This recording brings back an obscure session from the long defunct Andex label that was probably recorded around 1956. The emphasis is on Latin jazz with altoist Art Pepper, trumpeter Conte Candoli, tenor saxophonist Bill Perkins, pianist Russ Freeman, bassist Ben Tucker, and drummer Chuck Flores interacting with the percussion of Jack Costanza and Mike Pacheko. With arrangements by Bill Holman, Johnny Mandel, Benny Carter, and Pepper, the music is quite jazz-oriented if a touch lightweight. Worth investigating by fans of the idiom.

Altoist Art Pepper, in the midst of a successful comeback, recorded this excellent set (also included in full in his massive Galaxy box set) for Galaxy. With pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Roy Haynes, Pepper performs a definitive version of his intense ballad "Patricia"; other highlights include "Miss Who," "Lover Come Back to Me" and "Chris' Blues." The CD reissue also has a second alternate version of "These Foolish Things".

Sal Salvador pays tributes to the jazz greats of his time - Charlie Parker, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, and others - but also serves things up at a level that's very much his own bag too! The album's got a spare, stripped-down groove that really suits Salvador's guitar well - giving Sal plenty of room to craft these round, warm lines that are full of color and tonal depth - often with a sense of rhythm that makes things groove, even when moving slowly. The group has just the right sort of balance to fit the mood that Sal's going for - with Eddie Costa on piano and vibes, Frank Dallas on bass, and Ronnie Free on drums. Titles include "Manteca", "Ruby My Dear", "Yardbird Suite", "Cool Eyes", "Taps Miller", and "Solos For Guitar".

A versatile guitarist and onetime head of the guitar department at the University of Bridgeport, Sal Salvador was a capable soloist and accompanist whose single-string style, shaped by his early interest in the music of Charlie Christian, was augmented by extensive studies of guitar technique. Salvador's years of research, playing, and analysis eventually led to his writing guitar methodology books, among them Sal Salvador's Chord Method for Guitar and Sal Salvador's Single String Studies for Guitar in the '50s and '60s. He became interested in jazz during his teens, and began playing professionally in Springfield, MA, in 1945. He worked with Terry Gibbs and Mundell Lowe in New York at the end of the '40s, then joined Stan Kenton's orchestra in 1952. Salvador worked with Kenton until the end of 1953, and appeared on the New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm album…

Although Miles Davis did not live to participate in Gerry Mulligan's reunion recordings featuring the nonet that played on the famous late-'40s and early-'50s cool sessions, he participated in a reunion concert held at Montreux in 1991. This featured both the Gil Evans Orchestra and George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, plus additional guests Benny Bailey, Grady Tate, Carlos Benavent and various European players teaming with a gravely ill Davis to perform Gil Evans' marvelous arrangements. Quincy Jones conducted and conceived the idea of using two orchestras, offering majestic surroundings for the solos of Davis, fellow trumpeter Wallace Roney and alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett. Not every moment is golden, but the overall session ranks just a bit below the majestic '50s and '60s dates featuring Davis' trumpet and Evans' arrangements.

A great early session from a vastly underrated guitarist - the great Sal Salvador, a heck of a single note player with a really wonderful sound. The session's a small group one, and features Salvador on both guitar and a bit of vibes - working with players that include Eddie Costa, Jimmy Campbell, and Jimmy Gannon. The tunes are nothing fancy, but do have a slightly off-kilter feel that we really appreciate - with just the right touches of modern to keep things from being in that sleepier camp of 50s guitar jazz.

Forty years after his classic quartet's first triumphant tour of the U.K. in 1958, Dave Brubeck took his then current group back for an anniversary visit, playing a mixed bag of old and new songs for fans both old and new. This time out, Brubeck's working quartet included two British natives, drummer Randy Jones and bassist Alec Dankworth (the son of British jazz superstars Cleo Laine and John Dankworth). Brubeck himself was the obvious draw for the crowds, but it's saxman Bobby Militello who is truly the musical star of the show. The highly regarded Militello shows he can roam across the entire spectrum of alto saxophone tonality, employing a light, delicate tone à la Paul Desmond one minute, then bearing down for some gritty, deep-throated improvisations the next. Brubeck's unmistakable pianism remains as identifiable as ever, comping and soloing with the same energy he undoubtedly had 40 years earlier…

Guitarist Sal Salvador made few albums as a leader during his day - but all of them are a treat, especially this one! The set's a mid 50s outing that features Sal's guitar in a quartet with Eddie Costa on piano and vibes - and grooving in a lightly swinging style that has some traces of east coast chamber jazz of the time, but which also displays Salvador's unique fascination with tone, sound, shape, and color! Salvador has a way of approaching the electric guitar that's like few other players in jazz - sometimes coming on full swing, other times laying back and letting the strings and their sounds shape the progression of tunes on the set.

Although tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon seemed to have been largely forgotten in the U.S. during his long residence in Europe, he was playing in prime form during the period and made occasional trips back to America. On this CD reissue, Gordon teams up with pianist Wynton Kelly (one of his last recordings), bassist Sam Jones and drummer Roy Brooks for an obscure original ("Evergreenish"), "The Jumpin' Blues," the veteran ballad "For Sentimental Reasons" and three songs that were long a part of Gordon's repertoire: "Star Eyes," "Rhythm-A-Ning" and "If You Could See Me Now." Dexter Gordon is in fine form on the excellent straightahead bop set.

Drummer Kenny Clarke became a fixture on the Paris jazz scene after moving there in 1956. One of his best records from his early days abroad, originally released by Phillips, is finally available on CD as a part of Verve's Jazz in Paris reissue series. With superb arrangements by Andre Hodeir, and a rotating cast of musicians over three separate recording sessions, the drummer sticks to providing brushwork behind the scenes. "Bemsha Swing," jointly written by Clarke with Thelonious Monk, centers around Martial Solal's playful solo, while the brass and reeds seem to be coming at each other from all angles in Monk's "Eronel." Hodeir's composition "Oblique" sounds like something that would have fit in perfectly as part of the repertoire of the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool sessions, a period which Hodeir explores with his chart of Gerry Mulligan's "Jeru," in which the improvisations are actually written out…

In January 1956, veteran tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins recorded a dozen songs, eight with a string orchestra and four accompanied by a big band, all arranged by Billy Byers. Hawkins is the main soloist throughout, and he was still very much in his prime 33 years after he first joined Fletcher Henderson's orchestra; in fact, the upcoming year of 1957 would be one of his finest. However, Byers' arrangements are more functional than inspired, and some of these selections are more easy listening than they are swinging. Still, there are some strong moments (particularly on "The Bean Stalks Again" and "His Very Own Blues") and, although not classic, this is a pleasing release.

While the comparisons to Charlie Parker were inevitable throughout a good part of his career, Sonny Stitt was very much his own man. He is in top form throughout this 1957 session made for Verve, featuring a very young Bobby Timmons on piano, bassist Edgar Willis, and drummer Kenny Dennis. Alternating between alto and tenor saxophone in a program consisting mostly of standards, Stitt is equally at home on each horn. His soulful tenor shines in "Easy Living," while the loping "Autumn in New York" showcases his exuberant alto. Timmons, who had just made his recording debut as a sideman with Kenny Burrell the previous year, hints at his potential with a blues-drenched solo in "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To." One of Stitt's best recordings at this point in his career.