Record Reviews

TONY CROMBIE ~ SEVEN CLASSIC ALBUMS PLUS BONUS EP REAL GONE JAZZ 430 (Barcode: 5036408156525) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1954 - 1961 Released: 2013 This is a reissue of early recordings by the legendary drummer / composer / bandleader Tony CrombieFind albums by this artist, undoubtedly one of the greatest British Jazz drummers of the first post-WWII generation. Crombie played with the best Swing and Bebop players, including Ronnie ScottFind albums by this artist and John DankworthFind albums by this artist, served as member of the resident house band at Ronnie Scott´s Jazz Club in London and moved on when the British Jazz changed its character, playing with such modernists as Stan TraceyFind albums by this artist. He also had ties with Rock And Roll and Pop, playing among others with the great vocalist Georgie FameFind albums by this artist. He accompanied many American Jazz vocalists upon their visits in the UK. Crombie´s compositions were very popular among Jazz musicians and even Miles DavisFind albums by this artist recorded one of his tunes on his "Seven Steps To HeavenFind albums with this title" album. The seven albums included here are: "At The Royal Festival HallFind albums with this title" (with Ronnie Scott) from 1956, "Annie By The CandlelightFind albums with this title" (with vocalist Annie RossFind albums by this artist) from 1956, "Man From The InterpolFind albums with this title" (a TV Series Soundtrack) from 1959, "Sweet Wide And BlueFind albums by this artist" from 1960, "Drums! Drums! Drums!Find albums with this title" from 1960, "Whole Lotta TonyFind albums with this title" from 1961 and finally "Twelve Favorite Film ThemesFind albums with this title" from 1961. In addition an EP from 1954 featuring his orchestra is also included. Overall this is a fascinating collection of great mainstream Jazz music played by the best British musicians at the time, and which has additionally also an enormous historical value. I can’t imagine any true British Jazz fan missing this set! Side Note The Real Gone JazzFind albums on this label label releases hundreds of album collections, which include usually between three to eight original albums in a two to four CDs sets. Most of these albums were recorded and released in the 1950s and early 1960s. These collections provide the track lists and lineups of the original albums, but no recording information, liner notes and any background information whatsoever. The label takes advantage of the copyright law in UK, which limited the length of the copyright protection of recorded works to 50 years, after which recorded works become public domain. In 2013 UK implemented a correction of the copyright law extending the protection of recorded works to 70 years (like the rest of Europe), but the correction does not apply retroactively, which means that recordings which entered the 50 years rule prior to January 1, 2013 (i.e. recorded before January 1, 1963) remain public domain. There are two great advantages to these releases: they are really inexpensive and they bring back to life many albums not reissued previously on CD, which means it would cost a collector an arm and a leg to get a copy of them. Many of these albums are absolute gems and essential pieces of Jazz history. The disadvantages are: the lack of proper information, original cover art, combining tracks of several original albums on one CD and the sound quality, which depends on where the label gets the source material. From my experience most of the releases have quite excellent sound quality but I have not listened to all of them and some people have complained about it.

Updated: 01/06/2018Posted: 01/06/2016

CD 4 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

TUBBY HAYES ~ SEVEN CLASSIC ALBUMS REAL GONE JAZZ 402 (Barcode: 5036408151322) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 1958 - 1962 Released: 2013 This is the first part of a reissue of early recordings by the legendary British Jazz saxophonist / vibraphonist / composer / bandleader Tubby HayesFind albums by this artist, undoubtedly the greatest herald of British Jazz in the early post WWII period. This set collects recordings made between 1958 and 1962, which present Hayes playing Swing and Bebop with many of the best British musicians at the time. His spectacular abilities and virtuosic performances earned him a worldwide acclaim. Hayes died in 1973 at the ridiculous young age of thirty eight and one can only speculate how his music might have sounded when British Jazz fully developed its own voice and identity later on. The seven albums included here are: "In ConcertFind albums with this title" by The Jazz CouriersFind albums by this artist, a combo co-led by Hayes and Ronnie ScottFind albums by this artist, from 1958, "The Couriers Of JazzFind albums with this title" also by The Jazz Couriers, from 1959, "Tubby`s GroveFind albums with this title" from 1959, "TubbsFind albums with this title" from 1961, "Tubbs In NYFind albums with this title" from 1961, "All Night LongFind albums with this title" from 1961 and "Return VisitFind albums with this title" from 1962. A couple of tracks from the 1962 album "Equation In RhythmFind albums with this title" recorded with the American drummer Jack CostanzoFind albums by this artist are included as bonus tracks. Overall this is a fascinating collection of great mainstream Jazz music played by the best British musicians at the time, and which has additionally also an enormous historical value. I can’t imagine any true British Jazz fan missing this set! Side Note The Real Gone JazzFind albums on this label label releases hundreds of album collections, which include usually between three to eight original albums in a two to four CDs sets. Most of these albums were recorded and released in the 1950s and early 1960s. These collections provide the track lists and lineups of the original albums, but no recording information, liner notes and any background information whatsoever. The label takes advantage of the copyright law in UK, which limited the length of the copyright protection of recorded works to 50 years, after which recorded works become public domain. In 2013 UK implemented a correction of the copyright law extending the protection of recorded works to 70 years (like the rest of Europe), but the correction does not apply retroactively, which means that recordings which entered the 50 years rule prior to January 1, 2013 (i.e. recorded before January 1, 1963) remain public domain. There are two great advantages to these releases: they are really inexpensive and they bring back to life many albums not reissued previously on CD, which means it would cost a collector an arm and a leg to get a copy of them. Many of these albums are absolute gems and essential pieces of Jazz history. The disadvantages are: the lack of proper information, original cover art, combining tracks of several original albums on one CD and the sound quality, which depends on where the label gets the source material. From my experience most of the releases have quite excellent sound quality but I have not listened to all of them and some people have complained about it.

Updated: 27/05/2018Posted: 28/09/2016

CD 4 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

LAMBERT, HENDRICKS & ROSS ~ SEVEN CLASSIC ALBUMS REAL GONE JAZZ 415 (Barcode: 5036408153128) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1957 - 1962 Released: 2013 This is a reissue of all the recordings by the legendary American vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & RossFind albums by this artist, which consisted of Dave LambertFind albums by this artist, Jon HendricksFind albums by this artist and the British born Annie RossFind albums by this artist. This set collects recordings made between 1957 and 1962, which present the trio shaping the future of Jazz vocals for generations to come. The seven albums included here are: "Sing A Song Of BasieFind albums with this title" from 1957, "Sing Along With BasieFind albums with this title", from 1958, "The SwingersFind albums with this title" from 1958, "Lambert, Hendricks & RossFind albums with this title" from 1960, "Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing EllingtonFind albums with this title" from 1960, "The Real AmbassadorsFind albums with this title", a soundtrack of a Jazz musical which also features Dave BrubeckFind albums by this artist and Louis ArmstrongFind albums by this artist, from 1962 and the final album they recorded "High Flying With Lambert, Hendricks & RossFind albums with this title" from 1962. The trio´s usage of vocalese (i.e. wordless singing) advanced the idiom of Jazz vocals considerably, contributing to the voice being recognized as having instrumental abilities equal to those of traditional instruments used in Jazz. Although they were undoubtedly pioneers, they were almost immediately overshadowed by the French vocal group Les Double SixFind albums by this artist, which pushed the innovative vocal concepts to the next level and beyond, later followed by The Swingle SingersFind albums by this artist and many other vocal ensembles. Overall this is a fascinating collection of great vocal Jazz music performed by the best vocalists at the time, and which has additionally also an enormous historical value. I can’t imagine any true vocal Jazz fan missing this set! Side Note The Real Gone JazzFind albums on this label label releases hundreds of album collections, which include usually between three to eight original albums in a two to four CDs sets. Most of these albums were recorded and released in the 1950s and early 1960s. These collections provide the track lists and lineups of the original albums, but no recording information, liner notes and any background information whatsoever. The label takes advantage of the copyright law in UK, which limited the length of the copyright protection of recorded works to 50 years, after which recorded works become public domain. In 2013 UK implemented a correction of the copyright law extending the protection of recorded works to 70 years (like the rest of Europe), but the correction does not apply retroactively, which means that recordings which entered the 50 years rule prior to January 1, 2013 (i.e. recorded before January 1, 1963) remain public domain. There are two great advantages to these releases: they are really inexpensive and they bring back to life many albums not reissued previously on CD, which means it would cost a collector an arm and a leg to get a copy of them. Many of these albums are absolute gems and essential pieces of Jazz history. The disadvantages are: the lack of proper information, original cover art, combining tracks of several original albums on one CD and the sound quality, which depends on where the label gets the source material. From my experience most of the releases have quite excellent sound quality but I have not listened to all of them and some people have complained about it.

Updated: 27/05/2018Posted: 29/09/2016

CD 4 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

GEORGE RUSSELL ~ SEVEN CLASSIC ALBUMS REAL GONE JAZZ 353 (Barcode: 5036408140425) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1959 - 1962 Released: 2012 This is a reissue of the early recordings by the legendary American pianist / composer / arranger / music theorist George RussellFind albums by this artist This set collects recordings made between 1959 and 1962, which present Russell playing with small orchestral ensembles and small combos, introducing elements of his Lydian Chromatic Concept and later Modal Jazz. The six albums included here are: "New York, N.Y.Find albums with this title" from 1959, "Jazz In The Space AgeFind albums with this title" from 1960, "StratusphunkFind albums with this title" from 1960, "George Russell Sextet In K.C.Find albums with this title" from 1961, "Ezz-TheticsFind albums with this title" from 1961, "The Stratus SeekersFind albums with this title" from 1962 and "The Outer ViewFind albums with this title" from 1962. The musicians participating in these recordings include some of the most important American Jazz players at the time, like saxophonists John ColtraneFind albums by this artist and Eric DolphyFind albums by this artist, pianists like Bill EvansFind albums by this artist and Paul BleyFind albums by this artist, bassists Chuck IsraelsFind albums by this artist and Steve SwallowFind albums by this artist and drummers Joe HuntFind albums by this artist and Pete La RocaFind albums by this artist, to mention just a few. Overall this is a fascinating collection of great Jazz music performed by some of the best players at the time, and which has additionally also an enormous historical value. I can’t imagine any true Jazz fan missing this set! Side Note The Real Gone JazzFind albums on this label label releases hundreds of album collections, which include usually between three to eight original albums in a two to four CDs sets. Most of these albums were recorded and released in the 1950s and early 1960s. These collections provide the track lists and lineups of the original albums, but no recording information, liner notes and any background information whatsoever. The label takes advantage of the copyright law in UK, which limited the length of the copyright protection of recorded works to 50 years, after which recorded works become public domain. In 2013 UK implemented a correction of the copyright law extending the protection of recorded works to 70 years (like the rest of Europe), but the correction does not apply retroactively, which means that recordings which entered the 50 years rule prior to January 1, 2013 (i.e. recorded before January 1, 1963) remain public domain. There are two great advantages to these releases: they are really inexpensive and they bring back to life many albums not reissued previously on CD, which means it would cost a collector an arm and a leg to get a copy of them. Many of these albums are absolute gems and essential pieces of Jazz history. The disadvantages are: the lack of proper information, original cover art, combining tracks of several original albums on one CD and the sound quality, which depends on where the label gets the source material. From my experience most of the releases have quite excellent sound quality but I have not listened to all of them and some people have complained about it.

Updated: 27/05/2018Posted: 02/10/2016

CD 4 Remastered Recommend To A Friend