The Quintet - Jazz At Massey Hall (rec. 1953, first 12" LP release 1956)

Recordings from a bop dream team in concert at Toronto's Massey Hall on 15 May 1953, with some later bass overdubs.  Bird & Diz, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach - what more to say, really, about a lineup like that?  The audience might have been diminished due to being scheduled against a boxing prize fight, but this a heavyweight championship in its own right.  Six classic tunes give everyone a chance to land punches, from the opening swing of Perdido, a red hot Salt Peanuts where Gillespie's clearly having fun, to a lengthy Hot House where Mingus and Roach stretch out, and more.  An essential landmark in 50s jazz.

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Lee Konitz, Miles Davis et al - Conception (1956 compilation, rec. 1949-51)

R.I.P. Lee Konitz, 13 October 1927 - 15 April 2020

The legendary saxophonist Lee Konitz has died at the age of 92, from Covid-related pneumonia.  He was the last surviving member of Miles Davis' Birth Of The Cool band, and had a storied career in his own right as a distinctive, melodic player and improviser.

This great collection was issued by Prestige in 1956 to bring together some 78rpm sides and material from 10" LPs.  The first six tracks in fact are the entirety of "The New Sounds" by "Lee Konitz featuring Miles Davis", a 10" released in 1951.  All of it essential early cool jazz and bop.

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Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus & Max Roach - Money Jungle (1963)

A firey, tempestuous trio date organised at the suggestion of the great bandleader who wanted to record a piano trio album.  The musicians booked to back up the 63-year old in September 1962 were two decades his juniors, drummer Max Roach and bassist Charles Mingus.  From the opening title track, this was a session that cooked hard, with Mingus sounding like he's about to tear his strings off.  The almost-stern sounding, staccato take on Caravan was my introduction to the classic tune, back when it appeared on a popular Blue Note best-of CD in the 90s.

The famously short-fused bassist actually walked out on the sessions at one point before being coaxed back by Ellington, and much has been written about how the tension in the studio audibly contributed to such exciting uptempo tracks.  There is light and shade on the album too though, especially on the gorgeous Warm Valley.  Originally issued as an eight-track LP, Money Jungle was expanded to ten in the 80s, with this CD reissue following the original order then putting all the extra material afterwards - all of it absolutely essential listening.

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