Now" is the most famous, the immortal ballad of regret featuring the Sarah Vaughan styled vocal of Barbara Winfield. She also appears on the restrained and serene "You're a Joy." Dameron was known for his wonderfully piquant flute arrangements, with Dodgion, Richardson, and Leo Wright doing the honors, sounding chirpy during "If You Could See Me Now," in wonderfully supple Japanese style trills during "Dial B for Beauty," in staccato bop trim for "Swift as the Wind," or in heightened dramatic, evocative romantic nuances on the classic "Fontainebleau." The other classic standards include the definitive, spirited, cohesive rock 'em sock 'em horn punctuations and the great drumming of Philly Joe Jones for "On a Misty Night," and the direct, simple, hard swinging bop of "Our Delight" charts in most every big band's repertoire. The blues infused "Just Plain Talkin'" take the flutes and alto saxophonist Dodgion to a higher atmospheric level, "Look, Stop & Listen" is a quirky bop managed in choppy horn layers, while "Bevan's Birthday" is a Latin to easy swing and back inversion, triggered by the flutes to go back to the spicy beats. This CD version features several shorter alternate takes, thus increasing the value of the original sessions, not with longer solos, but different improvisational nuances. As close to a definitive recording as Dameron issued, and considering his very small discography, The Magic Touch is a recording that all modern jazz lovers need to own and take further lessons from. ~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-magic-touch-of-tadd-dameron-mw0000378367

Personnel: Tadd Dameron - Piano, Arranger, Conductor; Clark Terry - Trumpet; Ernie Royal - Trumpet; Charlie Shavers - Trumpet; Joe Wilder - Trumpet; Jimmy Cleveland - Trombone; Britt Woodman - Trombone; Julius Watkins - French Horn; Jerry Dodgion - Alto Sax, Flute; Leo Wright - Alto Sax, Flute; Jerome Richardson - Tenor Sax, Flute; Johnny Griffin - Tenor Sax; Tate Houston - Baritone Sax; Bill Evans - Piano; Ron Carter - Bass; George Duvivier - Bass; Philly Joe Jones - Drums; Barbara Winfield - Vocals

The Magic Touch

---

Tadd Dameron - The Compositions Of Tadd Dameron

Styles: Bop, Post Bop, Hard Bop, Cool Jazz 
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:15
Size: 98,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:09)  1. Fontainebleau
(3:10)  2. The Dream Is You
(6:30)  3. If You Could See Me Now
(7:42)  4. Good Bait
(5:13)  5. Smooth As The Wind
(4:43)  6. Our Delight
(4:09)  7. Hot House
(6:36)  8. Lady Bird

The definitive arranger/composer of the bop era, Tadd Dameron wrote such standards as "Good Bait," "Our Delight," "Hot House," "Lady Bird," and "If You Could See Me Now." Not only did he write melody lines, but full arrangements, and he was an influential force from the mid-'40s on even though he never financially prospered. Dameron started out in the swing era touring with the Zack Whyte and Blanche Calloway bands, he wrote for Vido Musso in New York and most importantly, contributed arrangements for Harlan Leonard's Kansas City Orchestra, some of which were recorded. Soon Dameron was writing charts for such bands as Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, Billy Eckstine, and Dizzy Gillespie (1945-1947) in addition to Sarah Vaughan. Dameron was always very modest about his own piano playing but he did gig with Babs Gonzales' Three Bips & a Bop in 1947 and led a sextet featuring Fats Navarro (and later Miles Davis) at the Royal Roost during 1948-1949. Dameron co-led a group with Davis at the 1949 Paris Jazz Festival, stayed in Europe for a few months (writing for Ted Heath), and then returned to New York. He wrote for Artie Shaw's last orchestra that year, played and arranged R&B for Bull Moose Jackson (1951-1952) and in 1953 led a nonet featuring Clifford Brown and Philly Joe Jones. Drug problems, however, started to get in the way of his music. After recording a couple of albums (including 1958's Mating Call with John Coltrane) he spent much of 1959-1961 in jail. After he was released, Dameron wrote for Sonny Stitt, Blue Mitchell, Milt Jackson, Benny Goodman and his last record but was less active in the years before his death from cancer. Tadd Dameron's classic Blue Note recordings of 1947-48, his 1949 Capitol sides and Prestige/Riverside sets of 1953, 1956, 1958, and 1962 are all currently in print on CD. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tadd-dameron-mn0000016759/biography

Personnel:  Arranged By, Conductor [Orchestra] – Tadd Dameron; Vibraphone [Soloist] – Milt Jackson; Bass – Larry Gales, Sam Jones, Buddy Clark; Drums – Ben Riley, Jimmy Cobb, Mel Lewis; Piano – Junior Mance, Bobby Timmons, Bill Evans, Jimmy Rowles; Tenor Saxophone – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin; Trumpet [Soloist] – Blue Mitchell, Jack Sheldon; Vibraphone – Dave Pike: Bass Clarinet – Herbie Mann; Bass Clarinet – Herbie Mann;

The Compositions Of Tadd Dameron

---

Dexter Gordon - Dexter Rides Again

Styles: Saxophone Jazz 
Year: 1947
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:59
Size: 85,3 MB
Art: Front

(2:46)  1. Dexter's Riff
(5:55)  2. Settin' the Pace - Part 1 & 2
(3:43)  3. So Easy
(3:05)  4. Long Tall Dexter
(3:18)  5. Dexter Rides Again
(3:17)  6. I Can't Escape from You
(3:00)  7. Dexter Digs In
(2:45)  8. Dexter's Minor Mad
(3:00)  9. Blow Mr. Dexter
(2:58) 10. Dexter's Deck
(3:08) 11. Dexter's Cuttin' Out

Taken from three separate sessions from 1945-'47, Dexter Rides Again showcases prime bebop sides Gordon cut for Savoy. His unique adaptation of Charlie Parker's alto conception to the tenor saxophone is displayed throughout, revealing a mix of fluid, hard-toned lines and a vibrato-heavy and vaporous ballad sound. And while Gordon's ballad mastery would come to the fore on his come-back albums for Blue Note in the '60s, the tenor saxophonist primarily sticks to up-tempo material here, a standard for most bebop sets. Abetted by a collective cast including the fine, yet rarely heard trumpeter Leonard Hawkins, baritone saxophonist Leo Parker, pianists Tadd Dameron and Bud Powell, and drummers Max Roach and Art Blakey, Gordon is in top form on a typical collection of self-penned, utility tunes, dispensing of involved head statements in favor of solo space. Standouts include "Dexter's Deck," the lone ballad "I Can't Escape From You," and the jam session number "Settin' The Pace" (Gordon recorded many extended cuts like this with fellow bebop tenor star Wardell Gray, and here teams up with Leo Parker for something like a baritone and tenor cutting contest). For those interested in where elements of both Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane's distinct style came from, check out these fine Gordon sides; besides the history lesson on wax, there's a consistent run of top-notch bebop sides to enjoy. For completists, these tracks, plus alternate takes and an excellent session featuring Fats Navarro, are included on Denon's Savoy reissue package, Settin' the Pace.~ Stephen Cook https://www.allmusic.com/album/dexter-rides-again-mw0000077810

Personnel: Dexter Gordon (tenor saxophone); Leo Parker (baritone saxophone); Leonard Hawkins (trumpet); Bud Powell, Tadd Dameron, Sadik Hakim (piano); Gene Ramey, Curly Russell (bass); Art Blakey, Max Roach, Ed Nicholson (drums).

Dexter Rides Again

---

Fats Navarro - Our Delight

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1948
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:31
Size: 111,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:49)  1. Good Bait
(3:08)  2. Lady Be Good
(3:41)  3. Anthropology
(4:03)  4. The Squirrel
(4:32)  5. Tadd Walk
(5:16)  6. Dameronia
(4:04)  7. Our Delight
(5:59)  8. Bebop
(4:57)  9. Good Bait (No.2)
(4:08) 10. Symphonette
(2:49) 11. The Squirrel (No.2)

"Our Delight" is a 1947 jazz standard, composed by Tadd Dameron. It is considered one of his best compositions along with "Good Bait", "Hot House", "If You Could See Me Now", and "Lady Bird". A moderately fast bebop song, it featured the trumpeter Fats Navarro, who is said to "exhibit mastery of the difficult chord progression". One author said, "'Our Delight' is a genuine song, a bubbly, jaggedly ascending theme that sticks in one's mind, enriched by harmonic interplay between a flaming trumpet section led by Dizzy, creamy moaning reeds and crooning trombones. The written accompaniments to the solos-in particular the leader's two statements-are full of inventiveness, creating call-and-response patterns and counter-melodies. What is boppish here is the off-center, syncopated melody, as well as the shifting, internal voicings of the chords, especially at the very end. These voicings, along with a love of tuneful melodies that one walks out of a jazz club humming, were Tadd's main legacy to such composers and arrangers as Benny Golson, Gigi Gryce, and Jimmy Heath."Rolling Stone describes it as a "bop gem".  Bill Evans recorded his version of it for his debut album New Jazz Conceptions in 1956. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Delight

Personnel:  Trumpet – Fats Navarro;  Alto Saxophone – Rudy Williams;  Bass – Curly Russell;  Drums – Kenny Clarke;  Piano – Tadd Dameron;  Tenor Saxophone – Allen Eager;  Vibraphone – Milt Jackson

Our Delight

---

Fats Navarro - Goin' to Minton's

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:07
Size: 165,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:32)  1. Boppin' A Riff
(5:45)  2. Fat Boy
(5:52)  3. Everything's Cool
(5:38)  4. Webb City
(2:50)  5. Calling Dr. Jazz
(2:53)  6. Fracture
(2:42)  7. Hollerin' & Screamin'
(2:49)  8. Stealing Trash
(2:16)  9. Just A Mystery
(3:06) 10. Red Pepper
(2:33) 11. Spinal
(3:03) 12. Maternity
(2:21) 13. Fat Girl
(2:41) 14. Ice Freezes Red
(2:25) 15. Eb Pob
(2:52) 16. Goin' to Minton's
(3:00) 17. A Be Bop Carroll
(2:53) 18. The Tadd Walk
(2:44) 19. Nostalgia
(2:40) 20. Barry's Bop
(2:37) 21. Be Bop Romp
(2:48) 22. Fats Blows

There are many tragic figures in bebop history, but Fats Navarro's story is even sadder than most. Considered by some to be a better trumpeter than Dizzy Gillespie (Lennie Tristano is reported to have said of Gillespie, "He's a nice trumpet player, but he's no Fats"), Navarro was killed by his heroin addiction at age 26. This disc includes material from five sessions recorded between September of 1946 and December of 1947, when bop was at the height of its popularity and its most important and influential practitioners were still alive. Some of them, in addition to Navarro, are present on these sessions: Bud Powell plays piano on "Boppin' a Riff," "Fat Boy," "Everything's Cool," and his own "Webb City," tracks which also feature Sonny Stitt on alto and Kenny Clarke on drums. Other sessions feature Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis on tenor, frequent Charlie Parker sideman Curley Russell on bass, Charlie Rouse on tenor, and Art Blakey on drums. While the sound quality isn't always great, the performances themselves rarely fall short of greatness, and Navarro's sweet tone and effortlessly beautiful phrasing are a constant pleasure throughout. ~ Rick Anderson http://www.allmusic.com/album/goin-to-mintons-mw0000252304

Personnel includes: Fats Navarro (trumpet); Leo Parker (alto & baritone saxophones); Sonny Stitt, Ernie Henry (alto saxophone); Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Charlie Rouse, Morris Lane (tenor saxophone); Ed DeVerteuill (baritone saxophone); Kenny Dorham (trumpet); Bud Powell, Tadd Dameron, Al Haig (piano); Huey Long (guitar); Al Hall, Gene Ramey, Curley Russell, Nelson Boyd (bass); Kenny Clarke, Denzil Best, Art Blakey (drums).

Goin' to Minton's

---

Tadd Dameron, John Coltrane - Mating Call

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:02
Size: 80.2 MB
Styles: Bop
Year: 1957/2016
Art: Front

[5:32] 1. Mating Call
[5:07] 2. Gnid
[5:21] 3. Soultrane
[6:19] 4. On A Misty Night
[6:49] 5. Romas
[5:51] 6. Super Jet

These half-dozen tracks from November 30, 1956 -- containing what would be John Coltrane's final studio outing of the year -- find the tenor saxophonist in the company of Tadd Dameron (piano), John Simmons (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). Recordings have been issued with Coltrane's name outranking or insinuating that he is the session leader. However Dameron not only offers up some exceptional interplay against Coltrane, the pianist actually supplied 10-percent of the top-shelf material. The unmistakable rat-a-tat-tat of Philly Joe Jones opens the exotic "Mating Call." Dameron almost immediately responds on the seductive verse that sets the pace. Coltrane bursts through with confident soul as Dameron occasionally interjects his own animated punctuation. By comparison, the pianist takes his turn with consideration and subdued introspection. Yet Dameron steers clear of a mini duet between himself and Jones prior to the final reprise of the chorus. As a sidebar: parties who revel in the production work of Rudy Van Gelder are encouraged to spin "Mating Call"'s echoplex-laden fade out for some old-school excitement.

It remains unknown whether Dameron titled the lovely and melodic "Gnid" after the acronym for the social-disease yielding "Gram-Negative Intracellular Diplococci." The name aside, "Gnid" features the ensemble at their collective best. The uniform guidance of Dameron and Coltrane is explored immediately as they unfurl the spry theme before taking the respective reigns. The pianist's solo reveals hints of Duke Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train" as a build up to Coltrane's inventive and playful counterpoint. "Soultrane" may well be Dameron's greatest gift to Coltrane as the ballad is custom-built for the tenor player's tender yet empathetic sonic terminology. Nowhere is this more evident than when the rhythm hits double-time with a lack of competition from the bandstand, while Coltrane takes the combo around corners with acuity and fluidity to spare. Giving props to the pop songbook standard "September in the Rain," Dameron's "On a Misty Night" is a study in contrasts. Coltrane embraces the singsong quality of the chorus in broad, hearty strokes. On the other hand, Dameron's playing has a Thelonious Monk feel in places -- especially as the swinging backbeat vacillates in and out of a double-time pattern. The sturdy blues of "Romas" has Dameron calling the shots with a stealth-like vibe that Coltrane fleshes out in the ensuing instrumental banter.

As if building up to a high-energy conclusion, "Super Jet" is an outright bop-inspired vehicle into the pure improvisational nature of jazz. Coltrane is beginning to show signs of his mile-a-minute phrasing that would later become known as "sheets of sound." Dameron loses none of the momentum during his response and finally, Jones gets a chance to trade licks with Coltrane as the pair demonstrate their uncanny ability to complete -- or at the very least complement -- each other's performances. ~Lindsay Planer

Mating Call

---

Dexter Gordon - Dexter Digs In: The Young Dexter Gordon

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 46:54

Size: 107.4 MB

Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz

Year: 2000

Art: Front

[5:52] 1. Setting The Pace

[2:40] 2. So Easy

[2:41] 3. Dexter's Riff

[3:00] 4. Long Tall Dexter

[3:15] 5. I Can't Escape From You

[2:55] 6. Dexter Digs In

[3:11] 7. Dexter Rides Again

[2:50] 8. Dexter's Mood

[3:03] 9. Index

[2:47] 10. Dextrose

[2:59] 11. Dextivity

[2:40] 12. Dexter's Minor Mad

[3:06] 13. Dexter's Cutting Out

[2:52] 14. Dexter's Deck

[2:55] 15. Blow Mr. Dexter

Balanced perfectly between the swing and bebop eras, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon played a major role in linking the styles of earlier players, such as Lester Young and Ben Webster, with those who followed, including Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. Gordon made some of the first bebop recordings in the 1940s, and was an active and highly influential player through the 1970s.

Baritone Saxophone – Leo Parker (tracks: 1-3); Bass – Curly Russell (tracks: 4-7), Gene Ramsey (tracks: 12-15), Nelson Boyd (tracks: 1-3, 8-11); Drums – Art Blakey (tracks: 1-3), Art Mardigan (tracks: 8-11), Ed Nicholson (tracks: 12-15), Max Roach (tracks: 4-7); Piano – Bud Powell (tracks: 4-7), Argonne Thornton (tracks: 12-15), Tadd Dameron (tracks: 1-3, 8-11); Tenor Saxophone – Dexter Gordon; Trumpet – Fats Navarro (tracks: 8-11), Leonard Hawkins (tracks: 4-7).

Dexter Digs In: The Young Dexter Gordon

---

Fats Navarro - Nostalgia

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 33:14
Size: 76.1 MB
Styles: Trumpet jazz
Year: 1958/2001
Art: Front

[2:41] 1. Nostalgia
[2:36] 2. Barry's Bop
[2:34] 3. Be-Bop Romp
[2:47] 4. Fats Blows
[2:57] 5. Dextivity
[2:46] 6. Dextrose
[2:49] 7. Dexter's Mood
[3:01] 8. Index
[2:42] 9. Stealin' Trash
[2:38] 10. Hollerin' And Screamin'
[2:50] 11. Fracture
[2:47] 12. Callin' Dr. Jazz

Taken from three different, late-'40s sessions, Nostalgia features Navarro in the fine company of bebop stars like Dexter Gordon, Tadd Dameron, and Art Blakey. While looser sounding than the legendary sides the trumpeter cut for Blue Note, the tracks here still include the usual bevy of sharp Navarro solos, plus stellar contributions by all involved. The first session with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse (one of the earliest recordings of the future Monk sideman), Dameron, and Blakey, finds Navarro mixing poised and fluid solo work with more intense high-note statements, demonstrating his masterful blend of both Miles Davis' cool approach and Dizzy Gillespie's incendiary technique. The highlights continue with four more cuts from a Dexter Gordon-led session from 1947, which adheres to the brief head statement and round of solos mode used on the earlier cuts. Dameron returns on piano, nicely comping behind Gordon's already distinct solo work and more of Navarro's pearl-like horn lines (these numbers have also been released on various Gordon titles on Savoy). The disc ends with a date led by honking tenor man Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, which, while less intriguing than the other sessions, stills swings mightily with a mix of bebop and R&B flavored tunes. Nostalgia is worthy of any jazz collection and certainly is an essential title from the bebop era. ~ Stephen Cook

Fats Navarro (trumpet), Charlie Rouse, Dexter Gordon, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (tenor saxophones), Tadd Dameron, Al Haig (piano), Huey Long (guitar), Nelson Boyd, Gene Ramey (bass), Art Blakey, Art Mardigan, Denzil Best (drums).

Nostalgia

---