Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
Ugetsu
Original Jazz Classics
www.concordmusicgroup.com

Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson
Ella and Oscar
Original Jazz Classics
www.concordmusicgroup.com

Thelonious Monk
Monk's Music
Original Jazz Classics
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Cal Tjader/Stan Getz
Sextet
Original Jazz Classics
www.concordmusicgroup.com

By George W. Harris

Here are a quartet of reissues that are accurately on the label
"Original Jazz Classics" as the music is indeed original, jazz and
classic.

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers went through a plethora of metamorphoses;
one of the classic quintets was with Freddie Hubbard/tp, Wayne
Shorter/ts, Cedar Walton/p and Reggie Workman. Here, trombonist Curtis
Fuller makes the it a sextet on this gig at Birdland in the jolly year
of 1963. The sound here is big and exciting, with sparks flying on
tunes like "One By One," thanks to the ferocity of Mr. Hubbard. The
hard driving "Ping-Pong" is contrasted with the lyrical "I Didn't Know
What Time It Was," and the handful of "extra" tracks make this a
definitive hard bop treasure.

Ella Fitzgerald's voice had lost a tinge of it's spark by the time she
did this Pablo session with Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown, but she more
than makes up for it with some extra feeling on tunes like "How Long
Has This Been Going On" and "More Than You Know." Oscar is the perfect
mate for Fitzgerald, as he knows how to display formidable chops as
well as supply well draped surroundings, as on "April In Paris" and
"Midnight Sun." A late chapter in life, but still worth reading.

Thelonious Monk was just on the upward bend of his ascendancy here, on
this 1957 Riverside session. He mixes and matches with the twin tenor
terrors John Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins, who get together for THE
classic take of "Well, You Needn't" (which features Monk's famous
calling out the younger tenor to solo). Hawkins himself on "Ruby, My
Dear" is a delight and the marathon "Epistrophy" allows the rhythm team
of Art Blakey and Wilbur Ware to drive the band like the Pony Express.
Essential music, no matter what your leanings are.

Stan Getz seems to be getting a resurgence lately, with his Verve
Quintet reissue, and now this 1958 delight with Cal Tjader/vib, VInce
Guaraldi/p, Eddie Duran/g, Scott LaFaro/b and Billy Higgins/dr. Quite a
team, indeed! Getz's tenor glows throughout, particularly on "Ginza
Samba," while LaFaro, lost way too early to the jazz world, is wondrous
on "Crow's Nest." The lilting groove on "I've Grown Accustomed To Her
Face" features a blessedly bouyant Tjader, making this disc a pure
delight.