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<\/center>Charles Mingus \u2013 <\/strong>The Jazz Experiments of Charles Mingus<\/strong><\/em>\nOriginally a pair of ten-inch releases (Jazzical Moods Vols. 1 and 2<\/em>) issued on the tiny Period label, this 1954 album serves up six tracks (three originals, three interpretations of others’ work) on a record that features \u2013 among others — Teo Macero<\/strong>, later to gain fame as Miles Davis<\/strong>‘ producer\/studio collaborator. In a slightly unusual move, this record featured liner notes by the artist himself, in which he sought to explain the goals and nature of each track. As expected, Mingus<\/strong>‘ bass work is propulsive and thrilling, but everyone else (notably trumpeter Thad Jones<\/strong> on four cuts) blows as well.<\/p>\n
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<\/center>Booker Ervin \u2013 <\/strong>The Book Cooks<\/strong><\/em>\nPerhaps the least well-known artist covered in this set of reviews, tenor saxophonist Ervin<\/strong> was an exemplar of the hard bop style. This 1960 album was his debut on record as a bandleader, though he’d busily go on to release well more than a dozen albums before his death in 1970. Here he often duets with Zoot Sims<\/strong><\/a> (another tenor sax man) on six numbers, all but one an original. This bluesy set subtly presages soul jazz of the coming years. Ira Gitler<\/strong>‘s original liner notes even mention the word \u201cfunk,\u201d a term not in wide use in 1960.<\/p>\n
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<\/center>John Coltrane \u2013 <\/strong>Afro Blue Impressions<\/strong><\/em>\nSome quick history: this album was recorded live in 1963, at a pair of dates in Stockholm and Berlin. The tapes remained unreleased until 1970, at which time Norman Granz<\/strong>‘s Pablo label released a double album. Now in 2014, additional stray tracks from those dates (ones that had appeared on other albums) have been added back to create a 2CD set. Coltrane<\/strong><\/a> and his band (McCoy Tyner<\/strong> on piano, bassist Jimmy Garrison<\/strong> and Elvin Jones<\/strong> on drums) turn in stunning performances that cover a great deal of stylistic range. Neil Tesser<\/strong> won a Grammy for the definitive reissue’s liner notes.<\/p>\n
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<\/center>Don Cherry \u2013 <\/strong>Live in Stockholm<\/strong><\/em>\nLike the above album, this was recorded live onstage in Sweden, but that’s where the similarities end. Cherry<\/strong>‘s avant-jazz stylings on three extended pieces veer much closer to the style of Ornette Coleman<\/strong> (a frequent Cherry associate). Playing his \u201cpocket trumpet\u201d as well as flutes, piano and percussion, Cheery leads his band \u2013 here, mostly Scandinavian players from his then-newly adopted home country \u2013 through impressionistic, difficult pieces that rock -centric listeners might find vaguely similar to some of Frank Zappa<\/strong>‘s early 70s work (circa Waka\/Jawaka<\/em> and The Grand Wazoo<\/em>), though certainly without the rock trappings of the latter.<\/p>\n
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<\/center>Paul Bley Trio \u2013 <\/strong>Closer<\/strong><\/em>\nRecorded in a single December 1965 session, this features pianist Bley<\/strong> plus Steve Swallow<\/strong> on bass and Barry Altschul<\/strong> on percussion. All but one of the tracks are composed by Carla Bley<\/strong> (them married to the pianist), and predate her compositions for Gary Burton<\/strong> (A Genuine Tong Funeral<\/em>) by nearly two years. Though Ms. Bley is known as a giant of the free jazz movement, the Vince Guaraldi<\/strong>-ish \u201cIda Lupino\u201d opens the set. Then things get very<\/em> weird, with rambling piano and disorienting percussion. Occasionally it’s quite accessible (\u201cSideways in Mexico\u201d ) but generally this is an avant-jazz outing.<\/p>\n
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<\/center>Hans Koller & Friends \u2013 <\/strong>Legends Live<\/strong><\/em>\nAnother winning release from the Jazzhaus vaults, this features selections from a pair of live dates in Germany in 1959 and 1960. Viennese tenor saxophonist Koller<\/strong> leads a mostly European ensemble (plus acclaimed American bassist Percy Heath<\/strong>) through mostly original material, with Jerome Kern<\/strong>‘s \u201cAll the Things You Are\u201d added in. (That track features Martial Solal<\/strong>‘s kinetic piano.)The 1960 tracks from Stuttgart feature a brass ensemble. The live sound quality captured here is impeccable, a hallmark of all Jazzhaus archival releases. The performances tend toward a traditional, classicist, big-band-writ-small feel, but there’s plenty of tasty playing and soloing throughout.<\/p>\n
More jazz reissue\/archival capsule reviews to come.<\/p>\n
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