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Jazz Fans-- Name some of your favorite, less well known recordings

I'm inviting you to share the sort of recordings you won't typically encounter on a "100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time" sort of list. they need not be obscure-- but please, no "Kind of Blue", "Sunday at the Village Vanguard", "Blue Train", etc. 
 The dates are for CD release, which are, in some cases, was quite later than the release dates for titles that first came out on vinyl.  

OK-- I'll start with a handful of mine...


Art Farmer Quintet
"Blame it On My Youth" 1988. Contemporary
Art Farmer; trumpet/Clifford Jordan: Tenor Sax/Victor Lewis: Drums/Rufus Reid: Bass/James Williams: Piano

A. F. in his late prime in skilled company exploring a nice mix of tunes. The first and best of three releases by this group. 


Gary Bartz and Sonny Fortune
"Alto Memories" 1994 Verve Japan
G. Bartz: Alto Sax/Sonny Fortune: Alto Sax/Jack Dejohnette: drums/Buster Williams: Bass/Kenny Barron: Piano

Not easy to find but worthwhile if you enjoy the two altoists, who work very well together. Note the stellar band. 


Nick Brignola
"On A Different Level" 1990 Reservoir 
Nick Brignola: Baritone Sax/Kenny Barron: PIano/Jack Dejohnette: Drums/Dave Holland: Bass

Most of Brignola's recordings feature him on a variety of horns but here, it's all Baritone. 
Another good one is "Flight of the Eagle", also on Reservoir. 


Joanne Brackeen:
"Where Legends Dwell" 1992 Ken
Joanne Brackeen: piano/Eddie Gomez: Bass/Jack deJohnette: Drums

A very "muscular" player with a delightfully idiosyncratic approach to composition.  


Jerry Bergonzi:
"Tenor of the TImes" 2006 Savant
Jerry Bergonzi: Tenor/Renato Chicco: PIano/Dave Santoro:bass/Andrea Michelutti: Drums

Contemporary Boston master.  


Hal Galper Quintet:
"Reach Out" 1995 Steeplechase
Hal Galper: Piano/.Michael Brecker: Tenor Sax/Randy Brecker: Trumpet/Billy Hart: Drums/Wayne Dockery: Bass

Terrific live showcase for this group.


Stan Getz:
"Dynasty" Re-release 2009 Verve
Stan Getz: Tenor Sax/Eddy Louise: organ/Rene Thomas: Guitar/Bernard Lubat: Drums

Live. Stan sitting in with Louise's trio. They don't let him coast. 


Don Grolnick:
"The Complete Blue Note Recordings" 1977 Blue Note
Don Grolnick: Composer, Piano/Randy Brecker: Trumpet/Barry Rodgers, Steve Turre: Trombone/
Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Bob Mintzer: Tenor Sax/Marty Ehrlich: Bass Clarinet/Dave Holland: Bass/
Peter Erkine, Bill Stewart; Drums

Focuses on Grolnick the composer. Lots of vivid instrumental colors and unpredictable intervals, here.
Check out the players! 

To pay bills, Grolnick MD'd Linda Ronstadt's touring band but I promise you these Blue Note recordings
won't remotely bring to mind "Blue Bayou"!  


Slide Hampton:
"Roots" 1985 Criss Cross Jazz
Slide Hampton: Trombone/Clifford Jordan: Tenor Sax/Cedar Walton: Piano/David Wiliams: Bass/Billy Higgins: Drums

Simply a great mainstream Jazz record as you might expect, given the personnel. 


Booker Ervin
"Booker 'N Brass" 1998 Pacific Jazz
Booker Ervin: Tenor Sax with a "small big band" including, to name a few: 
Freddie Hubbard: Trumpet/Kenny Barron: Piano/Bennie Green: Trombone/Lenny McBrowne: Drums/Reggie
Johnson: Bass

Punchy, swinging and soulful. 







 




  
stuartk

Showing 3 responses by whart

whart's avatar
whart
3,128 posts
 
If you like Gary Bartz, his album with Maisha, cut direct to disc and released in 2020 is a good playing thing- a band inspired by the older generation of players, they got Bartz-who was from the period- to join them. Sonically pretty nice and not terribly expensive.
Alice Coltrane's Ptah the El Daoud is very high on my list- it is, to my knowledge, still out of print (since 1974) and prices have gotten nutty. The hard part is finding a clean player. A lot of those old Impulses are somewhat noisy.
As mentioned in another thread, I became a big fan of Cecil McBee and you almost can't miss with any record on which he appears as a sideman. One of my personal favs is Jothan Callins- Winds of Change.
Also previously mentioned in another thread is the Tone Poet reissue of Katanga! Cheap, good sounding and efficacious! 
 
whart's avatar
whart
3,128 posts
 
The Cookers- Look Out. Bunch of old school guys (museum pieces?)*still playing hot, 3 sides, well made, cheap and not too out there. Released in the last week of Sept, 21.
Cochemea- All My Relations- been out for a few years- Dap Kings horn player, mixes Native American with drums, sax on wah-wah. Strangely interesting and should hook you out of the gate.
Among my "rare groove" stuff is a really nice copy of Milt Ward & Virgo Spectrum. Not easy to find. Soon to be reissued inexpensively.
Oddball makes me laugh every time I put it on: Ronnie Boykins, The Will Come, Is Now. Sounds totally out of tune, but they pull it together. On ESP Records.
Have fun.
_________
*Billy Harper, Donald Harrison Jr., David Weiss, Eddie Henderson, George Cables, Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart.

whart's avatar
whart
3,128 posts
 
@stuartk - Hi Stuart, thanks for the nice words. I have a blog if you look up my name-bill hart- and "vinyl" you should be able to find it. There is easily 5 years worth of writing there, not necessarily all jazz.
In the meantime, I'll give some thought to the question of "more."
I like stuff between the cracks, got bored with straight ahead stuff and some of the soul jazz and spiritual jazz has really caught fire in the last few years. Some of the Lloyd McNeill records are wonderful but now stratospherically priced. Nathan Davis was wonderful- not just his Paris years, but when he came back to the States and set up the jazz studies program at the University of Pittsburgh.
I had spent time collecting Vertigo Swirls, partly because some of them were really good musically and sonically (mostly psych and prog rock, but some jazz rock, including Ian Carr) but not on the radar of most people except for collectors; did manage to get some of the Strata-East and Nimbus catalogs before the prices went crazy. 
My learning process has hardly been linear--but I'm listening to more different music than ever and enjoying it. This is a good thread in looking for more offbeat stuff, which is what I find appealing, personally. 
More to discover