Duke Ellington surprised the jazz world in 1962 with his historic trio session featuring Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Not in a mood to simply rework older compositions, the bulk of the LP focused on music he wrote specifically for the session. "Money Jungle" is a thunderous opener, a blues that might be classified somewhere between post-bop and avant-garde. The gem of the date is the fragile, somewhat haunting ballad "Fleurette Africaine," where Mingus' floating bassline and Roach's understated drumming add to the mystique of an Ellington work that has slowly been gathering steam among jazz musicians as a piece worth exploring more often. "Very Special" is a jaunty upbeat blues, while the angular, descending line of "Wig Wise" also proves to be quite catchy. Ellington also revisits "Warm Valley" (a lovely ballad indelibly associated with Johnny Hodges) and an almost meditative "Solitude." Thunderous percussion and wild basslines complement a wilder-than-usual approach to "Caravan." Every jazz fan should own a copy of this sensational recording session.

(by Ken Dryden, All Music Guide)

On this live LP, Henske, as she would throughout most of her career, eludes easy categorization. There's barrelhouse blues with a touch of Broadway belting, there's Dixielandish jazz, there are folk standards, and there's plenty of standup comedy between the songs. The husky, almost raunchy voice makes most of this worth hearing; one is tempted to describe her as one of the great White blues singers, except that there's a theatrical quality to much of her delivery that originates from pop traditions. She's at her best when she eschews the jivey jazz for a more straight folk-blues approach (on "Wade in the Water," "I Know You Rider," and "Love Henry").

(by Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide)

Those who find Coltrane’s music challenging should give this cool gem a spin. It finds the saxophonist in a reposeful mood, offering fairly laidback late-night renditions of eight jazz standards, including Gene DePaul’s ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is’. Ballads features the same musicians (Tyner, Garrison and Jones) that served up A Love Supreme, but the music is more reflective and less intense. Even so, it’s still a classic Coltrane opus dominated by a distinctive probing saxophone sound. If A Love Supreme is a step too far for those looking to buy John Coltrane for the first time, then Ballads is much more palatable.

(www.udiscovermusic.com)

Drummer Chico Hamilton's debut on Impulse featured his fifth Quintet, an advanced hard bop unit that sometimes hinted a little at the avant-garde. Instead of the trademark cello, the band featured trombonist George Bohanon. With Charles Lloyd (doubling on tenor and flute), guitarist Gabor Szabo and bassist Albert Stinson all contributing fresh new voices, this was a major band.

(by Scott Yanow, All Music Guide)

Tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson's debut as a leader is a particularly strong and historic effort. With major contributions made by trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Pete La Roca, Henderson (who already had a strikingly original sound and a viable inside/outside style) performs six generally memorable compositions on this CD reissue. Highlights include the original versions of Dorham's "Blue Bossa" and Henderson's "Recorda Me." It's highly recommended.

(by Scott Yanow, All Music Guide)

The second of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's two Impulse albums features the 25-year old in three separate settings. He is heard along with tenor-saxophonist backed by with strings ("Skylark," "I Got It Bad" and "Chocolate Shake" are all given beautiful treatments), with a 16-piece band and in a septet with Eric Dolphy and Wayne Shorter. This well-rounded and highly recommended showcase shows why Freddie Hubbard was considered the top trumpeter to emerge during the early '60s.

(by Mark Deming, All Music Guide)

At age 25, Freddie Hubbard made inroads into modern jazz most trumpeters could not imagine, much less come through with. As a soloist, one of Hubbard's crowning achievements in his early period was this recording on which he teamed with Wayne Shorter, marginally as a performer but prominent in the role of arranger/conductor for his first time ever. Utilizing a septet, 16-piece big band, and orchestra plus stings to play concise, tight tunes, Shorter provides the backdrop to employ Hubbard's bold toned trumpet and all of its devices in a full display of his powerful melodic talents. Yeoman Reggie Workman plays bass on all selections, with drummer Louis Hayes in the seven-piece combo, and great work from Philly Joe Jones in the larger bands. Interestingly enough, the three tracks with the smaller ensemble are the most interesting, due to the presence of Eric Dolphy, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, and Shorter on the front line. "Clarence's Place" is a post-bop jewel with spiky brass accents and Dolphy's ribald and outre alto sax solo contrasting Shorter's relatively reserved tenor, "Dedicated to You" is a wisp of a tune, while "Body & Soul," an atypical choice for the opening selection, is a straight read of the classic ballad with a chart that sounds larger than the small horn section, and a wavering flute via Dolphy. The big band does an unusual soul-jazz treatment of the Brazilian number "Manha de Carnaval" flavored by Robert Northern's French horn, while "Aries" is a hard bop show stopper with two-note accents buoying Hubbard's great lyrical lines, and goes further into hard bop with "Thermo" as the horns demand attention with the trumpeter as an afterthought. The string section, ten pieces strong, joins the big band on the film noir type Duke Ellington piece "Chocolate Shake," the stock "I Got It Bad," and "Skylark," with its soft clarion intro bubbling underneath with the violins, violas, and cellos. The manner in which this recording is programmed is thoughtful in that it lends to the diversity of the project, but is seamless from track to track. Dan Morgenstern's hefty liner notes also explain the concept behind this ambitious project, one which did not compare to any of Hubbard's other recordings in his career. Therefore it stands alone as one of the most unique productions in his substantive discography, and a quite credible initial go-round for Shorter as an orchestrator. collapse

(by Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide)

The poet/performer Vinicius de Moraes and the vocalist Odette Lara make a wonderful team, and though their voices aren't heard together as much as they should be here, Vinicius & Odette Lara is a warm, inviting collection. The dozen songs are all originals — by de Moraes and old friend Baden Powell, who also appears as a musician — and usually present Lara and de Moraes trading lines, or Lara taking the verses while de Moraes handles choruses. The breathtaking "Samba Preludio" is one of the few actual duets; after a preface featuring a mournful de Moraes over a sawing cello, Lara sings a few lines alone as well before the pair's voices intertwine (even while they sing different lines). Moacyr Santos' arrangements range from Brazilian bossa to string orchestra pop to anthemic soul-jazz, with plenty of trumpet and flute as well as a warm cocktail piano and the usual sewing machine bossa percussion. On "Deve se Amor," playful reeds and high-note trumpet accent a smooth, powerful vocal by Lara. It's a bit disconcerting to hear a Brazilian vocal album without recognizing at least one standard, but Vinicius & Odette Lara is a challenging, entertaining work of jazzy Brazilian pop.

(by John Bush, All Music Guide)

It was a different century, a different world. In 1963, a poet and an actress could open a label (hat a responsibility!), singing song from a rand-new partnership, with arrangements from a complete stranger, and create a classic. The poet was Vinicius de Moraes, and the actress was Odette Lara, veterans of thousand musical nights. The new partnership was Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes, with born standards like Deixa, Astronauta and Berimbau. The arranger was none other than Moacir Santos. The Label was Elenco. Today we know that it couldn't have gone wrong.

(Ruy Castro, liner notes)