Charles Tolliver - 'Mosaic Select 20'

 

This is an interesting Mosaic set, in that these recordings were not owned by Blue Note or any of Capitol's subsidiaries; they are owned by Charles Tolliver, and originally appeared on the Strata East label which he co-founded with the pianist on these dates, Stanley Cowell.  Strata East was a musician's label that recorded some of the greatest jazz music of the 1970s and was well distributed. (Unfortunately, with very few exceptions -- and a real comment on the record industry here in the U.S. -- the only way to procure most Strata East recordings on CD these days is from Japan.)  Most of these sides were cut live at Slug's Saloon, a legendary, long gone spot on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in a space now occupied by a chic bakery.   Slug's Saloon was the go-to joint for musicians who were still developing the "new thing" after Coltrane, who played regularly and collaborated with one another.  Its audience was hip and sophisticated and deeply interested in music that was current.  Charles Tolliver himself went all out to find more of the music recorded on these dates, and there are six selections, roughly a full CD, of completely unreleased music from the Slug's gigs. 

This 3CD Mosaic box set features the music from two Charles Tolliver concerts. The first concert was recorded live at Sluggs Saloon, in New York on 5/1/70. This concert fetures, Tolliver (trumpet), Cecil McBee (bass) Stanley Cowell (piano), and Jimmy Hopps (drums). The second concert was recorded live in Tokyo 12/7/73.  This show features Tolliver, Cowell, Clifford Barbaro (drums), and Clint Houston (bass).  The sound quality is just phenomenal.  In particular, the bass could not sound better. The two concerts feature some of Tolliver's most creative and exciting songs, as well as some great songwriting by McBee and Cowell.  The first show features some of the best playing I've heard from bassist McBee.  Pianist Stanley Cowell, but he provides both some excellent songwriting and playing on these two shows.  The style of the music is 1960s post bop with a tinge of soul jazz, hard bop, and avant-garde.   It is fairly similar in style to the work Charles did on Jackie Mclean's blue note recordings.  To my ears, this is hands down the best recording, with Charles Tolliver listed as the leader.

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Jackie Mclean - 'One Step Beyond' (RVG Edition)

 

Jackie McLean was peaking in the mid-1960s when he recorded this scorching session.  In the liner notes to my original pressing, Jackie tells the charming story of mistaking Tony Williams for an enthusiastic young fan instead of the drummer on a pick-up gig he was playing in Boston.  Soon enough, Williams was under McLean's wing in New York, and, just as quickly, poached by Miles Davis.

Here, Tony Williams is spectacular; the intense interplay of cymbals and loosely tuned toms, the slowing of the beat (but not the rhythmic pulse) to comment on what the soloist is playing and the sheer forcefulness (like Elvin Jones or "Philly" Joe Jones) of his drumming.  His playing certainly inspires McLean, whose work is passionate, intense, brimming with ideas and characteristically economical.

It was also inspiring on McLean's part to substitute for a pianist, the vibraphone of Bobby Hutcherson, whom, not unlike Tony Williams, was also on the cusp of stardom.  The colors and timbres these two produce add enormously to this session.  This album also introduces trombonist Grachan Moncur, whose soloing, while technically limited, consists of punchy riffs and phrases.  McLean graciously ceded leadership of a companion date, 'Evolution', to Moncur. 

Though Jackie often said during this time period that he wanted to move in a freer direction, 'One Step Beyond' basically is hard bop, just with more reliance on blues derived scales and modes. Within this context, it's played brilliantly, and cooks.

'One Step Beyond' is rooted in the past, one foot in the present, and looking to a future that never fully came to be, it's one of the greats of the original run of post-bop albums.  Not really free, but there's a freedom here without a question.  McLean would see some surprise success off of this album, and for the next year worked extensively with Moncur and different variations of much the same band.  

Then Jackie was incarcerated for dope (once again), he served six months in prison and never quite re-captured the moment on his exceptional run of Blue Note's through 1967.  This was the one that broke it all and put it back together, though, and it belongs in every serious jazz collection.

Jackie McLean - Alto saxophone
Grachan Moncur III - Trombone
Bobby Hutcherson - Vibes
Eddie Khan - Bass
Tony Williams - Drums 

Produced by Alfred Lion, and recorded by Rudy Van Gelder at his studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, on April 30, 1963

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John Coltrane - 'Soultrane'

 

There's not a lot I can say about the music on 'Soultrane' that hasn't been said before, it's a stone-cold classic from jazz's golden age, and one of the albums where Trane began to overtake Sonny Rollins as the most influential tenor player in the jazz world.  He would continue to build on that status throughout the sixties until his untimely death, in 1967.

 

'Soultrane' comes from a ridiculously prolific period of Coltrane's career, a time when he was making huge leaps as a musician.   In 1957, he not only recorded 'Blue Train', 'Dakar', 'Coltrane', and 'Lush Life', but he spent time with Thelonious Monk, appearing on the classic 'Monk's Music'.  While that was a busy year, 1958 was even more productive, with Trane in the studio recording enough material for an eventual eight releases on Prestige, including 'Soultrane', 'John Coltrane & Kenny Burrell', 'Settin' The Pace' and 'Bahia'.  If all that work wasn't keeping him busy enough, in late-1957 he began playing with Miles Davis again, recording 'Milestones' at the start of 1958, only three days before hitting the studio to record 'Soultrane'.

Coltrane's obsession in perfecting his craft during this time is legendary, he would go home to practice into the wee hours of the morning instead of joining his fellow musicians to cavort after late-night performances.  The hard work pays off on 'Soultrane', where Trane moves from competent sideman to leader in full, keeping the listener's interest on long takes of "Good Bait" and "I Want To Talk About You," as well as introducing a style on "Russian Lullaby" that resulted in Ira Gitler coining the phrase "Sheets of Sound" that would stick with the saxophonist for the rest of his career.   The Red Garland Trio perfectly backs up Trane, these four musicians recorded together quite a bit during this time and their easy rapport is a joy to listen to.  With all these factors at work, 'Soultrane' is a hard bop extravaganza, truly one of the masterworks from the first part of Trane's career.

'Soultrane' was recorded on February 7, 1958, at Van Gelder Studio, in Hackensack, New Jersey.

John Coltrane - Tenor Sax
Red Garland - Piano
Paul Chambers - Bass
Art Taylor - Drums 

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Donald Byrd & Pepper Adams - 'The Complete Blue Note Studio Sessions'

 

This 4CD set from Mosaic Records, are the albums Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams collaborated on, for the Blue Note label during the years 1959 to 1962: 'Byrd in Hand', 'Chant', 'Royal Flush', 'The Cat Walk', and 'Off to the Races', with the Detroit natives at the top of their game.

Donald and Pepper led a variety of groups that featured the likes of Herbie Hancock (his first session), Wynton Kelly, Duke Pearson (who also contributed material), Charlie Rouse, Sam Jones, and Billy Higgins.  From excellent covers of standards, to seamlessly complex originals, Donald's trumpet tone, and Pepper's' angular baritone make for a perfect one-two punch. 

In typical Mosaic fashion, the audio is the best you'll ever hear these recordings. The Booklet features session photos by Blue Note photographer Francis Wolff and an extensive essay by Bob Blumenthal.

Donald Byrd on trumpet
Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone
Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone
Jackie McLean and Sonny Red, are on alto saxophone
Wynton Kelly, Herbie Hancock, Walter Davis, Duke Pearson and Chick Corea, are on piano
Sam Jones, Doug Watkins, Laymon Jackson, Butch Warren, Miroslav Vitous, are on bass
Art Taylor, Teddy Robinson, Philly Joe Jones, Billy Higgins, Mickey Roker, are on drums

This is hard bop of the highest order.

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