2009 Current Jazz Releases (1st Qtr) & Chart

Here are the current jazz releases so far for the first quarter of the year 2009...they are listed by release date with the latest being the first...also, you can check out the latest jazz music chart industry rankings of jazz recordings (Dr. Lonnie Smith-image at left- tops the list currently) by clicking here:

March 16, 2009
ERIC JOHNSON Supahighway (Clarion Jazz)
SEAN JONES The Search Within (Mack Avenue)
BRANFORD MARSALIS Metamorphosen (Marsalis Music)
SCOTT REEVES Shape Shifter (Miles High)
ROSWELL RUDD Trombone Tribe (Sunnyside)
THE SOUTH NINE ENSEMBLE Doing It Augie Style (Playtime Music)
BEN WENDEL Simple Song (Sunnyside)
MARK WINKLER Till I Get It Right (FreeHam)

March 10, 2009
THE CHICAGO YESTET Jazz Is Politics? (Self Released)
KEN FOWSER & BEHN GILLECE Full View (Positone)
LINDSAY GEORGE Living Inside-Out (Self Released)
MARY JENSON Close Your Eyes (Self Released)
MARC COURTNEY JOHNSON Dream Of Sunny Days (Self Released)
DIANE MARINO Just Groovin’ (M&M Records)
MADELEINE PEYROUX Bare Bones (Rounder)
JEFF PRESSLAFF Red Goddess (Uncontrollable)
ADA ROVATTI Green Factor (Piloo)
DANIEL SADOWNICK There Will Be A Day (In Time)

March 2, 2009
THE 2008 MT. HOOD JAZZ BAND & COMBOS Doin’ The Best Deeds (Sea Breeze Vista)
DAN ADLER All Things Familiar (Emdan)
TERRENCE BREWER Groovin’ Wes (Strong Brew Music)
THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY JAZZ BAND In A Mellow Tone (Sea Breeze Vista)
NELS CLINE Coward (Cryptogramophone)
MATT CRISCUOLO Melancholia (M)
EDDIE DANIELS & ROGER KELLAWAY A Duet Of One: Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway Live At The Bakery (IPO Recordings)
DOMINICK FARINACCI Lovers, Tales & Dances (Koch)
HAL GALPER Art-Work (Origin)
JTQ New World (Real Self)
LIZA LEE Anima (Jazz Doll)
THE OPEN WORLD ALL-STARS Jazz Connection (Sea Breeze Vista)
LENORE RAPHAEL Class Act (Swingin’ Fox)
TIERNEY SUTTON Desire (Telarc)
PAUL TYNAN & AARON LINGTON Bicoastal Collective: Chapter One (OA2 Records) JACQUES VOYEMANT Arrival (Elyria)
TORBEN WALDORFF Afterburn (Artist Share)

February 23, 2009
BENNY MARKLEY Second Introduction (OA2 Records)
LORI MECHEM April In Paris: The Lori Mechem Quartet Plays More Count Basie (Cognito Music)
MERYL ROMER So Sure (Self Released)
THE BOB SNEIDER & JOE LOCKE FILM NOIR PROJECT Nocturne For Ava (Origin)
SWING MASTERS Vol. 2 Benny...King Of Swing! (Dare)

February 17, 2009
DEE ALEXANDER Wild Is The Wind (Blujazz)
ERNESTINE ANDERSON A Song For You (HighNote)
MEGAN BIRDSALL This Is The Time (BirdSmith)
MIKE DUBANIEWICZ Drive Time (Jazzed Media)
CAROL FREDETTE Everything In Time (Soundbrush Records)
TOM HARRELL Prana Dance (HighNote)
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM Senzo (Sunnyside)
BOB LARK & PHIL WOODS Live At The Jazz Showcase (Jazzed Media)
AZAR LAWRENCE Speak The Word (Zarman) ANDY SCOTT Don’t Tempt Fate (Goatboy)
DR. LONNIE SMITH Rise Up! (Palmetto)
JOE ZAWINUL & THE ZAWINUL SYNDICATE 75 (Heads Up)

February 10, 2009
DONALD BAILEY Blueprints Of Jazz: Vol. 3 (Talking House)
MARCO BENEVENTO Me Not Me (The Royal Potato Family)
CHICK & HIROMI Duet (Concord)
RAVI COLTRANE Blending Times (Savoy Jazz)
STEVE ELSON Mott & Broome (Lips and Fingers)
DAVID FIUCZYNSKI Kif Express (Fuzelicious Morsels)
RICHIE GOODS & NUCLEAR FUSION Live At The Zinc Bar (Richman Productions)
ALAN HOOD Just A Little Taste: Al Hood Plays The Writing Of Dave Hanson (Self Released) GEOFFREY KEEZER Áurea (Artist Share)
SALTMAN KNOWLES Return Of The Composer (Pacific Coast Jazz)
DAVE KOZ Greatest Hits (Capitol)
RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA’S INDO-PAK COALITION Apti ()
DENISE PERRIER The Second Time Around (Chez Perrier Records)
MARK RAPP Token Tales (Paved Earth)
SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & LA BAMBA’S BIG BAND Grapefruit Moon: The Songs Of Tom Waits (Leroy)
BETHANY SMITH STAELENS The Big Band Theory (Self Released)
PAUL SULLIVAN Break Away (River Music)
JOANI TAYLOR In My Own Voice (Wet Coast)
JEFF ‘TAIN’ WATTS Watts (Dark Key)

February 2, 2009
CLIFTON ANDERSON Decade (Emarcy)
MARCUS BELgrave, CHARLIE GABRIEL & JOAN BELgrave Marcus, Charlie & Joan... Once Again (Detroit Jazz Musicians CoOp)
THE STEVE CARTER GROUP Cosmopolis (Self Released)
MIKE CLARK Blueprints Of Jazz: Vol. 1 (Talking House)
MILES DAVIS Kind Of Blue: 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition (Legacy)
ADAM GLASSER Free At First (Sunnyside)
BILLY HARPER Blueprints Of Jazz: Vol. 2 (Talking House)
ALI JACKSON Wheelz Keep Rollin’ (BigWenzee)
BONEY JAMES Send One Your Love (Concord)
KEITH JARRETT, GARY PEACOCK & JACK DEJOHNETTE Yesterdays (ECM)
MICHAEL WOLFF Joe’s Strut (Wrong Records)

January 27, 2009
NAT KING COLE & VARIOUS ARTISTS Re: Generations (Capitol)
DEBORAH LATZ Lifeline (June Moon Productions)
PHIL MARKOWITZ TRIO Catalysis (Sunnyside)
LUBA MASON Krazy Love (Sunnyside)
JAIMEE PAUL At Last (Green Hill)
JOSHUA REDMAN Compass (Nonesuch)
VARIOUS ARTISTS Jazz Goes Pop: Hits Of The 60’s Vol. 1 (HighNote)
BUSELLI WALLARAB JAZZ ORCHESTRA Where Or When (Owl)
DENNY ZEITLIN In Concert (Sunnyside)

January 26, 2009
ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY At Last (Telarc)
TONY DESARE Radio Show (Telarc)
PHIL RANELIN Living A New Day (Wide Hive Records)
CLAUDIO RODITI Brazilliance x4 (Resonance)

January 19, 2009
THE BAD PLUS For All I Care (Heads Up)
BSTC Music For A Saturday Evening (All Natural)
VINNIE CUTRO & NEW YORK CITY SOUNDSCAPE Sakura (Royal Music Ensemble)
DARK CHOCOLATE Island Gypsy (Megawave)
RICK FRANK Yellow Mountain (Decker Creek)
VITALY GOLOVNEV To Whom It May Concern (Tippin’ Records)
BILL HENDERSON Beautiful Memory: Bill Henderson Live At The Vic (Ahuh)
RAY LEVIER Ray’s Way (Origin)
JEREMY MANASIA After Dark (Positone)
COLLEEN MCNABB Don’t Go To Strangers (Zucca)
VINCE MENDOZA Blauklang (ACT)
HENDRIK MEURKENS Samba To Go! (Zoho Music)
JANE MONHEIT The Lovers, The Dreamers And Me (Concord)
MARGIE NOTTE Just You, Just Me & Friends: Live At Cecil’s (Gnote)
LIAM SILLERY Outskirts (OA2 Records)
GARY SMULYAN High Noon (Reservoir)
JOHN STETCH TV Trio (Brux)
BARON TYMAS Insight At Midnight (Self Released)
MARK WEINSTEIN Lua E Sol (Jazzheads)

January 12, 2009
CHUCK BERNSTEIN Delta Berimbau Blues (CMB Records)
BILLET-DEUX Deux (Self Released)
THE BLUE NOTE 7 Mosaic: A Celebration Of Blue Note Records (Blue Note)
JOHN BURNETT SWING ORCHESTRA West Of State Street / East Of Harlem (Delmark)
THE CLAYTON BROTHERS Brother To Brother (Artist Share)
REBECCA CLINE & HILLARY NOBLE Enclave Diaspora (Enclavejazz.com)
ORBERT DAVIS’ CHICAGO JAZZ PHILHARMONIC Collective Creativity (3 Sixteen)
ELIANE ELIAS Bossa Nova Stories (Blue Note)
MARCUS GOLDHABER Take Me Anywhere (Fallen Apple)
BENNY GOLSON New Time, New ‘Tet (Concord)
DANNY GREEN With You In Mind (Pacific Coast Jazz)
STEVE HERBERMAN Ideals (Reach Music)
MIKE HOLOBER & THE GOTHAM JAZZ ORCHESTRA Quake (Sunnyside)
THE JOHN HARDEN PROJECT Just Say So (Self Released)
MIAMI SAXOPHONE QUARTET Fourtified (Fourtitude Records)
MARTIAL SOLAL Live At The Village Vanguard: I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (Cam Jazz)
AMANDA TOSOFF Wait And See (Cellar Live)

January 5, 2009
TODD COOLMAN Perfect Strangers (Artist Share)
MIKE FROST PROJECT Live (Blujazz)
TONY MONACO Live At The Orbit Room (Chicken Coup)

(source:jazzweek.com)

Jazz Fest At Newport Seeks New Sponsor

Iconic jazz fest seeking help with financial support for the 2009 event. As noted by AP news:

"The Newport Jazz Festival is in the market for a new sponsor. Jazz impresario George Wein, who founded the iconic festival in 1954, said Tuesday that the event's 24-year relationship with the JVC consumer electronics company has ended. Wein said JVC told him it couldn't sponsor the festival again because of the recession. "The company placed us at a level that no one can ever imagine and affected jazz and the jazz festival in a way that increased awareness of the art form and touched people around the world," the 83-year-old Wein said. Wein sold his production company in 2007, but announced earlier this month that he would step in and produce the show again after the new producer, Festival Network, ran into financial problems. The festival is scheduled for Aug. 7-9, 2009. Wein said the show is fully booked and that the lineup will be announced next month. The festival has attracted musicians including Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra." (source: AP News)

Latin Jazz Collection Begins With Tito Puente

For those of you considering how to start your collection of Latin Jazz recordings, begin by selecting one or all of these eight albums by Tito Puente...as The Latin Jazz Corner blog points out in the following article:

"Latin Jazz Corner readers awarded a major honor this past December when they chose our first entry into the LJC Hall of Fame, with an overwhelming amount of votes going to legendary timbalero, vibraphonist, composer, arranger, and bandleader Tito Puente. More than any other Latin Jazz artist before or after him, Puente symbolized the passion, finesse, musicality, and hard working aesthetic that became the cornerstone of the Latin Jazz sound. Puente’s skills as a performer are legendary, defining a complete school of timbale performance practice with a dazzling combination of technique, clave driving phrasing, and flash. His compositions and arrangements gave the world the big band mambo sound and solidified the marriage between jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms. Puente made the music his life, recording over 100 albums as a leader and spending most years performing hundreds of times around the world. His public face reached out to the world, making a good-natured connection with the general population without sacrificing the integrity of his musical personality. Without Tito Puente, it would be fair to say that Latin Jazz would sound much different and hold a very different place in the overall musical world.

Puente went through several musical stages in his career, and fortunately, a great deal of his output was recorded. His early days as one of the Palladium’s “Big 3” are well documented, providing recordings with plenty of big band mambo swing. Puente was young and adventurous at this time, taking chances on percussive projects or recordings that experimented with mixtures of jazz and Latin music. The record companies placed their faith in Puente’s musicianship and recorded him through many of his explorations. In the 1960s and 1970s New York salsa ruled the Latin music world; many of the genre’s leaders took inspiration from Puente. It was a natural transition for Puente to jump headfirst into this musical trend, once again becoming a leader among Latin music artists. Late in his career he shrunk his group and focused upon Latin Jazz, releasing several outstanding albums on the Concord Picante label. Puente found a spot in many jazz festivals around the world and encountered a broad audience ready to embrace his work. By the time that Puente died in 2000, his massive output as a bandleader left us with a strong picture of his many musical personalities.

There are so many incredible Puente albums out there; it’s next to impossible to narrow it down to a handful of great albums. So don’t think of this as a “best of” list, instead think of it as a starting point that will launch you into a world of important Latin Jazz. I’ve tried to choose albums from different eras of Puente’s career, reflecting his many approaches to both jazz and dance music. Make sure that you’ve got these albums in your collection and then keep exploring – there’s a world of Puente waiting!

1., 2., & 3. The Complete 78s, Volumes 1, 2, & 3
By the late 1940s, Puente’s band had caught fire among the New York community and record companies realized that he represented a gold mine just waiting to be harvested; as a result, he was recorded extensively during this time. RCA captured Puente leaning mostly on the big band mambo sound that fueled the dance craze, giving us long playing recordings such as Dance Mania, Cuban Carnival, and Night Beat. They allowed Puente to step outside the mainframe and into pure Latin culture occasionally with albums like Top Percussion, but this was a rare occasion. Tico Records recognized the fact that there was another side to Puente’s music, aimed at the Latino music market. They captured Puente at his best, performing Cuban dance music that swung with a frenzied heat, recording 156 tracks between 1949 and 1955. Tico released these recordings in the 78 format, with varying amounts of quality supporting the presentation. Fania later purchased Tico, and although these recordings stayed in their archives, they were lost as the long-playing record became the format of choice. Emusica bought the Fania catalog in 2005, and as they began remastering and distributing classic Fania recordings, they recognized the importance of these early Puente recordings. Fortunately, they gathered all the essential tracks and documented the collection with liner notes by Joe Conzo, giving us an important historical snapshot of early Puente. One hundred fifty six (156) tracks equals a whole lot of music, so Emusica broke the collection into 4 double CD sets; at this point, we’ve seen volumes one through three. The repertoire provides an unparalleled look at Puente’s early career, and displays several sides of his musical personality. Early versions of many well-known Puente classics show up here - “Barbarabatiri” sits on Volume 1, “El Mambo Diablo” and “Mambo Birdland” arrive in Volume 2, while “Philadelphia Mambo” and “Ran Kan Kan” can be found on Volume 3. There’s plenty of big band mambo tracks, from “Mambo Gallego” to “Mambo Rama” and “Mambo City.” The dance tracks fill a good chunk of the collections, with some fantastic vocals from Vicentico Valdes on tracks such as “Cuero Na’ Ma’,” “Ta’ Bueno Pa’ Bailar,” and “Por La Manaña.” Puente’s love for jazz blossoms on several tracks as he places several standards into an Afro-Cuban context - “I Get A Kick Out Of You,” Autumn Leaves,” and “Caravan” all make appearances. The Puente band consistently sounds fresh, inspired, professional, and running on a creative high, delivering the goods that made Puente a legend. Unfortunately, Emusica didn’t take the time to properly remaster all these tracks so the sound quality ranges from decent to downright awful - a true crime. Still, for those of us that didn’t live through that era or can’t afford to track down original 78s, these collections are an indispensable piece of history.

4. Dance Mania
When people discuss the big band mambo sound of the 1950s, they’re describing slamming Afro-Cuban percussion, blaring horn parts, impassioned vocals, and jazz improvisation - a sound perfectly demonstrated by Puente’s Dance Mania. The name aptly describes the music, with most tracks delivering addictive mambo dance tracks with inspired vocals by Santos Colon. So many classic Puente compositions reached the general public through this album, including popular dance tracks such as “El Cayuco,” “Mambo Gozon,” “Cuando Te Vea,” and “Saca Tu Mujer,” as well as instrumental mambos such as “Hong Kong Mambo.” Puente also arranges compositions from other musicians, infusing his characteristic sound into Francisco Aguabella’s “Complication” and “Agua Limpia Todo” as well as “3-D Mambo” by Ray Santos. The rhythm section rages forward with a youthful energy, driven by Puente on timbales, Julio Collazo and Ray Barretto on congas, Ray Conception on piano, and Bobby Rodriguez on bass. Puente uses a four trumpet and four saxophone instrumentation, delivering a big band sound that sends the arrangements through the roof. This was a common instrumentation at the time found in the Machito band as well; it’s a credit to Puente’s arranging skills that he was able to create such a huge big band sound without trombones. Dance Mania presents an outstanding example of the Puente band during the Palladium era, sitting on the cutting edge of a sound that defined a generation of Latin music and planted the seeds for today’s thriving Latin Jazz scene.

5. Top Percussion
Puente recorded Dance Mania in three sessions during November and December of 1957; earlier in the year, he took a completely different approach, focusing upon the music’s Cuban roots with Top Percussion. Where Dance Mania represented Puente’s significance on the Palladium big band mambo scene, Top Percussion places him among the most knowledgeable Afro-Cuban percussionists of the 1950s. The album took several of the generation’s top percussionists and put them in the same room to record Afro-Cuban folklore and some straight-up percussion descargas. The performers read like a who’s-who list of percussion legends, including Puente, Francisco Aguabella, Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, and Julio Collazo. They take turns singing, holding down rhythms, and playing lead drum on several folkloric pieces such as “Eleguara,” “Bragada,” “Oguere Madeo” and “Obaricoso.” Santamaria cuts loose with a smoking conga solo over a charging comparsa rhythm on “Conga Alegre” showcasing the chops and phrasing that made him a legend. Puente balances the folkloric tracks with a number of burning descargas, adding only a bass player into the percussion mix. “Four By Two, Part 1″ and Four By Two, Part 2″ serve as a showcase for Puente, who takes no prisoners and demonstrates why he justifiably earned the reputation as “El Rey.” “Hot Timbales” allows Puente to solo furiously over a maddening pace while “Mon-Ti” puts his improvisatory skills in a more moderate son montuno, held down by Mongo Santamaria. The classic “Ti-Mon-Bo” rides over a catchy cha cha cha bass line, providing opportunities for Puente, Santamaria, and Bobo to all make percussive statements. At a time when Latin dance music thrived in the commercial world, Top Percussion was a daring statement that proved Puente stood upon solid roots.

6. Homenaje a Beny Moré
Although his band continued to work consistently, Puente’s recorded output slowed during the mid-1970s; Homenaje a Beny Moré marked a return to the creative energy and drive that marked the early Puente work. Beny More’s repertoire makes a great launching point for Puente who infuses the well-known songs with his characteristic jazz tinge, syncopated horn parts, and tightly constructed forms. The combination of the familiar songs such as “Yiri Yiri Bon,” “Francisco Guayabal,” “Bonito Y Sabroso,” and “Baila Mi Son” with Puente’s distinctive twist make the album a simultaneously fun and exciting listen. This is a sparkling dance release with several important vocalists contributing their signature sound and personalities to Puente’s richly arranged tracks. Celia Cruz, Ismael Quintana, Cheo Feliciano, Santos Colon, and Junior Gonzalez all make appearances on the album, paying tribute to the influential Cuban vocalist. Puente’s band swings hard with a young cast of now legendary musicians including percussionist Jose Madera, saxophonist Bobby Porcelli, pianist Sonny Bravo, and saxophonist Mitch Frohman. Puente sounds in top form here, pushing the groove with a fiery passion. Just listen to his inspired riffing throughout “Que Bueno Baila Usted” - this is Puente at full throttle. The band plays with a power characteristic of 1970s salsa, but there’s something more here - they’re playing a group of songs that they love and putting their unique imprint upon them. The results are classic Puente.

7. Salsa Meets Jazz
Puente joined the Concord Picante label in 1982, recording a series of albums with a small Latin Jazz group, including this high energy set from 1990. Several other Puente albums explored the crossroads between Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz harmonies, but this recording nails it on the head. Arrangements of “Corner Pocket,” “Con Alma,” and “Carioca” sound perfectly natural in this context, and Puente’s band attacks them with class and style. The salsa piece of the equation isn’t simply relegated to Afro-Cuban rhythms behind jazz standards; Puente proves that he’s the real deal with danceable versions of “Guajira Soul,” and “Salsa Caliente.” Jazz improvisation stands as a priority throughout the album, with plenty of solo space for Puente regulars saxophonist Mario Rivera and pianist Sonny Bravo; Puente himself sounds outstanding on jazz vibes, spinning lines that place him among the legendary jazz vibraphonists. Puente always carried a top-notch band full of outstanding soloists, but this recording took his performance to new level of excitement with the inclusion of alto saxophonist Phil Woods. There’s equal amounts of shimmering beauty and improvisational fire in Woods’ playing on tracks such as “Pannonica,” and “Consternation.” Woods and the Puente band both sound inspired by their collaboration, a true sign of success in this setting. Puente’s Concord Picante output generally stands at a very high level of musicianship - there’s not a bad apple in the bunch - but Salsa Meets Jazz stands apart as a highpoint of his journey on the fence between Latin and Jazz.

8. Obra Maestra (Masterpiece)
Puente worked with a ferocious momentum until his dying day, as evidenced on his last recording a collaboration with fellow legend pianist Eddie Palmieri on the 2000 recording Obra Maestra (Masterpiece). Both musicians share bandleader duties, composing, arranging, and leading a smoking hot big band featuring the best of New York’s Latin Jazz scene. There’s traces of big band mambo jazz, straight ahead New York salsa, Afro-Cuban folklore, and more; in every way it’s a mixture of Puente and Palmieri’s approaches. A variety of vocalists grace the album, with appearances by Jerry Medina on the jazzy “Muddy’s Club Blues In Weinhelm,” Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez on “Marchando Bien,” Oscar D’Leon on “Paris Blues,” Herman Olivera on “Yambu Pa’Inglaterra,” and so much more. The band takes the time to engage in some serious descargas as well, stretching their jazz chops on “Picadillo Jam,” and “El Puente Mundial.” The band’s fresh musicians burn with intensity, but both Puente and Palmieri stand tall among the soloists, delivering improvisations that mask their age. Best of all, there’s no careful production values or commercially tinged angles; Puente and Palmieri simply go for it, showing us that there’s no replacement for experience and passion. In every way, Obra Maestra (Masterpiece) is a fitting final statement by El Rey. There’s more to this album than mere sentimentality though, it’s a solid statement that sits among the best of Puente’s work, full of fire and musicality." (source: chipboaz.com - "The Latin Jazz Corner" blog)

Blue Note Jazz Deletes Listings From Catalog

The economy is not the only thing taking a hit these days...so is live and recorded jazz music. Musician friends of mine have been seeing a decline in clubs using live jazz artists...but it seems that if the clubs are turning to recorded jazz they may find a problem in getting it! Here is an article from Mike Jeffer's Chicago Jazz Magazine that contains the complete list of recordings being removed from the BlueNote music label catalog, to wit:

"It's depressing enough that one has always had trouble finding stellar, but non-best-sellers, like Gary Burton's Lofty Fake Anagram or Don Ellis' Electric Bath. But as of January 1, EMI dropped the axe on a long and varied list of jazz CDs, mostly from Blue Note, spanning from modern would-be classics (Joe Lovano's Trio Fascination) to historically interesting anomalies (Stan Kenton's City of Glass) to truly important Blue Note sides, whose absence could affect Blue Note's legacy (a good chunk of Jackie McLean's 1964-1966 output). While many of these will remain available as used items, they will become more and more rare unless steps are taken to preserve the rich history of jazz.Here is the complete list of CDs that have been deleted from EMI's jazz catalog, which includes releases from BlueNote, Pacific Jazz and Capitol Jazz.

Chet Baker - Prince Of Cool (3 CDs)
Art Blakey - At The Jazz Corner Of The World (2 CDs)
Stan Getz - Complete Roost Recordings (3 CDs)
Grant Green - Retrospective (4 CDs)
Joe Lovano - Quartets Live At The Village Vanguard (2 CDs)
Lee Morgan - Live At The Lighthouse (3 CDs)
The Complete Blue Note/Capitol Recordings Of Fats Navarro & Tadd Dameron (2 CDs)
The Complete Blue Note Recordings Of Herbie Nichols (3 CDs)
Wayne Shorter - The Classic Blue Note Recordings (2 CDs)
Horace Silver - Retrospective (4 CDs)
Stanley Turrentine - Up At Minton’s (2 CDs)
Jackie McLean - A Fickle Sonance (RVG Edition)
Jackie McLean - New And Old Gospel (RVG Edition)
Hank Mobley - Dippin’ (RVG Edition)
Lee Morgan - Tom Cat (RVG Edition)
Horace Silver - You Gotta Take A Little Love (RVG Edition)
Jimmy Smith - At The Organ, Volume 3 (RVG Edition)
Lonnie Smith - Turning Point (RVG Edition)
Art Taylor - A.T.’s Delight (RVG Edition)
Blue Note Perfect Takes (CD & DVD)
Lou Blackburn - Complete Imperial Sessions (Connoisseur Series)
Tina Brooks - Back To The Tracks (Connoisseur Series)
Introducing Kenny Cox & The Contemporary Jazz Quintet (Connoisseur Series)
Frank Foster - Manhattan Fever (Connoisseur Series)
Grant Green - First Session (Connoisseur Series)
Elmo Hope - Trio And Quintet (Connoisseur Series)
Freddie Hubbard - Goin’ Up (Connoisseur Series)
Bobby Hutcherson - Components (Connoisseur Series)
Jackie McLean - Vertigo (Connoisseur Series)
Ike Quebec - Complete 45 Sessions (Connoisseur) (2 CDs)
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis - Central Park North
Stan Kenton - The Jazz Compositions Of Dee Barton
Jimmy McGriff - The Big Band: A Tribute To Basie
Jackie Allen - Tangled
Jon Hendricks - A Good Git Together
Sue Raney - All By Myself
The Jazz Crusaders - Chile Con Soul
Chucho Valdes - Briyumba Palo Congo
Cannonball Adderley - Jazz Workshop Revisited
Cannonball Adderley - Money In The Pocket
Cannonball Adderley - Why Am I Treated So Bad
Chet Baker & Art Pepper - Picture Of Heath
Art Blakey -The Best Of The Blue Note Years
Art Blakey - The Freedom Rider
Art Blakey - The Witch Doctor
Kenny Burrell - Artist Selects
Benny Carter - Sax A La Carter
King Curtis - The Best Of The Capitol Years
Lou Donaldson - Everything I Play Is Funky
Lou Donaldson - Artist Selects
Tommy Flanagan - Sunset And The Mockingbird
Benny Green - Testifyin’: At The Village Vanguard
Grant Green - Live At The Lighthouse
Grant Green - Standards
Chico Hamilton - Original Ellington Suite (with Eric Dolphy)
Stefon Harris - Black Action Figure
Richard Groove Holmes - Groovin’ With Jug (with Gene Ammons)
Bobby Hutcherson - San Francisco
The Jazz Crusaders - At The Lighthouse
The Jazz Crusaders - Live At The Lighthouse ‘66
The Jazz Crusaders - Lighthouse ‘68
The Jazz Crusaders - The Festival Album
Lee Konitz - Alone Together (with Brad Mehldau & Charlie Haden)
Joe Lovano - Trio Fascination - Edition One (with Dave Holland & Elvin Jones)
Joe Lovano Nonet - On This Day At The Vanguard
Joe Lovano - Joyous Encounter (with Hank Jones)
Pat Martino - Live At Yoshi’s
Jack McDuff - Down Home Style
Jackie McLean - New Soil
Charles Mingus - Jazz Portraits (Mingus In Wonderland)
Hank Mobley - A Caddy For Daddy
Jason Moran - Black Stars (with Sam Rivers)
Jason Moran - Same Mother
Lee Morgan - Caramba
Lee Morgan - Charisma
Lee Morgan - Standards
Lee Konitz & Gerry Mulligan - Konitz Meets Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan - At Storyville (with Bob Brookmeyer)
Charlie Parker - At Storyville
Charlie Parker - The Washington Concerts
John Patton - Let ‘Em Roll
John Scofield-Joe Lovano-Dave Holland-Al Foster - Scolohofo Oh!
Wayne Shorter - The Best Of The Blue Note Years
Jimmy Smith - Standards
The Three Sounds - Live At The It Club
The Definitive McCoy Tyner
Blue Break Beats (The original Groove compilation)
Higher Ground (Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert)
Art Blakey - Like Someone In Love
Sonny Clark- Dial S For SonnyJoe Henderson - Our Thing
Clifford Jordan & John Gilmore -Blowing In From Chicago
Jackie McLean - Capuchan Swing
Jackie McLean - Right Now!
Blue Mitchell - Boss Horn
Blue Mitchell - Down With It
Hank Mobley - Hi Voltage
Lee Morgan - The Rumproller
Leo Parker - Let Me Tell You ‘Bout It
Bud Powell - Bud!
The Amazing Bud Powell-Volume 3
Ike Quebec -Heavy Soul
Horace Silver - In Pursuit Of The 27th Man
Horace Silver - The Stylings Of Silver
Jimmy Smith - The Sounds Of Jimmy Smith
Cecil Taylor - Conquistador!
Tina Brooks - Minor Move
Tina Brooks - The Waiting Game
Donald Byrd - The Transition Sessions (w/Doug Watkins) (2 CDs)
Bobby Hutcherson - Now!
Jackie McLean - Jacknife
Sam Rivers - Fuchsia Swing Song
Charlie Rouse - Bossa Nova Bacchanal
Jack Wilson - Easterly Winds
Larry Young - Mother Ship
Cannonball Adderley - Domination (with Oliver Nelson)
Count Basie - Breakfast Dance And Barbecue
Count Basie - Basie Meets Bond
Count Basie - The Count Basie Story (2 CDs)
Don Ellis - Live At Monterey
Don Ellis - Jazz In 3 & 2/3 /4 Time
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra - Consummation
Stan Kenton - At The Las Vegas Tropicana
Stan Kenton - Back To Balboa
Stan Kenton - City Of Glass
Stan Kenton - Kenton Showcase
Stan Kenton - Standards In Silhouette
Stan Kenton - Viva Kenton!
Buddy Rich - Buddy And Soul
Mose Allison - Jazz Profile
Dr. John - Sippiana Hericane
Billie Holiday - Billie’s Blues
Sheila Jordan - Portrait Of Sheila
Peggy Lee - Basin Street East Presents
Julie London - About The Blues
The Best Of Nellie Lutcher
Bobby McFerrin - Spontaneous Inventions
Dakota Staton & George Shearing - In The Night
Sarah Vaughan - Sarah Sings Soulfully
Sarah Vaughan & Lester Young - Town Hall Concert 1947
Joe Williams - A Swinging Night At Birdland
Joe Williams And Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
The Best Of Joe Williams
Luarindo Almeida & Bud Shank - Brazilliance-Volume 2
Art Blakey - African Beat
Los Van Van - Dancing Wet
Sabu - Palo Congo

For the average consumer, the results are horrific. The Blue Note Retrospective boxes were brilliant overviews of artists who had large Blue Note catalogs. The Chet Baker Prince of Cool box was the perfect primer for the beginning jazz listener, especially because Baker, along with Miles Davis and a handful of others, are exactly the artists that transform the new jazz fan into the seasoned jazz lover.The truly frightening deletions from the EMI catalog, thankfully, have been kept to a minimum. There are the aforementioned Jackie McLean CDs, but also some other disturbing entries on that list. Sam Rivers' Fuscia Swing Song not only gave jazz fans a glimpse of the very important relationship between Rivers and drummer Tony Williams, but it also is the disc on which Rivers recorded his seminal ballad, "Beatrice" (mercifully, that song, stays in circulation on a couple of Blue Note samplers). There is also Cecil Taylor's Conquistador, a fantastic avant garde jazz session on Blue Note from the mid sixties.

Among the saddest deletions from the catalog, however, is a disc that was never meant to be released in the first place: Chico Hamilton's Ellington Suite, featuring Eric Dolphy. A demo pressing found by accident in a record store, Pacific Jazz had rejected it because of Dolphy's playing, and Hamilton eventually recut it with Paul Horn. However, once the good folks at Blue Note were made aware of the historic find, they put it into circulation. Sadly, now it's back out of print. Every jazz fan will find a disc or two in this list for which they'll shake their fist in the air, whether it be the George Shearing and Dakota Stanton disc, or Thad Jones' and Mel Lewis' Consummation. Certainly, Count Basie's Breakfast Dance and Barbecue is a big loss as well, not only for the great playing of the band, but also for the seminal renditions of some Basie vocal hits with Basie's Number One Son, Joe Williams.Strangely, just as a massive chunk of Blue Note's catalog is going out of print, another huge portion of it has come back into print. Kind of. Amazon.com is offering a whole bunch of rare to really rare Blue Note albums on CD-Rs through a joint venture with a company called CreateSpace. While you're getting a "burned" CD, you are getting the original artwork, and considering how much the Blue Note catalog is shrinking, this might not be the worst way to get your fix of some amazing CDs from Big John Patton, Horace Parlan and even a ridiculously hard to find CD from James Newton.

Luckily, some of the other major labels are keeping physical product in print, or utilizing the Internet quite a bit. Concord's family of labels (Concord, Telarc, Heads Up, Fantasy, Prestige, Riverside and Contemporary) has made vast amounts of their catalog available on EMusic, as have some smaller, but impressive labels like Sunnyside, Ropeadope and Fresh Sound. Sony seems to have kept some out of print material available in MP3 format on ITunes and Rhapsody. Finally, Verve and Rhino are proving themselves to be nothing short of amazing in the Internet age. Verve has made some real rare gems available, including discs from Chicagoans Johnny Frigo and Frank D'Rone. Rhino has made virtually the entire Atlantic Jazz catalog available for purchase on-line, meaning that Von Freeman's Doin' It Right Now and even Clarence Wheeler's Doin' What We Wanna are both available with a couple of mouse clicks.Now might be the time for jazz fans with Internet connections and decent computer speakers to look into one of the subscription music services. The two best known are Rhapsody and Napster, and while those Blue Note CDs cannot be bought through those sites, they can be streamed, meaning that at the very least, these titles can be heard. One hopes that EMI will get on board, along with Sony/BMG, WEA and Universal and make more of their back catalog available on-line. The costs are minimal for CDs that have already been produced, and the return on investment is enormous, especially on re-issues. Artists ranging from Albert Ammons to Bill Stewart have made amazing discs for Blue Note, and it is a shame to think that they're languishing in vaults when they could be heard, and more importantly for EMI's bottom line, bought.The silver lining is that while it might take a little bit of investigative work, even in these days where jazz is appreciated less and less by the music audience at large, it is still out there, and there's more of it out there than ever before. Hopefully, sooner than later, that list will be repopulated with classics from the EMI catalog.--CJM Staff"
(source: chicagojazz.com)