Next up in the perpetually listening to all the records in my collection alphabetically project: Jazz At the Philharmonic (JATP)
Perdido – The JATP All Stars – Once upon a time, I walked into Stereo Jack’s in Cambridge with $100. Tax was 5%. Anyway, I left with 95 records. I am pretty sure this one, and maybe a few more on this post, were a part of that experience. This record swings, but that is exactly what to expect with Jazz At the Philharmonic. I mean, with Flip Phillips, Howard McGhee, Illinois Jacquet, Hank Jones, Bill Harris, Ray Brown and Jo Jones, what else could happen? Recorded in Carnegie Hall in November 1947. This is one of those great records, where nothing particularly incredible stands out because so much of it is great.
The Historic Recordings – The very first recordings from the very first concerts by JATP, with Norman Granz (Verve founder) as the mastermind. Obviously an important historical recording, and totally and completely swinging. JJ. Johnson, Illinois Jacquet, Nat King Cole, Les Paul, Red Callender, Billie Holiday, Willie Smith (love him!), and more. One thing that makes these sides so fun is the one-up-man-ship that happens in the solos. Whether it’s Illinois Jacquet quoting Coleman Hawkins’ solo on “Body and Soul” or Nat King Cole’s Dvorak quote on the same track, there is a constant sense of vitality and hilarity. Must have been a great show to see, and an even better concert to play. Les Paul sounds amazing on this, and way, way ahead of his time. Also, “I’ve Found New Baby” is extra cool because of the two bassists taking a duet/solo – Red Callendar and Johnny Miller. The second version of “Body and Soul”…waitaminute, two versions of “Body and Soul”????!!!!” – is totally worth it. Billie Holiday is just way too great.
Bird and Pres: The ’46 Concerts – Man, any record with Bird on it is worth listening to, and this one is no exception. Dizzy is on this, sometimes with Willie Smith (who sounds so punk rock compared to Bird!) instead of Charlie Parker, and even sometimes with both. Lester Young sounds fantastic on these sides. Also crushing it are Charlie Ventura, Howard McGhee, Buck Clayton and Buddy Rich. Like the previous records, the whole tone of this is playful competition, so it is a blast to listen to. I wonder where the double time chorus on “The Man I Love” came from? It seems to me that this is the way all arrangements of this tune go…?
J.A.T.P. in Tokyo: Live at the Nichigeki Theatre 1953 – Swinging, obviously. Roy Eldridge, Charlie Shavers, WIllie Smith, Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Flip Phillips, Oscare Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, J.C. Heard, Gene Krupa, Ella Fitzgerald. Burning. Records like this are super important to the developing jazz musician. The thing is that the solos always tell a story and are able to communicate with the audience. Are they playing the hippest lines ever, containing a reharm of a substitution of a fluid theoretical concept of “right”? Nope. But they ARE swinging super hard and effectively communicating their ideas. The Oscar Peterson trio is a pleasure to listen to throughout, but especially on “That Old Black Magic”, which I love from Louis Prima records. Ella Fitzgerald sings mostly the same solo on “How High the Moon” as on the 1949 session with Charlie Parker, and one wonders if they are “singing it because you asked for it” because everyone asked for it, every time. Side 4 is the side to check out, though. Benny Carter, with Oscar Peterson and Gene Krupa are awesome! PS. I wonder how many times in his life Ben Webster felt compelled to quote the opening theme to his solo on “Cotton Tail” and then do that diminished thing on the 2nd A section, and then the patterns on the Bridge…?
Metropolitan Music Library Presents Jazz At the Philharmonic, Vol. 5 – Another swinging two sides starring the same cats as before. It’s hard to know for sure if I have these sides already, because of the lack of recording info, etc., but I FOR SURE have this piano solo on “Tea for Two” – I think it’s Nat King Cole. And, come to think of it, this has that same two-basses “solo” on ” I Found a New Baby” as on The Historic Recordings. Historic.
“Jazz at the Philharmonic, 1983” – This is not an actual JATP record. Instead, this is an impression of JATP, offered by Norman Granz on Pablo, rather than Verve. He writes, “I decided on this session to recreate in the studio a kind of miniature JATP…” Swinging. I think John Heard must have been playing cello tuning. He definitely did not have a C extension, but needed it for a lot of this, and the overall timbre of his bass sounds like cello tuning (a la Red Mitchell) than, well, not.