”Filles de Kilimanjaro” by Miles Davis on Columbia CS 9750

May 28, 2025

A 1st US pressing. The labels and back slick have the Columbia logo covered by CBS stickers intended for the European market. I won’t attempt to remove them. There are a couple of albums by The Second Great Quintet that I’m still after. This was one of them until last week when I managed to secure it.

This title represented a transition between Miles’ acoustic work and his electric period. I honestly haven’t explored the totality of his later work but will take a deep dive sooner or later. Overall, for me at this point, the mostly acoustic work of The Second Great Quintet is the sweet spot in his catalogue.

The quintet remains intact during all tunes except two, when Chick Corea and Dave Holland replaces Hancock and Carter respectively. My favorite tune on the album is ”Petits Machins (Little Stuff)”.

Classic stuff which will see plenty of play in the years to come I’m sure.

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"For My Little Bird" by The Shigeharu Mukai Quintet on Columbia YX-7010-N

May 24, 2025

Don’t sleep on Japanese jazz. Been exploring it a bit and found some really good titles. This one by trombonist Shigeharu Mukai is a great example of how good Japanese jazz can be.

A Japanese only release recorded at Nippon Columbia 1st Studio in November of 1974. We are treated to some lovely post bop/spiritual/fusion stuff here by an all Japanese octet (not sure why it says quintet) which features Hidefumi Toki on alto.

Have found three Japanese originals now that I love and will continue to explore the Japanese jazz scene of the 70’s and see what else I can find.

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"Monk's Dream" by The Thelonious Monk Quartet on Columbia CL 1965

October 17, 2024

A classic Monk on Columbia (his first on the label) that I’ve been looking for for quite a while, with the original ”Guaranteed High Fidelity” on the labels. When the opportunity arose to grab it at last I pulled the trigger. I haven’t explored Monk’s output on Columbia completely but there are some gems there. Been focused more on his Riverside stuff previously.

The sound of this pressing is absolutely top notch and it’s in fantastic condition.

Monk stalwart Charlie Rouse is a highlight on this album, as he always tend to be. Love his playing and tone.

This is a great first Monk on Columbia title for me and I’m sure there will be more.

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"Miles Smiles" by The Miles Davis Quintet on Columbia CL 2601

June 26, 2024

Been after the second great quintet albums for a long time, but it´s been a struggle for sure. I managed to secure “E.S.P.” earlier this year and last month I secured the title on display. Very happy about that. Original mono pressings of these albums are difficult to find, at least it has been for me. “Sorcerer” and “Nefertiti” remains high on my want list.

The music on “Miles Smiles” is beautiful, explorative and most definitely my kind of jazz. This group was one of a kind and their achievements transcends time. They play in perfect harmony and everything they do is performed with seamless execution. The interplay between these guys is on a different plane. Tony Williams really makes this group tick. His drumming is always a joy to behold. So tasteful, progressive and unique. For me, this quintet is one of the absolute best jazz groups ever assembled.

Hard to pick favorite tunes on this one, but “Dolores” is probably my favorite, and that’s not just because it’s my daughters name. :-) “Footprints” is lovely as well.

Essential stuff.

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"Ellington Indigos" by Duke Ellington and his Orchestra on Columbia CL 1085

April 23, 2024

For me it’s interesting to explore the cats that came before modern jazz, to get a deeper sense of where stuff came from. For example, when listening to this lovely album you’ll hear very clearly where Mingus got a lot of his stuff from. I think to fully understand what you are listening to you have to go back to the source and appreciate where it all came from.

Like I mentioned in a previous post, my grandfather on my mothers side was a big Ellington fan, so it’s quite special to discover the music he enjoyed.

This music is outstanding and this copy sounds great. The cats backing Ellington consists largely of unknown names for me at this point, but some of them are very familiar. For example Clark Terry, Paul Gonsalves, Johnny Hodges, Britt Woodman (who Mingus used on some of his sessions) and Sam Woodyard.

The highlights for me on the first side is the wonderfully moody ”Where or When” and also the very moody classic ”Autumn Leaves”, that on this original pressing features vocals on only half of the tune by singer Ozzie Bailey. The violin improvisation here by Roy Nance completes the haunting mood here perfectly.

On the second side we have the beautiful ballad ”Prelude to a Kiss”, composed by Ellington in 1938, covered in fantastic fashion by Archie Shepp on his album ”Fire Music” as well as the second tune ”Willow Weep for Me”.

I recommend this one with all my heart.

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"E.S.P." by Miles Davis on Columbia CL 2350

March 22, 2024

Posted the birth of the first great quintet a month ago and this album is the birth of the second great quintet. While I love the first quintet this second quintet is on another level for me. It was a brilliant group consisting of Miles, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock. All of them were masters. As a drummer myself I adore Tony Williams and his extremely tasteful and unique approach. His kit and touch always sounds amazing and in a top 5 list of favorite drummers he will be at the very top.

E.S.P. stands for Extra-Sensory Perception and the members truly are communicating on a different plane here as it was through telepathy. But E.S.P. could just as well stand for Ever So Perfect, as the music is as good as it gets in the modal/post bop style. This copy sounds as new with a lush and organic sound. All the tunes are beautiful originals, played with such feeling and sophistication. I have struggled to find these Columbia recordings of this group in their 1st issue form. Columbia is tricky when it comes to determining what a 1st issue is, but thanks to the one and only Dottorjazz and his research I have a clear view of what to look for. A 1st issue of E.S.P. for example should have the two eyes and “Guaranteed High Fidelity” printed in black at the bottom of the labels and not the MONO 360 sound with two arrows, which is the second issue. I hope to find some of the other titles by this great group as well, such as “Miles Smiles”, “Sorcerer” and “Nefertiti”. But it’s not easy let me tell you.

I have found that my new approach to collecting is a beautiful path where I’ve been exploring a lot of different labels, titles and artists that I hadn’t experienced much before. And the amount of great albums one can acquire instead of an original Blue Note is very satisfying. I’m very happy to have been able to collect some of the top Blue Notes in lovely condition through the years but this new approach is letting me get so much more music into the collection. The way the prices on eBay for the original Blue Notes have been going as of late is jaw dropping. Absolutely insane. I have packages coming in now with plenty of new titles and this package was the first to arrive. Stay tuned for the other stuff coming up.

Cheers!

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"Mingus Dynasty" by Charles Mingus on Columbia CL 1440

August 30, 2023

Fresh and just in is this masterpiece by Mingus. Got it today and just finished listening to it. I think I’ve mentioned the obvious on previous posts when talking about Mingus’ albums; he was a bona fide genius. The compositions are so beautiful, such attention to detail, the different layers of instruments playing over each other and blending together (amazing how it all works and comes together in total harmony), the multiple time signatures, the contrasts between different passages and the soulful, bluesy, explosive, moody and beautiful aspects of his ideas are mesmerizing. Like I said, it’s a genius at work here.

Favorite tunes at this moment are “Diane”, “Song with Orange”, “Gunslinging Bird”, “Far Wells, Mill Valley” and another take on Ellingtons “Mood Indigo”, which is also featured on Mingus x 5. The entire album is like a candy shop, so many flavors and sweet surprises. The level of musicianship that all the cats on this album possesses is absolutely top tier.

This is a Mingus album that you definitely should check out if you haven’t already. Highly recommended.

Top 3 Mingus albums guys?

Cheers!

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"Dusk Fire" by the Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet on Columbia SX 6064

January 14, 2023

A belated Happy New Year to all of my readers. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday period and that the new year has started off great.

Beautiful album here from British duo Don Rendell and Ian Carr. I hadn’t heard anything from these two cats before I saw a Instagram post of this album from the record store Vinylspot in the Netherlands and decided to sample it on Spotify. I was immediately hooked and decided to jump on the opportunity to acquire this rare gem. Not cheap by any means, but I had understood after looking it up that it was very rare. Didn’t want to miss out on it and I had the funds available so I didn’t hesitate.

The album contains some beautiful music, some up-tempo stuff as well as some lovely moody and perceptive stuff, which I love. Great musicianship. It’s these more moody tunes that stand out for me. Favorite two tunes at this point are “Prayer” and the title track “Dusk Fire”. Both are penned by pianist Michael Garrick, which makes me want to explore his other stuff for sure. “Prayer” is a beautiful tune. Such wonderful melodies presented in different passages and moods. The title track has that darker, shimmering vibe which I find extremely appealing. A vibe like Pete La Roca’s magnificent album “Basra” offers on a couple of tunes as well.

Don Rendell was a multi-instrumentalist, playing tenor and soprano saxes, flute and clarinet on this album. I must I say he sounds great on all of them. Ian Carr plays both trumpet and the more muffled flugelhorn. Wonderful player. The rest of the group consists of Dave Green on double bass, Michael Garrick on piano and Trevor Tomkin on drums. They all contribute some lovely stuff. The whole album is top notch and I would encourage anyone who haven’t heard it to check it out. Now I just need to check out some more stuff from these cats more in depth. Exciting!

If you have any thoughts on this album, please write away guys.

I hope you are all doing great and that you are enjoying your collections. Stay tuned for more vintage jazz vinyl coming up. Here’s to a great 2023. Cheers!

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"Mingus Ah Um" by Charles Mingus on Columbia CL 1370

February 2, 2020

A very diverse album with depth and superb compositional skills.

I’ve grown very fond of Mingus during the past few years. A few of his titles have found their way into my collection as of late. I love his compositional skills as well as his bass playing. His bands are always top notch expressing a lot of quality and passion. His music is a bit different to say the least. Nothing sounds quite like it in my collection. So it’s always a great experience to put one of his albums on the turntable.

The copy on display is a beautiful white label promo which I acquired from eBay not so long ago. I’m very happy to have this album in my collection. It’s such a classic and rightly so. It contains a wonderful mix of tunes. From fiery gospel-like explosions, and driving blues pieces to contemplative ballads filled with melancholy and soulfulness. I love how all the different horns interact with each other and the different layers they are creating. It’s compositional skills at the highest level. It creates such dense textures with a lot of depth which really drags you into the music. Seems like a very complete expression of Mingus’ genius.

This album is a must-have for any jazz fan and music lover in general. Get it if you don’t have it. But I suspect most of you cats already have this one though.

What’s your thoughts on this album? Could this be the definitive Mingus album? I also love “The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady” but can’t make my mind up at this point which one I dig the most. I have one more great Mingus album which I will post later.

I’m planning to add a lot more Mingus albums to the collection. There’s so much left to discover. He’s such an interesting artist and I’m looking forward to further explore his output.

These last months have been very productive in terms of adding albums to the collection. Quite a few actually. I’ve never added so many in such a short space of time. Very rewarding. They are all wonderful and I have a bit more to enjoy now, but far from enough. So stay tuned for more great stuff coming up. Cheers!

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Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis on Columbia CL 1355

January 27, 2019

This of course is a great record and one of the best known recorded jazz sessions of all time. I feel it’s very enjoyable. A superb effort. I like the laidback feeling throughout and the sound. But I appreciate a lot of other records just as much. It’s not like it’s completely outstanding to me. So for me musically, this a record with no higher status than a lot of my other albums. But again; it’s a superb album, no doubt.

This is the only Columbia record in my collection. Will it stay that way? Who knows. Probably not though. I haven’t listened to it in ages. Except for maybe ”So What” digitally a few times between the vinyl sessions. What a fantastic tune that is. The intro is sublime and when Miles solo finally starts it’s just so smooth and deeply satisfying. To put this album on the turntable today was a nice revisit. Listening to ”All Blues” as I write this and the sound is excellent I must say. Love the crystal clear sound of Jimmy Cobbs ride cymbal.

Bill Evans is on this which alone makes this album worth having. As well as Coltrane. All the players are all stars though.

”Flamenco Sketches” which closes the 2nd side is beautiful and quite special.

Anyone who has something they want to add about this album is most welcome to share their thoughts.

I have started to save up for a grand summer vacation. But I will do my utmost to set aside some dough for some nice album as well. We’ll see what happens.

Treasure your vinyl folks. Cause it’s just as imperfect and fragile as life itself and therefore beautiful. Stay tuned…

Cheers!

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