Verve.
Voices, organ and bossa nova.

Piano1964

The “+ One” in the title sounds like a modest addition. Yet Clark Terry brings more than an extra instrument to Oscar Peterson’s trio.

Have a listen “Mumbles” – shows Clark Terry in a different role, not only on trumpet.

Piano

Trio ’64 introduces a Bill Evans group with Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian on drums, and the freshness of that configuration is audible from the beginning.

Have a listen “Little Lulu” – an unexpected popular melody in which Bill Evans discovers graceful momentum.

Piano1965

Trio ’65 finds Bill Evans revisiting material associated with his repertoire alongside bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Larry Bunker.

Have a listen “Israel” – John Carisi’s angular theme, which the trio lets breathe through flexible time.

Hammond organ1964

Jimmy Smith’s The Cat places the Hammond organ alongside a substantial brass ensemble.

Have a listen “The Cat” – the title piece – Lalo Schifrin received the Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition for it.

Voices1960

Ella Fitzgerald and a piano: this album needs no larger ensemble to bring thirteen songs into a shared musical space.

Have a listen “Black Coffee” – opens side one: just Ella’s voice and Paul Smith’s piano.

Saxophone1957

Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster is a meeting between two tenor saxophonists who helped establish the instrument as one of jazz’s great speaking voices.

Have a listen “Blues for Yolande” – a relaxed blues theme that gives each tenor room without competition.

Piano

Very Tall joins Oscar Peterson’s trio with Milt Jackson, creating a quartet in which two virtuosos choose dialogue over display.

Have a listen “Heartstrings” – Milt Jackson’s ballad; Oscar Peterson accompanies without crowding.

Saxophone1964

Stan Getz and Bill Evans made these recordings on May 5 and 6, 1964. The material reached listeners as an album roughly a decade later, which explains the historical subtitle Previously Unreleased Recordings .

Have a listen “Funkallero” – Bill Evans’ own piece, from the 6 May 1964 session with Ron Carter on bass.

Saxophone1957 · Mono

On 15 October 1957, Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Stan Levey came together in Los Angeles for a session supervised by Norman Granz.

Have a listen “Soulville” – Webster’s own piece opens side one – one of just two of his compositions beside five standards.

Guitar1965

Kenny Burrell’s Guitar Forms announces its idea in its title. The guitar appears in several different settings: in front of an orchestra, within a small group and entirely on its own.

Have a listen “Lotus Land” – around nine and a half minutes of guitar with Gil Evans’ orchestra.

Voices1999 · 2 LPs

With When I Look In Your Eyes , Diana Krall broadened the setting of her music in 1999.

Have a listen “Let’s Fall In Love” – with Larry Bunker on vibraphone.

Voices1957 · Mono

Los Angeles, January 1957: Billie Holiday records at Capitol Tower with a small group of experienced musicians.

Have a listen “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” – one of three Gershwin songs on the record.

Saxophone1958

New York, April 5, 1958: Johnny Hodges records the nine selections for Blues A-Plenty .

Have a listen “Reeling And Rocking” – the extended close of side two, with trumpet, trombone and tenor saxophone.

Saxophone1959

Two saxophones in conversation Los Angeles, November and December 1959: Gerry Mulligan and Ben Webster meet for two quintet sessions.

Saxophone1967

In March 1967, Stan Getz records with Chick Corea, Ron Carter and Grady Tate at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs.

Have a listen “Litha” – Chick Corea’s piece opens the album, and his “Windows” closes it.

Voices2 LPs

All for You is Diana Krall’s tribute to the Nat King Cole Trio, but it succeeds by adopting the trio’s instrumental logic rather than imitating Cole’s voice.

Have a listen “I’m an Errand Girl for Rhythm” – a playful opener with Diana Krall as both vocalist and pianist.

Bossa nova1964

The world around Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto changed quickly in 1964.

Have a listen “Summertime” – gives the instrumental partnership considerable room.

Voices1957

Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson brings two instantly recognisable musicians together without turning the session into a contest.

Have a listen “That Old Feeling” – Armstrong sings the melody before the trumpet says it another way.

Bossa nova1964

Getz/Gilberto is built on quiet assurance. João Gilberto’s guitar establishes the rhythmic grammar with the lightest possible touch, Antônio Carlos Jobim’s piano colours the harmony, and Stan Getz lets the tenor enter as a lyrical visitor rather than a dominant voice.

Have a listen “The Girl from Ipanema” – Astrud Gilberto’s unadorned vocal gives the English verse its character.

Voices1960

Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas succeeds because Ella Fitzgerald treats seasonal standards as songs with rhythmic possibilities, not ceremonial obligations.

Have a listen “Jingle Bells” – a brisk pace, and Ella’s diction stays effortless.

Voices1957

Ella & Louis Again returns Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong to a musical partnership built on contrast, trust and delight.

Have a listen “Don’t Be That Way” – Ella shapes the melody, Armstrong answers in his gravelled voice.

Voices1956

Ella and Louis brings Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong together with the Oscar Peterson Trio and drummer Buddy Rich.

Have a listen “Can’t We Be Friends?” – opens the album as a gently comic disagreement between the two.

Saxophone1957/58

“Confrères” means colleagues or fellow members of a profession. It is an appropriate title for an album that places Coleman Hawkins among musicians from Norman Granz’s circle.

Have a listen “Honey Flower” – almost nine minutes, written by Coleman Hawkins himself.

Piano

At Town Hall Vol. 1 places Bill Evans, Chuck Israels and Arnold Wise before a New York concert audience, then gives its emotional centre to Evans alone.

Have a listen “Turn Out the Stars” – the first recording of this Evans piece, heard inside his personal suite.

Saxophone1956 · Mono

Illinois Jacquet was nineteen when his tenor solo on Lionel Hampton’s “Flying Home” became a signature performance in 1942.

Have a listen “Las Vegas Blues” – the opener, written by Roy Eldridge.

Piano1963

Night Train captures the Oscar Peterson Trio in a form that is concise, welcoming and rich in detail.

Have a listen “Hymn to Freedom” – the closer: gospel-inflected harmony, one of Oscar Peterson’s defining compositions.

Piano1964

We Get Requests presents the Oscar Peterson Trio in a programme of popular songs and jazz standards, yet nothing about the playing feels routine.

Have a listen “You Look Good to Me” – begins with spacious textures before gathering swing and weight.

Guitar1965

Smokin’ at the Half Note brings Wes Montgomery into the working rhythm section of pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb.

Have a listen “Unit 7” – a memorable Sam Jones line and a long arc of improvisation.

Bossa nova1962

Jazz Samba captures the moment when Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd found a natural meeting point between cool-toned jazz improvisation and Brazilian rhythm.

Have a listen “Desafinado” – Charlie Byrd’s guitar sets the pattern, then Stan Getz enters.

Voices1957

Songs for Distingué Lovers surrounds Billie Holiday with musicians who understand that her phrasing creates its own time.

Have a listen “One for My Baby” – a late-night barroom scene, carried by Billie Holiday’s slight delays.

Piano1962

Affinity invites a simple question: what happens to a melody when three musicians know one another’s movements well enough to leave each other space?

Have a listen “Waltz for Debby” – Bill Evans’ piece opens the record – which qualities belong to the composition, and which arise from this trio’s treatment?

Voices

Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! places Ella Fitzgerald before a compact jazz group and lets rhythm, diction and melodic invention lead the arrangements.

Have a listen “A Night in Tunisia” – a bebop theme that Ella turns into a vocal performance.

Hammond organ1962

Bashin': The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith began Smith's Verve album career in 1962.

Have a listen “Walk On The Wild Side” – the opener with Oliver Nelson’s big band; on side two Smith plays in a trio.

Hammond organ1965

Jimmy Smith has just two partners on Organ Grinder Swing : Kenny Burrell on guitar and Grady Tate on drums.

Have a listen “Oh No Babe” – Jimmy Smith’s own piece, over nine minutes long.