Sonny Rollins With The Modern Jazz Quartet.
Sonny Rollins’ debut album as band leader features recordings as early as January 1951 with Rollins, of course, on tenor sax, and the rest of the Modern Jazz Quartet consisting of piano man John Lewis, Percy Heath on bass, Kenny Clarke keeping rhythm on drums and Milt Jackson the vibist. Tracks five through twelve see Kenny Drew take over piano duties while Art Blakey relinquishes Clarke’s role with the sticks; the closing track, “I Know”, stars a cameo appearance by Miles Davis on piano, a song written by Davis and recorded in the first session featuring the two jazz legends. Rollins is at times playful as on the infectious footjiggler “The Stopper” as well as the to-ing and fro-ing of “Scoops” and “Newk’s Fadeaway” (all Rollins originals), while at others he is melancholic, contemplative and regretful, as on the Duke Ellington penned “In a Sentimental Mood”. A seriously impressive first record as leader, Sonny Rollins With The MJQ should be considered absolute jazz classic, filled with riffs and motifs that will stick with you all day, I’m looking at you “Shadrack”.
The Duke Plays Ellington.
A record of minimalist originals with the exception of the Billy Strayhorn track “Passion Flower” and son Mercer Ellington’s “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be” (though a number are co-written with other musicians), Duke Ellington proves that he could have had a respectable career as a pianist had he so wished. Accompanying Ellington’s piano are Wendell Marshall’s bass and Butch Ballard’s drums. And that’s it. With such little instrumentation there is no distraction from the personal overtones of Ellington’s piano as he bares his soul: the contemplative, retrospective reflections on “Retrospective” and “Reflections in D”, the optimistic eulogy feel as he reminisces over good times on “All Too Soon”, you can guess the mood on “Melancholia”, and a repeat of a track from Sonny Rollins’ album, “In A Sentimental Mood”, though Ellington’s interpretation is less mournful. To break up these difficult emotional moments and offer some well needed relief, Ellington introduces the wonderfully jaunty number “Dancers in Love” and further changes the mood and tempo with tracks such as “Who Knows?”, “B Sharp Blues” and “Janet”. A special record that showcases Ellington’s abilities on the piano as well as confirming his renowned songwriting creativity.
Black Coffee.
Peggy Lee’s soothing vocals are accompanied on her debut album by a traditional quartet of Pete Candoli on trumpet, Jimmy Rowles’ piano, Max Wayne’s double bass, and Ed Shaughnessy on drums. A variety of popular songs, jazz standards and musical numbers such as Rodgers and Hart’s catchy “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”, Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin’s soulful “Easy Living” and Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, made famous three years later when covered by Frank Sinatra on Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (see 1956 for more on that), allow Lee to tread the line between pop and jazz, though occasionally veering further to one side than the other. As enjoyable an album as I’ve heard these many weeks, and that’s what it’s all about really.
Inca Taqui.
Peruvian soprano princess, Yma Sumac, displays her implausibly vast vocal range on her third studio album, Inca Taqui, as she reaches terrifying guttural lows as well as beautiful songbirdlike highs; exemplified by the track “Chuncho” where both extremes are spellbindingly exhibited. With little else than her incredible, powerful, unique voice and then husband, Moises Vivanco, accompanying with classical acoustic guitar, Sumac captivates with her interpretation of South American folk. Worth listening just to hear the almost inhuman ability of this woman’s vocal chords.
Moondog and His Friends.
Inspirational, influential and inventive, Moondog released his debut studio album, Moondog and His Friends, while living as a street musician and poet in New York City. The experimental minimalism contained on the the record fuses folk and jazz, juxtaposing primitive, tribal-like percussion with complex string and piano arrangements, to create a spiritually and philosophically thought-provoking experience. Tracks such as “Tree Frog – Be a Hobo” feature ingenious, almost anachronistic use of sampling, decades before other mainstream composers would dare to attempt such techniques. A seriously interesting piece of music from an eccentric, fascinating individual.
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