Various Artists – Great Jazz Selection (2018) [Esoteric Japan Box Set] SACD ISO + FLAC 24bit/96kHz

ESOTERIC Company proudly introduces a new series of Re-mastered Jazz Masterpiece Collection. The reissue of historical music masterpieces by ESOTERIC has attracted a lot of attention, both for its uncompromising commitment to recreating the original master sound, and for using SACD technology to improve sound quality. This Box Set of “Great Jazz Selection” features iconic releases of Wynton Kelly, Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Bud Powell, Lee Morgan & Oscar Peterson. Not only for new followers, but also for well experienced followers of these recorded materials.

Recorded for Riverside, this set mostly features the influential pianist Wynton Kelly in a trio with his fellow rhythm-section mates from the Miles Davis bands, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. “Kelly Blue” and “Keep It Moving” add cornetist Nat Adderley, flutist Bobby Jaspar and the tenor of Benny Golson to the band for some variety. Kelly was renowned as an accompanist, but as he shows on a set including three of his originals and four familiar standards (including “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise” and “Willow Weep for Me”), he was also a strong bop-based soloist too. A fine example of his talents.

Tracklist:

01. Kelly Blue
02. Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
03. On Green Dolphin Street
04. Willow Weep For Me
05. Keep It Moving
06. Old Clothes

Recorded on February 19 (“1, 6 & 7”) and March 10, 1959.

Personnel
Wynton Kelly – piano
Nat Adderley – cornet on
Bobby Jaspar – flute on “1, 6 & 7”
Benny Golson – tenor saxophone on “1, 6 & 7”
Paul Chambers – bass
Jimmy Cobb – drums

Recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1961, shortly before Scott LaFaro’s death, Waltz for Debby is the second album issued from that historic session, and the final one from that legendary trio that also contained drummer Paul Motian. While the Sunday at the Village Vanguard album focused on material where LaFaro soloed prominently, this is far more a portrait of the trio on those dates. Evans chose the material here, and, possibly, in some unconscious way, revealed on these sessions – and the two following LaFaro’s death (Moonbeams and How My Heart Sings!) – a different side of his musical personality that had never been displayed on his earlier solo recordings or during his tenures with Miles Davis and George Russell: Evans was an intensely romantic player, flagrantly emotional, and that is revealed here in spades on tunes such as “My Foolish Heart” and “Detour Ahead.” There is a kind of impressionistic construction to his harmonic architecture that plays off the middle registers and goes deeper into its sonances in order to set into motion numerous melodic fragments simultaneously. The rhythmic intensity that he displayed as a sideman is evident here in “Milestones,” with its muscular shifting time signature and those large, flatted ninths with the right hand. The trio’s most impressive interplay is in “My Romance,” after Evans’ opening moments introducing the changes. Here Motian’s brushwork is delicate, flighty and elegant, and LaFaro controls the dynamic of the tune with his light as a feather pizzicato work and makes Evans’ deeply emotional statements swing effortlessly. Of the many recordings Evans issued, the two Vanguard dates and Explorations are the ultimate expressions of his legendary trio.

Tracklist:

01. My Foolish Heart
02. Waltz For Debby
03. Detour Ahead
04. My Romance
05. Some Other Time
06. Milestones

Recorded on June 25, 1961 at Village Vanguard, New York City.

Personnel
Bill Evans – piano
Scott LaFaro – bass
Paul Motian – drums

On this sizzling live date, guitar great Wes Montgomery is joined by the Wynton Kelly Trio (Wynton Kelly/piano, Paul Chambers/bass and Jimmy Cobb/drums) and the under-rated Johnny Griffin on sax who absolutely tears up this set. Kelly, always a tasteful player, demonstrates his delicate touch while soloing or in support; you could focus your total listening attention on him through the length of the album as he populates the tunes with colourful details. Chambers, who is captured here with great fidelity, takes the opening solo on ‘Cariba’ and is nothing less than captivating. On the steam-rolling ‘S.O.S.’ Johnny Griffin and Wes Montgomery share front-line duties and sparks fly. Griffith’s solo is acrobatic and thrilling which inspires a scintillating turn from Montgomery. The unaccompanied version of ‘I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face”, all creamy surfaces and finesse, is mesmerising, sharing his infectious joy of discovery with the enraptured audience. Throughout the entire album his virtuosity seems effortless, which is why he has been so loved through the decades to the present day.

Tracklist:

01. Full House
02. I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face
03. Blue ‘N’ Boogie
04. Cariba
05. Come Rain Or Come Shine
06. S.O.S.

Recorded on June 25, 1962 at Tsubo, Berkeley, California.

Personnel
Wes Montgomery – guitar
Johnny Griffin – tenor sax
Wynton Kelly – piano
Paul Chambers – bass
Jimmy Cobb – drums

This 1959 release features influential jazz pianist Bud Powell and his great trio, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums; each musician is given plenty of opportunity to showcase his formidable talents. All the material here consists of Powell originals, including the eight-minute highlight Comin’ Up.

Tracklist:

01. Cleopatra’s Dream
02. Duid Deed
03. Down With It
04. Danceland
05. Borderick
06. Crossin’ The Channel
07. Comin’ Up
08. Gettin’ There
09. The Scene Changes

Recorded on December 29, 1958 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey.

Personnel
Bud Powell – piano
Paul Chambers – bass
Art Taylor – drums

Carried by its almost impossibly infectious eponymous opening track, The Sidewinder helped foreshadow the sounds of boogaloo and soul-jazz with its healthy R&B influence and Latin tinge. While the rest of the album retreats to a more conventional hard bop sound, Morgan’s compositions are forward-thinking and universally solid. Only 25 at the time of its release, Morgan was accomplished (and perhaps cocky) enough to speak of mentoring the great Joe Henderson, who at 26 was just beginning to play dates with Blue Note after getting out of the military. Henderson makes a major contribution to the album, especially on “Totem Pole,” where his solos showed off his singular style, threatening to upstage Morgan, who is also fairly impressive here. Barry Harris, Bob Cranshaw, and Billy Higgins are all in good form throughout the album as well, and the group works together seamlessly to create an album that crackles with energy while maintaining a stylish flow.

Tracklist:

01. The Sidewinder
02. Totem Pole
03. Gary’s Notebook
04. Boy, What A Night
05. Hocus-Pocus

Recorded on December 21, 1963 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Personnel
Lee Morgan – trumpet
Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
Barry Harris – piano
Bob Cranshaw – bass
Billy Higgins – drums

Pianist Oscar Peterson has long been such a consistent performer that none of his records are throwaways, but this particular set is weaker than most. Since several of the songs are the type that in the mid-’60s would get requested (such as “People,” “The Girl from Ipanema,” and “The Days of Wine and Roses”), the program would not seem to have much potential, but Peterson mostly uplifts the material (although not much could be done with “People”) and adds a few songs (such as his own “Goodbye, J.D.” and John Lewis’ “D & E”). Overall, this is a reasonably enjoyable Oscar Peterson session, featuring bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen.

Tracklist:

01. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)
02. The Days Of Wine And Roses
03. My One And Only Love
04. People
05. Have You Met Miss Jones?
06. You Look Good To Me
07. The Girl From Ipanema
08. D. & E.
09. Time And Again
10. Goodbye J.D.

Recorded at RCA Studios, NYC over October 19 (tracks 1,5,7), October 20 (tracks 2,3,4,6,8,9) and November 19 or 20 (10).

Personnel
Oscar Peterson – piano
Ray Brown – double bass
Ed Thigpen – drums

ESOTERIC equipment used for re-mastering:
The criterion of re-mastering is to faithfully capture the quality of the original master. ESOTERIC’s flag ship D/A converters, model D-01VU, Rubidium master clock generator model G-0Rb and ESOTERIC MEXCEL interconnect cables and power cords, were all used for this re-mastering session. This combination of highly advanced technology greatly contributed to capturing the high quality sound of the original master.

Re-Issue Produced by Motoaki Ohmachi (ESOTERIC COMPANY)
Mastering Engineer: Kazuie Sugimoto (JVC Mastering Center)

Disc 1: Wynton Kelly – Kelly Blue (1959/2018)

ISO

GreatJazzSelection_ISO_ESSO90173WyntonKellyKellyBlue1959.part1.rar
GreatJazzSelection_ISO_ESSO90173WyntonKellyKellyBlue1959.part2.rar

FLAC

GreatJazzSelection_FLAC_ESSO90173WyntonKellyKellyBlue1959.part1.rar
GreatJazzSelection_FLAC_ESSO90173WyntonKellyKellyBlue1959.part2.rar

Disc 2: Bill Evans Trio – Waltz For Debby (1962/2018)

ISO

GreatJazzSelection_ISO_ESSO90174BillEvansTrioWaltzForDebby1962.part1.rar
GreatJazzSelection_ISO_ESSO90174BillEvansTrioWaltzForDebby1962.part2.rar

FLAC

GreatJazzSelection_FLAC_ESSO90174BillEvansTrioWaltzForDebby1962.rar

Disc 3: Wes Montgomery – Full House (1962/2018)

ISO