Yusef Lateef - The Centaur and the Phoenix (1961)

From his first explosion of recordings in the mid-'50s, Yusef Lateef was a player who was always gently stretching the boundaries of his music to absorb techniques, new rhythms, and new influences from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The Centaur and the Phoenix, however, takes the risks and the innovations that Lateef was known for, and expands them in a number of different directions all at once, leading to an album that bursts with new ideas and textures, while remaining accessible, and above all, beautiful. Lateef seems eager here to take the next step musically by breaking the mold of his previous albums. While he is a gifted composer, only a third of the songs featured here are his work: the rhythm-driven flute showcase "Apathy," the gentle, nocturnal tribute to his daughter "Iqbal" and the tone poem "The Philanthropist." The best of the rest come from Kenny Barron, who was only 17 at the time, and Charles Mills, a contemporary classical composer who drew the album's self-titled highlight from two of his symphonies, the first paying tribute to Crazy Horse and the other to Charlie Parker. Providing the structure and textures needed for these intricate compositions was Lateef's largest ensemble to date. Accustomed to working in a small-group format, he makes managing a band of nine sidemen seem easy. Several Lateef regulars are here, including Barry Harris, Richard Williams, and Ernie Farrow, but the inclusion of forward-thinking musicians like Joe Zawinul also help take this album to a higher level. The greatest miracle of this recording, however, is the balance that Lateef achieves with this large group -- they are always an asset, never a distraction, and even as they come on strong and powerful on songs like "Apathy," or Barron's arrangement of "Ev'ry Day (I Fall in Love)" he remains in charge, somehow making his delicate flute (or oboe, tenor sax or argol) rise above it all, spilling out brightness, grace and joy.

Review byStacia Proefrock

http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-centaur-and-the-phoenix-mw0000085902

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Yusef Lateef — The Centaur and the Phoenix
German Riverside LP reissue, 1987 · DMM

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Jimmy Woods - Conflict (1963)

It's hard to understand why Jimmy Woods recorded so little before evidently retiring from jazz. His entire recorded legacy includes just a pair of dates as a sideman and two albums for Contemporary. Woods' final date as a leader is a memorable affair, with an all-star cast of musicians, including trumpeter Carmell Jones, tenor saxophonist Harold Land, pianist Andrew Hill, bassist George Tucker, and drummer Elvin Jones, all of whom (except Tucker) recorded as leaders before the decade was over. The program is made of six originals, including the tense, bluesy march "Conflict"; the turbulent "Aim"; and the tricky (and well-named) "Apart Together." His one ballad of the date is the unusually structured "Look to Your Heart." While all of the soloists are impressive and Jones' powerful drumming fuels the horn players, the leader's adventurous alto sax is not to be missed. Review by Ken Dryden

http://www.allmusic.com/album/conflict-mw0000028623

Ike Quebec - Bossa Nova Soul Samba (1962)

With his thick, engaging sound and elegant romanticism, it only made sense for Ike Quebec to try his hand at the bossa nova boom Stan Getz kick-started in 1962, and that's what he did with Soul Samba. However, Quebec makes the session much more than mere bandwagon-jumping. He takes some chances with the repertoire and consciously adds a heavy blues inflection that makes Soul Samba one of the more unique interpretations of the bossa nova style. It's also one of the more sensuous, thanks in part to the combination of Quebec's natural tendencies and the soft, light style itself, but even more so with the extra bit of meat added via the blues. The music is warm and danceable, yet with a late-evening hush that's more suggestive of winding down and getting cozy with someone. Quebec's choices of material are never obvious -- the Brazilian selections do not include any Jobim standards, for one thing, and both Quebec and guitarist Kenny Burrell (absolutely stellar in support) contribute original material that ranks among the album's best performances (particularly Quebec's "Blue Samba" and Burrell's "Loie"). What's more, Quebec adapts some unlikely sources -- the traditional standard "Liebestraum" and the Dvorak theme "Goin' Home" -- into surprisingly effective samba pieces. The whole project is thoughtfully conceived and beautifully executed, treating bossa nova as a new means of personal expression, not just a fad to be cashed in on. Sadly, Soul Samba was Quebec's final album, but at least his career ended on a high note. Review by Steve Huey

http://www.allmusic.com/album/soul-samba-mw0000073875

Joe Gordon - Looking Good! (1961)

Joe Gordon did not live long, only making it to 35. His second of two recordings as a leader (originally released by Contemporary) finds him on the verge of leading his own group. Gordon wrote all eight of the selections and is joined by adventurous but obscure altoist Jimmy Woods, pianist Dick Whittington, bassist Jimmy Bond, and drummer Milt Turner. Although the solos are generally more memorable than the tunes, this is an excellent effort that hints at what might have been had Joe Gordon lived.

Ben Webster and Joe Zawinul . Soulmates (1963)

What initially seems like an unlikely pairing for this session delivers on its unique pedigree with performances that do full justice to tenor legend Ben Webster and to the then up and coming pianist Joe Zawinul. Recorded in 1963 while the pianist was a member of the Cannonball Adderley Sextet, the session came about as a result of Webster's and Zawinul's sharing a New York apartment for several months. It's actually billed as Zawinul's first session as leader and Webster's last in the U.S. before his move to Europe. The tunes generally keep to mid-tempos, a pace that affords Webster the opportunity to wield the gentler side of his legendary sound. His rich, nuanced tone and magnificent phrasing are superbly in evidence. Listeners only familiar with Zawinul's soul-jazz side with Adderley and later his pioneering synthesizer work with Weather Report may be surprised at his eloquent playing here in a classic style right out of Tommy Flanagan or Red Garland. The presence of Thad Jones -- a legend in his own right -- on cornet for four tacks is a bonus. With a rhythm section rounded out by the slightly lesser legends of drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Sam Jones, alternating with Richard Davis, there isn't one false step on this set. It may tend to the mellower side of things, but that simply means there's more opportunity to luxuriate in Webster's peerless sound. 

Review by Jim Todd

http://www.allmusic.com/album/soulmates-mw0000674693

Eddie Costa - The House of Blue Lights (1959)

Eddie Costa was probably better known for his work as a vibraphonist than as a pianist during his all too brief career, which ended suddenly after a fatal car crash in 1962. He sticks exclusively to piano on his final album as a leader, joined by bassist Wendell Marshall and drummer Paul Motian. His interpretation of Gigi Gryce's "The House of Blue Lights" has a dark tone overall, very percussive at times and often incorporating fast runs. Likewise, his take of "My Funny Valentine" is rather moody, as if a breakup between lovers is imminent. "Diane" finally lightens the mood with some mid-tempo breezy bop. Costa's two originals include the upbeat cooker "Annabelle" and the rambling, almost avant-gardish "What's It to Ya." Marshall and Motian provide great support for Costa throughout these experimental sessions. It is a pity that Eddie Costa died at such a young age before he had an opportunity to expand upon the work heard in this valuable date.
Reviewed by Kenny Dryden
http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-house-of-blue-lights-mw0000699431

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Sonny Clark - Dial "S" for Sonny (1957)

Dial "S" for Sonny, Sonny Clark's first session for Blue Note Records and his first session as a leader, is a terrific set of laidback bop, highlighted by Clark's liquid, swinging solos. Clark leads a first-rate group -- Art Farmer (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Wilbur Ware (bass), Louis Hayes (drums) -- through four originals and two standards, balancing the selections between swinging bop and reflective ballads. There are traces of Bud Powell in Clark's style, but he's beginning to come into his own, developing a style that's alternately edgy and charmingly relaxed. Mobley, Farmer and Fuller have their moments, but Clark steals the show in this set of fine, straight-ahead bop.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

http://www.allmusic.com/album/dial-quot-s-quot-for-sonny-mw0000267905

Dave Pike - Manhattan Latin: The Sensuous Rhythms of Spanish Harlem (1964)

Manhattan Latin captures Dave Pike in flux between the straight-ahead approach of his earlier sessions and the psychedelic pop-jazz of his efforts for MPS: a playful yet methodical immersion into pure, sunkissed groove, its artful assimilation of global rhythms and textures anticipates the direction of Pike's most memorable work. Recorded with an impressive lineup including flautist Hubert Laws, drummer Willie Bobo and then-unknown pianist Chick Corea, the album largely eschews familiar Latin standards in favor of Pike originals. What's impressive is that the end result seems completely organic, living up to the album's title in terms of both sophistication and flavor. Phenomenal cover, too. 

By Jason Ankeny
http://www.allmusic.com/album/manhattan-latin-mw0000738396

Bill Smith Quartet - Folk Jazz (1961)

A record that could only have been made in the late '50s, 1959's Folk Jazz is a meeting of the two great collegiate crazes of the period, post-bebop modern jazz and traditional folk music. Clarinetist Bill Smith and a low-key piano-less trio ? Jim Hall on guitar, Monty Budwig on bass and the great Shelly Manne on drums ? take 10 songs from the folk tradition, strip them down to the bare essentials of melody and chord progressions and turn them into a Kind of Blue-like experiment in cool-toned modal jazz. Familiar standards like "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair" (which opens with an extended unaccompanied solo by Smith that's a marvel of economy) are presented in entirely new and fresh settings. Perhaps the best of the lot is an extended meditation on the spiritual "Go Down Moses" that turns the song from a gospel shout to an intimate whisper. The 2003 CD reissue adds two tracks, alternate takes of "Reuben, Reuben" and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen."
By Stewart Mason
http://www.allmusic.com/album/folk-jazz-mw0000027934

Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri - Bamboleate (1967)

The second album pairing Palmieri and Tjader, Bamboleate moves beyond El Sonido Nuevo into the respective territories of each artist. "Bamboleate" is the Latin cooker ones expects from Palmieri but did not find on the more subdued El Sonido Nuevo. "Semejanza" is an equally affecting jazz lilt led by Tjader. Framed by a melody that could have come straight off the Vince Guaraldi Trio's Charlie Brown Christmas album, it has an equally indelible, locomotive rhythm. Tjader's samba, "Samba De Los Suenho," is a welcome departure from the relative rigidity of El Sonido Nuevo. Also vital are the vocal tracks (Palmieri's); the blatant channel-switching in "Guajira Candela" is an abuse of stereo separation, however. (Use a second voice or instrument for that.) "Pancho's Seis Por Ocho" is typical of the deep, mid-tempo, Afro rhythm of Bamboleate and El Sonido Nuevo. Trombonist Mark Weinstein contributes the closing "Ven Y Recibelo (Come an' Get It)," a mod/soul cooker on a par with the best of Verve all-stars Tjader, Ogerman, Winding, and Schifrin. Finally, the album was reissued in 1977 as Tico LPS-88806 and distributed by Fania; the reissue at least features illustrations of Tjader and Palmieri by Jose Vargas.

Review - Tony Wilds

http://www.allmusic.com/album/bambol%C3%A9ate-mw0000273328