Following in the footsteps of our successful “Blue Notes” series, this 10 CD-wallet box presents “Prestigious Hits”: original albums and stars playing the best of Modern Jazz from the 1950s.
New York had become the world's Jazz Mecca by the 1940s. The glamorous ballrooms, such as the Savoy, were the venues for the greatest swing orchestras, the young beboppers experimented on a new sound and in Harlem's clubs that, as modern jazz, was to form the basis for all Jazz styles from the 1950s on.
These musicians were mostly documented by the kind of independent record labels, that were constantly shooting up from the ground, operated by fans with little finances but all the more ambition and enthusiasm. With the invention of the long-playing album and its establishment in jazz circles from 1956 on, these small businesses, some of which enjoy cult status today, experienced a strong momentum. Names like Norman Granz (Verve) or Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff (Blue Note) are at the forefront, especially since their labels later and after many changes of ownership ended up with majors, who repeatedly reactivated the logos for new musicians and re-issued their old treasures.
Bob Weinstock, who started his own label in 1949, is hardly known today except among experts, but his productions and artists are all the more famous and notorious. In the mid-50s (almost) all future Jazz stars were under contract with him for a few years: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Sonny Rollins, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Eric Dolphy, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Thelonious Monk, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd and also swing greats like Coleman Hawkins and Arnett Cobb.
Here you can find a first selection of these all-time classics and favorites, including a few names that were always relegated to the second row but still made important contributions to jazz history such as Lem Winchester, Mal Waldron or Jackie McLean.
From today's perspective, it is rather astonishing that Weinstock was able to produce so many masterpieces in so few years with his small label structure and despite such strong competition. Miles Davis, who eventually hurried off to Columbia, also made many albums for Weinstock. But even after the departure of many now big and sought-after names, Weinstock was able to concentrate on straight ahead and soul jazz (he always avoided Free Jazz) and to successfully direct his label until 1971with musicians such as Shirley Scott, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Sonny Criss, Charles Earland, Jack McDuff and many others.
Tracklist
CD 1
■ MILES DAVIS
- COOKING WITH
THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET
1. My Funny Valentine 6.00
(Richard Rodgers)
2. Blues by Five 10.20
(Miles Davis)
3. Airegin 4.24
(Sonny Rollins)
4. Tune Up / When Lights 13.09
Are Low
(Miles Davis, Benny Carter)
Miles Davis (tp)
John Coltrane (ts)
Red Garland (p)
Paul Chambers (b)
Philly Joe Jones (drs)
Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio,
Hackensack, New Jersey
on October 26, 1956
■ HANK MOBLEY / AL COHN
JOHN COLTRANE / ZOOT SIMS
- TENOR CONCLAVE
5. Tenor Conclave 11.06
(Hank Mobley)
6. Just You, Just Me 9.30
(Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages)
7. Bob's Boys 8.21
(H. Mobley)
8. How Deep is the Ocean 15.08
(Irving Berlin)
Hank Mobley (ts)
Al Cohn (ts)
John Coltrane (ts)
Zoot Sims (ts)
Red Garland (p)
Paul Chambers (b)
Art Taylor (dr)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Hackensack, NJ, September 7, 1956
Total Time 78.03
CD 2
■ MODERN JAZZ QUARTET
- DJANGO
1. Django 7.06
(John Lewis)
2. One Bass Hit 3.02
(Dizzy Gillespie)
3. La Ronde Suite 9.34
(Lewis)
4. The Queen's Fancy 3.16
(Lewis)
5. Delauney's Dilemma 4.01
(Lewis)
6. Autumn in New York 3.43
(Vernon Duke)
7. But Not for Me 3.46
(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
8. Milano 4.23
(Lewis)
Milt Jackson (vibes)
John Lewis (p)
Percy Heath (b)
Kenny Clarke (drs)
Recorded in Hackensack, New Jersey,
on June 25, 1953 (4–7), New York, NY,
December 23, 1954 (1, 2, 8)
and January 9, 1955 (3)
■ LEM WINCHESTER /
OLIVER NELSON
- NOCTURNE
9. Nocturne 3.44
(Oliver Nelson)
10. Bob's Blues 5.30
(Oliver Nelson)
11. Man with a Horn 6.07
(Bonnie Lake, Eddie Delange,
Jack Jenney)
12. Early Morning 4.47
(Oliver Nelson)
13. In a Sentimental Mood 6.13
(Duke Ellington, Irving Mills,
Manny Kurtz)
14. Azur'te 5.41
(Don Wolf, Wild Bill Davis)
15. Time After Time 7.24
(Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn)
Lem Winchester (vibes)
Oliver Nelson (as, ts)
Richard Wyands (p)
George Duvivier (b)
Roy Haynes (drs)
Recorded in Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey, on August 23, 1960
Total Time 78.43
CD 3
■ SONNY ROLLINS
- MOVING OUT
1. Movin' Out 4.32
(Sonny Rollins)
2. Swingin' for Bumsy 5.49
(Sonny Rollins)
3. Silk N' Satin 4.02
(Sonny Rollins)
4. Solid 6.27
(Sonny Rollins)
5. More Than You Know 10.49
(Rose, Eliscu, Youmans)
Sonny Rollins (ts)
Kenny Dorham (tp: 1 to 4)
Elmo Hope (p: 1 to 4)
Thelonious Monk (p: 4)
Percy Heath (b: 1 to 4)
Tommy Potter (b: 5)
Art Blakey (drs: 1 to 4)
Arthur Taylor (drs: 5)
Recorded in New York City
on August 18, 1954 (tracks 1 to 4)
and on October 25, 1954 (track 5)
■ MAL WALDRON
FEAT. JOHN COLTRANE
6. From this Moment On 6.12
(Cole Porter)
7. J.M.'s Dream Doll 7.55
(Mal Waldron)
8. The Way You Look Tonight 8.22
(Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern)
9. One by One 9.38
(Mal Waldron)
10. Don't Explain 6.55
(Arthur Herzog Jr., Billie Holiday)
11. Potpourri 6.36
(Mal Waldron)
Mal Waldron (p)
John Coltrane (ts)
Idrees Sulieman (tp: 6, 8, 9)
Bill Hardman (tp: 7, 10, 11)
Sahib Shihab (as: 6, 8, 9)
Jackie McLean (as: 7, 10, 11)
Julian Euell (b)
Ed Thigpen (drs: 6, 8, 9)
Art Taylor (drs: 7, 10, 11)
Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio
in Hackensack, New Jersey,
on April 19 (tracks 7, 10,11)
and May 17 (tracks 6, 8, 9), 1957
Total Time 77.38
CD 4
■ COLEMAN HAWKINS
- SOUL
1. Soul Blues 9.54
(Coleman Hawkins)
2. I Hadn't Anyone Till You 4.35
(Ray Noble)
3. Groovin' 5.45
(Kenny Burrell)
4. Greensleeves 3.13
(traditional)
5. Sunday Mornin 6.31
(K. Burrell)
6. Until the Real Thing 4.43
Comes Along
(Alberta Nichols, L. E. Freeman,
Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin)
7. Sweetnin' 6.51
(C. Hawkins)
Coleman Hawkins (ts)
Kenny Burrell (git)
Ray Bryant (p)
Wendell Marshall (b)
Osie Johnson (drs)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Hackensack, New Jersey,
on November 7, 1958
■ JOHN COLTRANE
AND THE RED GARLAND TRIO
8. Traneing In 12.35
(John Coltrane)
9. Slow Dance 5.28
(Alonzo Levister)
10. Bass Blues 7.46
(J. Coltrane)
11. You Leave Me Breathless 7.24
(Ralph Freed, Friedrich Hollaender)
12. Soft Lights and Sweet Music 4.41
(Irving Berlin)
John Coltrane (ts)
Red Garland (p)
Paul Chambers (b)
Art Taylor (drs)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Hackensack, New Jersey,
on August 23, 1957
Total Time 79.50
CD 5
■ ARNETT COBB
- MOVIN RIGHT ALONG
1. Nitty Gritty 3.55
(Arnett Cobb)
2. All I Do Is Dream of You 4.03
(Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed)
3. I Don't Stand a Ghost 5.24
of a Chance with You
(Bing Crosby, Ned Washington,
Victor Young)
4. Exactly Like You 6.32
(Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh)
5. Walkin' 5.29
(Richard Carpenter)
6. Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise 4.09
(Oscar Hammerstein II,
Sigmund Romberg)
7. Fast Ride 4.13
(Arnett Cobb)
8. The Shy One 4.44
(Arnett Cobb)
Arnett Cobb (ts)
Tommy Flanagan (p: 7)
Bobby Timmons (p:1-6 & 8)
Sam Jones (b)
Art Taylor (drs)
Danny Barrajanos (congas: 7)
Buck Clarke (congas: 1-6 & 8)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio
in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,
on February 16 (track 7) and
February 17 (tracks 1-6 & 8), 1960
■ RED GARLAND TRIO &
EDDIE LOCKJAW DAVIS
- MOODSVILLE I
9. We'll Be Together Again 5.38
(Carl T. Fischer, Frankie Lane)
10. Stella by Starlight 4.27
(Ned Washington, Victor Young)
11. I Heard You Cried Last Night 4.50
(Ted Grouya)
12. Softly Baby 5.56
(Red Garland)
13. When Your Lover Has Gone 5.55
(Einar Aaron Swan)
14. Wonder Why 4.26
(Nicholas Brodzsky, Sammy Cahn)
15. The Blue Room 5.46
(Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers)
16. The Red Blues 3.05
(Red Garland)
Red Garland (p)
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (ts: 9, 12 & 13)
Sam Jones (b)
Art Taylor (drs)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,
on December 11, 1959
Total Time 78.50
CD 6
■ THELONIOUS MONK
AND SONNY ROLLINS
1. The Way You Look Tonight 5.16
(Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern)
2. I Want to Be Happy 7.45
(Caesar, Youmans)
3. Work 5.19
(Thelonious Monk)
4. Nutty 5.18
(Thelonious Monk)
5. Friday the 13th 10.34
(Thelonious Monk)
Sonny Rollins (ts: 1, 2, 5)
Julius Watkins (french horn: 5)
Thelonious Monk (p)
Tommy Potter (b: 1, 2)
Percy Heath (b: 2-5)
Arthur Taylor (drs: 1, 2)
Art Blakey (drs: 3, 4)
Willie Jones (drs. 5)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Hackensack, New Jersey,
September 22 and October 25, 1954
and at WOR Studios, New York City,
November 13, 1953
■ JACKIE McLEAN QUINTET
- JACKIE S PAL
6. Sweet Doll 6.05
(Jackie McLean)
7. Just for Marty 6.38
(Bill Hardman)
8. Dee's Dilemma 7.04
(Mal Waldron)
9. Sublues 8.02
(Hardman)
10. Steeplechase 8.10
(Charlie Parker)
11. It Could Happen to You 6.03
(Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen)
Jackie McLean (as)
Bill Hardman (tp)
Mal Waldron (p)
Paul Chambers (b)
Philly Joe Jones (drs)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Hackensack, New Jersey,
on August 31, 1956
Total Time 76.20
CD 7
■ GENE AMMONS / SONNY STITT
- SOUL SUMMIT
1. Tubby 9.13
(Gene Ammons)
2. Dumplin' 5.00
(Sonny Stitt)
3. When You Wish Upon a Star 4.37
(Leigh Harline, Ned Washington)
4. Shuffle Twist 6.01
(Gene Ammons)
5. Sleeping Susan 5.41
(Jimmy Mundy)
6. Out in the Cold Again 6.50
(Rube Bloom, Ted Koehler)
Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt (ts)
Jack McDuff (organ)
Charlie Persip (drs)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,
on February 19, 1962
■ GENE AMMONS
- BOSS TENOR
7. Hittin' the Jug 8.31
(Gene Ammons)
8. Close Your Eyes 3.48
(Bernice Petkere)
9. My Romance 4.17
(Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers)
10. Canadian Sunset 5.26
(Norman Gimbel, Eddie Heywood)
11. Blue Ammons Jug 4.59
(Gene Ammons)
12. Confirmation 5.24
(Charlie Parker)
13. Stompin' at the Savoy 3.35
(Benny Goodman, Arthur Sampson,
Chick Webb, Andy Razaf)
Gene Ammons (ts)
Tommy Flanagan (p)
Doug Watkins (b)
Art Taylor (drs)
Ray Barretto (congas)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,
on June 16, 1960
Total Time 73.33
CD 8
■ ROLAND KIRK WITH
JACK McDUFF
- KIRK S WORK
1. Three for Dizzy 5.15
(Roland Kirk)
2. Makin' Whoopee 5.10
(Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn)
3. Funk Underneath 6.20
(Roland Kirk)
4. Kirk's Work 3.57
(Roland Kirk)
5. Doin' the Sixty-Eight 4.24
(Roland Kirk)
6. Too Late Now 3.54
(Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane)
7. Skater's Waltz 4.24
(Charles Emile Waldteufel, arr. Kirk)
Roland Kirk (ts, manzello, stritch,
fl, siren)
Jack McDuff (organ)
Joe Benjamin (b)
Arthur Taylor (drs)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,
on July 11, 1961
■ LARRY YOUNG
- GROOVE STREET
8. Groove Street 4.58
(Larry Young)
9. I Found a New Baby 5.29
(Jack Palmer, Spencer Williams)
10. Sweet Lorraine 9.27
(Cliff Burwell, Mitchell Parish)
11. Gettin' Into It 14.28
(L. Young)
12. Talkin' 'Bout J. C. 5.57
(L. Young)
Larry Young (organ)
Bill Leslie (ts)
Thornel Schwartz (git)
Jimmie Smith (drs)
Recorded on February 27, 1962
Total Time 73.48
CD 9
■ ART FARMER /
DONALD BYRD
- 2 TRUMPETS
1. The Third 7.38
(Donald Byrd)
2. Contour 7.34
(Kenny Drew)
3. When Your Lover Has Gone 5.11
(Einar Aaaron Swan)
4. Dig 14.27
(Miles Davis)
5. 'Round Midnight 6.40
(Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams,
Bernie Hanaghen)
Art Farmer (tp: 1 to 4)
Donald Byrd (tp: 1, 2, 4, 5)
Jackie McLean (as: 1, 2, 4)
Barry Harris (p)
Doug Watkins (b)
Arthur Taylor (drs)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Hackensack, New Jersey,
on August 3, 1956
■ SHIRLEY SCOTT
- PLAYS THE DUKE
6. Caravan 6.32
(Juan Tizol, Edward "Duke" Ellington)
7. Just Squeeze Me 3.33
(Edward "Duke" Ellington)
8. C Jam Blues 3.54
(Edward "Duke" Ellington)
9. Prelude to a Kiss 3.26
(Edward "Duke" Ellington)
10. In a Sentimental Mood 6.06
(Edward "Duke" Ellington)
11. In a Mellow Tone 4.04
(Edward "Duke" Ellington)
12. I've Got It Bad 5.22
(Paul Webster, Edward "Duke"
Ellington)
13. Just a-Sittin' and a-Rockin' 3.38
(Edward "Duke" Ellington,
Billy Strayhorn)
Shirley Scott (p, organ)
George Duvivier (b)
Arthur Edgehill (drs)
Recorded at Rudy van Gelder Studio,
Hackensack, New Jersey,
on April 24, 1959
Total Time 78.19
CD 10
■ ERIC DOLPHY
- AT THE FIVE SPOT I
1. Fire Waltz 13.40
(Mal Waldron)
2. Bee Vamp 12.29
(Booker Little)
3. The Prophet 21.21
(Eric Dolphy)
Eric Dolphy (as, b-cl, fl)
Booker Little (tp)
Mal (p)
Richard Davis (b)
Ed Blackwell (drs)
Recorded live at The Five Spot,
New York City on July 16, 1961
Total Time 47.31
Details
Genre: Jazz
Set content: 10
EAN: 4053796005908