Superb set for altoist Arthur Blythe recorded live at New York's famed Village Vanguard for the German Enja label considered by many to be his finest recording. Blythe, with his trademark wailing tone, is superbly accompanied by the great late John Hicks on piano, Cecil McBee on bass and Bobby Battle on drums. This is contemporary jazz of the highest order.

Another great Abercrombie offering from 1993 for the Audioquest label in the company of Jeff Palmer, another great innovator, on Hammond B-3 organ, the great Arthur Blythe on alto sax and victor Lewis on drums, this time under the Palmer's name as all tunes but one were penned by him. But, as we all know these dates have no 'leader' per se, the music is democratic and free-flowing, all in all a great and very modern sounding contemporary jazz set pushing the jazz organ combo genre beyond the Jimmy Smith realm.

John Abercrombie (b. 1944) has been an uncompromising jazz guitar innovator since day one. A restless worker who shuns stereotypes, he has helped push the envelope on modern guitar playing in his own, discreet way. Here's a live trio recording from New York's Visiones club in July 1996 in the company of Dan Wall on Hammond B-3 organ and Adam Nussbaum on drums for the German ECM label, and this is what Down Beat had to say:

"Each new album from Abercrombie provides reason to celebrate....All the songs on the album seem to have a certain coherence and connectedness. The music flows wonderfully - 4.5 Stars (out of 5) Down Beat (4/97, pp.54-55)"

Any tribute to Teddy Wilson without citation of this recording would be remiss. The 'Pres' Lester Young on tenor sax in the company of Messrs. Teddy Wilson on piano, Gene Ramey on bass and 'Papa' Jo Jones on drums give us some of the finest jazz ever put on record on this 1956 historic date, one of those rare, magical moments where everything falls into place magnificently, enjoy.

Gentleman of Keyboard, a Giants of Jazz compilation released in 1990, is a jumbled assemblage of great jazz recordings made between May 1934 and July 1957 by pianist and bandleader Teddy Wilson (1912-1986). The list of collective personnel on this one disc is staggering, as Wilson consistently worked with innovators and individualists who decisively shaped the evolution of jazz over the years. Among literally dozens of noteworthy participants are vocalists Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald as well as tenor saxophonists Ben Webster and Lester Young. Wilson is also heard in his famous role as a member of the Benny Goodman Quartet and Sextet [these performances alone warrant the admission fee - itsartolie]. Though it would take quite a number of Wilson collections to accurately demonstrate the magnitude of his contribution to the history of jazz, Gentleman of Keyboard is as good a place to begin as any. ~ All Music Guide

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This post focuses on jazz piano giant Teddy Wilson (1912-86) whose sophisticated and elegant style graced many a record of jazz's biggest names including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Noted jazz musicologist Gunter Schuller argues in his authoritative History of Jazz - The Swing Era that Wilson's approach to the jazz piano was the predecessor of the Red Garland - Wynton Kelly school of jazz piano; he is right. This late Wilson offering from 1976 was recorded at an unusual setting: an open-air studio in Nice, France. As a result, the ambience is a bit different outdoors, while birds can be heard occasionally in the background. This is hardly a distraction for seasoned veterans of the stature of Wilson and his cohorts Milt Hinton on bass and Oliver Jackson on drums who navigate through 14 standards that they had likely played hundreds of times during their long careers with great aplomb and finesse. Highlights include a lush treatment of "You Go to My Head," a cheerful midtempo romp through "Flying Home" (with a superb solo by Hinton), and a blistering take of "Undecided." While Teddy Wilson didn't modify his style much during his career, this outdoor recording is one of his most interesting studio efforts.

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According to Barney Kessel, Oscar Moore (1916 - 1981) practically invented the role of the guitarist in small combo jazz. We don't know if this is true as is often the case with claims of this kind. What we do know however is that Moore's role in shaping the sound of the Nat King Cole Trio, the first drummerless trio in jazz, was of paramount importance. It is Oscar Moore's guitar we cherish on these 1937-1947 immortal sides the Cole Trio cut for various small labels. Unfortunately, Moore's solo career after leaving Cole never took off and he cut just a handful of records for the Verve and Tampa labels before retiting from the music business altogether and ending up working as a bricklayer in Los Angeles - a cryin' shame. This 1954 recording for the Tampa label with Carl Perkins amply demonstrates what an enormous talent and elegance in delivery Moore possessed.

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The small VGM label issued two valuable LPs back in the '80s (VGM 0001 and VGM 0008) featuring Wes Montgomery in a live setting at Jorgies Jazz Club in St. Louis, MO, on August 19, 1961. In them we could hear Wes stretching out on four pieces in a quartet setting with brothers Buddy (on piano and vibes) and Monk (bass) along with drummer Billy Hart. These versions of "All of You," Milt Jackson's "Heartstrings," "Summertime" and Wes's "Bock to Bock" range from six to fourteen minutes, are reasonably well-recorded and contain stirring improvisations. This CD reissue contains the first LP plus four additional tracks, recorded in New York in 1963 with Billy Taylor on piano, Grady Tate on drums and vocalist Joe Williams on two of them. Fans of the great guitarist rejoice!

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Sumptuous blowing from the old master on soprano, baritone and tenor saxophones accompanied by stalwarts Kenny Barron on piano, Ira Coleman on bass and Lewis Nash on drums in a set consisting of mostly ballads and mid-tempo numbers, ideal for the group to display what good jazz is all about through this seminar in group empathy and interplay. Recorded at the historic Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, on June 19 & 20, 1994. Highly recommended.

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This great record displays Barney Wilen in three different musical settings: Tracks 1 through 4 are from Wilen's first visit to the US in 1959 and his appearance at the renown Newport, RI, Jazz Festival , maybe the first non-US musician to appear there. He is accompanied by a stellar band consisting of Toshiko Akiyoshi, fresh out of Berklee and eager to please US audiences, Tommy Bryant on bass and legend Roy Haynes on drums. Tracks 5 and 6 are recorded in Paris in the company of Clark Terry on trumpet, Bud Powell on piano, Eric Peter on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums - these gentlemen need no introduction. And finally, Thelonious Monk's masterpiece 'Round Midnight is recorded in the company of a local German band while Wilen visited there. Savvy listeners will no doubt notice how mature and original Wilen sounds at such an early age as well as his ability to adapt to the musical situation at hand. As this disc consists of three dates, sound is a bit sketchy at places, but as a testament to Wilen's genius this is essential listening.

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Amazing debut as leader for French tenor sax superhero Barney Wilen (1937-1996) who was not even 20 at the time! Recorded in Paris in January 1957 with Maurice Vander (piano), Bibi Rovère (bass) and Al Levitt (drums) on the first side and Jack Cnudde (piano), Bibi Rovère (bass) and Charles Saudrais (drums) on the side two. Probably the rarest and definitely the most sought-after french jazz record of all time in its LP form (pictured below); the playing is to die for, of course.

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