Written by Claude Lemaire
Preamble:
Welcome to this brand new multi-part series. In it I will feature select gems from my more or less 12 000 and ever-growing vinyl collection. The latter started more than four-and-a-half decades ago, including some from my long-time music enthusiast, conspirator, and vinyl hunter. The selections will represent precious singles or albums in my musical journey. In order to cover a vast number of them I will not go into much detail regarding the record's history nor its sound quality–for those aspects you will be better served viewing my Top 500 SuperSonic List.
Records will be presented in chronological order based either on their recording date or original release date, and not reissue date–which means for example that Miles Davis' iconic Kind of Blue album will be featured only once in 1959 despite its many remasterings and repressings throughout the years. Record coordinates will be that of the original pressing, sometimes followed by a remastering/pressing coordinate to indicate when I prefer the latter to the original pressing. You can decide which pressing version better suits your sonic preferences and budget for there are often vast differences in sound, value, and price. Don't expect the typical "Most important albums of all time" list but rather view it as a guided tour of my collection, sometimes accompanied by an anecdote or two. Let's begin, shall we?
Note: All pressings are considered US unless specified otherwise. If 'mono' is not indicated, then stereo is implied or the de facto choice.
1- Charlie Parker – Charlie Parker Memorial. Savoy Records – MG-12000 (mono) (1955), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, bebop.
2- Charlie Parker – The Immortal Charlie Parker. Savoy Records – MG-12001 (mono) (1955), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, bebop.
3- Charlie Parker – Charlie Parker Memorial Vol. 2. Savoy Records – MG-12009 (mono) (1955), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, bebop.
4- Charlie Parker – The Genius Of Charlie Parker. Savoy Records – MG-12014 (mono) (1955), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, bebop.
Here are perfect examples of Parker and bebop at their very best. Originally recorded between 1945 and 1948, and cut on 10-inch 78 rpms when this new jazz style took over from big band swing. "Bird" is accompanied at times by Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud Powell, John Lewis, and a young trumpet player named Miles Davis–still not signed to any major. Many of the tracks are repeated with alternate takes, so unless you are a completist, you can easily make do with one or two of these four albums which came out in 1955. I love bebop but because in part of the 1942-1944 musicians' strike, it is one of the rarest jazz styles to find on record. As luck would have it, I was browsing through LPs at Disquivel located on Boulevard Saint-Laurent in the mid-1990s when the store owner went upstairs and came back down with two of the four Parker LPs, cover and vinyl in mint condition, offering me them for forty bucks a piece. Of course I couldn't resist, and found the remaining two, just slightly lower priced years later at a record convention in Montreal. All my copies are Canadian first presses distributed by London Records. The sound is fairly good, though limited in range and forward in the mids.
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5- Miles Davis – Birth of the Cool. Capitol Records – T-762 (mono) (1957, Feb.), Classic Records – T-762 (2003), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: cool jazz.
Miles Davis is probably jazz' most important innovator, constantly evolving, and changing the course of jazz many times over. Having cut his teeth by Parker's side, he soon realized that he couldn't compete or keep pace with "Bird" nor Dizzy, and that his playing style would feel more natural in a slower, cooler, and sparse manner than bebop's busy nature. Spearheaded by arranger, composer, band leader, and pianist Gil Evans, the nonet–made up of an assortment of jazz' who's who–crafted a collection of eleven tracks recorded in three sessions between January 1949 and March 1950; effectively launching the cool jazz countermovement and subsequent West Coast subset. Capitol compiled these tracks for LP release in 1957. By including tuba, French horn, and baritone sax to the typical instrumentation fare, there is a definite European-classical influence, as opposed to relying on the more traditional pillars of blues and swing people came to expect. This was probably my first forays into Miles' music but far from the last. Contrary to the Parker LPs above, I was not as fortunate timewise. In fact, I missed my shot of snatching an original "turquoise" pressing, when back in the 1990s or so, a vinyl hunter competitor beat me to the chase by barely a few minutes at Montreal's Primitive record store situated on rue Saint-Denis; the new owner dangling his prize in front of my eyes, so I punched him (of course I didn't, but I wanted to). In 2003, I got the Classic Records reissue cut by Bernie Grundman which varies from good to excellent, tending towards a warm tonality.
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6- Duke Ellington and his Orchestra – Masterpieces by Ellington. Columbia Masterworks – ML 4418 (mono) (1951), Analogue Productions – APJ 4418-45, 200g (2017), 180g (2021), (2x45 rpm). Genre: jazz, swing, orchestral big band.
7- Duke Ellington and his Orchestra – Ellington Uptown. Columbia Masterworks – ML 4639 (mono) (1952), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: big band swing, cool jazz.
8- Duke Ellington – The Duke Plays Ellington. Capitol Records – T 477 (mono) (1954), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz.
In my view and many others, The Duke is one of the all time greatest composers there ever was. Jazz pianist and band leader as well, and spanning roughly fifty years, his music went beyond normal boundaries, often defying stereotypes through incredible music structures and arrangements, the latter brilliantly done by longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn. From acoustical 78 rpms to stereo LPs, his pieces run the gamut from barely three minute singles to elaborately complex masterpieces such as the three selections above. As early as 1951 Columbia Records really knew how to capture the band at its best. The musical sophistication of the first as well as the driving energy of the second make these two Columbia recordings among the very best mono tape transfers to vinyl LP, with Masterpieces benefitting from the technical advantage of being cut on four sides at 45 rpm by Ryan K. Smith–my vinyl friend was lucky enough in 2021 to buy the last sealed copy listed online at Aux 33 Tours at its original price right before prices nearly doubled. The third LP on Capitol recorded in 1953 and originally released as a ten-inch focuses on Duke as a pianist in a simple trio setting with Wendell Marshall on bass and Buth Ballard on drums. It shows how great Duke was tickling the ivories. Capitol's studio sound is very good.
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9- Bill Haley & His Comets – Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets. Essex Records – ESLP 202 (mono) (1954), 33 1/3 rpm). Genre: rock and roll, rockabilly.
10- Bill Haley & His Comets – Rock Around the Clock. Decca – DL8225 (mono) (1955), 33 1/3 rpm). Genre: rock and roll, rockabilly.
Combining country, rhythm and blues, with western swing, Bill Haley–with or &–His Comets brought rockabilly and rock and roll to the forefront of the music charts and jukeboxes, where years before Louis Jordan, "Big Joe" and Ike Turner laid the groundwork for this new popular music style. On these two compilation LPs recorded between 1952 and September 1955, you get Haley's biggest hits such as his cover of "Rock the Joint", "Real Rock Drive", "Crazy Man, Crazy", "Live It Up", "Shake Rattle and Roll", "Rock Around the Clock", and "Birth of the Boogie". The sound is mostly straight forward and quite good.
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Reference List (Singles, albums, and labels):
Charlie Parker – Charlie Parker Memorial. Savoy Records – MG-12000 (mono) (1955), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, bebop.
Charlie Parker – The Immortal Charlie Parker. Savoy Records – MG-12001 (mono) (1955), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, bebop.
Charlie Parker – Charlie Parker Memorial Vol. 2. Savoy Records – MG-12009 (mono) (1955), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, bebop.
Charlie Parker – The Genius Of Charlie Parker. Savoy Records – MG-12014 (mono) (1955), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, bebop.
Miles Davis – Birth of the Cool. Capitol Records – T-762 (mono) (1957, Feb.), Classic Records – T-762 (2003), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: cool jazz.
Duke Ellington and his Orchestra – Masterpieces by Ellington. Columbia Masterworks – ML 4418 (mono) (1951), Analogue Productions – APJ 4418-45, 200g (2017), 180g (2021), (2x45 rpm). Genre: jazz, swing, orchestral big band.
Duke Ellington and his Orchestra – Ellington Uptown. Columbia Masterworks – ML 4639 (mono) (1952), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: big band swing, cool jazz.
Duke Ellington – The Duke Plays Ellington. Capitol Records – T 477 (mono) (1954), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz.
Bill Haley & His Comets – Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets. Essex Records – ESLP 202 (mono) (1954), 33 1/3 rpm). Genre: rock and roll, rockabilly.
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