Tag Archives: 1959

Philly Joe Jones: Showcase

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In December 1959, “Riverside” label released “Showcase”, the third Philly Joe Jones album. It was recorded in November 1959, in New York City, and was produced by Orrin Keepnews.

Personnel:

  • Philly Joe Jones – drums, piano 
  • Blue Mitchell – trumpet 
  • Julian Priester – trombone 
  • Bill Barron – tenor saxophone 
  • Pepper Adams – baritone saxophone 
  • Dolo Coker, Sonny Clark – piano
  • Jimmy Garrison – bass 

Track listing:

All tracks by Philly Joe Jones except where noted.

  1. Battery Blues – Julian Priester
  2. Minor Mode – Bill Barron
  3. Gwen
  4. Joe’s Debut
  5. Gone – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward
  6. Joe’s Delight
  7. Julia – Julian Priester
  8. I’ll Never Be The Same – Gus Kahn, Matty Malneck, Frank Signorelli
  9. Interpretation – Bill Barron

Hank Mobley: Peckin’ Time

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In December 1959, “Blue Note” label released “Peckin’ Time”, the 13th Hank Mobley album. It was recorded in February 1959, at “Van gelder Studio” in Hackensack, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone
  • Lee Morgan – trumpet
  • Wynton Kelly – piano
  • Paul Chambers – bass
  • Charlie Persip – drums

Track listing:

All tracks by Hank Mobley except where noted.

  1. High and Flighty
  2. Speak Low – Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash
  3. Peckin’ Time
  4. Stretchin’ Out
  5. Git-Go Blues

Jimmy Nolen

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On December 18, 1983, Jimmy Nolen died aged 49. He was musician (guitar), known for his distinctive “chicken scratch” guitar playing style. Nolan was member of the Jimmy Wilson band, Johnny Otis band, George “Harmonica” Smith backing band, in 1959 he formed his own band The Jimmy Nolan Band, but was best known as the lead guitarist in James Brown band form 1965 until his dead. In its survey of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” magazine “Mojo” ranks Nolen at number twelve.  

Dinah Washington

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On December 14, 1963, Ruth Lee Jones aka Dinah Washington died aged 39. She was musician (piano) and singer, known as the “the most popular black female recording artist of the ’50s”, and “Queen of the Blues”. Her music was mixture of R&B, and traditional pop, but she was primarily a Jazz singer. She performed and recorded with Fats Waller, Clifford Brown, Clark Terry, Cannonball Adderley, Ben Webster, Lionel Hampton, and Nat King Cole. In 1986, Washington was inducted in the “Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame”, and in 1993 was inducted in the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”. In 1959, she won “Grammy Award” for “Best Rhythm & Blues Performance”. As a leader Washington released 17 albums.

Quincy Jones: The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones

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In December 1959, “Mercury” label released “The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones”, the sixth Quincy Jones album. It was recorded in November 1959, at “Fine Recording” in New York City, and was produced by Qunicy Jones.

Personnel:

  • Quincy Jones – conductor
  • Art Farmer, Lennie Johnson, Jimmy Maxwell, Lee Morgan, Ernie Royal, Nick Travis – trumpet
  • Billy Byers, Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green, Frank Rehak – trombone
  • Julius Watkins – French horn
  • Porter Kilbert, Phil Woods – alto saxophone
  • Budd Johnson – tenor saxophone
  • Jerome Richardson – tenor saxophone, flute, piccolo
  • Sahib Shihab – baritone saxophone
  • Patti Bown – piano
  • Les Spann – guitar, flute
  • Buddy Jones, Buddy Catlett – bass
  • Don Lamond – drums
  • Ralph Burns, Al Cohn, Bill Potts, Ernie Wilkins – arranger

Track listing:

  1. Lester Leaps In – Lester Young
  2. Ghana – Ernie Wilkins
  3. Caravan – Juan Tizol, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills
  4. Everybody’s Blues – Ernie Wilkins
  5. Cherokee (Indian Love Song) – Ray Noble
  6. Air Mail Special – Benny Goodman, Charlie Christian, Jimmy Mundy
  7. They Say It’s Wonderful – Irving Berlin
  8. Chant of the Weed – Don Redman
  9. I Never Has Seen Snow – Harold Arlen, Truman Capote
  10. Eesom – Bill Potts

Ornette Coleman: The Art of the Improvisers

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On November 2, 1970, “Atlantic” label released “The Art of the Improvisers”, the ninth Ornette Coleman album. It was recorded May – October 1959, July 1960, January – March 1961, and was produced by Nesuhi Ertegun.

Personnel:

  • Ornette Coleman — alto and tenor saxophone
  • Don Cherry — pocket trumpet; cornet
  • Charlie Haden — bass
  • Scott LaFaro — bass
  • Jimmy Garrison — bass
  • Billy Higgins — drums
  • Ed Blackwell — drums 

All tracks by Ornette Coleman.

  1. The Circle with a Hole in the Middle
  2. Just for You
  3. The Fifth of Beethoven
  4. The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro
  5. Moon Inhabitants
  6. The Legends of Bebop
  7. Harlem’s Manhattan

Ray Charles: The Genius Of

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In October 1959, “Atlantic” label released “The Genius of Ray Charles”, the seventh Ray Charles album. It was recorded May – June 1959, at “6 West Recording” in New York City, and was produced by Nesuhi Ertegün and Jerry Wexler.

Personnel:

  • Ray Charles – vocals, piano
  • Allen Hanlon – guitar
  • Wendell Marshall – bass guitar
  • Ted Sommer – drums
  • Clark Terry – trumpet
  • Ernie Royal – trumpet
  • Joe Newman – trumpet
  • Snooky Young – trumpet
  • Marcus Belgrave – trumpet
  • John Hunt – trumpet
  • Melba Liston – trombone
  • Quentin Jackson – trombone
  • Thomas Mitchell – trombone
  • Al Grey – trombone
  • Frank Wess – flute
  • Clark Terry – trumpet
  • Ernie Royal – trumpet
  • Joe Newman – trumpet
  • Snooky Young – trumpet
  • Marcus Belgrave – trumpet
  • John Hunt – trumpet
  • Melba Liston – trombone
  • Quentin Jackson – trombone
  • Thomas Mitchell – trombone
  • Al Grey – trombone
  • Bob Brookmeyer – valve trombone
  • Frank Wess – flute, alto and tenor saxophone
  • Marshal Royal – alto saxophone
  • Paul Gonsalves – tenor saxophone
  • Zoot Sims – tenor saxophone
  • Billy Mitchell – tenor saxophone
  • David “Fathead” Newman – tenor saxophone
  • Quincy Jones – arranger, conductor
  • Ernie Wilkins – arrangements
  • Ralph Burns – arrangements
  • Ralph Burns – arrangements
  • Johnny Acea – arrangements
  • Al Cohn – arrangements
  • Harry Lookofsky – concertmaster
  • Bill Schwartau, Tom Dowd – recording
  • Marvin Israel – cover design
  • Lee Friedlander – cover photography
  • Nat Hentoff – sleeve notes

Track listing:

  1. Let the Good Times Roll – Sam Theard, Fleecie Moore
  2. It Had to Be You – Gus Kahn, Isham Jones
  3. Alexander’s Ragtime Band – Irving Berlin
  4. Two Years of Torture – Percy Mayfield, Charles Joseph Morris
  5. When Your Lover Has Gone – Einar Aaron Swan
  6. Deed I Do – Walter Hirsch, Fred Rose
  7. Just for a Thrill – Lil Hardin Armstrong, Don Raye
  8. You Won’t Let Me Go – Bud Allen, Buddy Johnson
  9. Tell Me You’ll Wait for Me – Charles Brown, Oscar Moore
  10. Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin’ – Joe Greene
  11. Am I Blue? – Grant Clarke, Harry Akst
  12. Come Rain or Come Shine – Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen

Ornette Coleman: Twins

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On October 4, 1971, “Atlantic” label released “Twins”, the tenth Ornette Coleman album. It was recorded 1959 – 1961, assembled without Coleman’s input, comprising outtakes from recording sessions of 1959 to 1961 for “The Shape of Jazz to Come”, “This Is Our Music”, “Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation”, and “Ornette!”. Sessions for “Monk and the Nun” took place at “Radio Recorders” in Hollywood, for “First Take” at “A&R Studios” in New York City, and all others at “Atlantic Studios” in Manhattan. The album was produced by Nesuhi Ertegün.

Personnel:

  • Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone
  • Don Cherry – pocket trumpet; cornet
  • Charlie Haden – bass 
  • Scott LaFaro – bass 
  • Billy Higgins – drums 
  • Ed Blackwell – drums 
  • Freddie Hubbard – trumpet 
  • Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet 

Track listing:

All tracks by Ornette Coleman.

  1. First Take
  2. Little Symphony
  3. Monk and the Nun
  4. Check Up
  5. Joy of a Toy

Yusef Lateef: Cry! – Tender

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In August 1960, “New Jazz” label released “Cry! – Tender”, the twelve Yusef Lateef album. It was recorded in October 1957 and in October 1959, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Hackensack, NJ, and “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, and was produced by Esmond Edwards.

Personnel:

  • Yusef Lateef– tenor saxophone, flute, oboe
  • Lonnie Hillyer– trumpet
  • Wilbur Harden– flugelhorn
  • Hugh Lawson– piano
  • Ernie Farrow– bass
  • Herman Wright – bass
  • Frank Gant – drums, percussion
  • Oliver Jackson – drums, percussion

Track listing:

All tracks by Yusef Lateef except where noted.

  1. Seabreeze – Larry Douglas, Fred Norman, Rommie Bearden
  2. Dopolous
  3. Cry! – Tender
  4. Butter’s Blues
  5. Yesterdays – Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern
  6. The Snow Is Green
  7. If You Could See Me Now – Tadd Dameron, Carl Sigman
  8. Ecaps

Walter Davis Jr.: Davis Cup

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In June 1960, “Blue Note” label released “Davis Cup”, the debut Walter Davis Jr. album. It was recorded in August 1959, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Alfred Lion.

Personnel:

  • Walter Davis Jr.– piano
  • Donald Byrd– trumpet
  • Jackie McLean– alto saxophone
  • Sam Jones– bass
  • Art Taylor– drums

 Track listing:

 All tracks by Walter Davis Jr.

  1. ‘Smake It
  2. Loodle-Lot
  3. Sweetness
  4. Rhumba Nhumba
  5. Minor Mind
  6. Millie’s Delight