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The Phantom is the twelfth album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring performances recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label.

Two separate sessions recorded the six tunes for a little over a half hour of music totalling thirty-eight minutes and thirty-six seconds, considered your average length in those days. The compositions are The Phantom, Blues for Alvina, Bunda Amerela (Little Yellow Streetcar), Los Ojos Alegres (The Happy Eyes), Say You’re Mine and The Moana Surf.

All compositions were composed by Pearson except #2 by Willie Wilson and #6 by Jerry Dodgion. Track #3 was recorded on June 24, 1968 and on September 11, 1968 they laid down the other five tunes.

Along with Pearson on the sessions were Jerry Dodgion – flute, alto flute, Bobby Hutcherson – vibes, Sam Brown and Al Gafa – guitar, Bob Cranshaw – bass, Mickey Roker – drums, Victor Pantoja – congas and Carlos ‘Patato’ Valdés – conga, güiro.

The recording session was produced by Francis Wolff at the Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Wolff is credited for the cover photography as well and the design was by Florenza Venosa Associates.

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Pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. gathered an elite group of players in 1961 to comprise two distinct trios rendering two distinct sounds for two recording sessions. Bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones came into the Contemporary studio and recorded tracks 1–4 on October 16th, while on November 21st bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes laid down tracks 5–8.

The album, A World of Piano! was released in 1962 by Contemporary Records and had a total of eight compositions for a total playing time of 39:34. Featured on Side 1 was Cheryl, Manteca, Lush Life and Daahoud and on Side 2 – Oleo, Juicy Lucy, For Carl and Cabu.

The cover was designed by George Kershawn and Robert Guidi who utilized bold, luminously colored fonts to create a distinctive style to the jazz covers of the Los Angeles based label. What Tri-Arts succeeded in doing time and time again as to create a distinguishable yet highly complimentary design to an often lush photograph, in this case provided by the inimitable William Claxton. Below is the complete album with separate Side 1 & 2 for your listening pleasure.

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2-3-4 is an album by drummer Shelly Manne features performances that were recorded in 1962 for the Impulse! Label. The name of the album is derived from its inclusion of a duet (“2”), two trio performances (“3”), and three tunes played by a quartet (“4”). Unusually, the standards “Take the “A” Train” and “Cherokee” were played in two tempos simultaneously, with Manne playing in double time consistently throughout “Cherokee”.

Not a typical album for the drummer, then primarily associated with West Coast jazz, he flew from Los Angeles to New York City on February 5, 1962, arranged by producer Bob Thiele. He was reunited with pioneering tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and pianist Hank Jones, both of whom he had recorded with at different times in the 1940s.

The recording sessions took place at the Fine Recording Ballroom Studio A recording tracks 1, 3, 5, 6 & 8 on February 5 and tracks 2, 4 & 7 on February 8, 1962. In an unusual session lasting through the wee hours of the morning, he ended by recording one tune as a duet with Hawkins, who for the first time in his career was recorded also playing the piano.

The album also includes a second recording session at the same studio a few days later. Bassist George Duvivier stayed on with Manne, and they were joined by rising star Eddie Costa for two trio tracks. “The Sicks of Us” has Costa on vibes for a largely spontaneous trio number; on “Lean on Me”, Costa switches to piano.

The tracks on the original release are: Take the “A” Train, The Sicks of Us, Slowly, Lean on Me, Cherokee, and Me and Some Drums.

A fourth tune recorded by the quartet at the first session, “Avalon“, was released at first only in the Impulse! collection The Definitive Jazz Scene, Volume 1. Some thirty years later, it was included along with an alternative version of Lean On Me on the first CD reissue of 2-3-4 as bonus tracks.

Personnel: tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins on tracks 1, 3, 5, 6 & 8, pianist Hank Jones on tracks 1, 3, 5 & 8, pianist and vibraphonist Eddie Costa on tracks 2, 4 & 7, bassist George Duvivier on tracks 1–5, 7 & 8 and drummer Shelly Manne.

The cover design was created by Robert Flynn and the photograph was taken by Bob Gomel.

 

 

 

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Morning Star is an album by flautist Hubert Laws recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey between September and November 1972. Produced by Creed Taylor, arranged and conducted by  Don Sebesky, the album was released on Taylor’s CTI label, only thirty-five minutes and forty-six seconds long.

Laws contributes three originals on this album with one traditional tune and two borrowed where noted: Morning Star (Rodgers Grant), Let Her Go, Where Is The Love (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter), No More, Amazing Grace (Traditional) and What Do You Think of This World Now? 

The players were substantial and included Hubert Laws – flute, alto flute, bass flute, piccolo; Alan Rubin, Marvin Stamm – trumpet, flugelhorn; Garnett Brown – trombone; James Buffington – French horn, Phil Bodner – clarinet, flute, alto flute; Romeo Penque – flute, alto flute, bass flute, piccolo, English horn, Jack Knitzer – bassoon; Bob James – electric piano; John Tropea – guitar; Ron Carter – bass; Billy Cobham – drums; Dave Friedman – vibraphone, percussion; Ralph MacDonald – percussion; Harry Cykman, Max Ellen, Paul Gershman, Emanuel Green, Harry Lookofsky, David Nadien, Gene Orloff, Elliot Rosoff, Irving Spice – violin; George Koutzen, Charles McCracken, Lucien Schmit – cello; Gloria Agostini – harp; Lani Groves, Eloise Laws, Debra Laws, Tasha Thomas – vocal; and Don Sebesky – arranger, conductor.

The cover photograph was taken by Peter Turner and the cover design was by Bob Ciano.

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We Free Kings is a 1961 LP by the jazz multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk. His quartet works through a set of bluesy post-bop numbers, with equal bop and soul. The cover photograph was shot by Marvin Glick and the album length is thirty-eight minutes and forty seconds.

To bring this project to fruition he utilized two different bassists and two different pianists. The personnel were: Roland Kirk on tenor saxophone, manzello, flute, stritch saxophone, Charlie Persip on drums, Richard Wyands on piano on tracks 3-5 & 9, Art Davis on double bass on tracks 3-5 & 9, Hank Jones on piano for tracks 1-2 & 6-8 and Wendell Marshall on bass for tracks 1-2 & 6-8.

All of the compositions are by Roland Kirk except track #2 which was composed by Sam Coslow and Arthur Johnston, and track #5 composed by Charlie Parker. The title track, a Kirk composition, is a variation on the Christmas carol “We Three Kings”.

The nine songs that follow were recorded in New York on August 16-17, 1961 for the Mercury record label. The CD editions of the album include a different version of  the Parker tune Blues for Alice.

Three for the Festival, Moon Song, A Sack Full of Soul, The Haunted Melody, Blues for Alice, We Free Kings, You Did It, You Did It, Some Kind of Love and My Delight.

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