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<\/center>Duke Ellington and His Orchestra \u2013 <\/strong>The Ellington Suites<\/strong><\/em>\nThe catalog of Duke Ellington<\/strong> defines easy classification. Much of his work fell into the jazz and\/or big band classifications, but his talents and ambitions were too expansive to fit neatly inside those bags. In his later years, he composed a number of long-form pieces \u2013 suites \u2013 and in the early 70s, an album called The Ellington Suites<\/em> collected two then-new suites and another from 1959. This collection has been newly reissued by Concord, adding a previously unreleased short number (\u201cThe Kiss\u201d) from the 1972 sessions that yielded \u201cThe Uwis Suite.\u201d This is all serious music, but bears the hallmarks of Ellington’s highly melodic, often romantic style. The 1959 work \u201cThe Queen’s Suite\u201d was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II<\/strong>, and its highlight is the dynamic \u201cNorthern Lights,\u201d but the whole package is thrilling, showing the man’s musical vitality extended well into his seventh and final decade.<\/p>\n
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<\/center>Oscar Peterson + Stephane Grappelli \u2013 <\/strong>Skol<\/strong><\/em>\nRecorded at a 1979 Copenhagen Norman Granz<\/strong>-organized concert, this was originally released in 1982. Culled from the same show that yielded an earlier release, Skol<\/em> collects the numbers on which pianist extraordinaire Peterson<\/strong> joined the players. Nominally billed to him and violinist Grappelli<\/strong>, this record is really a tour de force that showcases the lyrical interplay of the duo plus guitarist Joe Pass<\/strong>, fiery bassist Niels Henning \u00d8rsted-Pedersen<\/strong> and drummer Mickey Roker<\/strong>. The term \u201cmusical summit\u201d is overused when describing this kind of thing, but here the term truly applies. As Granz biographer Tad Hershorn<\/strong>‘s new liner notes point out, Grapelli takes longer solos than was his custom. The delightful manner in which the quintet tackles \u201cMakin’ Whoopee\u201d and other standards must be heard. The title track (credited to Oscar Peterson) is a tasty blues improv. Three bonus tracks (previously unreleased) make a great album even better. Essential.<\/p>\n
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<\/center>\nDizzy Gillespie \/ Joe Pass \/ Ray Brown \/ Mickey Roker \u2013 <\/strong>Dizzy’s Big 4<\/strong><\/em>
\nDo you like your jazz fast<\/em>? I mean, really<\/em> fast? Then you’ll definitely want Dizzy’s Big 4<\/em>, a 1974 recording that sounds instead as if it’s from bebop’s prime era. The reasons are legion, but foremost is the lineup: a quartet schooled and skilled in the style (named after Gillespie’s tune, a high octane version of which is included here). All four men are playing on fire, but Joe Pass<\/strong>‘ lightning guitar runs are breathtaking. In fact, those who don’t generally cotton to jazz guitar might note a strong similarity between Pass’ playing on cuts like \u201cRussian Lullaby\u201d (included here in the original album and alternate take versions) to Robert Fripp<\/strong>‘s work, Giles Giles and Fripp<\/strong> through King Crimson<\/strong>‘s Islands<\/em> era. And of course Gillespie blows big-time; the tunes are solid, but exist mostly to let each of these hotshots in turn take their well-deserved moments in the spotlight.<\/p>\n
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<\/center>Zoot Sims \u2013 <\/strong>Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers<\/strong><\/em>\nA major impetus for the creation of the Pablo label was jazz impresario Norman Granz’s restlessness at not being as involved in the jazz scene as he once was. So Granz started a label that quickly became home for many of the artists he managed and\/or otherwise worked with. He often (as with Skol<\/em>, reviewed above) brought several players together for some amazing dates. Recorded in a single session in Summer 1975, this album finds the beloved and prolific Zoot Sims in the studio with four ace players: guitarist Joe Pass,<\/strong> Oscar Peterson<\/strong> on piano, bassist George Mraz<\/strong>, and Grady Tate<\/strong> on drums. The five work their way through the Gershwin<\/strong> songbook with predictably delightful results. Everyone gets his turn to solo, and while there’s all manner of improvisation, the quintet remains true enough to the base melodies to make this disc enjoyable for those not enamored of exploratory jazz.<\/p>\n
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<\/center>Art Tatum \u2013 <\/strong>The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Volume One<\/strong><\/em>\nGranz got Tatum to show up at the recording studio for a one-man session in the final days of 1953. Tatum sat at the piano and started to play. That session would be the first of many in the project that would eventually yield Tatum’s Solo Masterpieces<\/em> series. That series \u2013 initially released in 1975 \u2013 ran to eight CDs in reissue. Here Tatum \u2013 who did no advance planning \u2013 works his way through the Great American Songbook. Effortlessly and lyrically, Tatum interprets Cole Porter<\/strong> (\u201cLove for Sale\u201d), Wizard of Oz<\/em> composers Yip Harburg<\/strong> and Harold Arlen<\/strong> (\u201cIt’s Only a Paper Moon\u201d), Johnny Mercer<\/strong> (\u201cToo Marvelous for Words\u201d), Rodgers and Hart<\/strong> (\u201cYou Took Advantage of Me\u201d) and many others. The original ten track LP was expanded to sixteen tunes for this (remastered) re-re-reissue from the inimitable and incomparable man widely regarded as the greatest jazz pianist of all time.<\/p>\n
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