Weekend Music Roundup (Jazz Edition)

 

It's the weekend, and time to roundup some music. Looking over my list, I decided it was about time to do another Jazz themed weekend. So I apologize to all you uncultured non-Jazz fans, but jazz it is. I've written over the past few years about how my interest in jazz has grown way beyond what it had been in my youth. I've delved deeper into the archives of jazz to find new artists, new sounds, and enjoy the different feelings and ideas that they conjure up. Enjoy.

 Harlan Leonard - Harlan Leonard and His Rockets 1940: This compilation features 17 or the 23 tracks ever recorded by the "forgotten man of Kansas City." After Basie left for NYC, Harlan took over his slots in K.C. clubs. It is classic swing jazz, and all of the players talented. There's not many of these records, thankfully though rare, it's not highly sought after. I stumbled across it during a sale at the local shop and ended up paying $2 for it, a total steal.

Donald Byrd - Platinum Selection: Donald Byrd is one of the most renowned trumpeters of the hard-bop era, releasing lots of music in the 50's-60's, mostly for Blue Note. This newly released digital compilation focuses primarily on that era, rather than his fusion stuff of the 70s. It's a pretty fantastic collection of music that highlights the power of the hard bop era and why it remains one of the most popular sub genres of jazz. There's soul in chaos of this music and it shines through.

Gerry Mulligan - The King of Jazz: A remastered digital compilation from one of the undisputed kings of Cool Jazz. I've been really into this West Coast late 50s early 60s time period and the laid back smoothness it captures. L.A. during this time was the golden age of Hollywood, the glorious simplicity of evolving consciousness that was taking place in the Beat Generation writers is present in the cool jazz of Mulligan and Baker and Pepper. It's swinging stuff, and it's all together cool.  

Gertrude "Ma" Rainey - Archive of Jazz Volume 28: I've picked up a lot of albums in this "Archive of Jazz" series over the past few years. They usually feature artists whose work isn't widely available, and wasn't ever widely available on LP. Ma Rainey is one such artist. She released a lot of singles back in teh '20s and was a fine vaudeville blues singer with a great voice. This compilation collects a lot of her recordings and was a nice addition to my collection.

Bunk Johnson and His Superior Jazz Band: This compilation was originally released in in '62, but recorded in '42. Bunk is one of the New Orleans jazz legends. He blows that sweet Dixieland jazz that always blows me away because it simply doesn't sound like anything else in the world. It captures a moment in time, in specific place, in music. "Ballin' the Jack" and "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" were two tracks that stood out to me, but I've always felt that Dixieland was kind of an experience, with no divide between songs, it's all just one great ride.

 

Fats Navarro - Good Bait: One of the great Be-Bop trumpeters of the early 20th Century, Fats is one of the musicians whose catalog I've been digging into over the past few years and will generally snatch up any vinyl that I come across. This collection was released in '68, eighteen years after his death. I love the manic energy that comes through in Be-Bop, that cartoon jazz chaos. The title track is simply amazing.