Joe Sample (1939 - 2014)

This blog laments the loss of Joe Sample (1939-2014) on Sept 12. Sample, a master musician, was co-founder of The Jazz Crusaders, a hard bop outfit, later to be renamed The Crusaders, that fused jazz, r&b and funk seamlessly. Mega-hit 'Street Life' is only an example of what these guys could do. Most importantly, Sample was a superb session musician, having graced literally hundreds of recordings with his instantly recognizable funky style. Here's your chance to hear Sample in a all-acoustic 1975 session accompanied by giants Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. The added bonus of superb sonics is owed to the fact that this is a direct-to-disc recording (recording tape omitted), an expensive process that offers superb clarity.



Tracklisting:

1. Yearnin'
2. On Green Dolphin Street
3. Satin Doll
4. Manhã Do Carinval
5. 'Round About Midnight
6. Funky Blues

Shelly Manne, Ray Brown, Hampton Hawes & Bob Cooper Live at Shelly's Manne Hole L.A. 1970

Shelly Manne Quartet: Shelly Manne (drums), Ray Brown (bass), Hampton Hawes (piano) and Bob Cooper (sax) perform 'Stella by Starlight' and 'Milestones' at Shelly's Manne Hole Club in L.A., 1970.

1. Blues Improvisation
2. Stella By Starlight
3. Milestone

Charlie Parker Quartet with Strings (1949)

This is the legendary November 30, 1949 session, meticulously transferred to digital from my original Mercury 78rpm 3-record album. The Verve remastered CD always sounded too artificial to my ears, so there you go, enjoy a slice of recorded music history.

319-5 Just Friends - Mercury 11036
320-3 Everything Happens To Me - Mercury 11036
321-3 April In Paris - Mercury 11037
322-2 Summertime - Mercury 11038
323-2 I Didn't Know What Time It Was - Mercury 11038
324-3 If I Should Lose You - Mercury 11037

Charlie Parker Quartet With Jimmy Carroll Orchestra

Mitch Miller (ob, ehr) Charlie Parker (as) Bronislaw Gimpel, Max Hollander, Milton Lomask (vln) Frank Brieff (vla) Frank Miller (vlc) Meyer Rosen (harp) Stan Freeman (p) Ray Brown (b) Buddy Rich (d) Jimmy Carroll (arr, cond)

Reeves Sound Studios, NYC, November 30, 1949

Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio - 1958

Stan Getz said of this historic meeting with the Oscar Peterson Trio, "This is one of the most enjoyable recordings I ever made. How refreshing it is to play with these pros." ...Here, for the first time - in one collection - is the complete session.

TRACKLIST

1 I Want to Be Happy
2 Pennies from Heaven
3 Ballad Medley
4 I'm Glad There Is You
5 Tour's End
6 I Was Doing All Right
7 Bronx Blues
8 Three Little Words
9 Detour Ahead
10 Sunday
11 Blues for Herky



PERSONNEL

Stan Getz
Oscar Peterson
Herb Ellis
Ray Brown


Original session produced by Norman Granz. Recorded October 10, 1957 at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles in mono.

The LA4 - Live at Montreux Summer 1979

Altoist/flutist Bud Shank and Brazilian acoustic guitarist Laurindo Almeida first teamed up in the 1950s to create music that predated but strongly hinted at bossa nova. In 1974, they reunited to form the L.A. Four with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Chuck Flores. With Shelly Manne and later Jeff Hamilton replacing Flores on drums, the L.A. Four recorded eight albums for Concord through 1982, breaking up shortly afterward. Their mixture of cool-toned bop, Brazilian-oriented music, and ballads was quite attractive. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

While not of Kind of Blue stature this excellent live recording delivers the goods in spades, these hardened veterans play their hearts out and sonics are top-notch easily transferring the listener to the Montreux Auditorium ~itsartolie ”



Track Listing
1. I Love You 9:17
2. Hammertones 7:37
3. Just in Time 6:55
4. Return of Captain Gallo 9:23
5. Duke's Mélange: I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart/Caravan/Take the 'A' Train/Rockin' in Rhythm 14:59

Personnel
Bud Shank
Laurindo Almeida
Ray Brown
Jeff Hamilton



LPRip 24bit-96khz | FLAC | ~1 GB (3% recov.) | 48:09 | Full Artwork

Joe Sample, Ray Brown, Shelly Manne - The Three (1975)

One of the most successful Japanese piano trio recordings of the 70s -- a super-session performed by a a trio of Americans that includes Joe Sample on acoustic piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums! Given that Sample's best known during the era for his electric keys with the Crusaders (and on countless studio sessions), it's a real treat to hear him tickle the ivories in an acoustic way -- and a genuine surprise to hear how strong his work is in such a format.

Joe manages to swing the tunes with plenty of creative improvisation, but also keeps a strong focus on the groove too -- making for an album that's got some of the rhythmic flourishes of the best work of the Oscar Peterson trio in later years, but with some of the added freedoms of the Japanese scene and a tight swinging sound that's very much in the soul jazz tradition of the LA scene that spawned all three players.



Personnel:
Joe Sample - Piano
Ray Brown - Bass
Shelly Manne - Drums

Track listing:
1 Yearnin'
2 On Green Dolphin Street
3 Satin Doll
4 Mañha de Carnaval
5 'Round About Midnight
6 Funky Blues

Vinyl rip in 24-bit/96kHz | FLAC | East Wind 10001 Nippon Phonogram Tokyo Direct-to-disc recording

Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Mickey Roker

In the autumnal phase of his recording career, Dizzy Gillespie was reunited with Jazz At The Philharmonic producer Norman Granz for a series of finely crafted recordings on his Pablo label (so named because Granz financed the label by selling off some of his valuable Picassos).

These later recordings are often mistakenly undervalued by critics, despite their superb production values, dynamic acoustic sound, and generally provocative mix of players and musical materials. DIZZY'S BIG 4 is one of the very best, featuring a dream team rhythm section that responds to all of Gillespie's virtuoso challenges, and then some. Ray Brown is one of the all-time greats, who startled the jazz world when he first emerged as Dizzy's bassist while still in his teens; drummer Mickey Roker is a commanding percussionist and long-time Gillespie collaborator, while guitarist Joe Pass is a stellar virtuoso, with a series of excellent recitals of his own on Pablo.

Gillespie is in a particularly puckish mood on these sessions. Where the youthful Gillespie might have ordinarily opted for more of the bravura pyrotechnics, represented herein by the relentlessly uptempo changes of "Be Bop (Dizzy's Fingers)," DIZZY'S BIG 4 is distinguished by the ballads "Hurry Home," "Russian Lullaby" and "September Song." Here the trumpeter's rich timbral shadings plumb deep new meaning from these familiar melodies. Most impressive is Dizzy's depth and range as a blues player, which further enlivens his improvisations on Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz," his own latin styled funk on "Frelimo" and the hard bopping "Birks Works."

Tracklisting:
1.Frelimo 8:06 (Gillespie)
2.Hurry Home 6:20 (Meyer/Emmerich/Bernier)
3.Russian Lullaby 6:46 (I. Berlin)
4.Be Bop (Dizzy's Fingers) 4:26 (Gillespie)
5.Birks Works 8:48 (Dizzy Gillespie)
6.September Song 2:45 (M. Anderson/K. Weill)
7.Jitterbug Waltz 6:49 (Fats Waller)

Personnel:
Dizzy Gillespie t
Joe Pass g
Ray Brown b
Mickey Roker d

Recorded at Cherokee Recording Studios, Hollywood, California on September 17 & 19, 1974. Originally released on Pablo (2310-719). Produced by Norman Granz.Includes liner notes by Benny Green.
Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).

Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie

Amazon.com essential recording
This 1977 date joins two jazz giants with contrasting approaches: Gillespie's explosive bop trumpet virtuosity and Basie's laconic piano style. The bare-bones quartet format--with the sterling rhythm team of bassist Ray Brown and drummer Mickey Roker--does nothing to conceal the differences, but it sets up a comfortable middle ground that accommodates swing and bop nuances alike. Differences apart, the co-leaders share infectious warmth, a deep feeling for the blues, and an absolute compulsion to swing. Basie's understatement triggers some of Gillespie's most thoughtful playing of his later career, developing long, intricate solos that combine harmonic exploration and direct, speechlike inflections, often with the distinctive burr of a harmon mute. The settings--two Gillespie tunes, the ancient "St. James Infirmary," and a series of impromptu collaborations--are casual, doing nothing to encumber the musicians in a session they're clearly enjoying. --Stuart Broomer

Tracklisting
1.Back To The Land 7:20
2.Constantinople 8:28
3.You Got It 5:21
4.St. James Infirmary 6:54
5.Follow The Leader 6:24
6.Ow 6:18

Personnel:
Count Basie p
Dizzy Gillespie t
Ray Brown b
Mickey Roker d

Recorded at Las Vegas Recording Studio, Las Vegas, NV; February 3, 1977 for Pablo Records. Produced by Norman Granz. Remastering 1996 - Phil De Lancie.

Milt Jackson / Ray Brown Jam - Montreux '77

An unstoppable swinging affair organized by famous producer Norman Granz who took his Jazz At The Philharmonic troupe across the Atlantic in Montreux, Switzerland to give us this gem. With Mess Milt Jackson on vibes, Ray Brown on bass, Clark Terry on trumpet, Monty Alexander on piano and Jimmie Smith on drums.

Dizzy Gillespie Sextet 1977

Enough cannot be said about Dizzy Gillespie's contributions to jazz. He is maybe the second most important trumpet player after Louis Armstrong.

Together with Charlie Parker, he is credited with inventing bebop, the de rigeur jazz vocabulary up to this day.

So, let's stick around Montreux a little bit longer for yet another great concert given there on July 14, 1977, a 30-year jubilee of sorts, team up Dizzy Gillespie with Milt Jackson, Monty Alexander, Jon Faddis, Ray Brown and Jimmie Smith and enjoy the ride.

Dizzy Gillespie - Girl Of My Dreams

Dizzy Gillespie - Get Happy

Dizzy - Once In A While/But Beautiful/Here's That Rainy Day

Dizzy Gillespie - The Champ

Dizzy Gillespie - Here'Tis

P.S. All videos from my personal collection, posted on various video hosting web sites.