Showing posts with label Teddy Charles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teddy Charles. Show all posts

Friday, February 23, 2024

Teddy Charles - The Many Sides of Teddy Charles

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 80:55
Size: 186,1 MB
Art: Front

( 8:07) 1. Blues Become Elektra
( 7:00) 2. Bobalob
( 7:52) 3. Staggers
( 4:18) 4. Free
( 7:39) 5. Arlene
(11:42) 6. Blue Grens
( 3:17) 7. Speak Low
( 5:07) 8. Skylark
( 9:18) 9. Old Devil Moon
( 5:39) 10. Further Out
( 6:25) 11. No More Nights
( 4:27) 12. Wailing Dervish

Teddy Charles, along with Milt Jackson and Terry Gibbs, extended the legacies of Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo and established the gold standard for modern jazz vibraphonists. Charles was also an innovative composer and arranger whose recordings were some of the most forward looking and highly regarded of the 1950s, especially his Tentet sessions for the Atlantic label in 1956. His versatility is demonstrated by the broad spectrum of musicians with whom he worked during his career ranging from jazz luminaries such as Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, and Gunther Schuller to rhythm and blues stars including Aretha Franklin, Chuck Willis, and Earl Bostic.

Although I have been unable to obtain session details for the discography, Charles recalls doing many recording dates with pop, soul and rock artists including Bobby Vinton, Dion and the Belmonts, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Paul Simon, Diahann Carroll, Betty Barney and organist Ethel Smith. Teddy Charles also produced and supervised many recording dates involving artists such as John Coltrane, Zoot Sims and Howard McGhee, mainly for the Prestige, Bethlehem and Warwick labels. In the 1960s, Charles returned to his other passion in life, sailing.

For years, he was occupied with the maintenance and operation of the Mary E, an historic 72-foot clipper schooner built in 1906. He sold that vessel recently (January 2007) and conducted tours of the Peconic Bay estuary on the historic skipjack Pilgrim. On April 23, 2003, Charles performed in a trio setting with clarinetist Perry Robinson and bassist Ed Schuller at the Cornelia Street Cafe in New York City. Robinson and Charles had never worked together before this event. It was fascinating to hear the interactions between the unabashedly "outside" clarinetist and the more controlled but still adventurous Charles. On April 17, 2005, Teddy Charles performed with the Tony DiGregorio Trio (Tony DiGregorio, guitar; Tony Oblaney, bass; Keith Dorgan, drums) at DEKK in TrBeCa.

The quartet swung compellingly through a variety of jazz standards on a lovely, warm afternoon in lower Manhattan. Teddy Charles often performed at the Scrimshaw Restaurant in Greenport, NY with trombonist Bob Hovey, pianist Neil Ralph and drummer Andy Collier. Charles appeared as a special guest with the Chris Byars Quartet at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City on October 12 & 13, 2007. Performing some of Charles's own compositions, the ensemble included John Mosca on trombone, Ari Roland on bass and Stefan Schatz on drums with Chris Byars on alto, tenor and soprano saxophones and flute. Teddy Charles passed on April 16, 2012.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/teddy-charles/

The Many Sides of Teddy Charles

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Booker Little - The New York Sessions Featuring Booker Ervin

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:15
Size: 130,2 MB
Art: Front

( 5:17)  1. Scoochie
( 4:46)  2. Cycles
( 3:41)  3. Stardust
( 6:52)  4. The Confined Few
( 3:39)  5. Blues De Tambour
( 4:37)  6. Witch Fire
(10:44)  7. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
( 8:09)  8. Blue 'N' Boogie
( 8:26)  9. After Hours

Despite the extreme brevity of his life passing away at the tender age of 23 Booker Little left behind one of the most important legacies of the jazz trumpet; a legacy that has stood the test of time, growing stronger with each passing year. 

The unrivalled trumpeter is featured here in two settings; a stellar date with the under appreciated tenor saxophone giant Booker Ervin, and an unprecedented octet session featuring a who's who of Memphis, Tennessee's most celebrated musicians. A rare release by one of the finest and most underrated legends of the jazz trumpet. https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/booker-little-albums/3510-featuring-booker-ervin-new-york-sessions.html

Personnel:  Trumpet – Booker Little; Bass – Addison Farmer; Drums – Ed Shaughnessy; Piano – Mal Waldron; Vibraphone – Teddy Charles

The New York Sessions Featuring Booker Ervin

Friday, August 11, 2017

Bob Brookmeyer - The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 1955
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:47
Size: 91,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:40)  1. Rocky Scotch
(5:07)  2. Under the Lilacs
(5:49)  3. They Say It's Wonderful
(4:49)  4. Potrezebie
(5:46)  5. Revelation
(4:29)  6. Star Eyes
(4:25)  7. Nobody's Heart
(4:38)  8. Loup-Garou

This CD reissue has four selections apiece from two different bands, both of which feature subtle interplay and cool tones. Bob Brookmeyer plays valve trombone and piano on two songs apiece with his 1955 quartet, a group also including guitarist Jimmy Raney, bassist Teddy Kotick and drummer Mel Lewis. The other half of this disc is actually led by vibraphonist Teddy Charles who features Brookmeyer on both of his instruments along with bassist Teddy Kotick and drummer Ed Shaughnessy; Nancy Overton takes a vocal on "Nobody's Heart." Although the overall set is not all that essential, the music is pleasing and reasonably creative. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-dual-role-of-bob-brookmeyer-mw0000203311

Personnel: Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone, piano); Nancy Overton (vocals); Jimmy Raney (guitar); Teddy Charles (vibraphone); Mel Lewis, Ed Shaughnessy (drums).

The Dual Role of Bob Brookmeyer

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Chris Byars - Bop-ography

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 62:07
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

( 5:19)  1. Festival
( 5:59)  2. Straight Ahead
( 6:20)  3. Lost Love
( 4:29)  4. Himalayan Sunrise
( 6:07)  5. Nature Boy
( 6:39)  6. Minority
( 6:33)  7. Indra
(20:38)  8. Bop-Ography

An equally skilled player on both alto and tenor saxes, Chris Byars leads a tantalizing pianoless quartet, using regular collaborators John Mosca on trombone, bassist Ari Roland, and drummer Stefan Schatz. After an earlier tribute to composer Gigi Gryce, Byars continues with three more of his songs, adding octogenarian vibraphonist Teddy Charles for the enticing slow blues "Straight Ahead" (with its meandering theme, it is anything but), while the leader's father is added on English horn in the ensembles for the breezy take of Gryce's well-known bop vehicle "Minority." Byars' exotic "Indra" features Schatz on kanjira (an Indian tambourine-like instrument, but without the metal rim) is full of twists and turns in its infectious theme, and his majestic "Himalayan Sunrise" has a Far Eastern air (with the backgrounds provided by both Mosca and Byars, Sr. on English horn) and rich harmonies often found in '50s jazz. This is yet another fine date by Chris Byars. ~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/bop-ography-mw0001983527

Personnel: Chris Byars (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); John Mosca (trombone); Stefan Schatz (drums); James Byars (oboe);  Teddy Charles (vibes);  Ari Roland (bass).

Bop-ography

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Teddy Charles, Mal Waldron, Doug Watkins, Elvin Jones - Olio

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1957
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:27
Size: 89,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:08)  1. Potpourri
(8:03)  2. Blues Without Woe
(6:28)  3. Touche
(7:02)  4. Dakar
(4:21)  5. Embraceable You
(6:23)  6. Hello Frisco

Trumpeter Thad Jones receives first billing on this all-star outing, but vibraphonist Teddy Charles, who contributed three of the six selections (two of the other songs are by pianist Mal Waldron, while the lone standard is "Embraceable You") was really the musical director. Jones, Charles, and Waldron are joined by Frank Wess (doubling on tenor and flute), bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Elvin Jones for a set of modern hard bop. Although this was not a regular group and there is not an obvious leader, the music is on a higher level than that of a routine jam session. The challenging material and the high quality playing of the young greats makes this fairly obscure modern mainstream set (reissued on CD in 1998) well worth exploring. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/olio-mw0000047957

Personnel:  Bass – Doug Watkins;  Drums – Elvin Jones;  Flute – Frank Wess;  Piano – Mal Waldron;  Tenor Saxophone – Frank Wess;  Trumpet – Thad Jones;  Vibraphone – Teddy Charles

Olio

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Gil Mellé Quartet - Gil's Guests

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:01
Size: 121.4 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1990
Art: Front

[6:20] 1. Soudan
[6:09] 2. Tomorrow
[4:57] 3. Block Island
[5:52] 4. Sixpence
[8:10] 5. Still Life
[3:45] 6. Ghengis
[6:36] 7. Funk For Star People
[6:46] 8. Golden Age
[4:21] 9. Herbie

Baritone saxiphonist Gil Melle didn't make very many recordings before abandoning the music business to concentrate on other artistic pursuits. This recording for the Prestige label shows him to be an intriguing composer. The performances emphasize tightly arranged ensemble playing, with fine individual playing by the quartet and the "Guests" who include trumpeters Donald Byrd, Art Farmer, and Kenny Dorham. According to Gil's web-site, the credit for Phil Woods is incorrect; rather, the saxophonist on the last three tracks is tenor Zoot Sims. Also according to the web site, Teddy Charles played vibes but doesn't show up in the credits.

Melle recorded some quartet tracks for Blue Note which have been re-released as a 3-disc set. He recorded this and several other sessions for Prestige, and then retired from jazz. This disc is not an essential classic, but IS an intersting and enjoyable set of well written and arranged songs that stands up to repeat listening. ~Someguy

Gil's Guests

Friday, April 10, 2015

Teddy Charles & His Sextet - Salute To Hamp

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:39
Size: 111.4 MB
Styles: Vibraphone jazz
Year: 2010/2013
Art: Front

[5:09] 1. Air Mail Special
[2:40] 2. Midnight Sun
[2:23] 3. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
[2:20] 4. He's Gone Again
[3:18] 5. Stompin' At The Savoy
[3:14] 6. Flying Home
[3:43] 7. Stardust
[4:00] 8. Blue Hamp
[2:53] 9. Moonglow
[2:42] 10. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Alt Take)
[3:17] 11. Stompin' At The Savoy
[2:40] 12. Moonglow (Alt Take 4)
[4:14] 13. Blue Hamp (Alt Take 5)
[2:55] 14. Jack The Bellboy
[3:04] 15. Jack The Bellboy (Alt Take 3)

Bass – Addison Farmer; Drums – Charlie Smith, Ed Thigpen; Piano – Hank Jones; Tenor Saxophone – Zoot Sims; Trombone – Bob Brookmeyer; Trumpet – Art Farmer; Vibraphone – Teddy Charles.

Trained at the Juilliard School of Music, Teddy was able to reach effortlessly into modern classical music theory and deploy modal scales on solos—giving his compositions and recordings a fresh, hip sound. But what made Teddy's style special was that he was able to combine long-hair thinking with street-smart swing, and for Teddy, swing, ultimately, was everything.

There was no shortage of great vibraphonists in the late '40s. Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Red Norvo, Terry Gibbs and Marjorie Hyams all could drop jaws. But Teddy represented something new—a sound that seemed to be visiting from the future. And as it turned out, that's exactly where it came from, since he would influence many young vibraphonists who followed.

Salute To Hamp