Thelonious Monk Septet - Monk's Music

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1957
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:06
Size: 112,2 MB
Art: Front

( 0:52)  1. Abide With Me
(11:22)  2. Well You Needn't
( 5:24)  3. Ruby, My Dear
( 5:06)  4. Off Minor - Take 5
( 5:13)  5. Off Minor - Bonus Track
(10:44)  6. Epistrophy
( 4:36)  7. Crepuscule With Nellie - Take 6 / Mono
( 4:45)  8. Crepuscule With Nellie - Bonus Track

Many albums in the Original Jazz Classics reissue series include alternate takes or tracks recorded for, but ultimately not included on, the original vinyl LP. The label's 2011 Remasters edition of pianist Thelonious Monk's Monk's Music (Riverside, 1957) is no exception but is something of a first, in that "Blues For Tomorrow," the 13:33 minute bonus track, does not include a single note from the leader. The track was recorded on June 25, 1957, in the closing minutes of an otherwise unproductive session. Monk, unusually, arrived on time, but was distracted with worry about his wife, Nellie, who was in hospital. Drummer Art Blakey arrived an hour late and then had to assemble and mic up his kit. The band had difficulty following Monk's directions, leading Monk to exclaim to tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane, "You're the great Coleman Hawkins, right? You're the guy who invented the tenor saxophone, right? Your'e the great John Coltrane, right? Well, the music is in the horn. Between the two of you, you should be able to find it." Eventually, towards the due end of the session, Monk threw in the towel and went home. Producer Orrin Keepnews, desperate to salvage some releasable music from the date, asked the remaining sextet to record a blues, which was quickly put together by alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce. "Blues For Tomorrow" was not included on the original Monk's Music, and was first released on a Riverside various artists compilation. (The alternate takes of "Off Minor" and "Crepuscule With Nellie" have long been included on reissues of Monk's Music). Happily, a second session on June 26 went resoundingly well, producing the other eight tracks which make up the Remasters disc which also includes, in the 00:55 minute opener, "Abide With Me," a second Monkless item, this one arranged by Monk for the horns only, as a curtain-raiser to the album proper. Monk's horns-rich arrangements, and the quality of the soloists to hand, has made Monk's Music a well-loved and important part of Monk's canon. Compositionally, however, it marked time. Putting aside its immediate predecessor, Thelonious Himself (Riverside, 1957), on which the mostly unaccompanied Monk focused on standards, it followed Brilliant Corners (Riverside, 1956), on which Monk led a quintet/septet on mostly freshly composed material. Most of the tunes on Monk's Music would have been familiar to the assembled musicians, who were thrown on June 25 by new and tricky arrangements and, very likely, by Monk's distracted mood.  Joe Tarantino's 24-bit remaster does Monk's Music proud, and it is appropriate to have "Blues For Tomorrow" on the same disc even if there's no Monk. ~ Chris May https://www.allaboutjazz.com/monks-music-thelonious-monk-original-jazz-classics-remasters-review-by-chris-may.php

Personnel: Thelonious Monk: piano (2-8); Ray Copeland: trumpet (1, 2, 4-9); Gigi Gryce: alto saxophone (1, 2, 4-9); John Coltrane: tenor saxophone (1, 2, 4-9); Coleman Hawkins: tenor saxophone; Wilbur Ware: bass (2-9); Art Blakey: drums (2-9).

Monk's Music

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Cecil Payne - Zodiac

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:51
Size: 96,1 MB
Art: Front

( 7:00)  1. Martin Luther King, Jr. / I Know Lowe
(10:53)  2. Girl, You Got a Home
( 4:25)  3. Slide Hampton
( 7:07)  4. Follow Me
(12:23)  5. Flying Fish

It’s impossible to talk about this album without acknowledging the spectre of death that hangs over it not only is it the third entry in Strata-East Records’ Dolphy Series, a collection of archival recordings from some of the label’s close associates honoring the recently deceased multi-instrumentalist, but it is actually dedicated to two members of the band, Wynton Kelly and Kenny Dorham, who died in between the recording sessions and its release. The point is driven home even further by the fact that the album begins with a tribute from Payne to the fallen Martin Luther King, Jr., a piece that acts as a de facto solo for Dorham his playing all rosy elegance and regal warmth before shifting into the lighter (though equally coolly-paced) “I Know Love,” a showcase for Payne’s sax. While not the most somber jazz track ever recorded, this opening suite is a low-key and mournful way to open the affair, but thankfully the album really picks off and shows these musicians more in their element the rest of the way. “Girl, You Got a Home” is a funky piece, beginning very soulfully with some tight interplay among the rhythm section of Kelly, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Albert Heath. 

Ware is in especially fine form on this track, tying together the disparate passages of the piece by grounding the more ponderous moments in a deep funk, while Kelly’s playing is especially ear catching in the way he stabs at his piano like it’s an organ. After the first two tracks take up nearly twenty minutes, the four-minute “Slide Hampton” feels almost impossibly brief, a feeling that’s enhanced by its quick, jittery, and infectious rhythm, driven by some really dexterous work from Kelly. The final track, “Flying Fish,” may be the album’s highlight, a Caribbean-inspired composition that casts the rhythm section as flighty ground for both Payne and Dorham to vamp on. The track is oddly danceable for something released on Strata-East, maybe the most fun moment ever for the label, and relentlessly uptempo. Though this release may be in part defined by the deaths that preceded it, it’s clear that the recording process was actually a lot of fun for everybody, as their enthusiasm and energy jumps right out of the speakers. This is one of the first Strata East records I really got into and is still one of my favorites, a must-hear for any fans of the flightier moments of Dorham or Kelly’s career, and a fitting tribute for both master musicians. https://lightintheattic.net/releases/3745-zodiac

Personnel:  Cecil Payne, baritone, alto saxophone; Kenny Dorham, trumpet; Wynton Kelly, piano, organ; Wilbur Ware, bass; Albert Heath, drums.

Zodiac

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Lee Morgan - Indeed!

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:12
Size: 87,6 MB
Art: Front

(8:18)  1. Roccus
(4:55)  2. Reggie of Chester
(6:47)  3. The Lady
(8:23)  4. Little T
(3:57)  5. Gaza Strip
(5:49)  6. Stand By

The first time Lee Morgan entered a recording studio, he was just 18 years old and he was leading his own band. More impressive, that band included soon to be legendary pianist Horace Silver and drummer Philly Joe Jones. This is the CD of that 1956 recording session. While the players were great, the music is merely ordinary which isn't too surprising given the tender age of the leader. Indeed! is standard Blue Note hard bop by the guys who would, in various combinations, become the label's mainstays.  That's not a knock. This is a good record, and if you're a fan of hard bop, as I am, you'll like it. Morgan is very much the product of Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. He sounds a bit like both, and he even played Dizzy's trademark horn with a bent bell. The other horn player is a virtual unknown saxman Clarence Sharpe, known to friends as C. Sharpe, or C#. In many numbers, he sounds like a Charlie Parker knockoff again, no big surprise for a young alto player in 1956, a year after Bird's death. In Sharpe's 1990 obituary, The New York Times called him "the missing link between Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman." But that was later in life. Here, he's all bebop. Same with Lee Morgan, who had a long and legendary career on Blue Note, recording something like 25 albums. This is the first, and it's no fault of the young 18-year-old that it's not yet as memorable as 1963's The Sidewinder. It's solid, enjoyable, if unoriginal, hard bop. A couple of side notes: First, though the album has only one ballad, "The Lady," it is sweet and tender and nearly all Morgan. A real standout. Second, the cut "Gaza Strip" has absolutely no hints of Middle Eastern or Arabic influences. Wonder where the title came from. Finally, though Horace Silver is a member of the band, he mostly stays in the background, taking a handful of perfunctory solos. ~ Marc Davis https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lee-morgan-indeed--blue-note-1538-lee-morgan-by-marc-davis.php

Personnel:  Lee Morgan - trumpet;  Horace Silver - piano;  Clarence Sharpe - alto saxophone;  Wilbur Ware - bass;  Philly Joe Jones - drums

Indeed!

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Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane - Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:51
Size: 107,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:22)  1. Ruby, My Dear
(6:41)  2. Trinkle, Tinkle
(5:16)  3. Off Minor (take 4)
(6:40)  4. Nutty
(3:11)  5. Epistrophy (alt. take)
(9:46)  6. Functional (alt. take)
(7:52)  7. Monk's Mood

Universally regarded as one of the greatest collaborations between the two most influential musicians in modern jazz (Miles Davis notwithstanding), the Jazzland sessions from Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane should be recognized on other levels. While the mastery of the principals is beyond reproach, credit should also be given to peerless bassist Wilbur Ware, as mighty an anchor as anyone could want. These 1957 dates also sport a variety in drummerless trio, quartet, septet, or solo piano settings, all emphasizing the compelling and quirky compositions of Monk. A shouted-out, pronounced "Off Minor" and robust, three-minute "Epistrophy" with legendary saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Gigi Gryce, and the brilliant, underappreciated trumpeter Ray Copeland are hallmark tracks that every jazz fan should revere. Of the four quartet sessions, the fleet "Trinkle Tinkle" tests Coltrane's mettle, as he's perfectly matched alongside Monk, but conversely unforced during "Nutty" before taking off. Monk's solo piano effort, "Functional," is flavored with blues, stride, and boogie-woogie, while a bonus track, "Monk's Mood," has a Monk-Ware-Coltrane tandem (minus drummer Shadow Wilson) back for an eight-minute excursion primarily with Monk in a long intro, 'Trane in late, and Ware's bass accents booming through the studio. This will always be an essential item standing proudly among unearthed live sessions from Monk and Coltrane, demarcating a pivotal point during the most significant year in all types of music, from a technical and creative standpoint, but especially the jazz of the immediate future. ~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/thelonious-monk-with-john-coltrane-mw0000188439

Personnel:  Thelonious Monk — piano;  John Coltrane — tenor saxophone;  Ray Copeland — trumpet on "Off Minor" and "Epistrophy";  Gigi Gryce — alto saxophone on "Off Minor" and "Epistrophy";  Coleman Hawkins — tenor saxophone on "Off Minor" and "Epistrophy";  Wilbur Ware — bass on all except for "Functional";  Shadow Wilson — drums on "Ruby, My Dear", "Trinkle, Tinkle" and "Nutty";  Art Blakey — drums on "Off Minor" and "Epistrophy"

Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane

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John Jenkins, Cliff Jordan, Bobby Timmons - Jenkins, Jordan & Timmons

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:29
Size: 85.8 MB
Styles: Hard Bop
Year: 1994
Art: Front

[ 6:30] 1. Cliff's Edge
[ 7:02] 2. Tenderly
[ 6:15] 3. Princess
[10:32] 4. Soft Talk
[ 7:08] 5. Blue Jay

Alto Saxophone – John Jenkins; Bass – Wilbur Ware; Drums – Dannie Richmond; Piano – Bobby Timmons; Tenor Saxophone – Clifford Jordan. Recorded in Hackensack, NJ on July 26, 1957.

Four of the five selections on this CD reissue (which also includes "Tenderly") are obscure jazz originals by altoist John Jenkins, tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, or trombonist Julian Priester. Inspired by both Charlie Parker and Jackie McLean, Jenkins teams up with Jordan, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Wilbur Ware, and drummer Dannie Richmond for some bop-oriented improvising. Strange that this would be one of only two sets led by Jenkins. Although the Blue Note CD, recorded just 16 days later, gets the edge, this is an excellent effort too. ~Scott Yanow

Jenkins, Jordan & Timmons mc
Jenkins, Jordan & Timmons zippy

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Ernie Henry - Last Chorus

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:20
Size: 104,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:15)  1. Autumn Leaves
(6:28)  2. Beauty And The Blues
(7:49)  3. All The Things You Are
(2:41)  4. Melba's Tune
(4:54)  5. S'Posin'
(6:58)  6. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are
(4:40)  7. Like Someone In Love
(8:31)  8. Cleo's Chant

Ernie Henry was a promising alto saxophonist who passed away prematurely on December 29, 1957, when he was only 31. He had recorded his album Seven Standards and a Blues on September 30, and four songs for an uncompleted octet date on September 23. This CD reissue has the latter tunes (which feature trumpeter Lee Morgan; trombonist Melba Liston, who contributed "Melba's Tune"; tenor saxophonist Benny Golson; and pianist Wynton Kelly), an alternate take from the Seven Standards set ("Like Someone in Love"), a leftover track from the preceding year ("Cleo's Chant"), the solos of Thelonious Monk and Henry (from the lengthy "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are"), and an alternate version of "S'posin'" taken from the altoist's final recording (a quartet outing with trumpeter Kenny Dorham). Overall, the music is fine and, surprisingly, does not have an unfinished air about it. It does make one wish that Ernie Henry had taken better care of his health, as he was just beginning to develop a sound of his own. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/last-chorus-mw0000036951

Personnel:  Ernie Henry - alto saxophone;  Kenny Dorham,  Lee Morgan – trumpet;  Melba Liston – trombone;  Benny Golson, Sonny Rollins - tenor saxophone;  Cecil Payne - baritone saxophone;  Kenny Drew, Wynton Kelly, Thelonious Monk – piano;  Paul Chambers, Eddie Mathias, Oscar Pettiford, Wilbur Ware – bass;  G. T. Hogan, Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach , Art Taylor - drums

Last Chorus

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Blue Mitchell - Big 6

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:05
Size: 98.6 MB
Styles: Bop, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1991
Art: Front

[10:23] 1. Blues March
[ 6:43] 2. Big Six
[ 5:03] 3. There Will Never Be Another You
[ 7:22] 4. Brother 'ball
[ 3:46] 5. Jamph
[ 8:05] 6. Sir John
[ 1:41] 7. Promenade

Bass – Wilbur Ware; Drums – Philly Joe Jones; Piano – Wynton Kelly; Tenor Saxophone – Johnny Griffin; Trombone – Curtis Fuller; Trumpet – Blue Mitchell. Recorded in New York City on July 2 & 3, 1958.

Trumpeter Blue Mitchell was a virtual unknown when he recorded this Riverside album, his first as a leader. Mitchell is heard in excellent form in an all-star sextet with trombonist Curtis Fuller, tenor great Johnny Griffin, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Wilbur Ware, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. In addition to some group originals, obscurities, and the standard "There Will Never Be Another You," the group also plays the earliest recorded version of Benny Golson's "Blues March," pre-dating Art Blakey's famous recording. ~Scott Yanow

Big 6

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Jim Chapin - Jim Chapin Sextet And Octet (Feat. Phil Woods)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:17
Size: 160.9 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[3:31] 1. In A Little Spanish Town
[6:34] 2. Cherokee
[4:26] 3. The Goof And I
[4:25] 4. Sonny's Tune
[4:31] 5. Blue Lou
[3:56] 6. Woodlore
[4:03] 7. Little Marty
[4:17] 8. Jazz Crossroads
[4:46] 9. Cotton Tail
[5:13] 10. Pink Ice
[5:02] 11. Like Help!
[2:23] 12. I May Be Wrong
[5:02] 13. Say What
[6:30] 14. I'll Take Romance
[5:31] 15. The Lady Is A Tramp

Don Stratton, Jimmy Nottingham (tp), Billy Byers, Urbie Green (tb), Phil Woods, George Dorsey (as), Bob Wilber (ts), Sonny Truitt, Hank Jones (p), Chuck Andrus, Wilbur Ware (b), Jim Chapin (d).

Sources:Tracks #1-4, originally issued on a 10" LP as "Jim Chapin Ensemble" (Prestige PRLP213); Tracks #1-4, plus #5-8 issued on a 12" LP as "The Jim Chapin Sextet" (Classic Jazz CJ-6); Tracks #9-15, issued on a 12" LP as "Profile of a Jazz Drummer Skin Tight" (Classic Jazz CJ-7). 24-Bit Digitally Remastered.

A name new to me and possibly to many readers, Jim Chapin was regarded highly as a drumming technician and educator, the author of at least two big-selling books, star of an instructional video and a regular at drum clinics. High-profile jazz gigs were not his style, and this album contains his only recordings as a group leader.

There’s quite a contrast between the sessions. The first perhaps owes something to the Shorty Rogers Giants, given credence by the fact Chapin had sat in with Rogers and colleagues at the Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach. Phil Woods is suitably boppish on Cherokee, but often recalls the sweeter tones of Art Pepper, with his own Jazz Crossroads and the eponymous tune by Sonny Truitt both evoking a decidely West Coast feel - incidentally, there cannot be many examples on record of Woods the arranger, more’s the pity on the evidence here. If you were asked to guess who led the group, the drummer would be in the frame. By the next date, drums are everywhere. We are told Chapin got together with Bob Wilber, who did the actual arrangements, and what they came up with was a kind of mini-Buddy Rich effect. Not to put down the level of solos: Wilber stomps engagingly on every track and Urbie Green justifies his high reputation, though Jimmy Nottingham’s habit of bursting into solos at full blast seems more suited to a big band. In short, worth checking out for scarcity value, with the assurance that the best bits are pretty good. ~Ronald Atkins

Jim Chapin Sextet And Octet(Feat. Phil Woods)

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Wilbur Ware - The Chicago Sound

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1957
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 39:00
Size: 73,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:58)  1. Mamma-Daddy
(3:19)  2. Body And Soul
(5:32)  3. Desert Sands
(6:30)  4. 31st and State
(3:00)  5. Lullaby of the Leaves
(4:42)  6. Latin Quarters
(4:33)  7. Be-Ware
(7:22)  8. The Man I Love

Bassist Wilbur Ware's only recording as a leader (which has been reissued on CD) mostly features Chicago musicians. Although Ware heads the set and contributed two originals, he does not dominate the music and delegated plenty of solo space to altoist John Jenkins (who also brought in two tunes), tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, and pianist Junior Mance; Wilbur Campbell or Frank Dunlop on drums complete the group. This fine hard bop date (which also has versions of "Body and Soul," Stuff Smith's "Desert Sands," "Lullaby of the Leaves," and "The Man I Love") was a fine debut by Ware. It seems strange that in his remaining 20-plus years the bassist never led another album. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/chicago-sound-mw0000203378

Personnel: Wilbur Ware (bass); John Jenkins (alto saxophone); Johnny Griffin (tenor saxophone); Junior Mance (piano); Wilbur Campbell, Frank Dunlop (drums).

The Chicago Sound

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Johnny Griffin - Legendary Bop, Rhythm And Blues Classics

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 25:42
Size: 58.9 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[3:32] 1. I Cried For You
[3:00] 2. Satin Wrap
[2:26] 3. Yesterdays
[3:06] 4. Riff Raff
[3:48] 5. Bee-Ees
[3:14] 6. The Boy Next Door
[3:31] 7. These Foolish Things
[3:01] 8. Lollypop

These rare Chicago jazz sessions for the Parrot label featuring tenor sax great and Chicago native Johnny "Little Giant" Griffin are believed to have taken place in late 1953, although the resulting LP wasn't released until 1958. Griffin was developing a reputation as "fastest tenor in the west", for the ease with which he could execute fast note runs with excellent intonation, and eventually signed with Blue Note Records in 1956. Accompanying Griffin's tenor sax are Junior Mance piano; Wilbur Ware bass; and Wilbert "Buddy" Smith drums. All selections newly remastered.

Legendary Bop, Rhythm And Blues Classics

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Tina Brooks - The Waiting Game

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:33
Size: 90.6 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[7:38] 1. Talkin' About
[4:41] 2. One For Myrtle
[6:52] 3. Dhyana
[6:39] 4. David The King
[7:29] 5. Stranger In Paradise
[6:11] 6. The Waiting Game

Bass – Wilbur Ware; Drums – Philly Joe Jones; Piano – Kenny Drew; Tenor Saxophone – Tina Brooks; Trumpet – Johnny Coles. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on March 2, 1961.

Like two of his other three albums, Tina Brooks' final session as a leader (in March 1961) was sequenced and prepared for release, but remained on the shelves until well after the tenor's tragically early death. That's why the title of The Waiting Game is not only apt, but sadly poignant. Despite Blue Note's reservations at the time, Brooks' output for the label was uniformly strong, demonstrating his skills as a smooth, graceful soloist and a composer of considerable dexterity within the hard bop idiom. Swinging and bluesy, yet sophisticated and refined, The Waiting Game upholds the high standard Brooks set with his previous sessions. Brooks is especially fine on his minor-key compositions, such as "Talkin' About" and "Dhyana," which allow his streak of melancholy romanticism to emerge (as does the lone cover here, the Tony Bennett hit "Stranger in Paradise"). With its hints of Eastern modalities, "David the King" is perhaps the most challenging piece here; in fact, it had been attempted without success at the Back to the Tracks sessions. Brooks sounds especially searching on the album-closing title cut, and pianist Kenny Drew and trumpeter Johnny Coles contribute some long, fluid lines of their own. Hard bop fans will find The Waiting Game just as necessary as Brooks' other albums. Not counting the out-of-print Mosaic box, The Waiting Game was first issued as its own entity in 1999 in Japan, and was finally released in the U.S. in October 2002. ~Steve Huey

The Waiting Game

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J.R. Monterose - J.R. Monterose

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:45
Size: 111,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:59)  1. Wee-Jay
(5:18)  2. The Third
(8:06)  3. Bobbie Pin
(6:33)  4. Marc V
(9:04)  5. Ka-Link
(5:26)  6. Beauteous
(7:17)  7. Wee-Jay (alternate take)

Tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose (Frank Anthony Monterose, Jr.) made only two appearances on Blue Note, both in 1956 one with trumpeter Kenny Dorham's Jazz Prophets recorded live at the Café Bohemia and the other as a leader of his own crack hard bop unit. It was an early ascendancy for Monterose, who had recorded with bassist Charles Mingus, vibraphonist Teddy Charles, and worked in the big bands of arranger Claude Thornhill and drummer Buddy Rich. But unlike tenor players Sonny Rollins, Hank Mobley and Tina Brooks, Monterose wouldn't make a home (and barely a sonic dent) on Alfred Lion's label, much less in New York. He was soon back in his hometown of Utica and not long for a European sojourn that lasted most of the rest of his life.  Presumably, it had nothing to do with Monterose's abilities that his time with Blue Note was so brief; rather, a loss of the proverbial cabaret card scuttled his appearances in the city and his ability to make work. On this program of three originals and readings of tunes by session drummer Philly Joe Jones, Paul Chambers and Donald Byrd, he's joined by scene regulars in pianist Horace Silver and Jones, as well as Chicagoans bassist Wilbur Ware and multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan. Sullivan is heard here on trumpet, but also had baritone, alto saxophone and flute in his arsenal.  Perhaps one reason Monterose's name isn't mentioned even among the heavy birds in Blue Note's stable is because his sound was, even at this fairly early stage, extraordinarily individual echoes of Chu Berry and Coleman Hawkins in his massive tone and the odd, quotable cadences of Sonny Rollins. Yet his influence lay more in pianists. Harmonically, Monterose cited Bud Powell (which would give him a passing affinity with alto saxophonist Jackie McLean), and his solos are odd-metered whirls, half-dissolved licks and emphatic blats that seem directly linked to isolationist pianistic flourishes. The leader's mid-tempo composition "Wee Jay" is the lead-off track here, and is reprised in an alternate take on this Rudy Van Gelder remaster edition.

Monterose probes shards of the theme, a lilting and fragmentary cadence of honks and blats with their edges rounded and velvety, slowly strung together in flourishes and then broken apart. There are echoes of Rollins (circa the contemporaneous Vanguard recordings) in his attack. Lingering a little behind the beat he's still an extraordinarily rhythmic player, riding the rhythm section's wave in alternating swirls and pointillist jabs. Silver is conspicuously absent for the first few bars of Monterose's solo, perhaps trying to find a way in with his comping the tenor man's phrases are obviously a world unto themselves. For those used to Silver's hard, churchy approach, his touch is much lighter here, perhaps because Monterose, Ware and Philly Joe bring such meat to the proceedings. Donald Byrd's "The Third" follows; a jagged and nearly stop-time theme that fits well with Monterose's sinewy and stammering patterns as a soloist. He takes cues from Silver's arpeggiated cascades, hopping and pirouetting into a collective dance with Sullivan. The trumpeter is an excellent front line foil, a brittle and ragged logic that fills the holes in the leader's quixotic play of force and filigree. It's hard to imagine a player like Monterose making cookie-cutter hard bop sessions the likes of which fill out the catalogs of many jazz labels from the period. However, he was certainly up to the task of making a warm and utterly unique contribution to the field, and having this date available again in stunning sound is a welcome homage to an uncompromising and individual saxophonist. ~ Clifford Allen https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jr-monterose-jr-monterose-by-clifford-allen.php

Personnel:  J.R. Monterose: tenor saxophone;  Ira Sullivan: trumpet;  Horace Silver: piano;  Wilbur Ware: bass;  Philly Joe Jones: drums.

J.R. Monterose

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Ernie Henry Quartet - Seven Standards And A Blues

Styles: Saxophone Jazz

Year: 1957

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 39:38

Size: 90,7 MB

Art: Front

(4:39)  1. I Get A Kick Out Of You

(2:46)  2. My Ideal

(6:33)  3. I've Got The World On A String

(5:01)  4. Sweet Lorraine

(6:00)  5. Soon

(2:41)  6. Lover Man

(6:39)  7. Specific Gravity

(5:15)  8. Like Someone In Love

Recorded just three months before his unexpected death, this set by altoist Ernie Henry is his definitive album as a leader. Reissued on CD with a second take of "Like Someone In Love" added to the program, Henry, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Philly Joe Jones do indeed play seven standards (including "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Soon" and "I've Got the World on a String"), plus a Henry blues ("Specific Gravity"). Superior modern mainstream music, but there should have been much more from the potentially significant Ernie Henry. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/seven-standards-and-a-blues-mw0000096491

Personnel: Ernie Henry (alto saxophone), Wynton Kelly (piano), Wilbur Ware (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums).

Seven Standards And A Blues

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Kenny Drew - A Harold Arlen Showcase

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:34
Size: 74.6 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1957/2010
Art: Front

[2:40] 1. Come Rain Or Come Shine
[3:20] 2. That Old Black Magic
[3:10] 3. Over The Rainbow
[2:17] 4. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
[2:46] 5. As Long As I Live
[2:11] 6. It's Only A Paper Moon
[2:58] 7. Stormy Weather
[2:17] 8. I've Got The World On A String
[2:32] 9. Let's Fall In Love
[2:59] 10. Ill Wind
[2:37] 11. Blues In The Night
[2:43] 12. Get Happy

Kenny Drew — piano, Wilbur Ware — bass

A Harold Arlen Showcase is an album by pianist Kenny Drew recorded in 1957 and released on the Riverside Records subsidiary Judson label. The album was rereleased on CD by Milestone Records as a compilation with its companion album A Harry Warren Showcase as Kenny Drew Plays the Music of Harry Warren and Harold Arlen in 1995.

A Harold Arlen Showcase

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The Kenny Drew Trio - Pal Joey

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:03
Size: 87.1 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1957/2011
Art: Front

[ 4:09] 1. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered
[ 5:52] 2. Do It The Hard Way
[ 4:00] 3. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
[ 4:18] 4. Happy Hunting Horn
[ 4:43] 5. I Could Write A Book
[ 5:08] 6. What Is A Man
[ 4:09] 7. My Funny Valentine
[ 5:41] 8. The Lady Is A Tramp

It seems strange that (with the exception of a 1960 session for Blue Note) this would be pianist Kenny Drew's last session as a leader until 1973. With bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Philly Joe Jones, Drew interprets eight Rodgers and Hart tunes, five written for the play Pal Joey and three of their earlier hits that were included in the film version. Drew contributes swing and subtle bop-based improvising to these superior melodies (which are highlighted by "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "I Could Write a Book," and "The Lady Is a Tramp"), and the results are quite memorable. ~Scott Yanow

Pal Joey

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Sonny Clark - Dial "S" For Sonny

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:49
Size: 104.9 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1957/1997/2015
Art: Front

[7:22] 1. Dial S For Sonny
[5:12] 2. Bootin' It
[6:56] 3. It Could Happen To You
[8:35] 4. Sonny's Mood
[6:41] 5. Shoutin' On A Riff
[5:48] 6. Love Walked In
[5:13] 7. Bootin' It

Dial "S" for Sonny, Sonny Clark's first session for Blue Note Records and his first session as a leader, is a terrific set of laidback bop, highlighted by Clark's liquid, swinging solos. Clark leads a first-rate group -- Art Farmer (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Wilbur Ware (bass), Louis Hayes (drums) -- through four originals and two standards, balancing the selections between swinging bop and reflective ballads. There are traces of Bud Powell in Clark's style, but he's beginning to come into his own, developing a style that's alternately edgy and charmingly relaxed. Mobley, Farmer and Fuller have their moments, but Clark steals the show in this set of fine, straight-ahead bop. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Dial "S" For Sonny

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The Kenny Drew Trio - Pal Joey

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:00
Size: 87,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:12)  1. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
(5:52)  2. Do It The Hard Way
(3:59)  3. I Didn't Know What Time it Was
(4:15)  4. Happy Hunting Horn
(4:43)  5. I Could Write a Book
(5:08)  6. What Is a Man?
(4:05)  7. My Funny Valentine
(5:41)  8. The Lady Is A Tramp

It seems strange that (with the exception of a 1960 session for Blue Note) this would be pianist Kenny Drew's last session as a leader until 1973. With bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Philly Joe Jones, Drew interprets eight Rodgers and Hart tunes, five written for the play Pal Joey and three of their earlier hits that were included in the film version. Drew contributes swing and subtle bop-based improvising to these superior melodies (which are highlighted by "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "I Could Write a Book," and "The Lady Is a Tramp"), and the results are quite memorable. 

~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/pal-joey-mw0000091964

Personnel: Kenny Drew (piano); Wilbur Ware (bass); Philly Joe Jones (drums).

Pal Joey

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Johnny Griffin, Wilbur Ware - The Chicago Sound

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:18
Size: 147.2 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz, Contemporary jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[3:33] 1. I Cried For You
[3:01] 2. Satin Wrap
[2:26] 3. Yesterdays
[3:06] 4. Riff Raff
[3:48] 5. Bee-Eyes
[3:14] 6. The Boy Next Door
[3:31] 7. These Foolish Things
[3:02] 8. Lollypop
[3:15] 9. Body And Soul
[7:21] 10. The Man I Love
[3:53] 11. Mamma-Daddy
[5:28] 12. Desert Sands
[6:27] 13. 31st And State
[2:56] 14. Lullaby Of The Leaves
[4:38] 15. Latin Quarters
[4:33] 16. Be-Ware

Twofer: Tracks #1-8 from "Johnny Griffin" (Argo LP 624). Johnny Griffin (ts), Junior Mance (p), Wilbur Ware (b) and Buddy Smith (d). Recorded in Chicago, 1956. Tracks #9-16 originally issued as Wirbur Ware's "The Chicago Sound" (Riverside RP 12-252). Johnny Griffin (ts), John Jenkins (as), Junior Mance (p), Wilbur Ware (b), Wilbur Campbell or Frank Dunlop (d). Recorded in Chicago, 1957.

Griffin's first date featured the saxophonist in the company of Junior Mance on piano, bassist Wilbur Ware, and session drummer Buddy Smith. The program features eight tunes that were fairly standard fare for jazzmen in 1956, such as "These Foolish Things," Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays," and the Youmans-Greene nugget "The Boy Next Door." These are played with the requisite verve and mastery of harmony, rhythm, and melodic changes [...] What does stand out in this program are Griffin's originals, such as "Satin Wrap," which has since been covered by any tenor player worth his mouthpiece. It's a funky blues number that does not fall headlong into the hard bop swinging that would be so pervasive in the tenorist's style. Instead there are more formalist notions that suggest Paul Gonsalves and Coleman Hawkins. In addition, the album-closer, "Lollypop," comes out swinging hard with an R&B hook that digs in. Mance propels Griffin with fat, greasy chords that suggest a Chicago bar-walking honk frenzy, but Griffin's own playing is too sophisticated and glides like Lester Young around the changes. Also notable here is Ware's beautiful bop run "Riff Raff." The bassist knew not only how to write for but arrange for horns. Mance and Griffin are in it knee-deep, note for note, with Mance adding beefy left-hand clusters to the melody as Ware and Smith play it straight time until the solo. It's got the hard bop blues at its root. This recording is brief, as it originally came out on a 10" LP, but is nonetheless a necessary addition to any shelf that pays Johnny Griffin homage. ~Thom Jurek

Bassist Wilbur Ware's only recording as a leader (which has been reissued on CD) mostly features Chicago musicians. Although Ware heads the set and contributed two originals, he does not dominate the music and delegated plenty of solo space to altoist John Jenkins (who also brought in two tunes), tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, and pianist Junior Mance; Wilbur Campbell or Frank Dunlop on drums complete the group. This fine hard bop date (which also has versions of "Body and Soul," Stuff Smith's "Desert Sands," "Lullaby of the Leaves," and "The Man I Love") was a fine debut by Ware. It seems strange that in his remaining 20-plus years the bassist never led another album. ~Scott Yanow

The Chicago Sound

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