Viewing entries tagged
Verve

"Trio 64" by Bill Evans on Verve V-8578

2 Comments

"Trio 64" by Bill Evans on Verve V-8578

One of the best Evans titles post LaFaro.

There is plenty of Evans trio stuff post LaFaro that is worth seeking out. For me, this one with Gary Peacock on double bass (his only recording with Evans) is one of the best. Peacock was a worthy replacement for LaFaro, no doubt. A superb bassist with a blinding technique and a big, warm and natural sound. He gets the same space as LaFaro here and he excels in this kind of setting. Motian is on the drums which is great. This was his last recording with Evans. It feels like this trio is similar to the classic one. I get plenty of the same lovely vibes. I just wish this line-up had recorded more albums together.

I have been after this title for a long time and have had chances to grab it, but it’s not until this past Friday I finally managed to acquire it. It was a store purchase (Andra Jazz), which has been a seldom occurrence through the years, but I’ve bought several albums in local stores recently. It’s a very satisfying thing to buy an album in a physical store, have a chat with the owner, and come home with something straight away, instead of waiting for a package to arrive from overseas. Love the social aspect of it for sure.

If you dig the classic Bill Evans trio, this one might be right up your alley.

2 Comments

"The Soul of Ben Webster" by Ben Webster on Verve MG V-8359

4 Comments

"The Soul of Ben Webster" by Ben Webster on Verve MG V-8359

Top title by Webster with a great line-up.

Another great Ben Webster album and the second title by him in the collection. Looking for more. Webster was a great tenor player of course and I really enjoy his approach. On this title I’m happy to hear Art Farmer as well who slots in wonderfully together with Webster and Harold Ashby, who is the second tenorist. A great combination. Another great addition to this session is drummer Dave Bailey.

Original pressings of Webster on Verve seems to be quite hard to find in top shape. This copy plays with some pops and tics in spots, but the sound is very nice and clear. The recording quality is great. So I’m keeping this one unless I find an even better copy. But that is probably not easy I can imagine.

Check this one out if you haven’t already cause it’s lovely music, very soulful. A mix of romantic ballads, uptempo bop and blues-forward stuff.

4 Comments

"Soulville" by The Ben Webster Quintet on Verve MG V-8274

8 Comments

"Soulville" by The Ben Webster Quintet on Verve MG V-8274

Smoky and syrupy…

If you’re in the mood for some smoky, breathy and soulful tenor saxophone then look no further than Ben Webster’s “Soulville”, which is a lovely album i’ve been after for quite some time. It is very difficult to find a clean original, both the vinyl and jacket are often not in great shape. The couple of copies I’ve listened to before had plenty of noise, but this copy that I just acquired plays so much better than those. I guess this title was played to death by folks back in the day. The jacket has some issues but it’s no biggie, I think it presents itself ok. The vinyl plays fine, not perfect though, but I’m very happy with this copy and I think it sounds great.

I’m after more of Ben Webster’s stuff, so I will keep my eyes peeled if anything comes along. He did a few more on Verve for example. He was a great player with such a wonderful, syrupy tone. I guess my favorite tune on this album is “Lover Come Back to Me”. But the whole album is stellar. Highly recommended.

This is another example of finding great jazz on original vinyl for a reasonable price.

Do you have a favorite Ben Webster album you would like to share? Cheers!

8 Comments

"The Soft Swing" by The Stan Getz Quartet on Verve MG V-8321

4 Comments

"The Soft Swing" by The Stan Getz Quartet on Verve MG V-8321

Getz in great form.

Laid back, lyrical and mellow. Three ways to describe this album and Getz’s style. Perfect stuff for a lazy afternoon when you just want to relax a bit. Haven’t got many titles on the Verve label, but I’ve been getting in a couple of more these last few days. Plenty to enjoy on that label for sure, for very reasonable prices.

Stan Getz is a cat I’ve enjoyed for a long time but never really focused on. Thereby I haven’t collected a lot of his stuff, just several EP’s. So this is my first original LP with him. His catalogue is vast, so I will be searching for more of the good stuff. I guess Verve is a good place to look.

The personell on this are Getz on the tenor, Mose Allison on piano, Addison Farmer on double bass and Jerry Segal on drums. Favorite pick of the album has to be the Pres-esque ”To the Ends of the Earth”.

If you enjoy a soft swing from time to time, then this album is one that you should pick up.

What’s your favorite Getz album on Verve?

4 Comments

"Empathy" by Shelly Manne/Bill Evans with Monty Budwig on Verve V-8497

4 Comments

"Empathy" by Shelly Manne/Bill Evans with Monty Budwig on Verve V-8497

Piano trio goodness…

Bill Evans, Shelly Manne and Monty Budwig had a good thing going here with this album. They created some beautiful, relaxing music on this date, which was to be the trios only recording. Too bad, I would have loved to see them record some more stuff together. The classic Bill Evans trio with Motian and LaFaro is my favorite piano trio of all time. The trio here is pretty damn good I must say. Love the effortless mood in which they play and interact with each other. Much like the previous mentioned classic trio but the main difference for me is the absence of LaFaro, who was a brilliant virtuoso on the double bass, and made that group something special. Budwig plays smooth and sensitive and I love his style as well though. Manne also plays smooth and tasteful and he has become one of my favorite drummers. His drumming abilities never disappoints.

I would highly recommend this session for anyone that enjoys piano trios that adopts interplay on an equal basis and an abundance of lyricism. Where everything flows and blends together into a warm symbiosis, and the music is allowed to exist on a lovely give and take level between all three musicians.

This is another one of those great titles which can be had for a reasonable price, which is my thing at the moment. If you haven’t heard it check it out.

Happy Friday, cheers!

4 Comments