Recommend Well-Recorded Hard Bop Jazz on CD?


Can you recommend some well recorded Hard Bop Jazz CD's? (Remasters) I have some of the JVC 20bit K2's, as many as I could find. Many have been sold out for years. Have some JVC k2 Cd's of Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Coltrane, Miles, Bill Evans etc. Not many out there left to be had. The Columbia jazz recordings (Miles etc) are for the most part excellent recordings. Example: "Miles Davis Qunitet. 1965-68-- if you listen to CD's and don't have this box set, you are missing out on an excellently recorded cd set of great music. Another: the "Miles Davis and John Coltrane, The Complete Columbia Recordings" is another set of excellent music and excellent recordings. Individually too, many of the Columbia CD recordings on jazz are very nice. For sound quality, the Blue Note jazz and RVG Remasters series is hit and miss (mostly miss imo). The music itself is awesome, but many of the recordings are tilted up in the highs and lacking overall sonic weight and bass,(the recordings sound thin), but I own quite a few of these recordings because the artists were too great and their contributions to the Hard Bop genre and Jazz in general are too significant to pass up.

Any suggestions of other well recorded, good sounding, Hard Bop Jazz on CD? (that are still available) Thanks.
foster_9

Showing 6 responses by orpheus10

Strateahed, after going through my collection, I discovered I have 4 incarnations of "The Messengers". All of them are so fantastic I could not choose a favorite; however, I did discover some favorite musicians, beside Art Blakey of course.
Horace Silver on piano; Donald Byrd on trumpet; in the first group. Lee Morgan on trumpet; Bobby Timmons on piano; on the CD "A Night In Tunisia". On the LP "Moanin", Benny Golson who is an outstanding writer and tenor sax man appears.
This music took me back to the time when I was out on the town catching the sets.
Enjoy the music.

If you want box sets you will go crazy with Mosaic Box Sets of Hard Bop. True Blue also has box sets of hard bop. The advantage is hearing music by your favorite artists that you never heard before, the disadvantage is duplication. Tina Brooks and Ike Quebec are fantastic "Hard Bop" tenor saxmen that you might not be too familiar with who are comparable to the best.
Hank Mobley "No Room For Squares" is a CD that I purchased as an LP when it was almost new. It features Lee Morgan, Andrew Hill, Philly Joe Jones, and John Ore. This CD is "Hard Bop" all the way.
Sonny Clark; Sonny's Crib: Donald Byrd, trumpet; Curtis Fuller, trombone; John Coltrane, tenor saxophone; Sonny Clark piano; Paul Chambers, bass; Art Taylor, drums. Blue Note 97367 is so tough, I am going to jamm it twice.
Strateahed, If that's the one with "Nica's Dream", I bought the LP ages ago. It belongs in the "Hard bop hall of fame".

Foster_9, I can only assume you already have that; correct me if I'm wrong
Foster_9, is that the soundtrack from a movie by the same name? I don't have that, but I will look for it, thanks.