Requisites

The Prophetic Herbie Nichols Vol. 1 is the debut album by pianist Herbie Nichols in 1955. The album, released as a 10 inch LP on the Blue Note label, features six performances recorded by May 4th – 13th in the bop, hard bop and post bop styles.

Nichols begins his statement with Dance Line, then Step Tempest, The Third World, Blue Chopsticks, Double Exposure and Cro-Magnon Nights all follow to make up the complete album and were all composed by Nichols.

An interesting note, from 1947 he spent half a decade trying to get a contract with Blue Note and his persistence finally paid off when he finally inked a three album deal. The art was conceived by New York School abstract expressionist painter Martin Craig providing a rare and befitting cover for the purveyor of art piano music.

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Harold in the Land of Jazz was the debut album by saxophonist Harold Land recorded and released in 1958 on the Contemporary label. It was also released as Grooveyard. The cover design was created by Guidi/Tri-Arts and the photography was performed by Walter Zerlinden.

On this album, his first outing as a leader, Land was able to show with his distinctive style that hard bop was well and alive in Los Angeles, California in the late ’50s.

The compositions presented on this album are Speak Low, Delirium, You Don’t Know What Love Is, Nieta, Grooveyard, Lydia’s Lament, and Smack Up. He borrowed songs composed Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash, Gene De Paul And Don Raye, Elmo Hope, and Carl Perkins. Land contributed Delirium, Lydia’s Lament and Smack Upto this recording.

The tenor saxophonist is joined by Rolf Ericson playing trumpet, Carl Perkins at the piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Frank Butler hitting the drums.

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King Pleasure Sings, Annie Ross Sings is an album released in 1952, the same year Ross met Prestige Records owner Bob Weinstock, who asked her to write lyrics to a jazz solo, in a similar way to King Pleasure, a practice that would later be known as vocalese. The next day, she presented him with Twisted, a treatment of saxophonist Wardell Gray’s 1949 composition of the same name, a classic example of the genre. The song, first released on the 1952 album King Pleasure Sings/Annie Ross Sings, was an underground hit, and resulted in her winning DownBeat magazine’s New Star award.

The cover art design is by Marc Rice, the photographs were taken by Esmond Edwards and the liner notes were written by Ira Gitler. Of the twelve tunes that comprise the album, eight of them are King Pleasure’s, taking all of side A and two tracks on side B. the remaining four tracks belong to Annie Ross.

The track list is as follows for King Pleasure Sings: Red Top, Jumpin’ With Symphony Sid, Sometimes I’m Happy, This Is Always, What Can I Say Dear, Don’t Get Scared, Parker’s Mood and I’m Gone.

Annie Ross Sings four tracks are: Twisted, Farmer’s Market, The Time Was Right and Annie’s Lament.

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The Hawk In Paris is an album by tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins featuring compositions related to Paris. He performed with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Manny Albam, recorded in 1956 for the RCA Records subsidiary Vik label.

The 12 tracks on the album are April in Paris (Vernon Duke, Yip Harburg), Mon Homme (Jacques Charles, Channing Pollock, Albert Willemetz, Maurice Yvain), Under Paris Skies (Hubert Giraud, Jean Dréjac), Mimi (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart), La Chnouf (Marc Lanjean), La Vie en Rose (Louiguy, Édith Piaf, Mack David), La Mer (Charles Trenet), Paris In The Spring (Harry Revel, Gordon), I Love Paris (Cole Porter), Mademoiselle de Paree (Eric Maschwitz, Paul Durand), Chiens Perdus Sans Collier/The Little Lost Dog (Paul Misraki), Tu N’ Peux T’ Figurer/Dawn over Paris (Misraki)

The Players: Coleman Hawkins – tenor saxophone, Romeo Penque – saxophone, flute, Al Epstein – saxophone, Nick Travis – trumpet, Urbie Green, Chauncey Welsch – trombone, Ray Beckenstein – flute, Tosha Samaroff, Paul Gershman, Leo Kruczek, Max Cahn, Alvin Rudintsky, Jack Zayde, Sy Miroff – violin, Lucien Schmit, George Ricci, Pete Makis – cello, Janet Putnam – harp, Marty Wilson – vibraphone, Hank Jones – piano, Barry Galbraith – guitar, Arnold Fishkind – bass and Osie Johnson – drums.

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Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie recorded the live bebop album Jazz At Massey Hall on May 15, 1953 in Toronto, Canada. With him on this date were bassist Charles Mingus, drummer Max Roach, pianist Bud Powell and saxophonist Charlie Parker who is billed as Charlie Chan for contractual reasons, an allusion to the fictional detective and to Parker’s wife Chan. It was the only time these five men recorded as a unit and the last recorded meeting of Parker and Gillespie.

The session was produced by Charles Mingus, and was originally released on Mingus’s label Debut, from a recording made by the Toronto New Jazz Society. Due to under-recording of the bass lines, Mingus took the recording to New York where he and Max Roach dubbed in the bass lines on most of the tunes, exchanging Mingus soloing on All The Things You Are. However, a 2004 reissue, Complete Jazz At Massey Hall contains the full concert without the overdubbing.

The original issue was as a two 10” LPs, 46:54 in length and and the cover design had five playing cards, with Gillespie as the Joker. The set on Volume 1 contains the tracks Perdido, Salt Peanuts, All The Things You Are and 52nd Street Theme. Volume 3 has Wee, Hot House and A Night In Tunisia. Volume 2 consisted of the trio recordings of Powell, Mingus and Roach from the same date all but I’ve Got You Under My Skin and one track by Billy Taylor with Mingus and Roach from a later date.

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