The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
Still quarantining as much as possible as the Delta variants continue to ravage the country, those of us who are continuing to wear our masks and social distancing we put on music to soothe our souls. Though most people go to the vintage classics, this week I am pulling out one of my favorite albums of recent years, With Pride For Dignity. This 2018 album was recorded by drummer Henry Conerway III at Avatar Studios, New York City on February 27~28, 2017.
The album was produced by Michael Carvin, with Conerway as executive producer. The engineers were Robert Smith and Dave Darlington with assistance from Nate Odden. It was mixed and mastered at Bass Hit Studios in New York City. The art director was Adrian Suare, cover photography by Adrian H. Tillman, and studio photography by Greg Routt.
Track Listing
- Slippery (Ray Brown, arr. Smith) ~ 6:19
- With Pride For Dignity (Kenny Banks Jr.) ~ 8:09
- Sugar Ray (Phineas Newborn, arr. Banks, Smith, Conerway) ~ 7:01
- Cottontail (Duke Elllington, arr. Conerway) ~ 4:29
- Hopscotch (Marcus Printup, arr. Banks, Conerway) ~ 7:58
- Gingerbread Boy (Jimmy Heath, arr. Banks, Conerway) ~ 6:19
- The Feel Goods (Kenny Banks Jr.) ~ 5:34
- Carvin’s Agreement (Henry Conerway III) ~ 2:48
- Henry Conerway III ~ drums
- Kenny Banks Jr. ~ Piano
- Kevin Smith ~ Bass
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
For Musicians Only is an album by Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz and Sonny Stitt incorporating bebop influences. Produced by Norman Granz, it was recorded on October 16, 1956 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. It wasn’t released until 1958 on the Verve label. It has been described as the real thing, no pretense.
The story behind this session from Stan Levy’s point of view is that everything was done in one take, no 2nd takes, no overdubbing. It was virtually a live, real bebop session, nothing worked out, just play by the seat of your pants or get off the bandstand. Like it or not, that was the way it was with Bird and those cats, the real thing, no pretense.
The album is known for the front line’s winding, intricate solos. This has led to praise for the back line, particularly bassist Ray Brown, for keeping some semblance of the original tune going behind the solos.
Track List | 42:59- Bebop (Gillespie) ~ 12:48
- Dark Eyes (Traditional) ~ 12:10
- Wee (Allen’s Alley) (Denzil Best, Gillespie) – 8:28
- Lover Come Back to Me (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) ~ 9:33
- Dizzy Gillespie ~ trumpet
- Sonny Stitt ~ alto saxophone
- Stan Getz ~ tenor saxophone
- John Lewis ~ piano
- Herb Ellis ~ guitar
- Ray Brown ~ bass
- Stan Levey ~ drums
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
The pandemic rages on as I continue to keep myself well by wearing my mask and social distancing. In my own space I pull down from the shelves my copy of Kenny Drew Trio. The album was recorded on September 20 & 26, 1956 at the Reeves Sound Studios in New York City. It was produced by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer and was released the same year on the Riverside Records label.
The album features Drew’s tribute to jazz patron Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter Blues for Nica. It is the only song he contributed to the album. This band was also the rhythm section the following year on sessions for John Coltrane that yielded Blue Train.
Track List | 42:55 Side One- Caravan (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Juan Tizol) ~ 4:56
- Come Rain Or Come Shine (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) ~ 6:08
- Ruby, My Dear (Thelonious Monk) ~ 5:46
- Weird~O (Hank Mobley) ~ 4:04
- Taking A Chance On Love (Vernon Duke, John Latouche, Ted Fetter) ~ 4:42
- When You Wish Upon A Star (Leigh Harline, Ned Washington) ~ 5:19
- Blues For Nica (Kenny Drew) ~ 5:31
- It’s Only A Paper Moon (Harold Arlen, E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, Billy Rose) ~ 6:25
- Kenny Drew ~ piano
- Paul Chambers – bass
- Philly Joe Jones – drums
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
As I go about my city travels I notice how lax people are with masking and social distancing, having their self-centered need to rush to the lives they knew before the pandemic hit. This week I am selecting an album that has been a classic and one of my favorites since the day I first put on the turntable. It’s the 1965 studio recording Angel Eyes by saxophonist Gene Ammons released on the Prestige label.
The album was recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Two separate sessions compiled the album, tracks 1, 2, 4 & 5 were recorded on June 17, 1960 and tracks 3 & 6 on September 5, 1962. The September session was one of Ammons’ final ones before serving a long drug-related prison sentence.
Track List | 36:25
- Gettin’ Around (Gene Ammons) ~ 6:46
- Blue Room (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) ~ 5:34
- You Go to My Head (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie) ~ 5:55
- Angel Eyes (Earl Brent, Matt Dennis) ~ 8:45
- Water Jug (Frank Wess) ~ 5:10
- It’s the Talk of the Town (Jerry Livingston, Al J. Neiburg, Marty Symes) ~ 4:15
- Gene Ammons ~ tenor saxophone
- Frank Wess ~ flute (tracks 1, 2 and 4), tenor saxophone (track 5)
- Johnny “Hammond” Smith ~ organ (tracks 1, 2, 4 & 5)
- Mal Waldron (tracks 3 & 6) ~ piano
- Doug Watkins (tracks 1, 2, 4 & 5), Wendell Marshall (tracks 3 & 6) ~ bass
- Art Taylor (tracks 1, 2, 4 & 5), Ed Thigpen (tracks 3 & 6) ~ drums
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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager
For those of us who are still practicing our social distancing and wearing our masks, this week’s selection of the shelves is A Bluish Bag. It is an album by saxophonist Stanley Turrentine consisting of two sessions recorded for the Blue Note label in 1967. and arranged by Duke Pearson, the first featuring Donald Byrd and the second McCoy Tyner, among others.
The album recording consisting of two sessions, the first February 17th, (#1-7) and June 9th, (#8-12). It was produced by Alfred Lion, arranged by Duke Pearson and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Though recorded in 1967, it was not released until June 5, 2007, forty years later.
Tracks | 62:41
- Blues For Del (Stanley Turrentine) ~ 4:14
- She’s A Carioca ( Vinicius de Moraes, Ray Gilbert, Antônio Carlos Jobim) ~ 6:31
- Manhã de Carnaval (Luiz Bonfá, Antônio Maria) ~ 5:53
- Here’s That Rainy Day (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke) ~ 5:32
- What Now My Love (Gilbert Bécaud, Pierre Delanoë, Carl Sigman) ~ 4:38
- Samba do Avião (Antônio Carlos Jobim) ~ 5:12
- Night Song (Lee Adams, Charles Strouse) ~ 6:33
- Days of Wine and Roses (Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer) ~ 6:05
- Come Back to Me (Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner) ~ 5:55
- Silver Tears (Henry Mancini) ~ 5:07
- A Bluish Bag (Henry Mancini) ~ 7:17
- With This Ring (Luther Dixon, Anthony Hester, Richard “Popcorn” Wylie) ~ 5:49
Players
Tracks 1-7
- Stanley Turrentine ~ tenor saxophone
- Donald Byrd ~ trumpet
- Julian Priester ~ trombone
- Jerry Dodgion – alto saxophone, flute, alto flute
- Joe Farrell – tenor saxophone, flute
- Pepper Adams – baritone saxophone, clarinet
- Kenny Barron – piano
- Bucky Pizzarelli – guitar
- Ron Carter – bass
- Mickey Roker – drums
Tracks 8-12
- Stanley Turrentine ~ tenor saxophone
- Blue Mitchell, Tommy Turrentine ~ trumpet
- Julian Priester ~ trombone
- Jerry Dodgion ~ alto saxophone, flute
- Al Gibbons ~ bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Pepper Adams ~ baritone saxophone, clarinet
- McCoy Tyner ~ piano
- Walter Booker ~ bass
- Mickey Roker ~ drums
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