Library

Genere: Jazz

Durata: 50:32

Dischi: 1

Produttore:

Trama: All of Ike Quebec's bluenote albums are superior efforts, but "Blue and Sentimental" , along with "Easy Living" (which came after this one and before "Soul Samba") take the proverbial cake. Quebec mesmerizes with the languid-smokey-late-night-romance that he breathes deeply into his tenor saxophone. Without the accompaniment of the piano there is more space and time for Ike to move about in at his lazy leisure, and in place of it is the gentle strumming of Grant Green, who is at his most relaxed with Quebec at the helm. This fits the mood just right, and Ike Quebec is nothing if not a master at sustaining the blue tinted mood of a seemingly endless night. Images of laying in a bed with no sheets, late on a humid night, a gentle rain smearing the windows and the black streets below, a woman asleep with her head buried in your shoulder and her body pressed against you swaying with her breath, blue wisps of smoke from a cigarette lingering in the thick still air. This music is the sound of relaxed-romance, romance after passion but before sleep. A strange mingling of melancholy and quiet satisfaction. This is an album that is totally complete in and of itself, perfectly capturing a frozen moment. A still, perfect, and beautiful moment. This is Ike Quebec at the summit, and so this is jazz at the summit.
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Genere: Jazz

Durata: 46:52

Dischi: 1

Produttore:

Trama: One of the most famous live recordings in jazz history, this May 1953 concert from Toronto brought together five of bebop's greatest figures in alto saxophonist Charlie Parker (credited here as "Charlie Chan" in a purposely transparent attempt to sidestep Parker's exclusive recording arrangement with another record company), trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Bud Powell, drummer Max Roach, and bassist Charles Mingus. Released following Parker's death two years after the date, the recording finds him in remarkable form, his playing robust, pointed, and witty. And although each participant is a band leader, composer, and groundbreaking stylist on his instrument, the performance demonstrates that Parker remained first among equals. Compositionally, <I>Jazz at Massey Hall</I> leans heavily on the bebop book developed by Gillespie, and includes "Salt Peanuts," "Wee," and "A Night in Tunisia." Also featured are Tadd Dameron's "Hot House," the Ellington standard "Perdido," and "All the Things You Are." Initially released on Debut Records, a label co-owned by Mingus and Roach, the sound quality is certainly of the time, but has benefited over the years from digital technology. <i>--Fred Goodman</i>