allmusic nina simone discography compilation

Turrentine had only made his recording debut the previous year but sounds like an assured master here his robust but tender horn pouring out rivers of melody over foot-tapping backbeats powered by the lethal combination of George Tucker’s bass and Al Harewood’s drums. Key track: “Sing Sing Sing” Stanley Turrentine: Up At Minton’s (Blue Note, 1961)įronting a quintet (including guitarist Grant Green and pianist Horace Parlan), tenor saxophonist, Turrentine, gets into an easy-swinging soulful groove on this live collection of jazz standards recorded at a famous Harlem venue in February 1961. And it also swings like crazy – just take a listen to the whirling “Sing Sing Sing” where wild solos are juxtaposed with disciplined ensemble work. It captures a momentous moment at the zenith of the swing era when jazz was finally being recognised as a serious art form. The concert was first issued on double LP in 1950 and was instantly hailed as a classic. Playing in Goodman’s band that night were vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, trumpeter Harry James, and drummer Gene Krupa and there were also cameos by Count Basie, Lester Young, and Johnny Hodges.

One of America’s most hallowed classical music venues, New York’s Carnegie Hall controversially played host to swing king and virtuoso clarinetist Goodman in January 1938, thus giving jazz a newfound sense of both legitimacy and respectability. Propelled by Blakey’s superior sense of swing, the quintet is in inspired form, blasting their way through propulsive uptempo numbers and shimmering on quiet ballads.īenny Goodman: Live At Carnegie Hall (Columbia, 1950)

Art Blakey Quintet: A Night At Birdland (Blue Note, 1954)įamed for his volcanic press roll and swashbuckling polyrhythmic prowess, powerhouse drummer Blakey was at the forefront of a driving, blues-inflected style of jazz known as hard bop, whose origins can be traced back to this scintillating live album recorded in the legendary Big Apple venue dubbed the “Jazz Corner of the World.” Blakey, who went on to lead The Jazz Messengers, fronts an all-star band comprising Horace Silver, trumpeter Clifford Brown (who would perish in a car accident a year later) and alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson. If you’d like to add to your jazz collection, head over to the Jazz Center Stage store today for the latest vinyl, CD and jazz merch. Below, we have selected the 50 best live jazz albums, and while they are not in any particular order, we have featured what we think are some of the greatest examples of jazz played live, records that should be in everyone’s collection.

Allmusic nina simone discography compilation