My First Official Podcast: Donald Byrd, Cannonball Adderley and Thelonious Monk

This here is my "official" first Podomatic podcast. I will feature three sets of three CD Albums. The First set is on Donald Byrd's CD Album "Off to the Races": Detroit was producing a lot more than cars in the 1950s: the city was a breeding ground for an impressive number of hard bop giants. Two of the most dynamic instrumentalists to trek eastward from Motown to the Big Apple were trumpeter Donald Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, leader and featured sideman respectively on Off To The Races. Off To The Races, Byrd's first recording for Blue Note as a leader and the first in a series of fruitful collaborations between the trumpeter and Adams, is a sympathetic collaboration of musical soul mates. The background they share—cutting their teeth at Detroit's famed Blue Bird Inn in the early 1950s—allows them to play together in perfect simpatico. The addition of alto saxophone giant Jackie McLean creates a competitive atmosphere, albeit a healthy one, reminiscent of an old time cutting session where boundaries of individual prowess are stretched to new limits. Adams possesses an unstoppable drive. His shoot first, ask questions later approach to the baritone was unmatched at the time. It's not surprising that Adams honed his craft in the concrete laden, industrial jungle of Detroit. His dry tone and hard edged sound is the antithesis to the softer, floating—and more popular—style of Gerry Mulligan. He is at his best on blazing tempos; his dizzying lines on the opening track, "Lover Come Back To Me and the title cut are absolutely breathtaking. ....Read More  My Second set is Cannonball Adderley's CD Album "Verve Jazz Masters 31": Julian "Cannonball" Adderley didn't spend long at Verve Records, but his releases there, highlighted by the outstanding JULIAN CANNONBALL ADDERLEY AND STRINGS and JUMP FOR JOY albums, are among his very best. This compilation covers the highlights of Adderley's tenure with Verve, focusing on lush versions of such standards as "What's New," "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to," and "The Way You Look Tonight."The alto saxophonist had a remarkable facility for ballads, and his versions of these classics are among the best. Elsewhere, Adderley pulls off a sassy take on Duke Ellington's "I Got it Bad (and that Ain't Good)" and a staggeringly complex reading of Thelonious Monk's bop workout "Straight, No Chaser." Adderley's originals more than hold their own in such exalted company. True fans will want the albums themselves, but this compilation is a wonderful introduction....Read More My Third and final set is Thelonious Monk's "The Essential Theloneous Monk": Calling an album "The Essential Thelonious Monk" is a bit misleading, especially since all the material comes from one label: Columbia. Nonetheless, this may arguably be the essential Thelonious Monk material on the label. There are 11 selections here, all recorded between 1962-1968, the period of Monk's tenure with the label. Produced for reissues by the estimable Didier C. Deutsch, Monk's essentials include recordings from all of his settings with the label: solo (the album opens with the stunning rendition of "'Round Midnight" from the Monk Alone album), followed by a live quartet outing of "Bemsha Swing" and a "Blue Monk" from the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival featuring Pee Wee Russell on clarinet. Also included are the various rhythm sections Monk employed, beginning with Charlie Rouse. There's "Rhythm-A-Ning" with John Ore and Frankie Dunlop, "Blue Monk" with Butch Warren and Dunlop, and Larry Gales and Ben Riley on "Misterioso," "Epistrophy," "Straight No Chaser," and "Well You Needn't." Monk's big band is also represented here on "Brilliant Corners," whose members included....Read More