Music History Events: Jazz albums recorded Dec. 20

Come join us now, and enjoy playing your beloved music and browse through great scores of every level and styles!

You can contribute, making a donation, because we also need you. Please, pitch in. Thank you!

Can’t find the songbook you’re looking for? Please, email us at: sheetmusiclibrarypdf@gmail.com We’d like to help you!

Music History Events: Jazz albums recorded Dec. 20

Jazz albums recorded Dec. 20:

John Lewis/Gunther Schuller/Jim Hall – Jazz Abstractions (1960)

Jazz Abstractions (subtitled John Lewis Presents Contemporary Music: Compositions by Gunther Schuller and Jim Hall) is a third stream album combining elements of jazz and classical music recorded in late 1960 for the Atlantic label.

Track listing:

All compositions by Gunther Schuller except as indicated

"Abstraction" - 4:06
"Piece for Guitar & Strings" (Jim Hall) - 6:22
"Variants on a Theme of John Lewis (Django)" - 10:15
    "Variant I" - 5:27
    "Variant II" - 1:38
    "Variant III" - 3:10
"Variants on a Theme of Thelonious Monk (Criss-Cross)" - 15:23
    "Variant I" - 6:22
    "Variant II" - 1:49
    "Variant III" - 4:12
    "Variant IV" - 3:00

Personnel:

Gunther Schuller - arranger, conductor
Jim Hall - guitar
Ornette Coleman - alto saxophone (tracks 1 & 4)
Eric Dolphy - alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute (tracks 3 & 4)
Robert DiDomenica - flute (tracks 3 & 4)
Bill Evans - piano (tracks 3 & 4)
Eddie Costa - vibraphone (tracks 3 & 4)
Charles Libove, Roland Vamos - violin
Alfred Brown (track 2), Harry Zaratzian - viola
Joseph Tekula - cello
Alvin Brehm (track 1), George Duvivier (tracks 3 & 4), Scott LaFaro - bass
Sticks Evans - drums (tracks 1, 3 & 4)

Paul Gonsalves – Gettin’ Together (1960)

Gettin’ Together! is an album recorded in 1960 by Paul Gonsalves. AllMusic’s Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 1/2 stars. He wrote, “The music is straight-ahead and shows that Gonsalves was quite capable of playing with younger “modernists”.” The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings describes it as “a remarkable album, beautifully played and recorded.”

It was voted number 1 in the 50 All-Time Overlooked Jazz Albums from Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums.

Track listing

"Yesterdays" (Otto Harbach/Jerome Kern) - 3.32
"J. And B. Blues" (Joe Livramento) 4:57
"I Surrender, Dear" (Harry Barris, Gordon Clifford) 4:22
"Hard Groove" (Paul Gonsalves) 4:57
"Low Gravy" (Jelly Roll Morton) 7:51
"I Cover the Waterfront" (Johnny Green, Edward Heyman) 4:06
"Gettin' Together" (Babs Gonzales) 4:54
"Walkin"' (Richard Carpenter) 4:45

Personnel

Paul Gonsalves - Tenor saxophone
Nat Adderley - Cornet, except tracks 3, 6 & 8
Wynton Kelly - Piano
Sam Jones - Bass
Jimmy Cobb - Drums

The Modern Jazz Quartet – The Sheriff (1963)

The Sheriff is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded in 1963 and released on the Atlantic label.

Track listing

All compositions by John Lewis, except as indicated

"The Sheriff" - 2:41
"In a Crowd" - 3:05
"Bachianas Brasileiras" (Heitor Villa-Lobos) - 5:44
"Mean to Me" (Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk) - 4:24
"Natural Affection" - 4:08
"Donnie's Theme" - 4:13
"Carnival" (Luiz Bonfá) - 6:06

Personnel

MJQ

Milt Jackson - vibraphone
John Lewis - piano
Percy Heath - bass
Connie Kay - drums

Coleman Hawkins – Sirius (1966)

Sirius is an album by saxophonist Coleman Hawkins recorded in 1966 but not released by the Pablo label until 1974.

Track listing

"The Man I Love" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 5:09
"Don't Blame Me" (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields) – 4:38
"Just a Gigolo" (Leonello Casucci, Irving Caesar) – 2:56
"The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)" (Isham Jones, Gus Kahn) – 3:53
"Time on My Hands" (Vincent Youmans, Harold Adamson, Mack Gordon) – 4:03
"Sweet and Lovely" (Gus Arnheim, Jules LeMare, Harry Tobias) – 4:24
"Exactly Like You" (McHugh, Fields) – 6:52
"Street of Dreams" (Victor Young, Sam M. Lewis) – 4:12
"Sugar" (Maceo Pinkard, Edna Alexander, Sidney Mitchell) – 5:13

Personnel

Coleman Hawkins – tenor saxophone
Barry Harris – piano
Bob Cranshaw – bass
Eddie Locke – drums

Andrew Hill – Spiral (1974)

Spiral is an album by American jazz pianist A ndrew Hill, recorded in late 1974 and early 1975 and released on the Freedom label. The album features six of Hill’s original compositions and one interpretation of a jazz standard performed by a quartet and quintet. Featured players include saxophonist Lee Konitz and trumpeter Ted Curson. The cover incorrectly identifies the album as being recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival when it actually contains studio recordings.

Track listing

All compositions by Andrew Hill except as indicated

"Tomorrow" – 3:30
"Laverne" – 6:00
"The Message" – 6:00
"Invitation" (Bronisław Kaper) – 7:18
"Today" – 4:42
"Spiral" – 9:00
"Quiet Dawn" – 7:15

    Recorded at C.I. Recording Studio, New York City on December 20, 1974 (tracks 2–4, 6) and January 20, 1975 (tracks 1, 5, 7)

Personnel

Andrew Hill – piano
Ted Curson – trumpet, flugelhorn, pocket trumpet (tracks 2–3, 6)
Lee Konitz – soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone (tracks 2–4, 6)
Robin Kenyatta – alto saxophone (tracks 5, 7)
Cecil McBee (tracks 2–3, 6), Stafford James (tracks 1, 5, 7) – bass
Barry Altschul (tracks 1, 5, 7), Art Lewis (tracks 2–3, 6) – drums

The Modern Jazz Quartet – Pyramid (1959)

Pyramid is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded from 1959 to 1960 and released on the Atlantic label.

Track listing

"Vendome" (John Lewis) – 2:30
"Pyramid (Blues for Junior)" (Ray Brown) – 10:46
"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 5:02
"Django" (John Lewis) – 4:36
"How High the Moon" (Nancy Hamilton, Morgan Lewis) – 6:15
"Romaine" (Jim Hall) – 7:28

Personnel

Milt Jackson – vibraphone
John Lewis – piano
Percy Heath – bass
Connie Kay – drums

Ornette Coleman – Free Jazz (1960)

Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation is a studio album by American jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, released in September 1961 by Atlantic Records. The recording session took place on December 21, 1960, at A&R Studios in New York City. The sole out take from the album session, “First Take,” was later released on the 1971 compilation Twins and subsequent CD reissues of Free Jazz. The album is named after the then-nascent free jazz movement.

A1 Free Jazz (Part 1) B1 Free Jazz (Part 2)

Personnel:

Left channel

Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone
Don Cherry – pocket cornet
Scott LaFaro – double bass
Billy Higgins – drums

Right channel

Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
Charlie Haden – double bass
Ed Blackwell – drums

Technical

Tom Dowd – recording engineer
Nesuhi Ertegün – produce
Eric Dolphy – Far Cry (1960)

Far Cry is the third album by jazz musician Eric Dolphy, released in 1962 on New Jazz (a subsidiary of the Prestige label.) Featuring a quintet co-led with trumpeter Booker Little, it is one of the few recordings of their partnership. Pianist Jaki Byard, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Roy Haynes all return from earlier Dolphy albums. This was a busy time for Dolphy- he took part in Ornette Coleman‘s Free Jazz session and recorded this album on the same day, and had participated in the Jazz Abstractions (“John Lewis Presents Contemporary Music: Compositions by Gunther Schuller and Jim Hall”) project the previous day.

Track listing

Side one

"Mrs. Parker of K.C. (Bird's Mother)" (Jaki Byard) – 8:03
"Ode to Charlie Parker" (Byard) – 8:42
"Far Cry" (Eric Dolphy) – 3:55

Side two

"Miss Ann" (Dolphy) – 4:17
"Left Alone" (Billie Holiday, Mal Waldron) – 6:41
"Tenderly" (Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence) – 4:20
"It's Magic" (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) – 5:40

Personnel

Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet on "Mrs. Parker of K.C.," "It's Magic," and "Serene"; flute on "Ode to Charlie Parker" and "Left Alone"; alto sax all other tracks
Booker Little – trumpet on all tracks except "Left Alone", "Tenderly" and "It's Magic"
Jaki Byard – piano on all tracks except "Tenderly"
Ron Carter – bass on all tracks except "Tenderly"
Roy Haynes – drums on all tracks except "Tenderly"

Barry Harris Trio – Preminado (1960)

Personnel:

Bass – Joe Benjamin
Design [Cover] – Ken Deardoff
Drums – Elvin Jones
Engineer [Recording] – Ray Fowler
Liner Notes – Chris Albertson, Orrin Keepnews
Piano – Barry Harris (2)
Producer – Orrin Keepnews

Track List:

A1	My Heart Stood Still	6:31
A2	Preminado	5:30
A3	I Should Care	3:33
A4	There’s No One But You	4:06
Β1	One Down	4:35
Β2	It’s The Talk Of The Town	5:03
Β3	Play, Carol, Play	4:11
Β4	What Is This Thing Called Love?	4:05

John Coltrane Quartet – Ballads (1961)

Ballads is a jazz album by John Coltrane released in January 1963 by Impulse! Records. It was recorded in December 1961 and 1962, and released with catalogue number A-32 (mono) and AS-32 (stereo). Critic Gene Lees stated that the quartet had never played the tunes before. “They arrived with music-store sheet music of the songs” and just before the recordings, they “would discuss each tune, write out copies of the changes they’d use, semi-rehearse for a half hour and then do it”. Each piece was recorded in one take, except for “All or Nothing at All”. In 2008, the album was a recipient of the Grammy Hall of Fame award.

Track listing:

"Say It (Over and Over Again)" (Jimmy McHugh)– 4:18
"You Don't Know What Love Is" (Gene DePaul)– 5:15
"Too Young to Go Steady" (Jimmy McHugh)– 4:23
"All or Nothing at All" (Arthur Altman)– 3:39
"I Wish I Knew" (Harry Warren)– 4:54
"What's New?" (Bob Haggart)– 3:47
"It's Easy to Remember" (Richard Rodgers)– 2:49
"Nancy (With the Laughing Face)" (Jimmy Van Heusen)– 3:10

Personnel

John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
McCoy Tyner – piano
Jimmy Garrison (#1–6, 8), Reggie Workman (#7; Disc 2, #3–14) – bass
Elvin Jones – drums

Lee Morgan – The Sidewinder (1963)

Gunter Hampel – Music From Europe (1966)
Dave Burrell – La Vie de Boheme (1969)

Duke Ellington – The Far East Suite (1966)

Far East Suite is a 1967 concept album by American jazz musician Duke Ellington, inspired by his group’s tour of Asia. Ellington and longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn wrote the compositions.

Strayhorn died in May 1967, making Far East Suite one of the last albums recorded during his life to feature his compositions. The album won the Grammy Award in 1968 for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Large Group or Soloist with Large Group.

Duke Ellington – piano

Mercer Ellington – trumpet, flugelhorn

Herbie Jones – trumpet, flugelhorn

William “Cat” Anderson – trumpet

Cootie Williams – trumpet

Lawrence Brown – trombone

Buster Cooper – trombone

Chuck Connors – bass trombone

Johnny Hodges – alto saxophone

Russell Procope – alto saxophone, clarinet

Jimmy Hamilton – tenor saxophone, clarinet

Paul Gonsalves – tenor saxophone

Harry Carney – baritone saxophone

John Lamb – double bass

Rufus Jones – drums

Recorded: December 19-21, 1966 Studio: RCA Victor’s Studio A, New York City Illustration – MLUDLOW Producer – Brad McKuen A1 Tourist Point Of View 0:00 A2 Bluebird Of Delhi (Mynah) 5:17 A3 Isfahan 8:34 A4 Depk 12:43 A5 Mount Harissa 15:37 B1 Blue Pepper (Far East Of The Blues) 23:22 B2 Agra 26:27 B3 Amad 29:07 B4 Ad Lib On Nippon 33:37

Charlie Haden – The Golden Number (1976)

The Golden Number is an album of four duets by bassist Charlie Haden, recorded in 1976 and released on the Horizon label in 1977. It was the second of Haden’s two duet releases on Horizon, the previous being Closeness (1976). Haden’s duet partners are trumpeter Don Cherry (also playing flute), tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, pianist Hampton Hawes and alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman (here playing trumpet). Hawes died shortly before the album’s release, and Haden dedicated the work to him in the liner notes.

Track listing

All compositions by Charlie Haden except as indicated

“Out of Focus” – 7:27
“Shepp’s Way” – 12:07
“Turnaround” (Ornette Coleman) – 7:52
“Golden Number” – 12:28

Recorded at Kendun Recorders in Burbank, California, on June 7, 1976, (track 1), at Village Recorder in Los Angeles on August 21, 1976, (track 3) and at Generation Sound in New York City on December 19 (track 4) and December 20 (track 2), 1976.

Personnel

Charlie Haden — double bass
Don Cherry — pocket trumpet, flute (track 1)
Archie Shepp — tenor saxophone (track 2)
Hampton Hawes — piano (track 3)
Ornette Coleman — trumpet (track 4)

Kevin Eubanks – Turning Point (1991)

Turning Point is an album by the American musician Kevin Eubanks, released in 1992. Its release coincided with the beginning of his tenure on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The album peaked in the top five on Billboard‘s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.