{"id":563,"date":"2011-07-28T05:19:19","date_gmt":"2011-07-28T10:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=563"},"modified":"2011-07-28T05:19:19","modified_gmt":"2011-07-28T10:19:19","slug":"concords-jazzapalooza-2011-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/28\/concords-jazzapalooza-2011-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Concord\u2019s Jazzapalooza 2011, Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In June 2011 Concord Music Group added six more reissued jazz titles to their already vast catalog. Each features the original album (in 24-bit remastering) with the original artwork and liner notes. But each is appended with contemporary liner notes that help place the recordings in their proper historical and musical context. Lots of cool photos are included in the booklets, and all but one features at least one bonus track.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve already covered the Cannonball Adderley<\/strong> \/ Bill Evans<\/strong> set Know What I Mean?<\/em><\/a> in a separate review of its own. Another album featuring Evans is part of this latest crop of reissues. Bill Evans Trio<\/strong>\u2019s 1961 album Explorations<\/em> is one of the handful of studio recordings \u2013 the last<\/em>, in fact — made by Evans\u2019 first trio, the outfit featuring the transcendent work of drummer Paul Motian<\/strong> and Scott LaFaro<\/strong>. Rather than featuring original compositions, Explorations <\/em>centers on giving the Trio\u2019s reading of standards and works of their contemporaries, including Miles Davis<\/strong>\u2019 \u201cNardis,\u201d a personal favorite of Evans’. Four bonus tracks — two previously unreleased \u2013 up the ante.<\/p>\n

A relatively modern recording, the 1986 album Easy Living<\/em> from Ella Fitzgerald<\/strong> and acoustic guitarist Joe Pass<\/strong> also gets the Concord reissue treatment. A spare, intimate affair, Easy Living<\/em> juxtaposes Pass\u2019 gentle, precise fretwork with Ella\u2019s expressive vocal. With nothing left to prove, both musicians are relaxed here. Still, with Fitzgerald\u2019s intentionally varied volume, this is not background music; though it\u2019s not a high-energy session, neither is it easily ignored. Perhaps more for fans of this particular style of laid-back (if expert) vocal jazz, Easy Living<\/em> does include a pair of alternate-take bonus tracks.<\/p>\n

The 1959 album Thelonious Alone in San Francisco<\/em> is exactly as the title describes. Thelonoius Monk<\/strong> is seated at a piano in S.F.\u2019s Fugazi Hall, where he runs through a set made up mostly of his own compositions. For anyone who\u2019s ever been told that Monk\u2019s not accessible, one listen to \u201cBlue Monk\u201d should set them straight. (It\u2019s a safe bet that composer Mel Leven<\/strong> heard \u201cBlue Monk\u201d prior to writing the music for his 1961 \u201cCruella DeVil\u201d from the Disney film 101 Dalmations<\/em>.) Not all of the tracks are mellifluous: like many of the selections, \u201cRuby, My Dear\u201d features some intentionally dissonant work from the master. But those dissonant runs are more often than not couched within melodious context; the overall effect is challenging, but worth the effort to follow. Monk can clearly be heard muttering to himself throughout the session; it\u2019s an endearing quirk that only adds to the immediacy of the work.<\/p>\n

Ornette Coleman<\/strong>\u2019s Something Else!!!!<\/em> from 1958 is a blowing, high energy session. Trumpeter Don Cherry<\/strong> is among Coleman\u2019s cohorts on this nine-track reissue (with no bonus tracks, presumably because none exist). This is Coleman\u2019s first-ever album, but clearly sounds like the work of a well-established artist. Though classified as free jazz, Something Else!!!!<\/em> sounds less jarring to the ears now than it likely would have fifty-plus years ago. But the energy of a young, hungry artist comes through.<\/p>\n

Awhile back Concord reissued a 1958 album called (Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen to You<\/em>. At that point unfamiliar with Chet Baker<\/strong>\u2019s work, I approached it as primarily the work of a vocalist. Simply put, it wasn\u2019t for me. I didn\u2019t enjoy his (from my point of view) effeminate vocal styling, so I passed on reviewing it. Luckily for me, when Chet Baker in New York<\/em> landed on my desk, I checked it out. Released the same year as It Could Happen to You<\/em>, this album couldn\u2019t be more different. In fact it swings, in places. Thanks in no small part to the ace drumming of Philly Joe Jones<\/strong>, the album \u2013 six longish tracks plus a bonus on this reissue \u2013 is a winner. In New York<\/em> is arguably at its best when Baker is joined (on half the tracks) by tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin<\/strong>; the high point of these is \u201cHotel 49.\u201d Paul Chambers<\/strong>\u2019 sawing bass solo is jaw-dropping. On the remaining tracks, romantic mood jazz is more the order of business.<\/p>\n

Jazz enthusiasts will want most or all of these Concord reissues for the stellar remastering, bonus tracks, and new liner notes. Those new to jazz would do well to choose any of them (based on one\u2019s openness to a particular style of jazz) and explore from there. A newbie could do far worse than be schooled in modern jazz by keeping up with Concord.<\/p>\n

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DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION:
\n\"I<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One. In June 2011 Concord Music Group added six more reissued jazz titles to their already vast catalog. Each features the original album (in 24-bit remastering) with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-review","cat-65-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}