Chet Baker in New York

Chet flies from California to NYC to take a bite out of the 1958 Big Apple. Meeting him here are Miles' rhythm section (Philly Joe Jones & Paul Chambers), along with Al Haig (piano), and Johnny Griffin (tenor).

Lots of melodic songs with good playing all around, and the rhythm section pushes everyone into a less West Coast style.

#nowplaying #vinyl #jazz #ChetBaker #PaulChambers #PhillyJoeJones #AlHaig #JohnnyGriffin

Charlie Parker, The Mercury & Clef 10-inch LP Collection

This 2021 box collects / reproduces the 10″ LPs put out in the early 1950s:

• Charlie Parker With Strings (1950)
• Charlie Parker With Strings #2 (1954)
• Bird and Diz (1952)
• Charlie Parker Plays South of the Border (1952)
• Charlie Parker (1954)

I don’t normally collect 10″ records, but got a good deal on this box, which is very well made, reproducing original covers and labels, and with an included book. Neither of the two “Charlie Parker With Strings” LPs actually has the #2 on it which can get confusing – the one with the two birds on it is the second. Most of these reproduce their Mercury labels except for the one just titled Charlie Parker which was only on Clef.

Artwork on all these covers by David Stone Martin. Players with Charlie Parker include Bernie Leighton, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, Mitch Miller, Max Roach, Al Haig, Percy Heath, Thelonius Monk, Curly Russell, and Dizzy Gillespie (among others). Norman Granz wrote most (all?) the sleeve notes and supervised the recordings.

Still available in the Verve Store (and elsewhere I’m sure) it is well worth picking up.

#10_ #1950s #2 #2021 #AlHaig #BernieLeighton #boxSet #BuddyRich #CharlieParker #Clef #CurlyRussell #DavidStoneMartin #DizzyGillespie #jazz #MaxRoach #Mercury #MitchMiller #NormanGranz #PercyHeath #RayBrown #Reissue #TheloniousMonk #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

Chet Baker, Chet Baker in New York, 1958 on Riverside

In something of the same vein as the West Coast / East Coast rap rivalry of 90s hip hop, the jazz scene in the 50s had a bit of a California vs New York thing happening. As the sleeve notes by Orrin Keepnews puts it:

. . . during much of the 1950s considerable conversation and many magazine pages have been devoted to discussion of the relative merits of, differences between, and what-have-you of the so called “East Coast” and “West Coast” schools of modern jazz. . . . on this LP, CHET BAKER, the most notable of “cool” West Coast trumpet stars, joins forces with some highly talented representatives of the “hard” Eastern style.

Those players included Johnny Griffin (Tenor Sax), Al Haig (Piano), Paul Chambers (Bass), and Philly Joe Jones (Drums). Recorded in New York in September of 1958. (I had a Jazzland reissue retitled as Polka Dots and Moonbeams but this pressing is much improved).

My copy is a Craft Recordings reissue from 2021 which replicates the Riverside labels but adds Craft/Concord rim text and catalog number. Via Beatnick Records in Montreal QC

#1950s #1958 #2021 #AlHaig #BeatnickRecords #ChetBaker #craftRecordings #JohnnyGriffin #MontrealQC #OrrinKeepnews #PaulChambers #PhillyJoeJones #Reissue #Riverside #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds