The Qobuz Ideal Discography

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The ultra-hip and sophisticated "cool jazz" that Chet Baker (trumpet/vocals) helped define in the early '50s matured rapidly under the tutelage of producer Dick Bock. This can be traced to Baker's earliest sides on Bock's L.A.-based Pacific Jazz label. This album is the result of Baker's first sessions for the independent Riverside label. The Chet Baker Quartet featured on Chet Baker Sings: It Could Happen to You includes Kenny Drew (piano), Sam Jones (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). (Performances by bassist George Morrow and drummer Dannie Richmond are featured on a few cuts.) This results in the successful combination of Baker's fluid and nonchalant West Coast delivery with the tight swinging accuracy of drummer Jones and pianist Drew. Nowhere is this balance better displayed than the opening and closing sides on the original album, "Do It the Hard Way" and "Old Devil Moon," respectively. One immediate distinction between these vocal sides and those recorded earlier in the decade for Pacific Jazz is the lissome quality of Baker's playing and, most notably, his increased capacity as a vocalist. The brilliant song selection certainly doesn't hurt either. This is an essential title in Chet Baker's 30-plus year canon. [Some reissues contain two bonus tracks, "I'm Old Fashioned" and "While My Lady Sleeps"]. ~ Lindsay Planer

By the time of this, Art Pepper's tenth recording as a leader, he was making his individual voice on the alto saxophone leave the cozy confines of his heroes Charlie Parker and Lee Konitz. Joining the Miles Davis rhythm section of pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones made the transformation all that more illuminating. It's a classic east meets west, cool plus hot but never lukewarm combination that provides many bright moments for the quartet during this exceptional date from that great year in music, 1957. A bit of a flip, loosened but precise interpretation of the melody on "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" gets the ball rolling, followed by a "Bags Groove" parallel with "Red Pepper Blues," and a delicate, atypical treatment of "Imagination." A compositional collaboration of Pepper and Chambers on the quick "Waltz Me Blues" and hard-edged, running-as-fast-as-he-can take of "Straight Life" really sets the gears whirring. Philly Joe Jones is a great bop drummer, no doubt, one of the all-time greats with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach. His crisp Latin-to-swing pace for "Tin Tin Deo" deserves notice, masterful in its creation and seamlessness. Pepper makes a typical "Star Eyes" brighter, and he goes into a lower octave tone, more like a tenor, for "Birks Works" and the bonus track "The Man I Love." It's clear he has heard his share of Stan Getz in this era. Though Art Pepper played with many a potent trio, this one inspires him to the maximum, and certainly makes for one of his most substantive recordings after his initial incarcerations, and before his second major slip into the deep abyss of drug addiction. ~ Michael G. Nastos

The recording history of Little Jimmy Scott is peppered with long hiatuses from the studio. He was absent for a period of seven years from 1962 to 1969 and then for more than 15 years from 1975 to 1990. Bordering on singing in the range of a counter tenor, Scott brings a distinctive, immediately recognizable sound and sensitivity to material he sings. It is hard to find any other vocalist, other than Billie Holiday, who matches Scott's depth of emotion that he applies to the classic standards he favors. All the Way was recorded more than 40 years after Scott made his first album for Roost. Over those years, even with his long absences, he has been able to command the services of top of the line musicians. He is one of those rare vocalists that jazz musicians like to be on the stage or in the studio with. And this album is no exception, featuring an all-star lineup that includes Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, and Grady Tate on rhythm. David "Fathead" Newman's soulful sax on such cuts as "All the Way" compliments Scott's delivery perfectly. Like Scott, Newman leaves abundant room between the measures to allow the song to breathe, the listeners to gain the full flavor of what he has played and to anticipate what's to follow in a second or two. On such tunes as "Angel Eyes" and "At Last," Scott's delivery goes beyond mere poignancy, and moves close to reverence, such respect he has for the classics he has put in the song list. This is good stuff. Strings magically appear on some tracks. But they are done tastefully and don't get in the way. Jimmy McDonough's knowledgeable highlights of Scott's career are a welcome added attraction. ~ Dave Nathan

These 19 songs cut throughout the 1950s offer a smorgasbord of Roy Eldridge's expertise. There's an impressive array of musical talents and settings here, forming something of a sampler of Eldridge's time on the Verve label. "Ja-Da" finds him combining with a spirited group of Basie alumni, while "Let Me Off Uptown" reunites the trumpeter with Anita O'Day and Gene Krupa in a reprise of their trend-setting 1941 hit which is as aurally fulfilling as the original. "I Remember Harlem" is another standout; here, the moody, atmospheric melody is like few other Eldridge recordings. Against a beautiful and eerie arrangement featuring a bevy of strings and flute, Eldridge's playing is gorgeous and seductive, illuminating the nocturnal mood of the song like a street light on a darkened avenue.

At the Village Vanguard features the innovative Bill Evans Trio in peak form during a 1961 engagement at New York's Village Vanguard, just days before bassist Scott LaFaro's tragic death in a car accident. At the time, the Vanguard date yielded two separate live albums, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby. This LP is a selection from the two previous releases which are also available as individual discs. The Trio had recorded only twice before: the studio sessions Portrait in Jazz in late December 1959, followed by Explorations more than a year after in February 1961. Six months later, these live recordings vividly captured a seminal moment in jazz only hinted at on their previous efforts. While Evans' extended solos on long tracks like "Solar" and "All of You" are lean and rhythmically incisive, the brilliant LaFaro is the real star here. His relentlessly upfront, guitar-like basslines and solos repeatedly challenge Evans and drummer Paul Motian to accompany him on a previously uncharted journey in pure improvisation. LaFaro's lyrical originals "Gloria's Step" and "Jade Visions" also revealed a fine jazz composer in the making. ~ Rovi Staff

Along with his album with Count Basie (Basie and Zoot) during the same period, this is one of Sims' most exciting recordings of his career. Greatly assisted by pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Grady Tate, he explores ten songs written by George and Ira Gershwin. Somehow the magic was definitely present and, whether it be stomps such as "The Man I Love," "Lady Be Good," and "I Got Rhythm" or warm ballads (including "I've Got a Crush on You" and "Embraceable You"), Zoot Sims is heard at the peak of his powers. A true gem. ~ Scott Yanow