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)

Duke Ellington with Charles Mingus and Max Roach - Money Jungle (1962)

Instead of Charlie Mingus and Max Roach being at the beck-and-call of a then already legendary Duke Ellington; it's sort of the other way around, and you can hear that right off the bat with the opening (and title) track on this awesome collaboration album. Mingus and Roach both had tremendous egos, as they were the young, hot-shot composers/band leaders on the scene, just coming into their prime at the time of this recording. And nobody ever second-guessed the Duke, so for all three to put their egos aside and let creativity take over makes for an amazing listen right here.

Ellington has been primarily known for his swinging big band music, so for him to join up with two hard bop legends was certainly a stretch for him; he actually shows his chops, and he's really an under-rated pianist (he let Billy Strayhorn do most of the work for the 30 years they played together in his orchestra). Let's face it, as a ballad writer The Duke was unrivaled for decades, likewise with swing and that big band Cotton Club stuff; but as bebop and eventually hard bop would take over the jazz-scape, he was more or less pushed aside. This was his way of catching up with the pack, and it's a creative high point for the man.

I've already posted a Mingus album (1963's The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady) and I'll eventually get around to posting a Max Roach-Clifford Brown album in the near future, but for now, here's the 2002 re-mastered edition with alternate takes...

Duke Ellington with Charles Mingus and Max Roach - Money Jungle (1962; United Artists)

Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus (1956)

I realized the other day that for the last six months or so, all I've really been listening to is jazz (and if you've been keeping up with these posts, about a third of them are jazz). I haven't gone through such an intense jazz listening period in about five or six years, so it's been nice to re-acquaint myself as well discover a bunch of new (old) stuff.

I was record shopping one day (circa 2004) and had a few albums in my hand (if I can remember it accurately it was Joy Division's Closer, King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King and Dead Kennedys' Frankenchrist); I found myself in the jazz section, picking up a copy of Saxophone Colossus. 

There was this really old guy looking at record next to me, saw what I had and said, "oh, that's a good one- Max Roach plays on that." It was an '87 re-issue copy for $6.00. So I put the King Crimson record back and got the Sonny Rollins instead.

That was a great idea. Dear old dude that told me to get it, wherever you are- thanks...

Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus (1956; Prestige Records)

Oliver Nelson - The Blues and The Abstract Truth (1961)

This album is another one of those overlooked gems that people should be kicking themselves when they hear it and say, "Damn, where's this been?" That was pretty much my reaction when I first heard it a few months ago. The line-up, for one, is one the most spectacular ever assembled; it's like the intersection of four different distinct styles. Let's take a look at the players: George Barrow on baritone sax, Paul Chambers on bass, Eric Dolphy on flute and alto sax, Bill Evans on piano, Roy Haynes on drums, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and then the leader, Oliver Nelson as arranger and on alto and tenor saxes.

We can discuss each musicians respective resumés; everyone should know about Bill Evans, more for his trio work with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian (check out their 1961 album Explorations), but also for his contributions to the Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue sessions.

Next, Paul Chambers; known as Mr. P.C., and probably the second most influential jazz bassist after Charles Mingus, period. He's literally played with everybody and anybody between 1954 until his death in 1969 at age 33.

Freddie Hubbard? Probably my second favorite trumpeter (after Lee Morgan and miles ahead of Miles); another guy with a list of credentials that go on and on- started in 1960 with Eric Dolphy, then recorded his debut as a leader then went on to play on Ornette's landmark Free Jazz album. That's just in his first year of recording, the man went hard right up until he passed in 2008.

I'll skip Roy Jones and George Barrow (they aren't credited on the album cover!) and get to Eric Dolphy. If Dolphy didn't die at 36, he'd be mentioned alongside Coltrane as the two best saxmen ever; his Out To Lunch is not only one of my favorite records of all time, it's the artwork I'm using behind this very website's main banner and the inspiration for the site's name as well. He's also one of the best jazz flautists ever, and did I mention he also played clarinet? C'mon, the man was an absolute virtuoso. I'd post Out To Lunch on here, but that's an album you better have if you're into jazz, no ifs ands or buts around that.

Oliver Nelson gained notoriety playing alongside Quincy Jones in the late '50s and made a big splash with this record. He found plenty of work as a highly sought after arranger, eventually working with James Brown and Diana Ross, but Nelson would get his biggest paychecks from composing music for TV and film (The Six Million Dollar Man, Columbo, The Bionic Woman and Last Tango In Paris).

So there you go. An album that features some of the best performers at various stages of their careers, all coming together to create a marvelous, almost forgotten record...

Oliver Nelson - The Blues and The Abstract Truth (1961; Impulse! 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)