Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (2005)

Recorded at New York City's famed Carnegie Hall from the Novermber 29th, 1957 show as part of their Thanksgiving Jazz series; these tapes sat in the Library of Congress' archives for almost 48 years until they were found and restored (by Monk's son T.S. Monk and producer Michael Cuscuna).

This version of Thelonious' quartet would feature Coltrane on tenor, Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass and Shadow Wilson on the drums; it was right after Trane finished recording his first "solo" record Blue Train and would mark the final collaboration with Monk as John headed back for another stint with Miles' sextet.

One of the best examples of hard bop out there; this one's for my buddy Timmy Burke. Enjoy!

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (2005; Blue Note Records)

Hank Mobley - Soul Station (1960)

Just one look at this album cover and I thought: night. Yep, this is one of those night time jazz records; upon the first few listens it jumps out as an album that evokes neon lights reflected off the sheen of soggy city streets, cigarette smoke slowly rising up to the ceiling of a dark nightclub, maybe a shady figure standing in the shadow of a doorway. Hank Mobley's presence in the jazz stratosphere can be likened to exactly that- a figure standing in the shadows, never really gaining full notoriety for his tenor sax exploits.

Of course, the premier tenormen of the day, Coltrane and Rollins, have cast such a huge shadow over all of jazz (not just Mobley) it's no wonder he's been lost in the mix. Undervalued, under appreciated- he's really one of the quintessential hard bop saxophonists; never choppy or percussive, always fluid and relaxed. Starting with this record, Mobley would be at the start of a string of four really great hard bop records; Roll Call, Workout and No Room For Squares. 

This session, from February 7th, 1960, was cut at Rudy Van Gelder's studio and features none other than Art Blakey on drums, Paul Chambers on bass and Wynton Kelly on piano.

Hank Mobley - Soul Station (1960; Blue Note Records)

Jackie McLean - Destination... Out! (1964)

Saxophonist Jackie McLean did three albums with vibes player Bobby Hutcherson and trombonist Grachan Moncur III all together in the same line-up, 1963's One Step Beyond, Moncur's 1964 record Evolution as well as this gem from '64 credited to McLean. Only the bass and drums were interchangeable; these three played so well off each other that they effectively changed the hard bop landscape into something more freeing- it was a known fact that McLean was enamored with the sounds Ornette Coleman crafted a few years before and the eventual full-on change in John Coltrane's music right around this time would only cement his idea that bop had to change in order to survive.

McLean could be considered one of the major supporting players in the scene; albeit he lived in the shadows behind some of the giants- his teenage friendships with both Kenny Drew and Sonny Rollins; his adoration of Charlie Parker and subsequent meetings with Bird; his lessons with pianist Bud Powell, it seems as if young Jackie was always right on the verge of making it and... He would get his break in the early 1950s, playing with Miles Davis for a few years, then moving on to play with Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Sonny Clark and Hank Mobley before settling into his role as band leader. Drugs and arrests would also plague McLean through these years as well.

The session that produced this record is from September 20th, 1963, from none other than the Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ with Larry Ridley on the bass and Roy Haynes on the skins; it's one of the last vestiges of a true hard bop classic before energy music would fully take jazz by storm.

Jackie McLean - Destination... Out! (1964; Blue Note Records)

Madlib - Shades Of Blue (2003)

After all the great shit that Premier, Pete Rock and the D.I.T.C. Crew did with marrying jazz to hip-hop in the early 90s, it's a wonder anything was left over for anyone else to do. Taking the expansive Blue Note Records back catalog and rendering it for a new set of listeners is an amazingly tall task, and Madlib stepped up and does it better than anybody (actually, I bet Dilla could've done it too, maybe better).

So here's Shades of Blue, with Madlib invading Blue Note and taking all the best stuff from the collection; samples of pianists Andrew Hill, Herbie Hancock and Horace Silver, vibraphonists Bobby Hutcherson and Milt Jackson, trumpeter Donald Byrd and saxophonist Wayne Shorter as well as faeturing some original compositions and cover versions of some old favorites from Madlib's own jazz group Yesterday's New Quintet.

Listen to this one today!

Madlib - Shades Of Blue (2003; Blue Note Records)

Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell (1951)

Bud Powell was the first truly great jazz pianist (along with his friend Thelonious Monk) and got the chance to see jazz grow from swing to bebop to hard bop to avant-garde and free jazz; working across three decades- the 1940s, '50s and '60s.

This record was the result of two separate sessions; the first is notable because it featured a young Sonny Rollins on tenor sax and Fats Navarro on trumpet (also included were Tommy Potter on bass and Roy Haynes on the drum kit; he also recorded tunes with these two gentleman as a trio here; dated August 9th, 1949) and another trio session; May 1st, 1951 with bassist Curley Russell and the one and only Max Roach manning the skins.

This album has some historical significance in that it was one of the first records to fully synthesize African and Cuban rhythms successfully; before this the two genres were sort of dabbled in and poked around by Dizzy Gillespie, but Powell's interest in these funkier art forms are explored more deeply here.

This is the Rudy Van Gelder 2001 re-master (with bonus tracks and alternate takes- there are re-issued versions of this from 1955 titled The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1); a must-have for any fans of jazz piano...

Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell (1951; Blue Note Records)

Andrew Hill - Point Of Departure (1965)

I buy a lot of jazz records based on the line-up; after all- an album is only as good as the sum of its parts.

But I don't need to rattle off a bunch of names here; just one: Eric Dolphy.

He totally steals the show. Yes, it's an Andrew Hill record, but it could be under Dolphy's name just the same because the brother shines. Completely awesome. After Out To Lunch and the stuff he did with Mingus, this is one of Dolphy's finest moments. Apologies to Hill, he's a pretty awesome pianist, too- his compositions are wonderful; but they exist so Dolphy can stretch out his unique voice and imaginative soloing. Listen closely during the track Spectrum, when the bass solo ends and Dolphy takes over- that's as sublime a moment on record you'll ever find. I'd be remiss to not mention Tony Williams' amazing drumming, but you'll just have to listen to understand this...

This is the 1999 Rudy Van Gelder re-issue with alternate takes of three tracks. Check this record out right now!

Andrew Hill - Point Of Departure (1965; Blue Note Records)

Bobby Hutcherson - Dialogue (1965)

The best thing about record shopping for jazz albums is that you have plenty of elbow room; no one listens to it anymore. Well, old dudes and guys like Jimmy Mac do. So, every once in a while I find something that I shouldn't in there, some rare out-of-print limited edition original copy of something, but mostly I'm a listener- I'll leave the collecting to the nerds, I need these records to actually listen to.

You might find a Bobby Hutcherson record, or a record he played on every now and again. Buy it. Even this record, his under-rated debut solo outing. It features no numbers written by Hutch, but just take a look at that line-up! Andrew Hill (composed four of these pieces) on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Sam Rivers on sax, Joe Chambers on drums and Richard Davis on bass.

I wish more people listened to jazz...

Bobby Hutcherson - Dialogue (1965; Blue Note Records)

Grachan Moncur III - Evolution (1964)

It's my pleasure to bring you one of my favorite albums of all-time; one look at this line-up and your ears should start watering. Grachan Moncur III as leader and on trombone, Lee Morgan on trumpet (sounding uncharacteristically avant-garde dare I say?), Jackie McLean on alto saxophone (him and Moncur play off each other so well, check out McLean's albums Destination Out! and One Step Beyond for more of their interplay), Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone (the king of the vibes, hands down), Tony Williams on drums (only 18 at the time of this session and already a seasoned pro) and the ever-steady Bob Cranshaw on bass. This is the perfect aural embodiment of the intersection of post-bop and avant-garde out there.

When I think of what the 1960s actually looked like, this album is it.

Grachan Moncur III - Evolution (1964; Blue Note Records)

Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures (1966)

This man can play some piano. Cecil Taylor brought something different to jazz in that he approached his instrument differently than anyone before him; his piano was almost like a drum to him- he played it like it was percussion; and in the all-encompassing realm of "free jazz", that works to great advantage here. His idea that tiny fragments of previously rehearsed songs (called "unit structures") could be improvised up into fully realized songs.

So here's Taylor's Unit Structures, a ferocious blend of high-energy and atonal "out sounds"...

Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures (1966; Blue Note Records)

John Coltrane - Blue Train (1958)

I'm going to make some startling claims and speak in hyperbole when talking about John Coltrane, so bear with me. First, this record was Coltrane's first album where he got to choose the tunes (and writing four) and also got to choose the personnel (going with a rhythm section of Philly Joe Jones on drums, Paul Chambers on bass and Kenny Drew on piano; Curtis Fuller on trombone and a 19-year old Lee Morgan on trumpet). This album is notable also because it's Coltrane's only "real" album for Blue Note Records (he'd record the bulk of his early oeuvre on Prestige, his "middle" period for Atlantic and his later years went on to Impulse!).

Now on to the startling claims; I'm going to say some things that although they might offend, they aren't intended to. First; Lee Morgan on trumpet- I think as far as his tone, expressiveness and sheer talent he's the best trumpeter, ever. Now all you Miles Davis fans can get all hissy and shit, but Miles' main and most important contributions to jazz music have been his outstanding compositions, his ear for talent and the fact that he didn't die in his forties. Morgan's virtuosity is unparalleled- I'll be posting a few of his albums very soon, rest assured.

Second startling claim; this record is the quintessential hard bop album- Coltrane had just come off of stints playing in the Miles Davis Quintet and a year with Thelonious Monk, so there's two of the main guys at the forefront of the hard bop scene. This record is the best example of the marriage between bop and the blues; a few other ones I like are Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus, Cannonball Adderley's Something Else and Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers' Moanin'. But this is the best of the best.

Okay, you judge for yourself. This version is the re-issued one from 2003, re-mastered by original engineer Rudy Van Gelder.

John Coltrane - Blue Train (1958; Blue Note Records)

Jimmy Smith - The Sermon (1959)

Hailing from Norristown, PA, Jimmy Smith was the man who single-handedly ushered in the rise of the Hammond B-3 organ, as well as the era of "soul jazz", re-defining what a trio could be. He earned his chops playing piano in clubs in and around Philly during the '40s and '50s, until one day when he bought his trademark instrument, holed himself up in a warehouse for a whole year, only to emerge in the mid-1950s displaying complete mastery of his organ.

His usual trios consisted of organ, guitar and drums; which was unheard of at the time. But due to significant advances in electronics and amplification, the guitar no longer had to be a background instrument, used only for rhythm. It's been said that Smith did as much for the guitar in jazz music as both Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, without ever actually playing one.

1959's The Sermon is a landmark album in that it features a 20+ minute track when Blue Note Records label head Alfred Lion demanded that no tracks be longer than 12:00. It's also a huge landmark album because of the line-up: Lee Morgan (trumpet), Lou Donaldson (alto sax on "The Sermon"), Tina Brooks (tenor sax on "The Sermon"), Kenny Burrell (guitar on "The Sermon" and "Flamingo"), Art Blakey (drums on "The Sermon" and "Flamingo"), George Coleman (alto sax on "J.O.S."), Eddie McFadden (guitar on "J.O.S.") and Donald Bailey (drums on "J.O.S.").

Jimmy Smith - The Sermon (1959; Blue Note Records)

Sam Rivers - Contours (1965)

Sam Rivers is the man.

This is his second solo album, recorded in '65 right after he left the Miles Davis Quintet (he appears on only one Quintet record, Miles In Tokyo). It wasn't that Rivers wasn't up to snuff with Davis, it was that he was too "free" to play Miles' compositions the way they were intended- that and; frankly, he was too good to be a sideman any longer. Take this record by itself (or as a companion piece to Fuchsia Swing Song, also released in 1965) and you have some of the finest avant-garde post bop of the mid-60s.

The line-up here is spectacular as well, Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Joe Chambers (drums).

Sam Rivers - Contours (1965; Blue Note Records)